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Chapter 361: SS4 08: The Homecoming Fun Package

Eve set up the tent in the middle of the living room. The opening faced the mounted LED TV on the wall. A portable stove served as their bonfire for meals. She laid on her stomach on the sleeping bag, her shoulders up to her head peeking out to stir on the pot of noodles.

Ambryan came with two glasses of fruit juice. He crossed his legs and sat on the floor. The both of them had changed into their pajamas. "I don't think this is a healthy diet."

"It's only one serving and only for tonight," Eve defended. "It's fine as long as I don't stuff myself with it. As agreed, you'll be in charge of food starting tomorrow. But today, I feast!"

Her fork went up in the air as she paused. "Moderately, that is."

Offering her the drink, Eve took a sip. "You think the baby will like camping when they grow up?"

They had drawn the curtains over windows and glass doors. The residence had become their personal bubble. It secured them from the outside world and any disturbances. Soft music played from Eve's phone. It was as good as dining out for the evening.

"Why do you ask?" Ambryan said. He scooted closer until he sat beside the portable stove with his back against the tent. Eve's arm would occasionally graze his knee as she cooked. "Do you like camping? You didn't even want set up the tent outside."

"Because it could rain."

"It could always rain if we camp outside."

"Not if we check the weather first. Then, the chances are minimal." Eve stirred the noodles one last time and tapped the fork on the side of the pot. She scrambled to get up. "Aanndd! Done. Let's eat!"

Concerned about his wife's diet, Ambryan decided to eat most of the noodles. That was the only way he could think of to lower her intake. Eve turned on the TV for a movie. Each of them had small bowls, chopsticks and soup spoons.

The opening scenes of the movie played on the mounted TV. 

Ambryan, focused on eating quickly, missed several minutes. He ate until a small portion was left. His shoulders finally sagged in relief. He stretched his mouth to massage his jaw. Dull pain gnawed on either of it due to eating harshly.

By the time his eyes glanced at the TV, the old woman was talking on the phone and the person on the other line was on a ship. 

.

``Can you tell me who the woman in the picture is?```

```Oh yes. The woman in the picture is me.```

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"If there is nudity in this movie, I refuse to watch it," Ambryan told Eve, not realizing what the movie was yet. "I don't think it's good for the baby."

"Ssshh," she replied back. "This is educational."

.

```Are you ready to go back to Titanic?```

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Ambryan snapped his head in her direction. "Eve, you're not serious"

"Ssshh," Eve insisted. She scooped out more noodles from the pot. "This is research."

"This is revenge for not playing along with you on the cruise ship."

"Aw, come on. I am not that petty." She looked at her husband through the corner of her eye. The expression on his face told her that he didn't believe it. "Okay. I am not always that petty. Happy? But I'm not lying either. After our movie is out, you need to think about the next great romance movie. Tragedies should be a good idea. They leave a lasting impression."

Ambryan shifted his focus back on the movie. The first part had finished and the storytelling had begun. The bright sun shone down on the magnificent ship. People boarded it according to their class. 

Then, it cut to a poker game near the docks.

"Nope. We're not watching this. I don't want the baby to be interested in gambling."

Eve hung her mouth open. 

She set the bowl down and nudged the portable stove out of the way. Dropping to her hands and knees, she crawled up to Ambryan. Her brown eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Mr. Hathaway. Are you going to be like this until the baby comes out?"

"Of course not," he retorted. "Babies are fragile and need extra care. The responsibility doesn't stop after you give birth. If anything, it's just the beginning."

"I still think you're overreacting."

"I'm just being cautious."

"We can skip this scene then. Not like I haven't seen it." Eve sighed. Since she let him win this round, maybe he'd be more lenient as the movie progressed. She grabbed the remote and pressed the fast forward button. 

"Skip over any drinking too."

"That part needs to be skipped over."

"Nope. You can't watch this scene."

Eve felt more exhausted than relaxed from his shenanigans. She threw her hands up in the air, yelling, "Fine! Let's change the movie. Something family friendly. Cartoons like Cloudy with a Chance of Spaghetti."

