Red Fish, Blue Fish, Orange Fish-
A triangle of love...
(ooh suspense)
Numero Uno~
Sora Ishida sat up in bed in a cold sweat. She had been having another nightmare about her two kids, Michael and Colleen. She threw off her covers and walked to their bedrooms.
'I'm being paranoid.' She thought to herself. 'my kids are fine.' Sure enough, both kids were in their bed, sleeping contently, their Digimon beside their heads. Sora gave a sigh of relief.
'Baka.' Sora scolded herself. 'You're only 39 and you're already going crazy.' She walked back to her bedroom, taking a peek at Biyomon before doing so, then snuggled into bed. She looked at the empty spot beside her.
'Oh Matt...' she thought. If her husband, Matt were here, he'd help her get through this.
"Why am I having these dreams..." Sora whispered out loud. She curled up into a ball. 'Nothing's gonna happen to my kids. Stupid dream...' she drifted back into sleep, but not before looking up at the starry sky.
"Matt..." she whispered just before sleep took her. "I miss you."
~~~~ AT SOME SPACE STATION THINGY ~~~~
Matt looked at the picture of his kids and Sora, all smiley and happy. He held it to his chest for a moment.
"Goodnight Sora."
~~~~ THE NEXT DAY ~~~~
Sora poured Colleen a bowl of cereal and handed Michael the milk.
"Pour your sister some, will you?" she asked as she turned away. Michael nodded, though she couldn't see, and he poured Colleen some milk. The 5-year-old looked at it.
"Candy." She said stubbornly.
"No." Michael shook his blonde head.
"Miiiiichael..." she whined.
"Eat your cereal."
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Shh!"
"Y- what?" Michael stopped yelling for a minute.
"I don't hear-" he began.
"Shh!" Colleen put a finger to her lips. The she climbed off her chair. She walked the down the hallway.
"Colleen! Where are you going?!" Michael called. He followed her and stopped. Colleen was hugging Sora, who was sitting down on the floor, sobbing.
"Mama?" Colleen whispered. "Mama, please get up."
"Mom?" Michael asked. "A-Are you okay?" Sora looked up. She smiled and sniffed.
"Yeah..."
"But you were crying."
"Every now and then, a girl needs a good cry." Sora said standing up. Colleen grabbed her hand. Sora looked down.
"You sure?" Colleen asked solemnly. Sora smiled and ruffled Colleen's auburn hair. Colleen shook her head and tried to smooth her hair. The family went back to the table, but it was silent.
"I miss Papa." Colleen suddenly announced. Sora and Michael looked surprised then Sora cleared her throat.
"I... Kids, what would you do if I told you that we'd be moving out?" Michael jumped up.
"To a new apartment!" he cried. "Yes! This one sucks! When do we leave?!"
"Calm down Michael. We're not moving. And when I say moving, I mean without Ma- I mean, your father coming with us."
"Did something happen to Papa?" Colleen asked fearfully. Sora looked down. 'I shouldn't have brought this up.' she thought.
"Did-" Sora jumped up.
"Let's go to the park." She cried out. Michael and Colleen looked at her like she was crazy.
"Let's what?" asked Michael.
"Go to the park! It's been a while. Grab your jackets while I tell Biyomon." The kids looked at each and shrugged. They rushed to grab their jackets. Soon, they were out the door, chatting happily while their mother added an 'Um-hmm.' every now and then.
~~~~ AT THE PARK ~~~~
Sora sat at the fountain, watching the kids play. She smiled as Michael pushed his sister on the swing.
"Watch mama!" Colleen called. Sora waved and she jumped off. Then she tripped and fell on her face. Sora looked alarmed, but relaxed when she came up laughing. Sora turned to the scene next to her, in the shade of oak trees. The sunlight cast amazing shadows everywhere, but they brought out the beauty in the now orange and yellow leaves (AN~ It's Autumn BTW).
"Beautiful." Sora said to herself as she pulled out a sketchbook, and a pencil case. She flipped past a couple pages of clothes designs the pulled out a fine pen from the pencil case. Being a fashion designer, she had a natural talent and love for art; especially the drawing and coloring of her designs. She drew a quick sketch of the scene and, feeling proud of herself, decided to color it.
"Wow." Said a voice. "That's a really nice picture." Sora spun around and came face to face with... Taichi Yagami?! No, wait. Sora took a deep breath as the Tai look-a-like looked at her strangely.
