I stumbled home around 9:00 p.m., for the fourth night in a row. I'd have a 5 o'clock shadow if I didn't have a full beard already. With my tie loosened, and my suit jacket over my shoulder, I drug myself from my car to the door. Not defeated, just exhausted. I've been working on a proposal with the rest of my team, which when presented tomorrow at 11:00 a.m., could result in a multi-million dollar deal for the company I work for. We've spent the last week digging through histories, watching market trends, and generally making our eyes bleed over spreadsheets and databases. With the report as done as it was going to get, we sent it off for final proofing, and as I was the one presenting the next day, decided I would read over the final copy the next morning, with a fresh cup of coffee.
I got through the door, hung up my jacket, and put my leather case down. The familiar and comfortable sounds and smells of home started to perk me, and as I heard my wife tinkering in the kitchen, figured I'd wander and see if she had saved me any leftovers.
"Hey, honey." I called. My wife was standing in front of our bar, I assume making a drink. As you leave out of the living room near the front door, you start to enter the kitchen, which you quickly would notice expands in a very open space off to the right. Around the left and far walls are the normal kitchen attributes, with a door in the corner leading to our deck, which connects to a shared backyard with our neighbors, Jim and Dori Miller. As the back kitchen wall expands to the right, the middle section of the wall houses a fairly well stocked bar, and then starts to lead into the sliding red oak doors of my office / den.
Even though it was just past 9, my wife Julia was in her short khaki shorts and a blue polo. I assume she was wearing them earlier, and as the weather was so nice, and the house a bit warm, decided to not change into something more comfortable, which is what she usually does.
"Good Evening, Mr. MacDougal." she replied. She loved calling me that, especially when I got home from work. She felt that I was too serious, even at home - like I was still running a business. Her calling me 'Mr. MacDougal' is her way of reminding me I can actually relax, and leave the business guy at work. Her long auburn hair flipped around her shoulders as she turned around, with drink in hand - which she walked over and handed to me.
"Oh thanks, what did you make?" I asked.
"Scotch on the rocks, figured you could use it - hows the proposal going?"
"I don't know, I just don't know. We've checked everything, we've got what the client wants, but I hear this Mr. Thompson we're meeting with is a bit of a nut. Random things set him off, no rhyme - no reason, and he's a stickler for facts. It's hard to know what he's going to look for." I replied. I took a sip of the drink which was cool to the lips, and warmed going down. She was right, I could use this, and had been looking forward to making myself one anyway. I loved how she could read my mind sometimes.
"Any leftovers from dinner?" I asked.
"Oh nononono. Remember when we watched the Miller's kid for a week 2 months ago? Well I called in a favor. I knew you'd be tired and hungry - so I got Jim to grill you up a steak. I thought you wouldn't be home for another hour or so, so it won't be read for... 40 minutes yet. I hope that's ok?"
"You're the most wonderful woman in the world." I leaned in and kissed her on the lips.
Jim was no slouch with the grill, and I know the man didn't keep anything less than a 16oz. on hand at any given time, so this was quite a nice suprise.
"I already put Jason down for bed, but I'm going to go check on him really quick. I'll be right down. Why don't you go flip on the news in the den?" With that she kissed me again quick on the lips, and spun around and headed for the stairs. I looked over my shoulder as she dashed up the stairs, still in amazement by how fast she bounced back after the pregnancy. Her butt looked as good as it had 5 years ago when I married her. All firm, no flabby jiggle. The same to be said about her legs, slender and smooth. I told her once that she had no torso. She looked slightly offended until I explained that it was because she was made entirely of legs up to her breasts, which was exactly how I envisioned the perfect woman. Painfully long legs and a full C-cup.
I headed for the den, slid the doors open, walked to the center of the room, placed my drink on the side table, and proceeded to loosen things up. The sleeves were already cuffed, but the tie was now draped, strewn across the desk, the top two buttons undone, the shoes kicked off, and the belt coiled in the floor just next to the shoes. I frumped down into my leather chair, put my feet on the ottoman and turned on the t.v. I like to flip between the major news channels. Everyone at work swears by their favorite, and chastises anyone who watches the other guy - the truth is that none of them tell the full story. They all have an angle. Watch them all, you get a rounder picture.