"Daddy is so weak," I heard the cocky voice of my son in the distance.
"Say that when you can actually beat him in a spar," my daughter immediately replied.
That's my girl! Tell that ungrateful son who's weak! Boy, if I don't beat your ass until you…
Shit.
"Shit," I cursed aloud, alongside my thoughts, as my wife tightened her hold on my body, especially my neck.
Is she really trying to knock me out? Did I do something to make her angry without knowing? Baby! It's just a spar!
And with that thought, I passed out.
******
"Sorry, babe," my wife said to me, although her smile stretched from ear to ear, indicating she didn't really mean her words.
I should have known better. Why would my wife, who typically dislikes strenuous physical activities like sparring, suddenly suggest we spar after returning from work?
"So, tell me, what's your excuse for not buying the groceries?" my wife asked.
Shit! Was I supposed to do that?!
It was the moment I saw the smile on Anna's face lose its warmth that I realised I had messed up.
"I'm sorry, dear," I sincerely apologised. There was no way I was going to argue with my wife or try to defend myself when I was clearly in the wrong. I also couldn't confess I didn't know I was supposed to buy the groceries.
"Hmph! But I told you this morning to get them, didn't I?" Anna stated with her arms crossed as she glared at me.
"Wait, you did?" I muttered subconsciously before realising it.
Heavens, no.
And that was how I spent the next few minutes listening to my wife's rants while my children made fun of me in the distance.
******
"Okay, baby, I'm ready," Anna said as she slowly descended the stairs to the sitting room.
Even though my wife was in her thirties, man, she was still as hot as when I first met her. Anna had hazel eyes, long black hair that almost reached her backside, dark skin, a slightly chubby physique that only helped highlight her curves, and she stood at a height of 5'4, which was relatively short compared to someone like me who was 6'2.
My tall height meant nothing to Anna, though. If she wanted, she could get me on my knees real fast. This is not because I had no backbone or anything; my wife's power level is just too high.
Having a wife is scary, man; having kids, though, is scarier and more beautiful.
"We're ready as well, Daddy," I heard my daughter's voice almost immediately after my wife's voice dropped.
Turning my head to the staircase, I saw my daughter and son coming downstairs to the sitting room as well. Seeing that my son's hair was still slightly wet and the clean-looking clothes my kids wore, I figured they had both taken their bath. However, wasn't it only Anna and I who were supposed to go to the mall?
"Mia, why are you and your brother both dressed up?" Anna asked as she came to stand beside me on the couch. Anna didn't carry anything apart from her phone, which was understandable given the place we were going—a mall. But why were we going to a mall?
Well, the only way I could save my ears from my wife's rants, which were probably going to last until the next day and act as an excuse for her to deny me touching her, was to suggest that we head to the mall to buy our groceries.
Today is Friday, marking the start of the weekend, and I was not ready to wake up tomorrow morning when I should be resting or writing for my novel drafts, only to go grocery shopping instead.
Since my wife and I had not gone out in a while for any activity, I figured I could use this opportunity to drive us out and let both of us get some fresh air together. However, it seems there was going to be a little change of plans, as it seemed that my kids had the impression of going out with us.
"We want to go to the mall as well!" Mia replied to her mother, while I gestured to my son to get my car keys from the centre table in the living room.
Collecting the key from David's hand, I turned to look at my wife and spoke.
"Let's all just go out as a family. It's been a long time," I said to my wife with a smile, and the slight hesitation on her face washed away as she gave a reply.
"Okay, baby," she said as she started instructing the kids to make sure the windows downstairs were locked and nothing too power-draining or something that needed supervision was turned on.
From Anna's initial hesitation just now, I could tell that she was really looking forward to having some alone time with me. It was the same for me as well.
However, seeing as I did not even have enough time to interact with my family as a whole due to everyone being busy with one thing or another—me being busy with my books, my wife being busy as a teacher in an all-girls college, and my kids being busy with school—we had no time for ourselves as a family apart from when we all somehow ended up in the gym.
I'll take her out to dinner tomorrow.
Having decided what to do to make it up to my wife so we can finally get that well-deserved "we" time, we finally left the house after Anna confirmed that the windows downstairs were closed and no unnecessary appliances were turned on.