Hello Again (Sequel)

Move In Day

"This is my room!?" Rose squealed. Hikaru and I had decorated the house on our own; I had refused for him to hire help. Looking at the lavender walls with flowers stenciled on the walls, I was glad we had done this ourselves. She was ecstatic. The furniture was all white wicker: the dressers, the chairs and table that went with her tea set, and the toy box. She had a toddler bed with dark violet sheets and a black comforter, a light purple canopy hanging over it. I could hear Lily's screams of excitement from the next room. I turned to Rose with a wide grin. "Wanna see something cool?" I asked. Her hazel eyes widened and she nodded eagerly. I felt along the wall for a moment before pushing it open.

Lily's room was cherry blossom pink with butterflies all over the walls. Her bed was identical to Rose's, only with a pink canopy, hot pink sheets, and a white blanket. Her furniture was all sandalwood, pale and smooth. They looked at each other in amazement. "Wow!" Lily exclaimed. Rose hopped onto her bed and sprawled out. "We can still sleep next to each other!" she grinned, reaching out and touching the edge of Lily's bed no more than four inches from her. "Ready to see the rest?" I asked, stepping around the boxes of clothes in Rose's room. They both trailed after me, Hikaru rearing the group.

The bathroom across the hall was painted ocean blue with white tiles, decorated with dolphins, sea turtles, and other marine animals. The guest bedrooms were all painted navy with grey bed sets and mahogany furniture, while the guest bathroom upstairs was decorated with seashells and painted a sandy brown. I walked into the master bedroom, and Lily and Rose immediately pounced onto the bed. The carpet was a muted shade of brown, the walls a light, moss green. Giant brass rails held up tan black-out curtains, the dressers a deep russet-colored oak. The sheets were copper, a large forest-green quilt on top. Everything was earthy and tranquil. The girls rolled around on the freshly made sheets and I just groaned. "You're the one that refused help," Hikaru teased. I shot him a sharp glare and turned to walk out. "Come see tatailles!" I yelled as I started heading downstairs. The little tip-tap of their feet followed.

I touched the walls, remembering how much work I've put into this house for the past month. Hours after hours of painting walls, minute after minute of lugging furniture into the house with Hikaru. I had sold all of my furniture, per advisory of Hikaru, and had spent days ordering new pieces. I rented a U-Haul to pick up and move it all. The parlor upstairs had been turned into a family room with couches, love seats, a pool table, dart boards, a 60" plasma TV, and brand new game systems. I didn't want a single room to be bare or plain, so I handpicked all of the colors and made sure every room had some sort of picture hanging. The family room is now covered with pictures of me and the girls. Hikaru said we would get family pictures made after we settled in, but it still felt surreal to me.

Our relationship was fragile, like we were starting all over again. Maybe we were, though. He and I were very different people now, and I assumed we would be different together, too. On one hand, I just wanted to jump back into how things were when we were together in high school; on the other, I wanted to run far away from him and the promises he made. I would make dinner, and we would enjoy it like a normal family, and then we'd go back to unpacking. Having everything bought brand new, all that was really left was to unpack our clothes and my office. The kitchen was the first thing I had set up while Hikaru and Kaoru brought in furniture. The kitchen had to have been my favorite room. It reminded me so much of Auntie's kitchen, the place that was once a haven for my friends and me. Hikaru kissed my cheek quickly before scooping Rose into his arms and setting her on the counter. He turned around and did the same with Lily, both squealing and giggling with delight. "Daddy can we get a puppy?" Rose asked. "No, a kitty!" Lily argued. Hikaru glanced at me and I shrugged. "They asked Daddy, not Mommy," I pointed out. He turned to them with a huge grin, looking like a child himself. "We'll get a whole zoo if you want!" he declared. I shook my head and turned my back to them as I started preparing dinner. I couldn't fight the cheerful grin that came with listening to them argue with Hikaru. As I fried pork chops, they animatedly described the animals they would have in their own zoo, Hikaru agreeing all the while. Rose wanted a zoo with dragons; Lily wanted one with unicorns. Hikaru did not crush their dreams like others would eagerly do. Instead, he scooped them up under each arm and carried them to the table. "If you're both going to have a zoo, we have to give the unicorns a lot of land to run around on so they can get away from the dragons. We don't want dragons to eat the unicorns. And we can't forget to make the dragons' stables fireproof," he said excitedly. It was strange, but amazing, to hear them clattering around the house with a father eager to spend time with them. So this is what it's like to have a happy family, I thought. Tres Alex had never been caring and attentive toward me or Baby Alex like Hikaru was with the girls. I wondered silently if life with him would be as great as he promised.

