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Chapter 29
Christine was frustrated because Mike hadn't helped her at all with getting Levi to bed and hadn't come upstairs to tell the girls goodnight. She was ready to scold him for it, until she walked downstairs and he had an old blanket down on the floor in the living room and was carrying food in.
"Our date?" Christine asked.
"Yeah. I wanted to surprise you." Mike said.
"Meat loaf, mashed potatoes, green beans and bacon…how did you do this?" Christine asked.
"The girls helped. I made a cherry cheesecake. We can do the sugar cookies for another date. I wanted this to be special." Mike explained.
"Thank you. It looks and smells amazing. We can eat at the table?" Christine suggested.
"Remember when we got married and didn't have a table? We ate every meal like this." Mike reminded her.
"Ah yes." Christine said as they both settled and Mike poured them both a glass of wine.
"I did get you something else. I know you are concerned about money but I also know how badly you want me to retire…so here?" Mike said as he handed her a letter. It was from the President, addressed to Mike; detailing terms of his retirement, including healthcare for the girls, Levi and any additional children born until they turned twenty-five, lifetime healthcare for Mike and Christine and a very healthy pension.
"Mike, are you sure about this? You love your career?" Christine asked.
"I do…but I had to realize I love this family far more. The only downside is we will have to find a new house, but they are generous with the timeline. We can rent it until we find or build something." Mike explained.
"Thank you. I love you." Christine said.
"I love you too." Mike replied.
"This is delicious." Christine remarked as she took a bite of the meat loaf.
"I'm glad you like it." Mike said.
"I honestly think I prefer this to some
expensive and fancy dinner." Christine remarked.
"Added advantage is that you can wear your pajamas." Mike replied.
"Do you mind?" Christine asked.
"Not at all." Mike said.
"I'll have to find something to do for you." Christine remarked.
"I'm not worried about that right now. I wanted to make tonight about you." Mike replied.
"That's sweet." Christine replied. Mike cut into the cheesecake and put a slice on her plate. She decided not to lecture him about using pie plates. He poured them both another glass of wine and looked into the crackling fire in the fireplace.
"Can wherever we buy or build have a fireplace, not a gas burning fireplace. One of these?" Mike asked.
"I'm sure we can do that." Christine agreed.
"You done?" Mike asked, pointing at her plate.
"Yes. It was delicious. Thank you." Christine said before giving Mike a long kiss.
"You're welcome. Katie actually made the cheesecake for me." Mike said. They both stood up and Christine began helping Mike take everything into the kitchen. He began washing dishes up while she put leftovers in the fridge. She emptied what was left of the wine into their glasses and once he finished with dishes and the alarm was set and lights were turned off; they carried the glasses upstairs.
The kids were asleep and Christine settled into their bedroom while Mike showered. She finished off her glass of wine and looked at the bathroom door. She knew it might not be a great idea but she got up and walked into the bathroom, slipped her nightgown off and then stepped into the shower with Mike. He looked at her in surprise.
"Christine?" Mike asked. She nodded at him before giving him a long and passionate kiss.
"Yes." Christine said simply.
"This sounds bad but my knee will never handle you and me doing this in the shower. I'm too old for that. Let's go to the bed?" Mike suggested.
"Okay." Christine agreed. Mike shut the water off and grabbed towels for both of them. They dried off and began kissing their way into the bedroom, where he gently laid Christine on the bed.
"You sure?" Mike asked. Christine nodded and he smiled in response.