"Um… Hello."

Carl looked up from—technically through—some of the work emails he'd missed out on, which were mainly just brief summaries from Gab of a few boring-sounding meetings she'd attended that afternoon, distilled down to the exact details that he needed to know with an efficiency that he already couldn't imagine living without.

Mina stood in the doorway of the kitchen, looking back and forth nervously, now dressed in a set of navy blue pajama pants with a matching hoodie which fit more reasonably than the too-big one she'd been wearing when he'd gotten home. Her ponytail was set in a real scrunchie, and her fingers toyed with one of the hood's strings.

"Hey, Mina," Carl said with a smile as he beckoned her in. "Getting settled in okay?"

She'd made it a couple steps forward before Bobby barreled down the stairs and charged up behind her, wrapping her arms around the older girl's middle from the side and arresting her progress.

"Dad, her accent is soooo awesome!" his youngest daughter gushed. "Mina, where'd you learn to talk like that anyway with all the—Actually, let's play something while we talk." She looped around towards the den where the TV and game consoles were located, dragging the slightly taller girl behind herself. "Do you like racing games? I have a bunch, but…"

Mina let herself be pulled away, a brilliant smile growing on her face with each step.

"Make sure your homework gets done," Carl called after them. He strained his ears to listen in on how they were getting along.

"Already done!" Bobby called back, probably because she'd finished it during her badminton club between matches or at lunch or something. "No, that's Sammy's spot," she said more quietly. "Just sit here with me."

Sammy blew past him and into the den moments later, now changed into the more usual house dress code of pajama pants and hoodie and carrying her small laptop, which left Annie and Rebecca upstairs now, probably fighting about something again like usual. "Game starts in two hours," she said as she flopped into the armchair next to the door that defaulted to her when Annie wasn't using it.

"I know," Bobby said. "We're gonna be eating first anyway."

"Which game might that be, if I might ask?" Mina asked.

"NBA. Sammy's a jock."

"Shut up, nerd."

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"You're a nerd too!"

"Don't take everything so seriously. I was just joking."

"And this NBA you've mentioned…"

"National Basketball Association?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with—"

"You don't follow basketball? You don't… You don't hate sports, do you?"

"No, I've not learned enough on the matter to form an opinion in—"

"Okay, I'm gonna teach you everything y—"

"Ugh, can you stop with sports for one second? We're trying to play a game here!"

"You haven't even started! And why're you making her sit crammed into that chair with you? Mina, go sit on the couch if you want more space."

"N-no, this is quite all right. It's nice and…rather cozy."

"Okay, have you played this before?"

"I've not."

"So maybe… Yeah, just play through the tutorial mode real quick…"

"Oh, then I'll… And I've become a car of some sort now, have I? Yes, I'm beginning to see the way of things now. Ooh, this can be quite tricky!"

"Do you have your license yet, Mina?"

"License for—Oh no, I've crashed! It seems I've righted myself. Have I a license for what, Sammy?"

"Driving?"

"Well, I did pass a small examination I was required to overcome prior to driving my first vehicle, so I suppose that might be considered a license to some."

"You have a car?"

"Awesome! What kind?"

Annie walked into the kitchen, capturing Carl's attention completely. In a word, she looked beautiful. She was just wearing a pair of pajama pants that matched Mina's along with a sweatshirt, but her eyes drew him in, right up until she fired off a Stop Ogling Me roll of those same, pretty eyes, at which time his gaze was forcibly returned to his emails.

His wife walked around the kitchen table and draped her arms over his shoulder from the side, leaning in to give him a lingering kiss on his upper cheek. "You did good in helping her, Carl," she murmured into his ear. Her arms squeezed his shoulders a little, and she rested her head against his. "I don't think I've ever loved you more than I do right now."

Carl reached up and took her hand in his, feeling like today had really just been the most awesome day he'd had in a very long time and that this was a moment he'd really like to enjoy for at least—

"What?!" Sammy half-yelled. "No way, my time's still the best!"

"Nuh-uh. I beat that months ago."

—one more freaking second, but that was just not something that was gonna happen since they had kids.

Annie chuckled a little as she stood back up, sweeping her hair back from her face.

Then disaster struck.

"Carl," his wife began, looking down at him with an earnest expression, "I don't suppose you've noticed anything…different…about me since you got home?"

Carl began to panic.