'That's not Tai,' Sora thought. 'this kid looks like he's in grade 4'
"Um, hello." Sora said. The boy brightened.
"Hi!" he chirped. "That's a pretty picture." Sora looked at her sketch.
"What, this?"
"Yup!" Sora blushed.
"Where's your parents?"
"Dad's somewhere. Mama's dead." Sora gave a sympathetic smile.
"I'm so sorry."
"S'okay. She died when I was two." The boy sat down next to her. Sora signed the picture and decided not to color it. She looked at the boy and noticed the admiration in his eyes. She ripped out the page and offered it to the boy.
"Do you want it?" The boys eyes lit up.
"Really!?" Sora nodded. The boy took the picture and handled it like it was sacred. Sora couldn't help herself: She began to laugh. The boy looked at her.
"What?" he asked. Sora wiped tears from her eyes.
"You! Your treating it like it's sacred! Don't worry, I can draw you a new one if you wreck it." The boy laughed.
"Joshua!" the boys head turned.
"There's my dad!" he said, pointing to a figure who was jogging over to them. He waved. "Dad! Come see the picture this lady drew!" The man stopped in front of them and looked at his son and Sora. Joshua held up the picture.
"Isn't it nice?" Joshua said happily. Sora opened her mouth to say something, but she found herself lost in this man's deep brown eyes. The man smiled at Sora and he put a bag down beside her. Just then, Michael ran up and eyed Joshua warily.
"Hey, what ya staring at?" Joshua asked. Michael was silent. "What?!"
"Wanna play?" Colleen asked him, running up next to Michael. Joshua smirked at her.
"Not with a girl." Colleen's lip began to tremble. Michael punched the boy in the nose. Joshua grabbed his nose and punched Michael back.
"Joshua!" the man yelled, and at the same time Sora sternly said "Michael!" the boys looked at each other.
"He started it." They said in unison. Sora crossed her arms. The man pulled a soccer ball out of his duffel bag.
"Now go play." He said chucking the ball. The boys dove for it.
"Wait for me!" Colleen screeched, running after them. Sora smiled at the man.
"Thanks." She said. The man shook his head.
"No prob. By the way, what's your name?"
"Who me?"
"No kidding." Sora blushed.
"Oh... I'm Sora." The man was silent for a moment.
"Takenouchi?" Sora gave him a quizzical look and then suddenly, it clicked.
"T...Tai?" she stammered. Tai grinned and Sora felt like she was looking at the 14-year-old version of Tai.
"The one and only." Tai was surprised when Sora jumped up and hugged him.
"Oh Tai!" she cried. Tai hugged her back and she sat down. Tai sat down next to her.
"Oh, look at your hair," Sora said, running her fingers through Tai's short hair. "Man, you've grown so tall." Tai laughed.
"Calm down Sora." He said. "It's nice to see you too." Sora grew serious.
"I've been worried Tai."
"You, worry?" he joked.
"Seriously. After Matt and I got married, you sorta... disappeared." Tai stopped smiling.
"Uh, yeah..." he said. "Well, it's just... y'know..." Sora gave him a sympathetic smile.
"Tai, you know if it wasn't for Matt, you would've been it." Tai nodded.
"Yeah, I know." He looked at her. "So how you and Ishida boy been lately? You're still together?" Sora laughed bitterly.
"Barely,"
"What do you mean, barely? Last time I saw you, you two were so lovey-dovey it was sickening."
"Yeah, but back then we were 25." Sora looked depressed. "I haven't seen Matt for almost a year, and even when I do see him, it's only for about a month. Tai, my marriage is falling apart!" she broke down crying. Tai stared at her for a minute.
"You know what you need?"
Sora sniffed. "A husband with a job on earth?"
"Coffee."
"Come again?"
"Coffee. Cappuccino. Y'know, caffeine." Tai stood up. "I'm taking you to Starbucks." Sora blinked.
"You're what?"
"Me. You. Starbucks." Tai grinned. "So c'mon."
"But Tai, whatta 'bout our kids?" Tai shrugged.
"Let's take 'em to daycare or something." Sora stood up.
"I don't know..." Tai grabbed Sora's hand.
"Hey lady!" he called to some stranger. The woman looked up. "10 bucks if you watch our kids for an hour!" The woman grinned.
"Gotta deal." Tai smiled at Sora.
"See, no prob. Let's go!"
