The alarm blared, piercing the silence of their cosy apartment. Lucy groaned, reaching out to hit snooze, but her hand met empty air. Panic seized her as she realised she must have knocked the alarm off the nightstand during the night.
"Dan!" she yelled, shaking her husband awake. "Did we oversleep?"
Dan bolted upright, his eyes wide with alarm. "What time is it?" he asked frantically.
"Seven-fifteen!" Lucy exclaimed, already jumping out of bed. "We're going to be late for work!"
They both scrambled out of bed, their feet tangling in the sheets as they rushed to the bathroom.
Last night was their anniversary, hence the got home late from their date and after some lovely couples time together on the bed. They dozed off tired. Only realising it was day time now.
They picked up their toothbrushes and scrubbed their teeth fast like they had a fight with it. Gurgling and spitting out the water they both rushed for the shower. Their hands grabbing the shower nozzle head at the same time as the battle of who would use the shower first began.
"Dan, I need to use the bathroom first!" Lucy exclaimed, pushing past Dan.
"No way, I was here first!" Dan protested, trying to block her path.
"Come on man, I'm going to get fired if I don't get to work on time for my big presentation"
"So pitiful. I have a breakfast meeting with my boss this morning and if I don't get there too and on time I might lose this promotion I'm eyeing for "
"Really?"
"Really."
"So we're going to do this, this morning again babe?. Okay, you know what, let's share the bathroom."
"I would love to again, but you bathe in hot water. You know I don't like it."
"Can't you just sacrifice for just today babe. If I bathe in cold water with you, I'll catch a cold" Lucy said with a pitiful voice and a baby eye.
"Babe, don't use that trick on me. That's cheating. Don't use the cute eyes now" Dan said trying to resist eye contact with her.
"Arrh! Fine, you win," he grumbled. Finally, Dan relented
Lucy smiled, touched by his gesture. "Thanks, Dan. You're the best."
And with that, they both rushed into the bathroom, together. In no time they were done and with the speed of lightning they got dressed and raced to the kitchen with adrenaline coursing through their veins.
But the sight that greeted them halted their mad dash.
Their golden toaster sat on the counter with a slice of bread sticking out of it, like a golden trophy to be won by the best man.
Lucy's heart sank as she realised what this meant. "I placed that in the toaster last night but electricity was interrupted so I left it to bed. So, apparently, that's mine" Lucy explained. Speaking fast like her life depended on the amount of words she said at that moment.
Dan's eyes narrowed in frustration. "Seriously, Lucy?" he said, his voice laced with irritation. "You font want me to share the toast with you? I mean I just sacrificed taking a hot shower with you"
"Not a baby girl's fault, I want to," Lucy shot back, her own frustration bubbling to the surface. "But you know what the doctor said, I need enough breakfast to start my day!"
And again the tension crackled in the air as they glared at each other, neither willing to back down. To Dan he wanted to share, but to Lucy she was an insensitive greedy glutton and didn't want to. In the midst of their standoff, the toaster popped, sending the toast flying into the air.
They both lunged for it, their hands colliding in mid-air. The toast tumbled to the ground, landing butter-side down with a soft thud. Lucy's eyes widened in horror.
"My toast!" she exclaimed, her voice a mix of disbelief and anguish.
"Great, just great, we could have shared" Dan muttered, rubbing his forehead wearily. "Now what are we going to do?"
Lucy's mind raced as she searched for a solution. Suddenly, an idea struck her like lightning.
"Alright, you win, we can share it," she suggested tentatively. "Half for you, half for me. That way, neither of us has to go to work without breakfast. Also it'll be insensitive for me to let my baby go to work with breakfast. I'll brew us some coffee" She placed a kiss on his cheeks.
Dan hesitated for a moment, his expression softening. "Okay," he said finally, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips.
"But next time, let's try not to fight over the shower and toast, alright?"
Lucy gave a hearty laugh. "I can't promise about the shower. I mean we do that everyday, but the toast. I promise."
They both laughed.
They divided the toast with careful precision, each taking their half with a mixture of relief and resignation. As they sat down to eat, the tension that had filled the room moments before dissipated, replaced by a sense of camaraderie.
And with that, they finished their breakfast in companionable silence, ready to face whatever challenges the day might bring, together.
.