Aftermath

33

Matthew had been pretty busy after taking on a new position at work. It allowed him to be fully remote, and not have to travel back and forth anymore. Calpurnia loved coming home to him after work, it was fun.

"Mattie" she whispered nudging his cheek with her nose, he still dozed beside her. His arm lifted to squeeze her tight but he readjusted and settled back in. The only indication he was awake was the slight brush of his finger across her shoulder. "Good morning sleepy head," Cal spoke softly against his jaw. A grunt sounded from his lips.

"What time is it?"

"It's half past 8," she pressed a kiss to the soft underneath of his jaw.

"You're a flirt in the morning." His hands moved to cup her butt and push her hips firmer against him.

"Only when I want something..." she trailed in a teasing tone. He chuckled and turned his head to kiss her lips and nose.

"Oh yeah?" He kissed her lips again. "And what might that be?" She brushed her nose against his, and Matthew smiled lazily.

"A bath," Cal whispered with a glint in her eye, rolling away to stretch. He wasn't normally all that excited at the mention of a bath. She didn't blame him, there wasn't much room for the two of them, and he was much taller than her.

"Now that," He paused to stretch his arms above his head. Cal's gaze drifted to the hem of his shirt as it lifted, exposing the skin of his torso. "I think we can arrange" he finished as she moved to slide her hand under his shirt and press her palm to his bare skin. Her fingers gently moved against him beneath the fabric.

"Five more minutes." Matthew chuckled in her hair.

"You're incredible," he laughed snuggling her close, "five minutes. And not a minute more."
In the bath, Calpurnia relaxed in the heat of the water. Matthew sat opposite her working a washcloth over her feet kindly.

"I love you." She said from her side of the tub, prodding his chest with her foot. He stopped washing the other and plopped the washcloth on the ledge with a wet smack.

"I love you," he replied, reaching for her hand and leaning forward to kiss her knuckles. Cal adjusted so she could lay with her back pressed to his chest and pulled his arms around her waist tight. They stayed wrapped together a few minutes more, before finishing the bath.

They drained the water, and Matthew started the shower so they could rinse off. As she picked up her shampoo from the shelf he stopped her.

"Let me." he insisted trying to grab it from her hands.

"You don't have to," He shook his head still holding the bottle of shampoo in his hand.

"I know I don't have to," he kissed her forehead. "I enjoy it." She conceded handing him the bottle and squeezing his wrist gently before letting go. "I love washing your hair." Cal brought her hands up to her face to cover it.

"Why?" she blurted incredulously. Matthew pulled her hands away from her face and started lathering the soap in her hair.

"Because," his fingers moved down to the back of her hair and worked the shampoo into it, "you aren't one to let people do things for you. You're very self-sufficient, so when I get to do something for you, I know it's because you love me and you know I love you." Matthew towed her back until she was leaning into him and started rinsing out the soap. "And," he added leaning so he was speaking directly into her ear, "I get to stare at you all I want without you hiding your face away from me." He kissed her temple and traded places with her so he could give himself a quick scrub, then they both got out.

...

Abbey ran to the front door when Calpurnia opened the door and caught her in a hug before she'd had a chance to even announce they had arrived. Cal squeezed her back soundly before pulling back and taking off her jacket.

"Where's Matt?" she asked still looking Cal over.

"He's coming! I just have to pee." Abbey took the hint and stepped out of the way so Calpurnia could get by and run to the bathroom. She heard Abbey exclaiming when Matthew walked in as well, chuckling at the thought of her engulfing him in a hug just the same as she'd done to her.

"Thanks for letting us host here Mom," Matthew said from somewhere in the house and she could imagine the expression Abbey had plastered on her face as she insisted it was no big deal and they were happy to host get-togethers for them any time.

Matthew and Cal had wanted to have a memorial day weekend get-together, but then John and Abbey asked them to keep an eye on the house while they were gone on a trip. So they offered to let them use it to host there since it was big enough to sleep everyone between the guest rooms and the basement.
"What time are you guys leaving? Do you need help with anything?" Cal rounded the corner as she was speaking. Abbey waved her off.

"No, no you guys don't need to help. John is on a call for something upstairs, but we are leaving after. The car is already packed and ready to go. What about you?" No one would be there for the party until the next day, but they'd decided to drive up the night before so they could get things ready to go before people started arriving.

"I think we are good. We will probably make a grocery run after you guys head out, but we wanted to be here to see you off." Abbey looked at Matthew while he spoke with a smile, it was fascinating to see her interact with him, she truly loved him so much. John descended the stairs from his office, a few moments later. Smiling as he came down.

"Good to see you, kids," he said, ruffling their hair playfully. Matthew rolled his eyes and Calpurnia chuckled. "Things are good, yeah?" His eyes were on Matthew.

"Yeah, the new position at work has been a nice change, I'm really enjoying the challenge of learning new things again." John nodded thoughtfully, before looking at her and quirking his brow.

"Oh, yes," she stammered when she realized he was waiting for a response, "they are good."

"Glad to hear it!"