Christian
I throw open the door when I spotted my father-in-law through the peephole.
Ray stands on the front porch looking uncomfortable with a hint of embarrassment. I inwardly smirk at his guilt-ridden expression. Carla stands behind her husband looking concerned.
"Come in," I grumble and stand aside to let them pass.
It's been a week since the emotional phone call with Ray. Ana has been ignoring Ray's calls since then. He's been calling her daily, trying to apologize, but Ana was too hurt to hear him out. After Carla called her daughter pleading to hear her father out, Ana reluctantly agreed for them to come over tonight after work, so that they can talk.
I kiss Carla's cheek before shutting the door and following them into the living room. Ana slowly walks into the room and sits down on the sofa in front of her parents who are sat on the loveseat.
Carla leans forward and takes her daughters hand into her and squeezes it. Ana gives her a small smile before letting go of her hand. Ana completely ignores her fathers pleading gaze and looks towards the opposite wall.
I sit down next to Ana and take her hand into mine. She gives me a weak smile before putting her head on my shoulder.
"Ana, I'm sorry honey," Ray murmurs while looking towards the floor.
"For what dad?" She scoffs as he leans her head back from my shoulder.
"I'm sorry for talking to you the way I did," he sighs.
"Try again dad," she narrows her eyes at him.
Carla nods her head towards her husband and crosses her arms.
Ray clears his throat awkwardly and rubs his forehead. I've noticed that he usually does this when he's nervous. "I'm sorry for what I said about your husband."
"Well, he's right here dad. You need to apologize to him, first before we talk further," she points to me.
I stare at Ray impassively, and he sighs heavily before turning towards me.
"Look, I only want the best for my daughter. I wanted her to have all the things I didn't while I was growing up. I know I've been unfair to you, Christian," he murmurs.
At the beginning of our relationship, Ana told me that Ray didn't have the most fortunate childhood. His parents never had money and couldn't always afford everything that Ray needed growing up. He would spend most of his adolescence working two jobs, so he can help support his family. After high school, Ray received a few scholarships, so that he could attend college and as of today, became a successful businessman a year after he graduated.
"When Ana came home and said she found the one she was going to marry, I was apprehensive. When she brought you to meet us that first night, I wasn't impressed, to be honest, but I did admire how much you loved my daughter," he gestures towards Ana.
"I love your daughter. I always have, and I always will," I kiss Ana's hand, and she smiles shyly at me.
Ray nods, "And that is the only thing that matters. I'm sorry son, at what I said to you. How I have been treating you. It wasn't right, and I am sorry."
I nod at him after a few minutes of silence. Ray gives me a weak smile and turns back towards Ana. "Your mother explained to me about your fertility troubles. Honey, why didn't you tell me the whole truth? I would have gladly helped you out with the IVF. You didn't have to wipe away your savings," he says in disapproval.
"Because dad, it wasn't your problem," Ana says frustrated.
"Yes, it is my problem. You're my daughter. What hurts you hurts me, and I and your mother would gladly give you the money," Ray snaps back as he stands up.
"I know you would, but Christian and I didn't want the handout. We wanted to be able to pay for it on our own," her lips trembles.
I pull her towards me and softly kiss her hair. "Ana, baby."
"I'm sorry. This whole baby thing is so frustrating," she says while wiping her nose on a tissue that I hand to her.
Ray's eyes soften and sit down by Carla who is trying hard not to cry herself. Ana pulls away and looks down at her lap. I sigh as I lean forward, and I rub my hands together in front of me.
"Honey, we will be more than happy to help you. I know that you both want a family, and we want to help you. Please, sweetheart, will you consider it?" Ray pleads while grabbing Ana's hand.
She sniffs and looks towards me for my opinion. I know she wants to start the IVF again, and I want too as well, but we really can't afford the expenses of having a baby. Bills are piling up, and my family's business has declined more since last month.
"We can't," I sigh despondently.
I see Ana swallow thickly and nods sadly at me since she knows that we can't continue trying to have a baby.
"Why not?" Carla frowns in disappointment.
"We can't afford to have a baby, mom. The Grey's business has been declining, and we can't afford our bills now, less a baby. As much as we want to start a family, we can't afford to have a baby. We appreciate your offer, but at this moment, it's not possible right now with our financial situation," Ana says soulfully.
Carla deflates, and Ray looks at me confused. "I thought the business was going well?"
"It was, until that fucker, Lincoln came into town," I growled, and Ana nodded in agreement.
"You mean Richard Lincoln?" Carla frowned.
"Yes, do you know him?" I while slightly frowning.
"No, but I heard of him. I can't say much since confidentiality, but I have met his wife, Elena," she looks unimpressed at the mention of her name.
"That blonde woman is his wife?" I narrow my eyes in contemplation.
"Correct. Quite the character that one," Carla rolls her eyes.