"Wait! Tai, you don't even know her!" Tai shrugged.
"Unlike you, I trust people." As they walked by the woman, Tai handed her a ten-dollar bill.
"Those kids." He said, pointing at Michael, Joshua and Colleen.
"T-Thanks." Sora stuttered as Tai pulled her away.
Numero Deux~
"So..." Tai said. Sora sipped her mocha and looked at him.
"So." She replied. "What?" Tai looked at her.
"So? Isn't this the time when you drink coffee, start to cry on my shoulder and tell me your life woes? Or are you not like any other women I've met?" Sora raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, so you've down this before, Mr. Ladies man?" Tai laughed.
"Just to friends. I was married y'know." Tai got a pained look on his face. "Was."
"Who was it?"
"Katherine."
"That little french girl!? She was like, TK's age!"
"No, she was in the seventh grade." Sora looked at her cup.
"Sorry..." Tai shook his head.
"It's okay. She died around seven years ago. I've had time to get over it."
"Have you... have you found anyone else?" Sora found herself surprisingly wanting to know.
"Nope. Stayed single for seven years. Pretty pathetic for someone like me." Tai grinned. "But enough about me. Let's talk about you." Sora stirred her mocha.
"Well, where to start. I'm a top fashion designer. I've got two adorable kids, one which seems to like beating on yours. My marriage is about to die and go to divorce heaven, and I'm worried sick about my kids because my idiotic friend has left them with a complete stranger. And that about covers it." Tai looked at her.
"'Scuse me? Idiotic? I'd like to think of it more as blonde."
"Or dense."
"Whichever suits your needs." Sora laughed at him, then gave a content sigh of happiness.
"This is great." She breathed. "I haven't been this happy for awhile." Tai smiled at her.
"Well, I guess you're stronger than most girls if your sense of humor shows while complaining." He finished off his coffee and set some money on the table. "What do ya say we go and get our kids?" Sora took one last swig of mocha and stood up.
"Yeah. Let's go."
~~~~~~~~~~BACK AT THE PARK~~~
"MAMA!" Colleen screamed as she saw her mother. "Michael! Mama's back!" The boys looked up as their parents walked over to each other.
"C'mon Josh. We're going."
"You too Michael, Colleen."
"Aw, do we have to?" the boys whined.
"I wanna stay and play with Joshua!" said Michael.
"And I wanna play more soccer with Michael." Joshua chimed in.
"Maybe another day, but not today." Tai said. He scribbled something down on a piece of paper. "My number." He said, handing it to her. "Call me up if you feel down. And give Matt a whack from me."
"Why?"
"Because he should be treating you better." Sora laughed, but she couldn't tell if Tai was joking. She ripped out some of her own sketchpaper and wrote her number and address.
"This isn't just for our sake." She warned. "For our kids, because as you know, I am a married women." Tai saluted her.
"Yes ma'am! Tai never messes around with other men's ladies. Tai is a good, clean-cut Mama's boy." The kids watched the two adults act like kids.
"Until we met again Mes Amis." Tai said as he kissed Sora's hand. Colleen giggled as Sora flushed.
"Yeah... bye Tai." She said waving, and she turned and went her separate way.
~~~~ THE ISHIDA RESIDENCE ~~~~
Sora hugged a pillow to her chest and thought about her day. The kids were in the other room watching T.V, and that left Sora in her bedroom to search her thoughts.
'Tai's really changed.' She thought. 'Same old happy attitude, but sort of... mature.' She suddenly laughed.
"Tai, mature. That's a good one!" she sat there giggling for a moment. She looked at her hand, where Tai had kissed her. Sora put her fingers on it and just circled it.
'Why did I feel that way when he kissed me. After all, it was just a hand.' Sora pondered. She checked her clock. "Michael, Colleen! Time for bed." Colleen bounded into the room.
"Aw, do I hafta?" she asked. Sora smiled.
"It's 10 o'clock. You're only five. Go to bed."
"But Tsunomon doesn't wanna go to bed."
"Colleen, Tsunomon went back to the Digital World today, remember? He's probably sleeping."
"Really?"
"Yes." The five-year-old thought.
"Well, if Tsunomon is sleeping, then I should sleep too, right?"
"Yup."
"Come and tuck me in."
"Go brush your teeth." Colleen ran out of the room. Just as Sora was going back to her thoughts, Michael ran in.
"Mom!" Sora sighed.
