10 Just another Saturday

After leaving the mall, Alan drove to the grocery store near their house so they can grab groceries for the next two meals. They both walked into the grocery store together and Alan broke away to grab a cart for shopping while Ashley headed over to the vegetables/fruits section to pick out ingredients.

"What are we having? You haven't told me yet what you wanted." Ashley asked.

"Beef braised noodles for brunch tomorrow. For tonight: Crab and fish maw soup, sautéed kale, and fried salt and pepper buttered calamari."

"Okay, lets grab the stuff so we can head home and you can relax after your long week."

Alan smiled at her, "These are the days I appreciate having you as a wife so much. I don't need to do anything but relax and I get to sit down to a nice warm home cooked meal. My perfect wife. What would I do without you?"

"You don't need to butter me up, your calamari will be buttered. Besides, I've done this for the past four years. Its the least a wife could do for her husband."

Alan gave her a big smile. They finished up grabbing what they needed for the two meals and checked out before heading home. Alan carried all the groceries in as Ashley went to the closet to get changed. When she finished, she walked out to the kitchen to sort out and organize what they bought on their shopping trip while Alan carried the bright orange bag from Ashley's shopping trip into their bedroom before changing and walking back out to the living room.

He normally would be on his laptop catching up on news and answering quick emails and/or important emails while Ashley cooked but since he needed to start wooing his wife, he didn't take his laptop out today. Instead, he turned on the TV as a distraction and readied himself to finally try wooing a female. He had no experience in trying to please anyone since he never had the time nor determination to invest in a significant other. He wasn't quite sure how to start...

"Did you get everything that you wanted at the mall today?"

"Yeah, I just wanted a couple of new accessories for my bags."

"You didn't want to look for any new handbags?"

"Well, it would have been nice to look around but its fine that we didn't look either. I can just email or text my regular sales guy to see if there is anything in stock similar to my taste."

"I see...you talk to them often?"

"They normally notify me when something comes in that they think I will like. Most of the time I don't have to browse but its fun browsing. I like being surrounded by new fashion."

"Well the closet does say it all. I only get a nice 20% of my walk-in closet while you take the rest and your own walk-in."

Ashley thought he was asking for more space for him to put in stuff, "Did you need me to get rid of some stuff for you to have more room?"

"No, you keep it. You are the one that goes shopping for me anyways. Its not like I'm into that stuff."

"Thats right. I haven't really bought anything new for you lately. I will have to go look around when I have some spare time."

"Let me know, I will go with you."

Ashley looked over from the kitchen while prepping for dinner. "Is everything okay with you? You never want to go shopping with me. You complained that I took too long before."

Alan chuckled. "You do take too long but I have more free time nowadays. My company is doing well and I have been expanding to different industries already. The foundation is there already, I don't have to work as hard as before. Now, i feel like i need to give more time to my wife. I feel like I haven't given you much."

"The reason you married me was because you didn't want to spend time on a lady. I don't need much. Im content with my life."

"That's the thing. I don't want you to be content. I want you to be happy. I want my wife to be the happiest woman in the world and now I have the time to make that happen."

Ashley was pretty touched at Alan's words. She looked over and smiled at him gently. Although she knew she still wanted the fairytale romance she always dreamed of as a kid, she was hit by reality so many times that she just never thought about it much. She knew Alan was a dependable gentleman but she never thought of him as "The One" since he made it clear that he was all business and no romance in the beginning. During these four years, it wasn't that she never felt anything for him, she just didn't let herself get to close in fear of disappointment. She didn't want to rely on anyone anymore in case she would lose them and Alan made it clear that romance wasn't what he wanted. If that was the case, why fall for someone who didn't want love and have her expectations of a nice love life get crushed?

"Dinner will be ready soon. Did you want to take a shower or answer any emails first?"

Alan was a little disappointed that she did not give any response, instead she changed the subject on him. How was he supposed to advance when she left no room for him to move? He went up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She turned around out of shock and he planted a light kiss on her mouth.

"I will take a quick shower." He smiled and left without another word. This is a good start, he thought to himself. Shower her with affection and love and eventually she will be mine. She was already his wife, now all he had to do is make her all his - body, mind and heart. It cant be too hard, can it? After all, he already created something so successful out of nothing when no one thought he could. It would be just like that; creating something out of nothing, except in this case, he already had a foundation. He was legally already married to her.

Ashley looked at his retreating figure for another couple of seconds before snapping out of her daze. She wasn't used to these little acts of endearment and she didn't know what to do and if she should reciprocate. This was something new to their relationship and she wasn't yet quite sure how she wanted to respond. Should she also try to cozy up to him and try to take their relationship to another level? If it didn't work out, the comfortable life that they had now probably would never be the same. Should she risk this life of comfort for a chance at creating her fairytale romance with her husband?