Two years later….
Reaching across the front seat of his Cadillac, Rumald collected the bouquet of roses he had stopped to buy on his way home. He lifted them up and paused to smell them, smiling as he imagined the beautiful smile she would give him. Opening his car door, Rumald slung a leg out of his car and climbed out of his car, carefully cradling the roses to his chest. He cradled them into his arm, much like he would a baby, and closed his car door. Straightening his overcoat, Rumald walked around the front of his car and briefly looked over the rear of Albert's, pausing for a second to eye what looked to be scratch. With a finger, he flicked at the mark and grinned when it came off, revealing a thin line of clean paint underneath.
He shook his head at the distraction setting off to the front porch steps and stopped with his foot on the first step. He angled his head to look at the car parked by the kerb. For so long, she had driven that death trap and now she was behind the wheel of a brand new Mercedes. Of course, she had argued with him about it. Refused to replace her old car, demanding he bring it back from wherever he had hidden it. Rumald smiled thinking about the argument, enjoying the fire behind her eyes as she had threatened him with a thick book. Nonetheless, she had relented after driving the car a couple of times and had to admit it was a lot roomier, especially as they needed it.
Rumald looked down at the roses in his arms and then to the front door before climbing the steps. It was the best part of his day. He grabbed the door handle and opened the front door, which creaked at him. Frowning at the door, Rumald added it to his mental list of jobs to do around the house and closed the door behind him. He juggled with the bunch of roses and removed his overcoat, looking through into the kitchen and then into the living room, spotting the television was on.
After hanging up his overcoat, clasping the bunch of roses in his hand, Rumald wandered into the living room and smiled wide, seeing his son sat on the living room floor. He was paying no attention to the television above him, his attention was solely on the children books he had in front of him. Rumald knelt down and placed a hand on top of his son's head.
"Hey, Gideon." Rumald greeted his son, who looked up and smiled at his father. "What you doing?"
"Dada." He excitedly cried dropping the book in his hands and clambered up onto his feet, throwing his arms around his father.
Scooping Gideon up into his arm, Rumald stood looking at his son. "Yes, dada."
"Dada." He repeated, grinning at his father.
Rumald shifted Gideon on his arm and took his son with him, leaving the living room to go into the kitchen, as he asked his son. "Where's your mother then? Hiding somewhere?"
"Dada." Gideon babbled, grabbing his father's tie between his hands.
"Is that right?" Rumald pretended his son had answered him as he laid the roses down onto kitchen counter.
Gideon pulled Rumald's tie out and flicked the tail of the tie between them, saying. "Dada."
"Upstairs, perhaps?" He asked his son, shifting him onto his other arm so he could open the fridge door.
"Dada." Gideon giggled playing the end of Rumald's tie.
"Oh, really." Rumald grabbed himself a beer from inside of the fridge and shoved the door close with his elbow. "Hiding in our bedroom."
"Whose hiding in our bedroom?" She inquired entering the kitchen, carrying a box in her hands, which she put down onto the breakfast table.
Rumald grinned moving his gaze to meet hers. "I was just asking our son where you were."
"If you can get anything, other than dada out of him, I will be impressed." Belle returned his smile and met him as he came over to her and leaned into him to kiss him 'hello'.
"I don't mind him saying 'dada' all the time." Rumald bounced Gideon up and down on his arm, making his little boy giggle with the end of Rumald's tie in his mouth.
"A 'mama' now and then would be nice." She grumbled before her eyes spotted the bunch of roses on the counter. "Oh!" She smiled brazenly at him. "You got me roses!"
Rumald shook his head at her, removing his tie from Gideon's mouth, saying. "They're for Gladius."
"Oh…" The smile she had worn dropped immediately from her face.
Laughing, he stepped into her and kissed the side of her head. "Of course, they're for you!"
She swatted at his upper right arm, grinning as she chastised him. "That wasn't nice. I was really disappointed then."
"Well, if you're a good girl," Rumald began to tell him, passing by her to smile over his shoulder at her. "I'll let you teach me a lesson later."
"I don't know about later." She mumbled picking up the bunch of roses to inspect them.
As Rumald was entering the living room, feet pounded down the stairs behind him. "Dad!"