"What Michael?"
"Yokomon's gonna come visit us again, right?"
"Yes Michael."
"Oh, okay. G'night mom."
"Goodnight Michael." Michael ran off. Sora got up and went to tuck Colleen in when the phone rang.
"Hello?" Sora said into the reciever.
"Hey girl, you sound bright and cheery." Sora smiled and sat down.
"Hi Mimi." (AN~ I have no clue what time it would be in New York if it was 10:00 p.m. in Tokyo, so work with me.)
"Hi, how you doing?" Sora ran her fingers through her hair.
"Same old. You?"
"Yeah, well, y'know. It's always the same. Izzy and I send our kids to school, go to work, come back, put the kids to bed, and then him and I cuddle. If he's not busy." Mimi chuckled. "How's Matt?" Sora grimaced.
"Good question."
"So he's up in space right now?"
"Yeah. He'll be back in two weeks."
"And he'll be staying for about a month."
"Two weeks."
"Ah."
"Hey, you'll never guess who I saw today!"
"The president of America."
"Mimi, I'm serious."
"So am I."
"I saw Tai."
"What!"
"Tai. Taichi Yagami."
"Really!? How is he!?"
"Fine. He got a haircut though."
"About time, the hay head." Sora heard a beeping.
"Hold on Mimi. I've got another call."
"Yeah, 'kay." Sora hit a button.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Sora?"
"Hi Tai!"
"Hey."
"Can you hold on a sec? I've got someone on the other line."
"Yeah."
"Okay, hold on." Sora went back to Mimi's line.
"Hey, guess who's on the other line?"
"The presiden-"
"Tai."
"Hey! Put me on 3 way! I'll put it on speaker so me and Izzy can talk."
"Hold on." Sora, yet again, hit another button.
"Tai?"
"Hm."
"I'm putting you on 3 way."
"Wait! Who are we talking to?"
"Mimi and Izzy." Sora hit her (hopefully) last button.
"Okay, you people just talk. I gotta go tuck my kid in." Sora got up and left the others to chat on the phone.
"Goodnight Colleen." Sora whispered as she gently shut the door. Colleen sleepily replied then curled into a ball. Sora moved onto Michael's room. He was playing Game Boy.
"Not too long." She warned. Michael nodded.
"'Night Mom."
"Goodnight Michael."
"Hey." Sora picked up the receiver.
"Hi." Tai replied.
"Yo." Mimi said. "Izzy had to go."
"Sora..."
"Yeah Tai?"
"Can I talk to you?"
"Yeah."
"Alone."
"Mimi, take a hint."
"Fine fine. I know when I'm not wanted. Bye, call you tomorrow." She hung up.
"So." Sora said.
"So." Replied Tai. She laughed.
"Seems to me we had this conversation before."
"Well, I was wondering... I have these tickets for a concert."
"Yes?" Sora's heart began to pound.
"Well, it's for Smash Mouth, and I know you used to like that band, so I was wondering if you'd like to go." Sora opened her mouth to say no, but then she thought about it. Matt would never know, she hadn't been out for awhile and she did like Smash Mouth.
"Sure." She said.
"Really?" Tai asked.
"Yeah. Only this time, I pick the babysitter." Tai laughed.
"Deal. Anyway, I'll pick you up next Friday, okay?"
"Yeah."
"Okay Sora. See you then. Bye."
"Bye Tai." She hung up the phone and felt herself looking forward to her first non-lonely weekend for awhile.
Numero Trois~
It was Friday night, and Sora was very nervous. Not only was her (gasp) date with Tai, but the babysitter was late. She kept glancing at her watch and smoothing down her skirt. Finally, the doorbell rang. Sora swung open the door.
"Hey." Tai grinned. He held out flowers. "You look great." Sora gratefully accepted the flowers and sat down on the couch, rubbing her temples. Tai sat down next to her.
"What's wrong?" Sora closed her eyes.
"Just a little stress. Just a little."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Well, first of all, I was working on these great designs all week, y'know? Really gorgeous. But this morning, Colleen spilt my coffee all over it. Then Michael whacked her when I got upset, and I sent him to his room, so he's mad at me. Now the babysitter's late, the show starts in an hour and I feel guilty for going out with you." Sora clapped her hand over her mouth. She hadn't ment to say that last part, but Tai didn't seem the least baffled.
