Love Today (64 page)

He shrugged. “Maybe so. But no,
your surprise isn’t
the hamster that Maggie
desperately
wants.”

I rolled my eyes at the little girl voice he added for extra measure but it made me chuckle.

He was leading me into the family room by then a
nd said, “Okay, close your eyes, my beautiful wife.
”

I was hesitant at first, but the smile on his face made me curious. I closed my eyes and he led me by the elbow deeper into the room. When I seemed to be facing the right way he said, “Open them.”

I did and it was hard to miss what the surprise was. Sitting above the fireplace mantle was a colorful piece of
metal
art that read:
Love Today
.

“Oh
my gosh
,” I whispered. It was just a simple
configuration
colors
—four feet wide and two feet tall—a
nd two perfect
words on it
.

“Looks good in here, huh?” Jared beamed.

It looked amazing. We didn’t have a rainbow of colors in our house, but the family room had a lot of red in it
—the couches and the curtains
. The mix of colors on the art was just the
right
compliment to the room.

“It’s gorgeous,” I answered. “And so very suiting.”

“
I figured the
family motto should be displayed in
our home
.”

The gate buzzer signified that my mom and Maggie were here, so Jared left me in the room for a moment while he answered the door
with the baby
. I was kind of in awe at how one piece of décor could complete a room so easily.

Maggie absolutely loved it. In fact, “Love Today” was her favorite song of Jared’s and they sang it together all the time. She could even play it on the piano by herself
, and Jared had been working with her so she could play it and sing it at the same time
.

When my mom left, the four of us sat on the couch in the family room,
enjoying our new piece of art. What was left of d
inner was spread over the coffee table
and we were all full, but more importantly, I think the amount of love in the room is what filled me the most.

Jared had Dane in airplane mode and brought him down for a slobbery landing.
I was braiding Maggie’s hair when she said, “Mommy,
should I name my hamster Bruce,
Lynyrd
,
or Zeppelin?”

I was amused by the name choices and could only assume that was Jared’s influence. “You think you’re getting a hamster, huh?”

“Daddy said I could.”

My mouth dropped open in playful disapproval as Jared was silently trying to tell her to zip it. I narrowed my eyes at him and said, “Well when Daddy writes a song about a cute little hamster and performs it on stage,
then
you can get one.”

Maggie giggled, thinking I was just joking.

But Jared knew I was not. He dropped his head back against the couch and groaned. “You are so cruel
to me.” He turned to Maggie and quietly said, “Fine, the hamster is out,
Mags
. I guess we’ll go with the pair of rats instead.”

“
Ew
! Mommy hates rats!”

“Which will make the song even funnier,” he grinned.

Maggie laughed, especially when he began making up lyrics on the spot, using his finger to move Dane’s mouth at the same time. I was trying not to be too impressed that they were making fun of me so well, but it was hard not to laugh.

When Jared put a baby blanket on the floor for Dane to play on, Maggie laid on her stomach to join him. I scooted next to my husband and he held me close, but I couldn’t help but whisper, “Your song is going to be a mood killer
when I’m
between the sheets from now on.
I won’t stop thinking about what else is crawling in my bed.
”

He raised an eyebrow
and then dropped his head against the couch
. “What the
hell
is wrong with me
?” he scolded himself quietly.

“Not thinking with the right instrument, apparently.”

He grinned and looked at me closely. “Well that can change in half a beat.”

He kissed me passionately just as the dog let out a gigantic fart.

“Or not,” he added dryly.

“
Ewwwww
!” Maggie squealed.

I was laughing hysterically as Jared grabbed the baby and we all made a beeline for the exit.

We could love today in another room.

The End