The Aftermath of Callie and Arizona - Volume II

Dashing Through The Snow... Part II

Callie's POV:

It was our last night we were spending in Leavenworth, Washington. Arizona and I had enjoyed a wonderful day together with tons of good food, a sleigh ride through the picturesque mountains and shared lots of laughter. The time we had spent had been incredible and a much needed break from our everyday lives.

We were finally back in our hotel, sitting in the bar near the massive stone fireplace, when Arizona went to use the restroom. (We had decided to have a nightcap before going to our room.) 

As folks often do when they are alone in a restaurant, I suddenly became fascinated with looking around the space in order to occupy my time. It's strange how most of us unconsciously do this, but in that moment, I wanted to look busy.

The room was decorated to look like a traditional German pub. From the floor, to about 2/3rds the height of the ceiling, was dark, wooden wainscoting that surrounded the entire room. The remaining exposed wall was painted a complimentary light, brown color and had pictures, tin panels and logos of different brands of German beers. 

Scattered in between the beer decor were some cuckoo clocks, a couple of deer heads and a variety of other things that looked like artifacts one might find in the Black Forest region of Germany. The room gave its visitors a sense of warmth and felt like a solace from the outside world.

"Callie, did you see the grandfather clock in the corner of the room? It's gorgeous and must be worth a fortune. It looks like someone carved most of the embellishments by hand."

Arizona had returned and plopped down on the couch, right next to me.

"Actually, I did notice it, but only because of its deep, rhythmic ticking sounds. When the noise level drops in here, the clock ticking seems to echo." We were sipping our glasses of wine as we made small talk.

"This bar is just so cozy, but then again, most of this town has that exact same feel. I'll be sad to leave here tomorrow, but know we'll come back at some point in the future and visit. I really miss our girls though and can't wait to hold them both when we get home."

"I feel the same way too, Arizona, and can't wait to hug and kiss them again. Although, I sense Sophia will be disappointed when we whisk her back to reality. Something tells me she's had one indulgent weekend with my sister and Renee as her guardians."

We both laughed when Arizona said, "You mean her weekend with Renee, since I'm pretty sure the large child that lives within Renee, had a playmate in Sophia this weekend. It's an endearing quality Renee has and why our oldest loves her so much."

"Well, that and the fact she pays for so many things when they spend time together doesn't hurt either! I wonder just how much they blew at the arcade since my sis was home with Madelyn."

"Knowing Renee, money probably wasn't an object when it came to winning a prize. I'm sure Sophia has a whole new collection of stuffed animals after their outing, especially since Ari wasn't there supervising. 

We both shared another laugh about Renee's childlike nature and our daughter's ability to play right along with her.

"Arizona, what do you think about getting another glass of wine and taking it upstairs to our room? We can slip out of our clothes and into a hot bath. Sound good to you?"

"Callie, I can't think of anything better after spending time in the cold outdoors today. A hot bath will warm us up and give us time to... you know!" Arizona seductively winked at me, popped up from her spot, grabbed our glasses and headed to the bar. In under a minute, we had our refills and were upstairs in no time.

Once we were in our room, I made a beeline for the bathroom and started running water in the tub. The hotel had left a packet of bubble bath I added to the steaming water that was pouring out of the faucet at a rapid rate. I always love a hotel that has good water pressure!