Chapter 18—Can I Breathe, Please?
1
Anna kissed her little boy one more time. Then she turned off his light and closed the door. She couldn't wait to get out of her soggy pajamas, so she hurriedly cleaned up the puddles in the bathroom and threw all of soggy items into the huge basket that was stationed under the sink. She took one more huge towel, and made sure the floor was safe for her family to walk on. She added the big towel to the already overloaded basket, and then scurried down to her own room.
She face-palmed herself. Callen was sound asleep on their bed, fully clothed. So…her shower would have to wait. She leaned over and kissed him, and then peeled her wet clothes off, tossing them right into her basket. Then she grabbed a bath sheet and dried off.
The mirror caught her attention, so she stared at her reflection for a whole minute before she wrapped her hair in a bath towel so it wouldn't continue dripping down her back.
She wondered if he had turned off all of the downstairs lights and checked the doors. Not taking any chances with anyone, Anna grabbed her robe and put it on. She floated gracefully downstairs and was mortified that Callen hadn't cleaned up the downstairs at all. She straightened up the dining room, and then put all of the dishes into the sink. She wiped down the counters and stove, and left the huge mound of dishes in the sink. They could be tackled in the morning while she drove the kids to school.
Anna made her way upstairs, and closed the blinds in her room. Right after, she turned on the dim lamp. Then she turned to study her man. He was sound asleep on his stomach, so she knew she wouldn't be able to wake him up, but she resolved to make him more comfortable.
After she kissed him, Anna began to undress him. It wasn't easy because he was "backwards." She poked at him, and he squirmed and squiggled, and finally turned onto his back. Anna easily removed his outermost clothes, including his belt and jeans. Getting his underwear off wasn't that simple, but she she shut off the ceiling light, and climbed up onto her side of the bed. She couldn't resist kissing him. After a while, he realized that she was with him, and he woke slightly. Just enough for her to pull the sheets and blankets out from under him.
Anna flopped the sheets over him, and let herself fall face down on top of him. She landed with her face in her favorite niche, and continued kissing him, until he finally woke up.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing. I want to snuggle you."
"I see, but how about you get on top of me, and we both go to sleep?"
"You're no fun!"
"Anna…I am tired. Please. Save the silly stuff for the morning," Callen said, sounding growly.
"Okay." She shuffled around, repositioning herself alongside him, with her face buried in his neck. "Good night, my love."
"I'm sorry, baby," he apologized. "I'll see you in the morning." He put his hand on the nape of her neck and scritched her for a moment. He felt, rather than saw, her huge smile. Then he hugged her.
Anna jerked the sheets up, and burrowed into them, and him. She was very comfortable and happy, and fell asleep in her happy place.
2
Callen woke up first. He was taken aback by his absence of clothes, and then remembered that she had poked at him until he had woken up slightly. He grinned. She was nothing if not tricky.
He studied her, and then realized that she was sleeping on her left side. He was thrilled. To do that, Anna had to be completely healed inside, and he wanted to pick her up and smush her. Instead, he leaned over and kissed her cheek.
She swiped at her face, not understanding that Callen was kissing her.
He kissed her again, but with more fervor, and she stirred. He kissed her a third time, and she nearly smacked him.
"You better not!"
Her eyes opened very wide. Then she rolled over onto her back and squinted her eyes like a cat.
"What are you doing?"
"I want to hug you."
3
A wild glint came into her eyes. Callen noticed, but he was not sure what she was doing. With a huge smirk, she said, "So hug me!"
He tried to pick her up, and he couldn't budge her. Her body didn't even bend. He tried again, and again he was frustrated.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing," she chirped.
He tried picking her up again, but she wilted, and he nearly dropped her.
"Dammit, Anna!" Callen sat on the bed and fanned himself. His heart was pounding.
She got up and draped herself over his back, and wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm sorry, my love. I didn't plan on scaring you," she mumbled into his ear. Then she climbed off the bed, and stood in front of him. "Yes?"
Callen looked up at her, and smirked. "Good trick, baby, but no more of that one!"
She hugged him close, with his face pressed into her middle. She scritched him.
"Not a problem." She tightened her grip on him. "You did say to save the silly stuff for the morning, so I did."
"Oh, brother!" he pretended to gripe. "I did, indeed." He lay back abruptly, and she landed right on top of him.
"You're giving ME a heart attack now!"
His eyes twinkled. "Yeah, well…" He took her face between his hands and kissed her softly.
Anna responded with everything she had. Callen reacted to her ardor and couldn't get enough of her. They loved each other until there was no tomorrow. Then she lay on top of him with her face in its favorite niche, and he stroked her back.
By her relaxation, he could tell that she had fallen asleep. He smiled sheepishly, just as he had the night she had fallen asleep on his shoulder while they were in Russia. Earlier in the evening, he had had a fleeting thought about sleeping with her, but it was too absurd an idea to entertain. Instead, he was happy to settle with her on his shoulder. And now, today, all these years later, she was sleeping on him, full length, and he loved it. He felt like the luckiest man in the world.
4
When Anna shifted off him, Callen sat up quickly and grabbed the sheets. He flung them over both of them, and then snuggled into her.
She turned over so that she was facing him. "Thank you, my love," she whispered, burrowing into him.
"Not a problem," he responded, glad of the covers himself. He turned onto his side, and snuggled into her as well. "You okay?"
"Yes," she said, putting her hand on her side. "Except for the staples themselves, I don't feel a thing."
"Oh, yay!" he said with a laugh.