"Ah, it's okay." He said to her. "It's only a half our drive, and we have reserved seats. I'm sure the babysitter has a good excuse, and if you feel guilty for going out me, well I feel the same."
"You do?"
"Yeah. I feel like I'm throwing away Katherine."
"I kinda feel the same about Matt."
"Ah, you know, it's Matt. He won't mind."
A triangle of love...
(ooh suspense)
Numero Uno~
Sora Ishida sat up in bed in a cold sweat. She had been having another nightmare about her two kids, Michael and Colleen. She threw off her covers and walked to their bedrooms.
'I'm being paranoid.' She thought to herself. 'my kids are fine.' Sure enough, both kids were in their bed, sleeping contently, their Digimon beside their heads. Sora gave a sigh of relief.
'Baka.' Sora scolded herself. 'You're only 39 and you're already going crazy.' She walked back to her bedroom, taking a peek at Biyomon before doing so, then snuggled into bed. She looked at the empty spot beside her.
'Oh Matt...' she thought. If her husband, Matt were here, he'd help her get through this.
"Why am I having these dreams..." Sora whispered out loud. She curled up into a ball. 'Nothing's gonna happen to my kids. Stupid dream...' she drifted back into sleep, but not before looking up at the starry sky.
"Matt..." she whispered just before sleep took her. "I miss you."
~~~~ AT SOME SPACE STATION THINGY ~~~~
Matt looked at the picture of his kids and Sora, all smiley and happy. He held it to his chest for a moment.
"Goodnight Sora."
~~~~ THE NEXT DAY ~~~~
Sora poured Colleen a bowl of cereal and handed Michael the milk.
"Pour your sister some, will you?" she asked as she turned away. Michael nodded, though she couldn't see, and he poured Colleen some milk. The 5-year-old looked at it.
"Candy." She said stubbornly.
"No." Michael shook his blonde head.
"Miiiiichael..." she whined.
"Eat your cereal."
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Shh!"
"Y- what?" Michael stopped yelling for a minute.
"I don't hear-" he began.
"Shh!" Colleen put a finger to her lips. The she climbed off her chair. She walked the down the hallway.
"Colleen! Where are you going?!" Michael called. He followed her and stopped. Colleen was hugging Sora, who was sitting down on the floor, sobbing.
"Mama?" Colleen whispered. "Mama, please get up."
"Mom?" Michael asked. "A-Are you okay?" Sora looked up. She smiled and sniffed.
"Yeah..."
"But you were crying."
"Every now and then, a girl needs a good cry." Sora said standing up. Colleen grabbed her hand. Sora looked down.
"You sure?" Colleen asked solemnly. Sora smiled and ruffled Colleen's auburn hair. Colleen shook her head and tried to smooth her hair. The family went back to the table, but it was silent.
"I miss Papa." Colleen suddenly announced. Sora and Michael looked surprised then Sora cleared her throat.
"I... Kids, what would you do if I told you that we'd be moving out?" Michael jumped up.
"To a new apartment!" he cried. "Yes! This one sucks! When do we leave?!"
"Calm down Michael. We're not moving. And when I say moving, I mean without Ma- I mean, your father coming with us."
"Did something happen to Papa?" Colleen asked fearfully. Sora looked down. 'I shouldn't have brought this up.' she thought.
"Did-" Sora jumped up.
"Let's go to the park." She cried out. Michael and Colleen looked at her like she was crazy.
"Let's what?" asked Michael.
"Go to the park! It's been a while. Grab your jackets while I tell Biyomon." The kids looked at each and shrugged. They rushed to grab their jackets. Soon, they were out the door, chatting happily while their mother added an 'Um-hmm.' every now and then.
~~~~ AT THE PARK ~~~~
Sora sat at the fountain, watching the kids play. She smiled as Michael pushed his sister on the swing.
"Watch mama!" Colleen called. Sora waved and she jumped off. Then she tripped and fell on her face. Sora looked alarmed, but relaxed when she came up laughing. Sora turned to the scene next to her, in the shade of oak trees. The sunlight cast amazing shadows everywhere, but they brought out the beauty in the now orange and yellow leaves (AN~ It's Autumn BTW).
"Beautiful." Sora said to herself as she pulled out a sketchbook, and a pencil case. She flipped past a couple pages of clothes designs the pulled out a fine pen from the pencil case. Being a fashion designer, she had a natural talent and love for art; especially the drawing and coloring of her designs. She drew a quick sketch of the scene and, feeling proud of herself, decided to color it.
