Chapter 1.18: Winterfest Baby
"Hey..." Charley whispered and she leaned into her husband for a quick peak on the cheek. "We did it. We did the thing. Go back to sleep, I got first shift."
Akira agreed, he wasn't about to complain. They were up awoken at 2:40 by Charley going into labor and then they were at the hospital until 5 am. It might've been find had they not gotten home around 11:30 from the library. He kissed his wife and son goodnight and crawled back into bed.
Luckily for both of them, today was Winterfest, so neither of them had to worry about going into work.
Charley loved her husband, very much. But her love for Archer went beyond what she thought was capable. And while her love was overflowing for her son, Archer seemed to be tolerate of his parent's overbearing affection.
True to his name, he made sure his parents experienced plenty of sticky butts especially on this festive holiday.
It would've been a perfect time to go visit her parents, but with their lack of sleep and a newborn to care for, it was hard to squeeze a time to make the trip. And unfortunately their home was far too small to host anyone comfortably.
Charley took some time to herself to go painting in the rain, and churned out her first masterpiece. This should easily help pay off my debt. She thought, calculating roughly how much she had saved versus what she still owed. Not to mention the new add-on the needed make for Archer's room. Perhaps she should try painting another one before she laid back down.
After listing two more paintings on her Plopsy store, she headed back inside and crawled into bed. Both of the men in her life were fast asleep and she hoped that one of them would stay that way, just a little longer.
And so as it goes, Archer had other plans in mind. And soon, daddy was wrapped around his finger, bidding to all his every want and need.
Since it was his turn to be on Archer duty, Akira thought it'd be a nice treat if he were to make a Winterfest meal for the two of them, while his wife napped. Being new to this whole parenting thing, he wasn't surprised that the aroma of his honeyed ham wasn't enough to rouse his wife from her nap. Though he will argue that he did spot some drool in the corner of her mouth.
When Charley woke up from her nap, they had their own little private celebration while sharing a meal. Charley opened her present from Akira first. Inside was a brand new book about the in's and out's of parenting. Akira was proud of that purchase, but Charley couldn't help but wonder if it was because he wanted to read it too.
Akira was next, and Charley was so proud of her gift, that she didn't even watch him open it. Tiny home problems.
Due to the limited amount of time between last night and today with Archer squeezing his way into their lives, she didn't have the time to go out and buy a new computer. But she did remember him telling her about the various collections he was working on expanding. So she got him a couple unique fossils to add to his collection.
Both of them were grateful to each other. Neither of them had expected much from the other. Charley only wished that she could do more. It wasn't like they didn't have the money, but she also owed 32k on her loan. So they couldn't expand too much or build anything more substantial.
"I'm sorry, we have to live like this." She admitted. "But I kinda have this debt that I acquired when I first moved here. But my priorities have sorta shifted since I first moved here. Now I want to build a nice home for our growing family."
"You don't need to apologize for anything, Char. I married you because I love you and I want to go on this adventure with you. If that means that we live in a tiny house for the first years, then so be it. Let's get your debt paid off and then we can start planning on expanding."
Charley nodded feeling a little better. "Here's the thing. I don't think I want to live in Del Sol after I've finished paying off my debt. What would you say to buying a nice home out in Windenburg?"
Akira reached over and touched her cheek, turning her face towards his. "As long as we are together with our family, I will follow you anywhere." He whispered as he kissed her lightly. "But Windenburg sounds pleasant, and I'm sure the kids will enjoy growing up there as well."
Feeling better about having a plan, she sat back to enjoy the rest of her meal.
The front door suddenly swung open and lightning struck in the distance. If it were anyone other than Father Winter, Charley was certain they were about to meet their end. But fortunately they weren't in a horror movie and it was just Father Winter paying his annual visit.
"Merry Winterfest!" He laughed merrily as he entered. "Awful weather out there."
"Ah, Father, welcome to our tiny home..." Charley greeted. "Uh... make yourself at home?"
Father Winter started restocking their tiny gift pile before he turned to leave.
Charley suddenly had an idea. "I'll be right back, dear!" She said quickly getting dressed and chasing Father Winter outside.
"Uh Father, I know this might be a little much to ask, but would it be possible..." She lowered her voice to a hushed whisper, as she heard the door creak open.
Akira came out to check the mail when he noticed that he wife was oddly close to Father Winter. His jealously reared it's ugly head and he turned to huff away when...
He walked straight into a mud puddle.
As he was brushing the mud off his jeans, Father Winter approached with a gift in hand. "Merry Winterfest Akira. Your lovely wife put in a good word for you, so take care of it."
Akira covered in mud in water and stinking horribly, took a moment to peek behind Father Winter to see that his wife had already headed back inside. He opened the box to find a brand new PC. And suddenly he realized that he deserved to slip in the mud just now, because he certainly didn't deserve her love or affection after that. "Thank you, Father. I'll be sure to thank her."
He headed inside, "You. I don't deserve you..." He smiled lovingly towards his wife. "Thank you for this..." He motioned to the the new PC.
"I would've bought one myself but it was a little short notice." She laughed, moving over to give him a quick kiss, but instead wrinkled her nose at the smell. "What happened to you?" She laughed looking him over.
"I kinda slipped in a puddle..." He replied embarrassingly.
There was a slight twinkle in Charley's eye as she gave his jacket a light tug, "Well perhaps we should get you cleaned up then."
And thus, Winterfest came to an end. Bellies fully and hearts full of love. Who knows what the next one will have in store.
Merry Winterfest
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