Torl and Luar's Submarine Showdown

The alarm went off, and Mrs. Ashcroft was in a rush to get the kids ready for school and herself ready for work. She hustled her husband out of bed, telling him if he didn’t hurry up he would be late as well.

Mr. Ashcroft turned over in bed, looking at his wife with a look of annoyance on his face. His mind drifted back to last night, when he had gone into their room after the kids had gone to sleep to try and sneak in some dirty time with his wife. She had been so exhausted she hadn’t even noticed him crawl into bed with her until he started to kiss her neck.

She had scolded him for being an ‘animal’ and trying to turn her into a harlot like all women these days, but eventually relented and they had made love slowly while the kids slept. He smirked realizing that she had let him stay in bed till nine o’clock this morning, whereas usually she would send him packing by six thirty.

He glanced at the clock and realized he had better get moving, or else he really would be late for work. He reluctantly got up and went through his normal morning routine before heading down to make breakfast for himself and the kids. He smiled at his son as they ate their cereal together while watching cartoons on tv.

Ashcroft looked down at his watch again, realizing that it was almost eight thirty and he still needed to shower and get dressed before taking the kids to school. He sighed heavily, knowing that if Mrs. Ashcroft caught wind of this then she would kill him for being late for work again.

He carried Rory outside to where the car was parked in their driveway, bundled him up in his car seat, helped Lynn strap herself in as well, then headed back inside to grab his stuff from upstairs.

As soon as he walked into their bedroom he saw something that made his stomach drop like a stone- Mrs. Ashcroft was just stepping out of the bathroom wearing a robe and slippers, looking refreshed after her shower with a bright smile on her face. Mr. Ashcroft couldn't help but notice how good she smelled- which wasn't unusual since she always kept herself smelling nice- but today it was different than usual...Usually, there was always an underlying hint of freshness or floral scents that lingered after her showers...But today there was something else...Something familiar...and yet unfamiliar all at once...A smell that was somehow both sweet and sour at the same time...It reminded him of something...but what?

He realized there were two sets of wet footprints on the carpet next to the bed where Mrs. Ashcroft had obviously taken off her slippers before getting dressed and starting her day early this morning- probably about five or six o'clock- when she left their bed to use the washroom downstairs before heading back upstairs to join her snoring husband in bed- something she never did unless it was absolutely necessary...And suddenly, that smell began to make sense:

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks: Mrs. Ashcroft must have been wearing those stinky old running shoes from hell last night!

"MOMMMYYYYY!" Both Rory and Lynn shouted loudly as they tried to peek around their father's legs into their room expectantly- both anxious for their mother so they could finally get going on this busy Monday morning. Mr