"Wow." Said a voice. "That's a really nice picture." Sora spun around and came face to face with... Taichi Yagami?! No, wait. Sora took a deep breath as the Tai look-a-like looked at her strangely.
'That's not Tai,' Sora thought. 'this kid looks like he's in grade 4'
"Um, hello." Sora said. The boy brightened.
"Hi!" he chirped. "That's a pretty picture." Sora looked at her sketch.
"What, this?"
"Yup!" Sora blushed.
"Where's your parents?"
"Dad's somewhere. Mama's dead." Sora gave a sympathetic smile.
"I'm so sorry."
"S'okay. She died when I was two." The boy sat down next to her. Sora signed the picture and decided not to color it. She looked at the boy and noticed the admiration in his eyes. She ripped out the page and offered it to the boy.
"Do you want it?" The boys eyes lit up.
"Really!?" Sora nodded. The boy took the picture and handled it like it was sacred. Sora couldn't help herself: She began to laugh. The boy looked at her.
"What?" he asked. Sora wiped tears from her eyes.
"You! Your treating it like it's sacred! Don't worry, I can draw you a new one if you wreck it." The boy laughed.
"Joshua!" the boys head turned.
"There's my dad!" he said, pointing to a figure who was jogging over to them. He waved. "Dad! Come see the picture this lady drew!" The man stopped in front of them and looked at his son and Sora. Joshua held up the picture.
"Isn't it nice?" Joshua said happily. Sora opened her mouth to say something, but she found herself lost in this man's deep brown eyes. The man smiled at Sora and he put a bag down beside her. Just then, Michael ran up and eyed Joshua warily.
"Hey, what ya staring at?" Joshua asked. Michael was silent. "What?!"
"Wanna play?" Colleen asked him, running up next to Michael. Joshua smirked at her.
"Not with a girl." Colleen's lip began to tremble. Michael punched the boy in the nose. Joshua grabbed his nose and punched Michael back.
"Joshua!" the man yelled, and at the same time Sora sternly said "Michael!" the boys looked at each other.
"He started it." They said in unison. Sora crossed her arms. The man pulled a soccer ball out of his duffel bag.
"Now go play." He said chucking the ball. The boys dove for it.
"Wait for me!" Colleen screeched, running after them. Sora smiled at the man.
"Thanks." She said. The man shook his head.
"No prob. By the way, what's your name?"
"Who me?"
"No kidding." Sora blushed.
"Oh... I'm Sora." The man was silent for a moment.
"Takenouchi?" Sora gave him a quizzical look and then suddenly, it clicked.
"T...Tai?" she stammered. Tai grinned and Sora felt like she was looking at the 14-year-old version of Tai.
"The one and only." Tai was surprised when Sora jumped up and hugged him.
"Oh Tai!" she cried. Tai hugged her back and she sat down. Tai sat down next to her.
"Oh, look at your hair," Sora said, running her fingers through Tai's short hair. "Man, you've grown so tall." Tai laughed.
"Calm down Sora." He said. "It's nice to see you too." Sora grew serious.
"I've been worried Tai."
"You, worry?" he joked.
"Seriously. After Matt and I got married, you sorta... disappeared." Tai stopped smiling.
"Uh, yeah..." he said. "Well, it's just... y'know..." Sora gave him a sympathetic smile.
"Tai, you know if it wasn't for Matt, you would've been it." Tai nodded.
"Yeah, I know." He looked at her. "So how you and Ishida boy been lately? You're still together?" Sora laughed bitterly.
"Barely,"
"What do you mean, barely? Last time I saw you, you two were so lovey-dovey it was sickening."
"Yeah, but back then we were 25." Sora looked depressed. "I haven't seen Matt for almost a year, and even when I do see him, it's only for about a month. Tai, my marriage is falling apart!" she broke down crying. Tai stared at her for a minute.
"You know what you need?"
Sora sniffed. "A husband with a job on earth?"
"Coffee."
"Come again?"
"Coffee. Cappuccino. Y'know, caffeine." Tai stood up. "I'm taking you to Starbucks." Sora blinked.
"You're what?"
"Me. You. Starbucks." Tai grinned. "So c'mon."
"But Tai, whatta 'bout our kids?" Tai shrugged.
"Let's take 'em to daycare or something." Sora stood up.
"I don't know..." Tai grabbed Sora's hand.
