Николас Спаркс - The Choice

“Lunch is ready,” she said. “But I think I’ll let them play for a few more minutes. They’re having such a good time.”

“They are. They wore me out earlier.”

“Do you think that maybe later, when Stephanie gets here, we can all head over to the aquarium? And maybe have some pizza afterward? I’ve been dying for pizza.”

He smiled, thinking he could stay in this moment forever. “That sounds good. Oh yeah, that reminds me. I forgot to tell you that your mom called when you were in the shower.”

“I’ll call her back in a little while. And I’ve got to call about the heat pump, too. The girls’ room just wouldn’t cool off last night.”

“I can probably fix it.”

“I don’t think so. The last time you tried to fix it, we had to buy a whole new unit. Remember?”

“I remember you didn’t give me enough time.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she teased. She winked at him. “Do you want to eat out here or inside?”

He pretended to debate the question, knowing it wasn’t really important. Here or there, they would all be together. He was with the woman and daughters he loved, and who could ever need or want anything more than that? The sun shone bright, flowers were blooming, and the day would pass with a careless ease that had been impossible to imagine the winter before. It was just a normal day, a day like any other. But most of all, it was a day in which everything was exactly the way it should be.