"Oh, yay for sure," she added, giving him a hasty kiss before she pulled up the blankets over their shoulders.
Then a knock sounded on the door.
"No, Callen. I don't want the kids right now. Please," she whined.
He patted her. "I get it, and neither of us is getting up. Close your eyes, baby. I'll deal with her."
She nodded. "Thank you."
The knock sounded again, but the door did not open.
"Not now," Callen said loudly. "Go back to bed, please."
"But, Papa," came Anya's voice.
"No, baby. Go back to your room. This is quiet time for Mama and me, and we do not want to be disturbed," he repeated.
Anya opened the door a crack. The room was bathed in soft light emitting from the dim lamp, surprising the little girl. She had thought it would be bright.
Callen was quicker. He was very annoyed with her, and in no uncertain terms, he told her so. All Anya got for her efforts was two days of grounding.
"Get to bed right now, Anya. This is not open for discussion. I told you that this is our quiet time, just for us. Mama is sleeping right now, and I do not want her disturbed. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Papa," Anya said.
"You'll be home this weekend. Now, please go to your room. I'll talk to you later."
"Okay, Papa," she said, closing the door behind her.
"What was all that?"
"I don't know, Anna. I'll find out later." He gave her a sweet kiss before he settled into her, closing his eyes. "Go to sleep, baby," he murmured.
"Okay," she replied, snuggling her face into his neck.
They both fell asleep quickly, sleeping until it was almost eight o'clock.
5
"Stop!" Kira hissed. "I'll deal with them, okay? You guys are too rough sometimes."
"Okay," Anya agreed.
"Did you get grounded from before?"
"Oh, yeah. Big. I lost the whole weekend."
"Wow," sympathized Kira. She knocked on the door, but did not get a response. "Are you sure Papa was awake?"
"Yes."
"I'll bet he fell asleep again. You guys stay out here without making a sound while I open the door. You got that?"
"Yeah," they responded.
Kira opened the bedroom door slowly, and was as surprised as Anya had been.
"Oh, boy," she mumbled. "You guys need to get up, please," she said to the sleeping couple. She watched them for a minute, and she saw the slightest smirk cross her father's face. "I have to be in school by eight fifteen today, all because of those crappy state exams." Then she laughed as her father's eyes shot open.
"Kira, go away," Callen said. Beside him, Anna laughed, too.
"Not funny, guys," Kira said, exiting the room. She leaned on the wall with the other children.
"What happened?"
"Nothing, except that I think Papa outsmarted us!"
Nikolai looked up at her. "He always dooz that to us, Kira! Papa is very tricky, you know."
"Oh, yeah. He's very tricky, and so is Mama," she added. "I think we should get dressed and go have breakfast."
"Good plan," Anya said.
They all ran into their rooms to get dressed for school. Then they all thundered downstairs to the kitchen, where Kira served them breakfast. They ate quickly, and cleaned up the kitchen, adding their bowls to the monumental pile of dishes in the sink.
"Kira, what's going to happen if you're late for that test?"
"I don't know, Raisa. I never took one before, so it's kind of scary."
"Oh, boy," came their mother's voice. "Get your stuff, all of you, and go out to the car."
"Okay, Mama," Nikolai said. He and his sisters grabbed their backpacks and fled.
Callen caught Anna as she was about to go out the door. "You okay with driving?"
"I'll be fine, and you have chores, please," she said with a smirk of her own. She kissed him, and then joined her children.
6
Anna studied her kids. "Here's the deal. Kira, I need you to trade places with Raisa," she said in her no-nonsense tone.
Kira was about to object, and then changed her mind. She helped Raisa climb over Anya, and then she tossed Raisa's bag into the front seat.
"Mama, won't you get a ticket?" Kira asked.
"Maybe," her mother replied. "For now, I'm not worried about it."
The rest of the ride to Kira's school was quiet. Upon arrival, she got out, and saw some of her friends who were just as worried. "Bye, Mama."
"Bye, baby," Anna said as she drove off. Her next stop was Anya's school, followed by Nikolai's school. Last but not least was Raisa's school. Anna accompanied her inside, all the way to her classroom.
Ms. Horvath greeted Anna pleasantly, and then handed her another thick packet of papers.
"What happened?" Anna asked.
"I'm not sure, but Raisa isn't the only one getting a work pack. Her steady friends are, too."
"Oh!" gasped Anna.
"We're having a meeting with the principal next week, including the PTA. Something has to be done about this, with all of the students!"
"Thank you, Ms. Horvath," Anna replied. "We will be there."
Ms. Horvath nodded, and then turned her full attention on her class.
7
Anna waved good-bye. While she didn't get a ticket, she did drive quickly. She knew that Callen needed help with the piled-up chores.
Seeing how sudsy he was, Anna gave him a kiss, and then went upstairs to restore order to the chaos that she knew was there. She went to Nikolai's room first, and had his bed made in the blink of an eye. She left the toys for him to pick up.
Then she went to Kira's room. It wasn't too bad, and she had the bed straightened out fairly quickly. Again, she left the knickknacks on the floor for Kira to pick up and put away later.
Raisa's and Anya's room was a nightmare. Anna straightened out the beds, and left their things on the floor. The one thing she took umbrage to were the food papers and dishes. Nobody was allowed to eat in their rooms, and that included Raisa.
Last, she tackled her own room. The bed was askew, and there were various pieces of clothing hiding under the bed. She pulled those out hurriedly and tossed them toward the basket in the bathroom. Then she made the bed, taking care to make it extra neat. When she was finished, she sat down at the bistro table, and relaxed for a little while.