"Hey lady!" he called to some stranger. The woman looked up. "10 bucks if you watch our kids for an hour!" The woman grinned.
"Gotta deal." Tai smiled at Sora.
"See, no prob. Let's go!"
"Wait! Tai, you don't even know her!" Tai shrugged.
"Unlike you, I trust people." As they walked by the woman, Tai handed her a ten-dollar bill.
"Those kids." He said, pointing at Michael, Joshua and Colleen.
"T-Thanks." Sora stuttered as Tai pulled her away.
Numero Deux~
"So..." Tai said. Sora sipped her mocha and looked at him.
"So." She replied. "What?" Tai looked at her.
"So? Isn't this the time when you drink coffee, start to cry on my shoulder and tell me your life woes? Or are you not like any other women I've met?" Sora raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, so you've down this before, Mr. Ladies man?" Tai laughed.
"Just to friends. I was married y'know." Tai got a pained look on his face. "Was."
"Who was it?"
"Katherine."
"That little french girl!? She was like, TK's age!"
"No, she was in the seventh grade." Sora looked at her cup.
"Sorry..." Tai shook his head.
"It's okay. She died around seven years ago. I've had time to get over it."
"Have you... have you found anyone else?" Sora found herself surprisingly wanting to know.
"Nope. Stayed single for seven years. Pretty pathetic for someone like me." Tai grinned. "But enough about me. Let's talk about you." Sora stirred her mocha.
"Well, where to start. I'm a top fashion designer. I've got two adorable kids, one which seems to like beating on yours. My marriage is about to die and go to divorce heaven, and I'm worried sick about my kids because my idiotic friend has left them with a complete stranger. And that about covers it." Tai looked at her.
"'Scuse me? Idiotic? I'd like to think of it more as blonde."
"Or dense."
"Whichever suits your needs." Sora laughed at him, then gave a content sigh of happiness.
"This is great." She breathed. "I haven't been this happy for awhile." Tai smiled at her.
"Well, I guess you're stronger than most girls if your sense of humor shows while complaining." He finished off his coffee and set some money on the table. "What do ya say we go and get our kids?" Sora took one last swig of mocha and stood up.
"Yeah. Let's go."
~~~~~~~~~~BACK AT THE PARK~~~
"MAMA!" Colleen screamed as she saw her mother. "Michael! Mama's back!" The boys looked up as their parents walked over to each other.
"C'mon Josh. We're going."
"You too Michael, Colleen."
"Aw, do we have to?" the boys whined.
"I wanna stay and play with Joshua!" said Michael.
"And I wanna play more soccer with Michael." Joshua chimed in.
"Maybe another day, but not today." Tai said. He scribbled something down on a piece of paper. "My number." He said, handing it to her. "Call me up if you feel down. And give Matt a whack from me."
"Why?"
"Because he should be treating you better." Sora laughed, but she couldn't tell if Tai was joking. She ripped out some of her own sketchpaper and wrote her number and address.
"This isn't just for our sake." She warned. "For our kids, because as you know, I am a married women." Tai saluted her.
"Yes ma'am! Tai never messes around with other men's ladies. Tai is a good, clean-cut Mama's boy." The kids watched the two adults act like kids.
"Until we met again Mes Amis." Tai said as he kissed Sora's hand. Colleen giggled as Sora flushed.
"Yeah... bye Tai." She said waving, and she turned and went her separate way.
~~~~ THE ISHIDA RESIDENCE ~~~~
Sora hugged a pillow to her chest and thought about her day. The kids were in the other room watching T.V, and that left Sora in her bedroom to search her thoughts.
'Tai's really changed.' She thought. 'Same old happy attitude, but sort of... mature.' She suddenly laughed.
"Tai, mature. That's a good one!" she sat there giggling for a moment. She looked at her hand, where Tai had kissed her. Sora put her fingers on it and just circled it.
'Why did I feel that way when he kissed me. After all, it was just a hand.' Sora pondered. She checked her clock. "Michael, Colleen! Time for bed." Colleen bounded into the room.
"Aw, do I hafta?" she asked. Sora smiled.
"It's 10 o'clock. You're only five. Go to bed."
"But Tsunomon doesn't wanna go to bed."
"Colleen, Tsunomon went back to the Digital World today, remember? He's probably sleeping."
"Really?"
"Yes." The five-year-old thought.
"Well, if Tsunomon is sleeping, then I should sleep too, right?"
