I heard Bastian park our car in the garage. I was happy. I had waited for him all day, and a good part of the night. It was 3 am.

When he opened the door of the living room, his grey eyes met mine. He was exhausted, but he smiled to me nonetheless. We hugged. He smelled of lavander. He always showered after a long day of work a the racing track. He did it for me. He wanted to be clean and good-smelling when arriving home. He did it despite the showers at the racing track being terribly uncomfortable and cold. I did not mind him being just a little dirty, but after 12 hours of work or driving, it was not exciting to welcome him home stinking and his hands full of grease. Still, he could shower at home, but he did not want to.

“How was the car today?” I asked.

“It’s fixed.” he said with pride.

“Come on” I said, inviting him to the sofa.

“Are you hungry?” I asked.

“No” he said while laying down on the sofa, his white cotton socks on my lap. I smiled with delight. I caressed his feet and massaged them. First with the socks, them I pulled them off. They were clean, he changed them after his shower. His feet were clean and also smelled of lavander, but they were sore and tired. I did massage them for a long time, and he smiled, closing his eyes. He was home at last. He sighed in bliss.

He was soon asleep. He was too heavy for me to carry him upstairs, so I gently asked him if he wanted to go to bed. I pushed him up the stairs, and soon we were in our pajamas rolling under the thick blanket. We were soon asleep, hugging.