The Aftermath of Callie and Arizona

Let The Summer Shenanigans, Begin!

Arizona's POV:

"Callie!? Did you check the dryer? There's a load I started last night that I haven't gotten around to folding yet..." I was hollering down the hallway.

"Okay! I'll go check in the laundry room!" I could hear Callie's footsteps leaving our bedroom as she headed to the first floor laundry room.

Callie was yelling that morning, but only because I was busy down the hall, getting Sophia's breakfast made that Friday in the kitchen. It was to be Sophia's last day of the 4th grade and her official end of the school year. Meanwhile, my wife couldn't find the shirt she was looking to wear that day.

We had almost finished our weeks, and quite a few days had gone by since Callie's Mom's stroke. Her Mom was finally strong enough to leave the ICU, but only yesterday. Her Mother had even made some small progress and had begun to demonstrate meaningful communication, but had Dysarthria, difficulty speaking, as a result of the CVA. So, there was still a lot of rehabilitation to go, especially to get her walking again.

"Arizona?! I don't see it!? Are you sure it's in the dryer?!

I swear sometimes Callie is worse than Sophia when it comes to finding things. That morning I decided to take things under my own volition and went to go look in the dryer, myself. Basically, I was trying to cut to the chase. 

After reaching the laundry room and finding Callie's head buried in the dryer drum, I gently moved her aside to start my own search. In under 10 seconds of looking, I found Callie's blue top.

"Oh, how did I miss that, Arizona? Was it wound up in other clothes and I couldn't see it?"

"Uh huh, looks like it was, Callie. Here." I was trying not to roll my eyes and simultaneously giggle, so I think I flashed my skeptical look at her, before pulling it together and just smiling.

 I kissed Callie's cheek, handed her the shirt and then headed back, to the kitchen. 

Some arguments are just not worth having, although 10 years ago in our relationship, I would have made it a point to tell Callie she missed seeing the shirt altogether. I'd long ago realized in my life, this didn't need to be something big and just nodded, Yes, as I spoke.

"Thanks, honey!" Callie's voice trailed away as I left the laundry room and I heard her slide on the shirt. 

"Mama? Where are we going for lunch today?" We'd had a longstanding tradition of taking Sophia out to lunch on her last day of school, every year.

I was back in the kitchen and had just given Sophia her breakfast. That particular morning, she had asked for cereal. It was a relief I could be lazy and not cook, but I can't say that I was thrilled with Callie's cereal purchase that week.

We usually buy Sophia cereal with low sugar added, but Callie had splurged and bought a box that had marshmallows and lord knows what other sugar-coated treats hidden inside. If there was a prize inside that cereal box, it should have been a bag of sugar cubes. It was the only thing I could think of that could compete with the high-fructose content of the cereal itself.

Callie claimed the cereal was for our daughter, but I had periodically noticed my wife, hiding in the pantry, eating handfuls from the cereal box when she thought I wasn't looking that week.

Oh well, it's Sophia's last day of school I thought, as I poured her milk over the now glistening marshmallows. Just then, Callie, now wearing her blue top and no longer just her bra, joined us.

"What's for breakfast, Sophia? Ohhh, that looks delicious!" I could literally see Callie's eyes light-up like a slot machine when she saw Soph's cereal bowl. I already knew the cereal purchase was more for Callie than our oldest, but she had just confirmed my suspicions.