Andrew was in the hospital for three days before being released home for the remainder of his recovery. He was put on leave for six weeks, at which point he would have a follow up appointment to determine whether he could return to work yet or not. While it was nice to have him home with Stella and I during the day, it was also painfully frustrating. Andrew was terrible at following directions, especially those that limited his physical movements, and the first few weeks of his recovery were spent largely with me scolding him for doing too much, particularly with the girls. I would come home from a run or doing errands to see Andrew carrying Stella on his back or tossing her in the air, all of which were great and sweet but not motions which he should yet be doing with our 18lb daughter.
Finally, the first week of October, Andrew was given the all clear to return to full duty the following week. He was walking on air when he returned from his appointment.
"I take it the appointment went well?" I smiled, seeing the obvious elation in his eyes as he walked into the bedroom.
"I'm all clear, baby. I'll be back to work on Monday; no more restrictions." He replied, kissing my cheek as he wrapped his arms around my middle. He started to trail kisses down my neck, pulling me tighter against him and I couldn't help but chuckle as I continued folding the laundry.
"As much as I would love to let you continue, your daughter is going to wake up from her nap any minute and your other daughter is due home from school in a half hour."
"It's been six weeks; we can be quick." He noted, his fingers raising the hem of my shirt and skimming over my skin.
"Exactly, it's been six weeks; I don't want to be quick." I countered. That seemed to do the trick as he sighed and loosened his grip. I turned around to face him, seeing the disappointment in his face. "Hey, look on the bright side. Tomorrow, Keely leaves for fall break with the Scotts and we'll have a long weekend with plenty of time to ourselves. Maybe I'll even see if Derek and Savannah can take Stella one night and we can return the favor next weekend. I'm sure they'd like some couple time before the new baby comes anyway."
He nodded and pecked my lips just as Stella started babbling over the monitor. Smirking, I pulled away. "Told you." Andrew rolled his eyes but smiled as he went to retrieve our baby girl from her crib.
####
Saturday morning, we dropped Stella off at Derek and Savannah's. We agreed to pick her up Sunday morning and in return, I offered for us to take Hank for the entirety of the following weekend, a proposition Savannah was more than happy to agree to. While Andrew and I were eager for our evening together, we had a busy day planned.
Since Keely had been such a great help with Stella and around the house while Andrew was recovering, we had decided to thank her by redecorating, or should I say decorating, her room while she was away on fall break. Since Andrew bought the house, with the exception of Stella's room, none of the taupe walls had ever been painted. While this was fine for most of the house, Keely had started dropping comments about painting her room for her birthday in January.
Our first stop after dropping Stella off was Lowes to buy paint. Keely had talked about wanting a pale blue accent wall, so we found a shade of "Maya Blue" we thought she would like and purchased a gallon, as well as two gallons of white. While Keely had talked about simply leaving the other walls taupe, we thought white would look better and in worse case scenario, there was plenty of taupe paint leftover in the garage from when Andrew bought the place that we could paint it back.
Our final stop was to Bed, Bath and Beyond, Andrew reluctantly driving over there. "I don't understand why you hate this place so much." I laughed as he groaned, pulling the car into a surprisingly close parking space for a Saturday.
"You should know better than anyone home décor is just not my thing, babe. I stalled for weeks just to pick a couch when I finally moved. In fact, you and my sister were the ones who convinced me to give Keely free reign of the credit card to furnish the house."
"Mm, I remember." I chuckled. "Well, all we need is a new sheet and comforter set. Keely's lavender bed set isn't going to match with the new paint colors and I want her room to be perfect when she gets back."
It didn't take long to spot a white and navy floral comforter we both agreed Keely would love, tossing it into the cart with some matching sheets and a few navy throw blankets and pillows. We were headed home no more than 15 minutes later, a fact which Andrew was more than grateful for.
