After Ever After

Chapter Eight

Tiana and Naveen's House

Monday Morning

Naveen moved about the kitchen as quiet as a church mouse, gathering cutlery and the finest set of china they owned from the cupboard. He arranged the porcelain plate in the middle of the serving tray, tucked a folded silk napkin underneath it, placed the matching tea cup next to the napkin, and lastly put the silverware on top of the napkin. On the other side of the tray, he set a tiny vase of daisies. He smiled to himself, thinking his display was a nice one. Simple, but nice.

On the plate, he placed two slices of cinnamon French toast, scrambled eggs, and sausage links. He poured hot chocolate into the teacup, then drizzled in a healthy amount of caramel sauce, and topped it off with a dollop of whipped cream and more caramel sauce. His smile grew even bigger feeling a sense of pride swell in his chest. With careful hands he picked up the tray and made his way out of the kitchen, going up to the bedroom where his wife still slept.

I hope Tiana likes this, thought Naveen as he glanced down at the tray again. He normally didn't make Tiana breakfast; the closest thing he'd make for breakfast was anything that could go into a toaster oven. Besides, Tiana would always get up early enough to take care of that. But lately Tiana had been working so hard, damn near wearing herself down to almost nothing, it was the least he could do.

Using his back to push the door open, Naveen entered the still dim bedroom. His wife remained sleeping peacefully, bundled underneath the comforter; a few of her wild black curls slipped out of her silk bonnet and tumbled onto her forehead. Naveen set the tray on the nightstand, then leaned over to place a delicate kiss on his wife's forehead. "Good morning mi princessa."

Tiana snorted in response. Naveen chuckled to himself, grabbed the blankets, and snatched them off of Tiana's body. The sudden feeling of cool air stirred her from her sleep; she glared up at Naveen through half-lidded eyes. "Naveen, what're you doin'?"

Naveen settled the tray onto her lap, cut her slice of French toast, and held it up to her lips. "I am being a good husband, as always," he quipped with a flirty wink as he fed her. He watched her face, waiting for it to contort into pure disgust. However, she hummed in satisfaction and chewed really slow as if she were savoring the flavor. "Is it good?"

She nodded. "So good honey, thank you," she opened her mouth for more. Naveen happily obliged, feeding her in complete silence with the exception of her occasional humming. After finishing her breakfast, Tiana sipped on her hot chocolate. "I guess you're finally learning a thing or two in the kitchen, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess I am. Maybe you'll let me do more than just mince at the restaurant, yes?" He pushed her bonnet off her head, lazily poking his fingers through her hair. His hand found the sensitive spot at the base of her skull and began to scratch. Tiana wiggled her toes, appreciating the gesture.

"You keep that up, you're going to make me stay home," she said.

"That might not be a bad idea," Naveen pressed his other hand to her cheek. "You need to get some rest, Tiana."

"I get plenty of rest," she chuckled when he made a face at her. "What? I do! I slept pretty well last night," she pushed herself out of bed, heading towards the master bathroom.

Naveen ran his hand down his face and sighed. "That was last night. What about every other night this week? You've been going to bed at odd hours and then going right back to work. You're seriously going to kill yourself, Tiana."

Tiana was already brushing her teeth and preparing to wash her face, "Well Colette is opening for me this morning, so today won't be so bad."

Naveen started to say something but then decided otherwise. He knew no matter how hard he tried to persuade his princess that she needed to rest, she would only blow him off in return.