I snort and shake my head. So that women who came to the shop a few weeks ago was that fucker's wife. That woman gives me the fucking creeps. More than one occasion, I found that bimbo was smiling seductively at me while driving past our garage in a black range rover.
Ana looks over at me in annoyance since I told her about the nameless women when I came home that day. Ana comes over to the garage once a week, so that we can have lunch on her break, and that woman never hides her dislike for my wife. The women even took time to walk her little wiener dog in those ridiculous high heels and short skirts along the sidewalk when my wife is in the garage. Ana rolls her eyes in amusement when she sees her scowling at her. Now, we have a name for the bimbo and the reason why she hangs at Lincoln's garage all the time.
Ray suddenly sighs and brings me into the now. "Is there anything we can do?"
"No. We will be okay. It will pick up soon," I shrug.
"Do you need anything? We will be happy to help with the bills?" Carla offers while staring at Ana with hope in her eyes.
"No, mom. We are fine. That one time is enough," Ana says quickly when she sees me about to turn down her offer.
"Will you at least call us if you ever need anything?" Ray shakes his head in apparent frustration.
"I will, dad. Promise," Ana smiles and gets up from the couch.
Carla and Ray also stand up from the loveseat, and they walk into a three-way hug causing me to crack a smile.
After catching up on other essential things, Carla and Ray stay for another thirty minutes before leaving to go home. Ana sighs tiredly when she closes the front door.
"What do you think?" she asks while walking towards me.
"Don't worry about me. I know your dad was sincere," I sigh as I take her into my arms and rest my hands on her lower back.
Ana bites the inside of her cheek and stares at me apprehensively. "What is it?" I frown.
"Do you think we could get pregnant on our own?" she says after a few seconds.
"Of course, I do. Why?"
"What if we do get pregnant?" she murmurs.
"Then we can figure it out. I know that we can't afford a baby right now, but if that happens, we can figure out the next steps when it does happen," I sigh.
"Yeah. Well, I guess I'll start on dinner," Ana gives me a small smile and a kiss before walking into the kitchen.
I head to the living room and sit on my recliner and put my feet up. I lean forward and grab the remote that sits on the coffee table and flip through the channels and finally settle on Sports Center.
As I'm watching some basketball highlights, I hear a loud thud coming from the kitchen.
"Shoot!" I hear Ana shout.
I frown and get up from my chair to head into the kitchen. I see Ana huff in frustration when she practically throws something in the sink.
"What happened?" I walk up behind her and put my arms around her waist.
"I accidentally overcooked the noodles," she sighs as she rubs her forehead in irritation.
"It's okay, baby. We can make more," I kiss her neck, and she shrugs. She groans as she checks the clock that is on the microwave.
"Well, I guess I'll throw these away," she grumbles, picking up the overcooked noodles that are in the colander.
I can see that the whole baby thing is still on her mind, and I'm guessing the talk we had earlier with her father is distracting her. I smirk when I suddenly get an idea.
Before she can throw away the noodles in the trashcan, I grab some and throw them at her, and they hit her in the face. She stares at me dumbfounded for a minute causing me to smile.
"I can't believe you," she narrows her eyes.
I laugh as she grabs a handful of noodles and throws them at me. "This is war!" I declare.
We both burst out laughing as we throw the noodles at each other. We have noodles stuck in our hair, and some are suck to our clothes. At one point, I almost trip on some that are stuck to the floor as I try to shove some noodles down her shirt. She giggles as she tries to push them down my boxer briefs.
The noodles are everywhere as Ana, and I are practically on the floor laughing our asses off. She suddenly straddles me, and I lean up, and we kiss each other while we try to stop laughing unsuccessfully.
When we get our laughing under control, I pick up my wife and carry her to the shower, and we spend the next thirty minutes getting each other clean after our messy food fight.
We get out of the shower, and we dry off and get dressed in our pajamas before we both head into the kitchen. We spend some time cleaning up the noodles from the floor, and after we're done, we decided just to head up a frozen pizza for dinner.
We're in the middle of our bed, facing each other and laughing as we eat our meat lover's pizza.
"Tell me it's always going to be like this," Ana says out of the blue.
"What is?" I frown and take another sip of my beer.
"Us, like this. Happy," she sighs.
I put my beer down on the nightstand and cup her face and stare into her pale blue eye that first made me fall in love with her.
"We're always going to be happy," I gently rub her cheekbone with my thumb, and she smiles tenderly.
"I love you, Christian," she takes hold of both my wrists.
"I love you too, and that is never going to change," I promise her and lean forward and kiss her lips softly.
AN: A little-lighthearted food fight for our favorite couple. :)
Thank you all for the reviews on the last chapter. I agree that Ray was a big jerk. Next chapter we will meet a younger Mia.
Thank you for reading and reviewing. See you all next week.