Your Lying Eyes

Your Lying Eyes Chapter 29

It was the end of April.   Howard smiled to himself.  He had set up a surprise for Anna.  It was his birthday the coming weekend. He would be working in Dublin.  Twelve months ago he had been there with the rest of the band doing some promotional work before the last tour had started.  The Clarence had made a big impression on him when they had stayed there and he'd promised himself that one day he'd take Anna there with him.

He was playing at a club in the city centre and knew that it would be just the place for them to stay for the weekend.  It was all arranged now and he couldn't wait to see the look of surprise when he told her what he'd done.

He'd been so excited about it he hadn't been able to wait to leave the studios.  The band was back together and had been so for a month now, writing new songs for the next album.  They had all been busy during the break, each with their own projects.  Gary and Mark writing, including a new song for a film that all the band would sing.  Jason going on a tour of the capitals of eastern Europe and doing a lot of reading.

'Reading! Huh!' he thought to himself as he drove up to the gates in front of his house and pulled up to allow them to open.  'Sure there's something wrong with him. Always seems to have his head in a book.'  He let out a big sigh as the gates swung open and he drove up to the front of the house.

He unloaded the car and took the bags of groceries into the kitchen, putting them onto the granite work tops before storing them in the fridge and freezer.  He took down one of the recipe books from the shelves and thumbed his way through to one of Anna's favourite dishes.

He'd passed Chloe and Maisie in the park on his way home and knew that he had the house to himself and could get on preparing the meal for when Anna came home.

Just as he finished setting the timer on the oven, Chloe and Maisie arrived back from the park.  As soon as Maisie saw him, she banged her feet against the footrest of her buggy and cried out for him.

"Dadda, Dadda!  Ou'! Ou'!" she yelled as she held her arms up to him to be lifted out of the buggy.

"Hiya sweetheart!" laughed Howard as he undid the straps and scooped her up high into the air.  "Been to the park again?  Fed the ducks?"

Mai nodded her head seriously and pretended to throw bread like they had done.

"Wack wacks!" she said as she wriggled to get down onto the floor.  Holding on to his hand, father and daughter went into the conservatory.  Howard sat cross legged on the floor as Maisie rummaged in the box for a book, finally finding her favourite one about Daisy the Duck.  She tottered back to him and sat in the gap made by his legs, like a ducking on a nest.  Taking the book from her, he read it out loud for the millionth time, both of them making quacking noises as they read the story.  Soon Chloe came to take her for her tea and Howard went to get showered and changed for Anna's arrival home from work.

He'd just started to dress again as Anna came into the bedroom.

"Now there's a sight to be greeted by when you come home!"  she smiled, taking in the sight of  him towelling his hair, dressed only in his boxers.  She felt her stomach flip as she watched him, still with droplets of water on his chest.  

She took hold of the towel and tugged it out of his hands.  

"You've missed some," she told him, "let me do it for you," she offered with a grin.  "Turn around, let's check your back too!"

"Huh, you're only doing this 'cos you want a feel of me muscles and a perve of me bum!" he said sticking it out and wiggling it at her.

"Hmm, you could be right," she said.  "But it is such a nice one though," she conceded, gently stroking and patting it!  "Hmm," she murmured as she wrapped her arms around him and lay her head against his chest, pressing herself close.  "You smell good enough to eat!"