Carefully, Rumald put Gideon down on the floor, waited for him to get his balance and watched his youngest son wander back to where he found him earlier with his books. He could not stop smiling at the sight of his son. Clever like his mother, handsome like his father, if he did say so himself. Still wearing his smile, Rumald turned round to watch his eldest son jump down the remaining steps of the stairs and rush towards him.
"Can I borrow fifty bucks off you?" Albert asked and then quickly added. "I'll give it you back, of course."
Reaching into his pants pocket, Rumald withdrew his money clip and unclipped it to count out the cash as he said. "Why am I lending you money, when you've got plenty in the bank?"
"Because I can't be bothered to go to a cash point." Albert confessed to his father, taking the offered money from his father and thanked his father.
"I should charge interest." Rumald thought aloud re-clipping his money and stowed it into his pocket again.
"Dad," Albert looked shocked as he placed his hand onto his chest. "I'm hurt that you would even think such a thing."
Belle shouted through from the kitchen. "Can I charge him for doing his laundry?"
"Belle!" Albert spun to face the kitchen, while Rumald grinned and held back his chuckle. "I told you I would do it! It's not my fault, you took it upon yourself to do it while I've been at college!"
"Anyway," Rumald placed a hand on Albert's shoulder and guided him into the living room, avoiding another argument where Belle and Albert bickered over laundry. "What you need fifty bucks for?"
Albert grinned. "Just going out with Emma."
"Be careful." Rumald pointed a finger at his son, his tone turning serious. "Don't get into trouble."
"We will and I won't." Albert nodded his head profusely at him, his smile gone from his face.
"And don't…" Rumald pulled his son closer with the hand on his shoulder. "Do anything that I would do." His tone was more playful by the end of his sentence.
Albert's smile returned. "I won't, dad." And then added after a pause. "Much."
"When you going out?" Rumald said letting some space grow between them.
"I'm going now." Albert gestured to the front door.
"Ah, well… Have a good time." Rumald told him honestly.
Albert smile briefly widened at his father and then he moved pass him to talk to Gideon on the floor. "Hey, little buddy." He said squatting down to Gideon's level. "You be good, while I'm out."
"Dada." Gideon held up his book for Albert to see.
Shaking his head and chuckling, Albert stood up and gave his dad a small wave as he walked by, and went into the entrance hall to put his coat on as he called through to Belle. "I'm going, Belle."
Rumald was coming out of the living room, when Belle came jogging out of the kitchen to go to Albert, slinging her arms around his neck just as he finished putting on his coat, to tell him. "Have a good time."
"I will." Albert returned her hug. "Don't wait up. I'll be late home."
Belle pulled back from their hug and pointed her finger at him. "Don't get up to anything with Emma." Albert was beginning to nod his head at her and say something, when Belle added. "And if you do get up to anything, remember, protection!"
"Belle!" He scolded removing his arms from around her.
"Always use protection." She told him, following him to the door. "Your dad and me…" Hearing his father mentioned, Albert groaned loudly and yanked open the front door. "Always use protection." Belle followed him out of the door, lecturing him as he raced down the stairs. "Don't want any accidents! Not yet anyway…!"
Rumald stood in the hallway shaking his head, smirking, as Belle came back into the house, closing the door behind her. "Guess he doesn't want his car. He's ran off down the street."
"I'm not surprised." Rumald chuckled, still shaking his head.
"He deserved it for what he did earlier." Belle said walking by him. "Scared the hell out of me in the garage."
"Come here." Rumald grabbed her hand and yanked her back towards him, catching her easily into his arms. Laying her arms around his neck, Belle grinned up at him, meeting his gaze as he wrapped his arms around her waist drawing her body against his own.
He took a moment to appreciate her before he said. "I love you more than you'll ever know."
Belle beamed a smile at him. "I love you too."
Dipping his head down, Rumald captured her lips with his own and held her even tighter against him. He poured everything he had into their kiss, wanting her to feel just how much he loved her in that single kiss. Rumald never wanted her for an instant to ever think he did not love her or wanted her. The fact she had stayed with him after all the heartache and trouble, they had gone through together, made Rumald love her more than anyone else in his life.
