The Mansion

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She bent at the waist, turning off the light on an end table, plunging the Great Room into darkness. Her bare feet, clad in the ever present fuzzy socks, glided across the wooden floors without a sound as she made her way into Study, wrapping her arms around M's neck from behind. She laid her cheek against his neck, turning her head to kiss his jaw for a moment.

"Good-Night, darling. I hope everything goes well tonight. Just come and join me when you're done but you can keep your cold feet to yourself."

She teased him and kissed his cheek, her arms tightening around him briefly.

"Oh! And don't forget to turn our clocks back an hour. I want that extra hour of snuggle time."

Another kiss and she sauntered out of the room, headed for bed.
 
He felt the familiar softness of her arms around his neck, her tender cheek, and her lovely lips planting a kiss against his jaw, making him turn and smile at her.

"You sleep well, baby. And dream naughty. I'll join you in a few hours. Hopefully soon."

He raised a brow at her last comment but then broke into a grin.

"Cold feet? I ain't got no cold feet, darling."

He leaned back against her, reaching a hand upwards to stroke her cheek before kissing it and caressing her hair as she gripped him tightly.

"Good Night, My Love."

He watched her disappear from the Study and smiled, concentrating back on his work.
 
He leans back in his chair for a moment before getting up, flips a button on his desk and exits the study, heading towards the kitchen in search of Cait.

This is playing in the background and can be heard all over the Mansion for the next two minutes.
 
There are flowers on the kitchen counter, settled amidst a sea of unfrosted and frosted cupcakes. Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, cinnamon - and a slew of others. The fruitful work of a woman trying to keep her mind preoccupied. The flowers are a mix of wildflowers - pretty stalks of bluebonnets and bright yellow sunflowers, along with whites and oranges and pinks. They brighten up the kitchen, drawing the sunlight to their delicate petals through one of the windows.

She stands at the kitchen sink, staring out the window with her arms immersed in soapy dish water. There are already dishes laid out on drying mats on the counter, and no doubt there is a maid somewhere with nothing to do because she'd been shooed away from the dishes. Cleaning had always been therapeutic to her, the monotonous task of washing the dishes or hanging the laundry, or organizing the cabinets. It was something she found solace in, the easiness of it all.

A plate is lifted, a sponge swiped over it once, twice, three times. Flipped over, done again. Then she dunks it in the water and repeats the exact same process two more times. For a total of three. It's then settled into the other side of the sink for rinsing. Each dish - be it plate, cup, silverware, pan, bowl - is all washed the same. Three swipes of the sponge on each side and then dunked into the water and repeated two more times.

Growing up, she'd been diagnosed with OCD. It was something she'd struggled with and, with the help of therapy, had learned to be a little less controlling. Over time her need to follow her patterns had lessened, her desire to do everything in multiples of three had become less severe. Her capacity to deal with both the OCD and the death of her brother seemed limited, and she was losing control of her normally well-maintained handle on herself.

Ironic that somebody with an obsessive need to control was losing their grip on control.

The obsessive dish washing was soothing, though. She let herself sink into it and it kept her from falling into the deep dark hole of depression that seemed to be lingering just beyond every footstep.

She was fast coming to the conclusion that this wasn't something she could do on her own anymore. She needed something. Someone.
 
*bangs her head on her desk then goes to make a nice hot cup of pomegranate and raspberry tea and hunts down a zen moment.*
 
My work here is done *bows to them both* :D

*puts a pillow on her desk to prevent brain damage from head banging* :rose:

*smiles* Thank you, Raven. I can always count on you for a smile too. You're a good man. *kisses his cheek in appreciation*
 
Veterans Day

I just want to take a moment and say Thank You to all our military service personnel, those that serve now and those who have already given their time and to the many who have given their lives.

Without people willing to fight for what we believe in and the principles of freedom we all hold so dearly, I don't know where this country would be, other than in a very dark place.

I'd also like to thank the families who hold down the fort on the homefront so our service personnel can do the jobs they trained for without worrying too much. Being a military family is not easy by any stretch of the imaginaton. They are the glue that holds a family together. It seems like a thankless job at times, a lonely one, requires a strength that you sometimes wonder where the strength is going to come from. It has been and continues to be, an honor to have been part of that community.

It is a continual honor to work for our veterans.

Your time, your sacrifices, have not been in vain.

Thank you.

:rose::rose::rose::rose::rose::rose:
 
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