Margreet yawned and stretched.

She heard Huib chuckle behind her. "Oops, did I wake you?" she asked.

"Well no, I was already awake. I still like the look of you waking up!"

He put his arm around her and fumbled through her hair with his other hand. He shifted toward her and began kissing her on her neck, over her bare shoulder. "What the hell? Bare shoulder?"

He lifted the comforter slightly. "Bare breasts? Don't you have a shirt on at all?"

Margreet grinned at his response. "No, why should I? I mean, for you, a shirt just gets in the way, and there's no one else in the house anyway. I don't want to be ashamed of my body anymore Huib, and I think this is a step to help myself get over that."

"Good idea of yours," Huib said. "But if there comes a time when you're not comfortable with it, feel free to use your shirt again for a while."

"That sounds like a step back Huib, that doesn't feel comfortable!"

"I understand, but your healing goes in layers, always a layer deeper. Therefore there can be a period, in everything, that it feels like a step backwards, but then it is in fact a step deeper. And you may then feel free to take that into account in your response."

"Hmm, so I may put my scourge with which I force myself to do well in the closet?" Margreet asked quasi-seriously.

"No, I don't think that's a good plan. I'd rather you break it into pieces and throw it in the trash! A scourge is not part of our lives dear girl, a scourge is a torture device to force people to do things they don't choose to do themselves."

"I get it, it was actually a bit of a joke, but there was a deeper underlayer behind it. After all, I'm used to whipping myself up? More! Better!"

"Yes..." sighed Huib, "nasty for you, but you'll get rid of that, I promise you! Fancy some coffee?"

"Yeahhhhhhhhh!" Margreet cried, jumping out of bed. Together they went to the bathroom to do a quick wash at the sink.

"Shall I wash your darlings?" Teasingly, Huib came to her breasts with a cold, wet washcloth.

Margreet jumped aside with a shriek, grabbed a towel, quickly dried herself off. Then she ran to the bedroom, grabbed her bra and put it on.

"You fool, I'll get you for this!" Margreet growled, as Huib also returned from the bathroom.

"You already have me, with skin and hair! I'm yours, and you're mine! Just not on paper yet..." He came up to her, wearing only his underpants, knelt down in front of her, and asked, "Will you marry me, darling?"

"Yes!" Margreet said. "On one condition...that you come to the wedding like that!"

She giggled as he overwhelmed her, threw her on the bed and began to tickle her. "Stop it! Huib, stop it! Whaaa! No! Stop!"

Panting, she got back up and grabbed him in his hair. "Get dressed silly, I'm in the mood for coffee!"

"So just for a cup of coffee I have to get dressed, but at our wedding I have to show up in my underpants. Nice one you are!"

"Hmm, good idea right?"

"I hate official suits, but in my underpants ... well, maybe I will, if you do too?"

"Oops, I hadn't thought of that for a moment." Margreet laughed. "Seriously though, do you really want to get married? I mean, isn't a marriage just an official thing? If we want to have a party, can't we just do it that way, with the people we love? When I think of that movie last night, it was full of habits and traditions, of what should and shouldn't be done. Isn't it the same with marriage? We are already riveted to each other, inseparable! What does a marriage have to add to that?"

Huib grinned, "You go girl! You're absolutely right! Think about it, if somehow you still want a party. Doesn't matter to me, I don't need anything official either. What we can still discuss perhaps is the idea of putting something in writing at the notary's office, in case something happens to one of us."

Margreet nodded, stepping into her skirt. "That might be handy, because of those government rules... if you died, I wouldn't be able to continue living here, something like that. I hate to think that I could lose you, but then to have such practical things on top of that... would be intense!"

"So I'd like to avoid that. Maybe Ellen, Lisa's lawyer, has some knowledge about that. Or else a notary."

"Or on the internet... but in any case it should be about the things we have on our minds, make a list of those." Margreet looked at Huib questioningly. "Does that seem like a good idea to you?"

"That's the best idea, just make such a list first. Tell you what, I'll put a piece of paper with a pen on the dining table, then if something comes to mind we can write it down right away."

Margreet nodded, "Good idea!"

A moment later they sat down to coffee together, and wrote down the first thing: House and contents are both ours.

Margreet suddenly shot upright: "Joh, we haven't even felt if the paint is dry yet! Could it already be, do you think?"

"It could be, but I'm not sure," Huib responded.

They quickly continued drinking their coffee and ran upstairs. Margreet looked for a spot where it might not be visible if she touched the paint while it wasn't quite dry yet.

"On the turning side of the door, near one of the hinges, that's not visible," Huib said, sensing what she was looking for. He felt carefully. "Dry! But just to be sure, let's keep the window ajar and the door open for the spots that might not be completely dry yet. It did turn out very nice, don't you think?"

"Oh yeah, really special!"

Margreet looked at her watch. Huib understood her, they needed to get to the other side for breakfast!

To chapter 132. Creative souls

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