"I already don't like the sound of that," Ambryan remarked. Just from the title, he could infer that it was food-related. A food movie meant gluttony. Gluttony was unhealthy. Therefore, the movie was unhealthy. 

"You pick the movie then." Eve handed him the remote and rose to her feet. It was better to have him do his evaluations before they watched anything. The comments were just running the movie experience. "While you decide, I'll go slice some fruit."

Ambryan had no response. He moved on to the task at hand, flipping through the recommended movies for children. A deep scowl creased his forehead as if he faced a complicated math problem. Bright colors and advanced cinematic photography tried to capture his attention.

But those were irrelevant to him.

Eve came back with a tray full of watermelon and pineapple. A new movie was shown on TV. The opening played out as a cartoon, listing names of the cast and crew. Two kids ran around as tiny as ants to add to the entertainment.

"Really?" Eve arched an eyebrow at the LED screen. "You picked 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'?"

Ambryan pointed the remote towards the TV. His eyes were glued to the screen, nostalgia swelling up inside of him. "It's imaginative, has adventure and more fantasy than real. It has a lot more educational points than a movie like Titanic."

Eve sat down and stabbed the fork on a watermelon. "You really are old."

"Didn't we watch this when we were kids?" Ambryan reminded her. He took the other fork, choosing a pineapple slice. "We always watched it when it came on TV. Ballet lessons was over but you'd stay just to watch it with me."

A small smile tugged the corner of Eve's lips. The memory painted vividly in her mind. "Then, we hid under the table to pretend we were tiny."

"And used the floaties in the pool as cereal and imagined the water as milk."

"Yeah" Eve sighed dreamily. The grin on her face stretched from ear to ear. Those were some of their best memories. Their imaginations knew no limits. "You were a lot more fun back then."

Ambryan set his fork down. "Who says I'm not fun now?"

"Everyone?"

Eve paid no attention to his lack of answer. The opening sequence finally finished and the main story began. She finished her watermelon slice and reached out to grab another. Movement unfolded from the corner of her eye.

When she gave it her full attention, Ambryan pounced and attacked.

"NO!" Eve screamed. She fell on her back, wrapping her arms around herself.

But Ambryan was relentless. He straddled on top of her and tickled her exposed sides. The laughter of his wife filled the whole room. It only encouraged him to know more about her sensitive spots. 

His fingers tickled the side of her neck.

She trapped them between her cheek and her shoulder. 

Unfortunately, she could only protect one side. Ambryan went ahead to tickle her on the other side. His other hand stayed near her waist. Instincts instructed her to push his hands away but the laughter absorbed her strength.

"Am I not fun?" Ambryan teased, increasing his attacks.

"NO!" Eve protested. "You're a bully!"

"These are affectionate tickles."

"No, this is bullying!"

"You know I only have love for you."

The ringtone of a cell phone interrupted their tickling session. Eve patted the floor in search of her phone. Ambryan released her neck and focused on her waistit became fully exposed as she hunted for the mobile device.

Eve eventually found it. It vibrated in her hand.

She managed to open one eye to see who it was. A name flashed on her phone screen. She hitched her breath and straightened her spine. Her head hit Ambryan on the chin.

"Ow!" He uttered, cradling his jaw. 

Eve pressed a finger to her lips and showed her phone screen to Ambryan. He leaned closer, narrowing his gaze. He lowered the volume of the TV and gave his wife a warning look before nodding his head.

This was the true test of their escapade.

If they managed to fool this person, they could fool anyoneand that meant more alone time.

"Hello? Aunt Avery?" Eve greeted, turning on the loudspeaker feature. She bit the tip of her thumb in suspense. Her hand began to shake. Ambryan seized her wrist to help stop it.

"Eve," Avery said. 

A blanket of silence followed. The couple exchanged worried looks. 

That wasn't a good sign.

"Yes?" Eve replied, her heart racing.

"Why is the location of your phone in Maize City?"