The Next Day
Rose woke up to her husband's stunning blue eyes looking down at her.
"Morning, angel," he said.
"Good morning, darling. How are you feeling?"
"Better. Thanks again."
"Jack, can we go to Mother's house now?"
"Yes, but wouldn't you want to get ready first?" he asked, smiling.
"I know that, Jack." She smiled. "Go tell the kids to get ready, please."
"All right, love."
Rose wore a pale yellow dress.
"You look absolutely gorgeous," Jack said, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Not bad for a twenty-eight-year-old mom of four, huh?"
"Not at all. To me, you're still the fiery seventeen-year-old girl I once knew."
"And to me, you're still the twenty-year-old, adventurous, starving artist."
"Whew. Good. I thought I was aging quite a bit," he said.
She laughed.
"Well, I've been meaning to comment on that," she said, joking.
He threw a pillow at her.
"Ya know, you shouldn't start something that you're going to lose," said Rose.
They had a quick pillow fight.
He was now on top of her, tickling her.
"Jack! Stop!" She laughed.
Josie walked in. "Gosh, and it's not even dark yet!"
Jack looked up.
He got off of Rose and helped her up.
"And what exactly does that mean, young lady?" Rose asked.
"Oh, nothing. Now, are we going or not?" Josie asked.
"Yes, we're going, and Rose, you may want to fix your hair," Jack said, laughing.
"You two are so immature. Sometimes I wonder if y'all are really my parents," Josie said.
"Oh, really?" he asked, and started tickling her, too.
"Dad! Stop!" She laughed.
"Gosh, you look just like your mother," he said.
Rose smiled proudly.
"Yeah, I know, and I'm proud of it," said Josephine.
"Well, you should be. Your mother is beautiful," he said.
"Okay. I'm ready. Let's go," Rose said.
About twenty minutes later, they were at Ruth's house.
"Rose! Darling!" she exclaimed, and hugged her daughter.
"Jack, I'm sorry we couldn't make it to the funeral. We just got back from Denver last night."
"It's okay, Ruth," he said, and embraced her.
"Where's Tuffy?" Rose asked.
"In the sitting room," she answered.
"Hi, Grandma!" the kids said, in unison.
"Hey, Tuffy," Jack and Rose said.
"Hey!" he said, not looking up from the paper he was reading.
Josie, Lizzy, and Alex ran upstairs, and Cora and Ruth walked into the sitting room.
They had a wonderful time visiting.
Cora, the twins, and Alex wanted to stay with Ruth and Tuffy.
That gave Jack and Rose some time alone.
At around midnight, they got into the car and left.
"Rose, are you okay?" he asked, once they were at their house.
They were in the living room, sitting on the couch.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just tired."
"Well, I don't want to keep you up all night," he said.
He picked her up.
"Jack, what are you doing?"
"I'm carrying my love to bed."
"Don't hurt your back."
"I may not be twenty anymore, but I can still carry you."
He reached their room and set her down on the bed.
"I love you, Rose."
"I love you, too, Jack."