After a quick lunch of leftover takeout, we tackled the task of Keely's room. It took longer than expected for two people but that was largely thanks to Andrew's playful nature and desire to start a paint war anytime he moved passed me. All in all, however, by early evening the room was complete and we were both quite proud of our handiwork.
"I can't wait to see her reaction on Monday. I really think she's going to like it." Andrew smiled, stepping back to look at the final product as I finished arranging the throw pillows on Keely's bed. Turning around to face him I couldn't help but admire the sight of his bare chest. He'd taken off his tee shirt after our second paint fight, leaving his sculpted abs exposed, droplets of white paint standing out against his mocha colored skin.
"See something you like?" The sound of his voice brought me back to the present, looking up to meet his eyes.
"Indeed, I do." I grinned. Taking the final steps to stand in front of him, I wrapped my arms around his neck and dropped a kiss to his lips, working towards his ear. "I think," a peck to his jaw, "that we should," another to his cheek, "go rinse off this paint in the bath," I finished with a soft bite to his ear lobe, making him moan.
"Lead the way."
####
"This was a good idea." Andrew noted as we sank into the hot water. I could feel his breath against my neck as he moved my hair to the side and rested his chin on my shoulder.
"Mmm," I hummed. "I missed this."
We were quiet for a few minutes, simply enjoying the closeness before I felt Andrew's hands start to wander. His fingertips traced up my sides, underneath the swells of my breasts and finally up, capturing and twisting my nipples. "Please," I moaned, arching into his touch.
"A little eager?" He asked, the smirk evident in his tone.
"I want you," I whimpered, already breathless. Six long weeks of waiting had made me impatient.
"Soon enough love, but first…" His left hand left its place on my breast to venture south, teasing over my thigh before slipping into my folds. I open my legs further, gasping as his fingers circled my clit. It took an embarrassingly short time to reach my peak and by the time I'd caught my breath the water had turned tepid.
I reached one hand behind me, wrapping my fingers around his shaft below the water, letting my thumb tease his tip. "Mmm, baby. It's been too long; I'm not going to last long enough for the main event if you do that."
"Then I say we get out of this tub."
####
It didn't take long for Andrew's orgasm to seize him when we finally joined together, but he made up for it several times that night and the following morning before we went to pick up Stella.
The rest of Sunday was spent soaking up time solely with our little girl, Andrew wanting to make the most of his last day off before returning to work. Though he was excited to go back, I could tell that he was going to miss being home with Stella. She'd grown so much over the past few weeks and he'd gotten to witness it all to a much greater extent during his time off.
On Monday, Andrew got home from his first day back at work just in time for Keely to return from her fall break trip. Knowing I wouldn't be able to stop her from going to her bedroom, Andrew was afraid he was going to miss her initial reaction, which was priceless. Keely walked upstairs to unpack her suitcase entirely unknowing, Andrew and I sitting on the couch nonchalantly. Seconds later we heard a squeal and her footsteps moving quickly back down the stairs. When she rounded the corner to the living room, Andrew and I laughed at the sight of her, jaw dropped, eyes wide and totally speechless.
"So, how'd we do?" Andrew asked.
"Ahh, I love it! I can't believe… I… you… thank you!" Keely rushed over, enveloping Andrew and I both in a tight hug.
####
The next few days were a huge adjustment. Since Andrew had been injured on the first day of Keely's sophomore year, it had been over four months since I had been home on my own with Stella, Keely having been home over the summer and Andrew the past six weeks.
It took some time, but eventually we fell into a comfortable routine. Andrew went back to taking Keely to school in the morning, Stella and I picking her up on days she didn't have volleyball practice and Andrew on the days she did and was at school later. I went back to joining Derek a couple times a week for activities with the kids. Weekends were filled with volleyball games and a few off-season tennis tournaments, Andrew and I cheering Keely on from the sidelines at each one with Stella babbling and clapping along. It was perfect and never in my wildest dreams something I imagined for myself.