Samantha and her husband Henry settled down on the sofa with two glasses of wine and some dark chocolate. A fire burned warmly in the fireplace. Samantha lit a candle in front of them to enhance the ambiance. She snuggled close to Henry and they took a sip of wine.

"In the candlelight you don't even notice all the Legos strewn all over the carpet," said Henry.

"Shhhh," chastised Samantha, "this is us time." She planted a kiss on Henry's lips and he embraced his wife, clearly wanting more.

As if right on cue, a small figure appeared in the doorway. Samantha and Henry sighed and broke apart.

"Evan, go back to bed," said Henry mustering his best fatherly voice.

Evan's lower lip trembled, "b...but there's a monster under my bed that wants to eat me."

Samantha and Henry instantly crumbled like they always did. Samantha began to rise but Henry stopped her. 

"I'll do this one." He got up and took his little boy by the hand. "Mommy and daddy won't let any monsters eat you." He led Evan back to his bedroom and tucked him in tightly with his favorite teddy bear, Mr. Tummy. The. He resumed his spot on the sofa. 

"So, where were we?" he asked Samantha, combing his fingers through her hair. She purred at his caress. 

They had each finished a glass of wine and were relishing the flush of warmth it provided when Evan appeared again at the door.

"What is it now honey?" asked Samantha.

"The monster stole Mr. Tummy," whined Evan. Samantha groaned.

"Daddy will find Mr. Tummy," said Henry with less patience than before. But he wanted  Samantha to stay 'in the mood,' so again he returned Evan to his bed, picked up Mr. Tummy from the floor and stuck him securely under the covers again with his son.

Returning to the living room, he gave Samantha his best 'dashing hero' look and she returned it with her best 'come hither,' eyes. The exchange would have gone off smoothly had Henry not stepped on a Lego in his stockinged feet.

"Ow, goddamnit," he howled.

To Samantha and Henry's relief, Evan stayed in his bed while they polished off the bottle of wine. Samantha took Henry by the hand and led him towards the bedroom. But they stopped with a start in front of Evan's room. They heard their son's voice through the door.

"Vroom, vroom. Beep, beep."

Samantha couldn't help but smile, "Aw, he's playing with his cars," she whispered.

Henry frowned, his patience gone. Evan had interrupted his time alone with his wife one too many times.

"I'm going to spank that boy so..." he started to say.

But before Samantha and Henry could argue further they heard another deeper voice mimic Evan's car sounds. In a panic they burst through the door.

Evan sat on the floor playing cars with a big hairy monster who looked like he was having a ball. Above them stood an even larger monster with an angry scowl on her face.

"Billy," screamed the larger monster, "how many times have I told you, DON'T PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD!"