Tina and I woke to the sounds of laughter and screaming coming from the back yard. The kids were obviously awake and not in their rooms, the kids occupied the second floor. Tina and I had remodeled the maid’s quarters into one over sized master suite. We didn’t require live in, twenty-four hour servants. Tina and I cooked and did most of the cleaning. We had gardeners to cut the lawn and tend to the flowers and plants. We did however hire a couple maids who came over each day and did the majority of the extra cleaning. They weren’t live in maids, just a couple of women who maintained the house, watered the inside plants, run errands, and answered the door and the phone. We didn’t want our children to be brought up relying on a lot of outside help. They took responsiblilty for cleaning their rooms and washing their clothes and making sure they had what they required.

Our room was the envy of the house. When Tina and I were out on business or a romantic getaway, we often found Summer and Joshua lounging in our room. It had a big sitting room, that had a fifty-seven inch plasma tv, coffee table, loveseat and a couch that folded out into a bed. The sitting room led to the bedroom which housed our king sized bed. Art adorned the walls, along with pictures of the children and our wedding photo along side our twenty year vow renewal photo. Our master bath connected to the oversized closet. We had a standing shower which was created with our sexual activities in mind. An oversized garden tub and a double vanity sink. We had double french doors leading out back to a private garden area, which Tina kept up herself.

Tina snuggled up against me, our legs intertwined and sighed. I could always tell what kind of mood she was in, or what kind of day it would be just by the way she cuddled. If she was angry or upset, she’d face me but cuddle her pillow. If she was sick, she’d face away from me and cuddle her pillow. Contented and very happy, she face me, hold me and rested her head in the nape of my neck. Or if she was just really tired, she wanted me to spoon her. Today, like most nights, she was contented. We were so happy to have our children in the house. Alexander had arrived late, and stayed in his old room, the kids building a fort in the living room. Cassandra and her family stayed as well, we planned a family vacation to Universal Orlando resort.