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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Sunday morning

Rupert had been working on the review throughout the night. He was so absorbed by the work that morning had come by without him being fully aware of it. He was startled when he heard footsteps coming from the staircase.

"Morning Rupert," Sylvia said as she stepped off the last of the steps and walked to where Rupert was.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"I managed. You didn't come to bed at all last night, you must be exhausted," she said.

"Exhausted is an understatement. I'm almost done though. I just have to construct the presentation, so I'll probably finish today."

Sylvia stood in front of Rupert and stretched out her arms.

"You need a hug. Come here."

Rupert closed his laptop, put it on the couch, stood up and hugged his wife. They hugged for almost a minute without a word being spoken by either one of them.

Rupert then broke the hug, gently, and held Sylvia's hands.

"Thanks, I needed that. I feel much better now. All I need now is a shower."

"Well, go take one then, honey. I'll make breakfast," she said and kissed him on the cheek.

Rupert went upstairs and took a shower. While Rupert was in the shower, Jane woke up. She jumped out of bed, full of excitement, and went downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Hi Mommy," she said upon entering the kitchen.

"Hi Jane. Did you sleep well, dear?"

"Yes, mommy. What are you making for breakfast?"

"I'm making egg and sausage, dear."

"I can't wait. It smells good," Jane said.

She looked around the kitchen and looked back at her mother.

"Where is Daddy?"

"He is taking a shower and he'll be down soon."

"Okay. What's the day today," she asked.

"It's Sunday," she replied.

At this point Rupert stood by the kitchen door and decided to listen to their conversation without interrupting them.

"That means yesterday was Saturday," Jane said.

"Yes."

"So why didn't we go out like we always do on Saturdays?"

"Daddy was very busy yesterday, dear. We'll go another day, okay?"

Rupert's heart broke within him as he heard Jane's query. He suddenly realized how little the time he spent with her was, and how the little time he had was being taken away by the review.

"We are going out for lunch today," he said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, Daddy!" Sylvia shouted and ran to Rupert.

He bent down, arms outstretched, and caught her, lifting her up and holding her in his arms.

"We are going today, Jane. Does that make you happy?"

"Yes."

Rupert felt his guilt subside and a feeling of pride replaced it.

"You do need to take a break, honey. Good decision," Sylvia said.

"Yes. That and the fact that I miss spending time with my family."

"Yeah, you have been rather distant these last couple of days," Sylvia said.

"True, but don't worry. I'm almost done and I promise to make it up to you."

"Okay. Breakfast is almost ready. You and Jane can go sit at the table now while I finish up."

"Don't you need some help?"

"No. It's okay, I've got this," she said.

Rupert and Jane went out of the kitchen and sat at the dining table. Rupert took out his phone and gave it to Jane.

"Let's play that game that you love so much."

"Snake?"

"Yes. Let's play Snake and see who can grow their snake the most," he said.

"Yeah!"

She opened the game. The two played the game for minutes while Sylvia came and set the table for breakfast. Then Sylvia brought the meal to the table and they ate.

Jane took the opportunity to share her stories from pre-school with her parents while they ate.

After eating breakfast, Jane went to her room to play with her toys and Rupert helped Sylvia clean up and move the dishes to the kitchen. He also insisted on helping her wash the dishes.

"Honey, do you remember what I told you about making recipe books?"

"Yes. You said that you had quite a big following on your cooking blog and that you wanted to sell recipe books, right? How's that coming along?"

"I've finished two, actually. The ebooks are selling quite well," she said.

"Good for you, honey. I can see that it's making you happy. Look, if you need any kind of assistance, just tell me. I'm here for you and I'm proud of you, okay?"

"I know, honey, and thank you," she said and squeezed his hand.

"I've always wanted to do this," she added.

It took them almost an hour to finish washing the dishes, as they took their time and conversed.

Upon completion, Rupert went back to his laptop and continued working on the review. Sylvia also took her laptop out and worked on her cooking blog. The two silently worked on their laptops for hours. Sylvia only took a break to wash herself and Jane.

When she came back from the bathroom, Rupert had shut his laptop and was standing up in the lounge.

"I think it's time we get going now."

He stretched his body.

"I'll go and get Jane," Rupert added.

"Okay, I'll close the windows down here. Will you close the bedroom windows while you are upstairs?"

"Sure."

Rupert went upstairs.

He entered his and Sylvia's bedroom first and closed the windows. He then proceeded to the guest bedroom and then the bathroom, and closed their windows. Lastly, he went into Jane's bedroom, closed the windows and took her with him.

The two came downstairs just as Sylvia closed the last of the windows in the lounge.

"Ready?"

"Let's go," Sylvia said.

The three went out of the house. Rupert and Jane went to the garage. Sylvia was the last to enter the car because she had stayed behind locking the house's front and back doors. The car reversed out of the garage and onto the street, and then drove off toward the city.