The girls sat on either side of Hikaru, leaving me to sit in the middle of the table on the opposite side of Rose. "Mommy, we decided we don't want a zoo," Lily said, her olive eyes filled with grim seriousness. I bit my lip, trying hard not to laugh. "Oh?" I squeaked, barely containing my giggles. "Nope. We want horses!" Rose grinned. "We 'membered how you used to tell us about the horses Pepe had, and we want 'em too!" I looked at Hikaru who shrugged. "They asked Mommy, not Daddy," he said, mimicking my earlier response. My lips twitched and I slyly replied, "If Daddy says it's okay." He shot me a playful glare, Lily and Rose gazing up at him pleadingly. Eventually he gave in. "We'll look into it," he said. "For now, me and Mommy have to throw together a housewarming party." I looked at him with wide eyes. "H-housewarming party?" I stammered. "Yeah, the girls are gonna get to meet their grandparents and their Uncle Kaoru. My heart raced and my fork clattered to the table. Hikaru's mother. She hated me. How would she feel about my daughters? "Lily, Rose? Finish dinner and head upstairs for a bath," I managed to croak, my throat tightening with fear.

Hikaru came in with two glasses of tea, setting one beside me as I continued putting clothes in drawers and placing knick-nacks on top of the dresser. I was sitting in the middle of the floor, boxes opened and dumped all over. Hikaru had disappeared over an hour ago to put the girls to bed, and was just now returning. "How can kids have so much energy?" he panted as he sat down across from me, pulling things out of a box at random. I chuckled and flexed my stiff legs, stopping my organization to sip the cold, sweet liquid. "They're little, all of that energy builds up," I murmured. He nodded in agreement, peeking at me through long lashes. "Marry me, A.J.," he begged. I shook my head. "No, Hikaru. I told you I can't do that." He frowned, cradling my old jewelry box in his hands. "Okay," he pouted, "but I won't stop asking." He flipped open the lid and rummaged around for a moment, eventually procuring a ring I hadn't touched in forever. It was the promise ring he had given me when we were in high school. "Does this still fit?" he asked. I shrugged and he held it out to me, urging me to put it on. Hands trembling, I took the ring, sliding it easily on my left ring finger. It still fit perfectly, the little diamonds sparkling in the dim light of the bedroom. "Will you keep it on? Until you do say yes?" He was so confident that I'd accept. I nodded numbly, staring at the ring that felt so foreign on my hand now. "Thank you A.J.," he whispered, taking my hand in his and kissing it. My brows scrunched and I looked at him confused. "For giving this a chance," he explained. "I know it's asking for a lot." I shook my head. "You have no clue," I mumbled as I got up and went past him to hang clothes in the closet. That's it! I was officially done unpacking!

The only thing left was a box full of old scrapbooks and photo albums, but I had tucked it away in the closet hours ago. When I emerged, Hikaru was gone. I looked around, even walking into the bathroom to make sure he was still here. He was not there. With a deep sigh, I walked back into the room and crawled into bed, cocooning myself in the covers. Day one down, God only knows how many left, I thought as I tried to go to sleep. How long did I want to stay with Hikaru? Better question was: how long did he want to be with me? Marriage was a big deal. It was forever. Mama used to tell me forever was fickle; sometimes it only lasted a moment. I didn't want my forever to last a moment. I wanted a lifetime and then some. I tossed and turned all night, finally succumbing to sleep around 3 a.m. Hikaru didn't come back.