"Yup."
"Come and tuck me in."
"Go brush your teeth." Colleen ran out of the room. Just as Sora was going back to her thoughts, Michael ran in.
"Mom!" Sora sighed.
"What Michael?"
"Yokomon's gonna come visit us again, right?"
"Yes Michael."
"Oh, okay. G'night mom."
"Goodnight Michael." Michael ran off. Sora got up and went to tuck Colleen in when the phone rang.
"Hello?" Sora said into the reciever.
"Hey girl, you sound bright and cheery." Sora smiled and sat down.
"Hi Mimi." (AN~ I have no clue what time it would be in New York if it was 10:00 p.m. in Tokyo, so work with me.)
"Hi, how you doing?" Sora ran her fingers through her hair.
"Same old. You?"
"Yeah, well, y'know. It's always the same. Izzy and I send our kids to school, go to work, come back, put the kids to bed, and then him and I cuddle. If he's not busy." Mimi chuckled. "How's Matt?" Sora grimaced.
"Good question."
"So he's up in space right now?"
"Yeah. He'll be back in two weeks."
"And he'll be staying for about a month."
"Two weeks."
"Ah."
"Hey, you'll never guess who I saw today!"
"The president of America."
"Mimi, I'm serious."
"So am I."
"I saw Tai."
"What!"
"Tai. Taichi Yagami."
"Really!? How is he!?"
"Fine. He got a haircut though."
"About time, the hay head." Sora heard a beeping.
"Hold on Mimi. I've got another call."
"Yeah, 'kay." Sora hit a button.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Sora?"
"Hi Tai!"
"Hey."
"Can you hold on a sec? I've got someone on the other line."
"Yeah."
"Okay, hold on." Sora went back to Mimi's line.
"Hey, guess who's on the other line?"
"The presiden-"
"Tai."
"Hey! Put me on 3 way! I'll put it on speaker so me and Izzy can talk."
"Hold on." Sora, yet again, hit another button.
"Tai?"
"Hm."
"I'm putting you on 3 way."
"Wait! Who are we talking to?"
"Mimi and Izzy." Sora hit her (hopefully) last button.
"Okay, you people just talk. I gotta go tuck my kid in." Sora got up and left the others to chat on the phone.
"Goodnight Colleen." Sora whispered as she gently shut the door. Colleen sleepily replied then curled into a ball. Sora moved onto Michael's room. He was playing Game Boy.
"Not too long." She warned. Michael nodded.
"'Night Mom."
"Goodnight Michael."
"Hey." Sora picked up the receiver.
"Hi." Tai replied.
"Yo." Mimi said. "Izzy had to go."
"Sora..."
"Yeah Tai?"
"Can I talk to you?"
"Yeah."
"Alone."
"Mimi, take a hint."
"Fine fine. I know when I'm not wanted. Bye, call you tomorrow." She hung up.
"So." Sora said.
"So." Replied Tai. She laughed.
"Seems to me we had this conversation before."
"Well, I was wondering... I have these tickets for a concert."
"Yes?" Sora's heart began to pound.
"Well, it's for Smash Mouth, and I know you used to like that band, so I was wondering if you'd like to go." Sora opened her mouth to say no, but then she thought about it. Matt would never know, she hadn't been out for awhile and she did like Smash Mouth.
"Sure." She said.
"Really?" Tai asked.
"Yeah. Only this time, I pick the babysitter." Tai laughed.
"Deal. Anyway, I'll pick you up next Friday, okay?"
"Yeah."
"Okay Sora. See you then. Bye."
"Bye Tai." She hung up the phone and felt herself looking forward to her first non-lonely weekend for awhile.
Numero Trois~
It was Friday night, and Sora was very nervous. Not only was her (gasp) date with Tai, but the babysitter was late. She kept glancing at her watch and smoothing down her skirt. Finally, the doorbell rang. Sora swung open the door.
"Hey." Tai grinned. He held out flowers. "You look great." Sora gratefully accepted the flowers and sat down on the couch, rubbing her temples. Tai sat down next to her.
"What's wrong?" Sora closed her eyes.
"Just a little stress. Just a little."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Well, first of all, I was working on these great designs all week, y'know? Really gorgeous. But this morning, Colleen spilt my coffee all over it. Then Michael whacked her when I got upset, and I sent him to his room, so he's mad at me. Now the babysitter's late, the show starts in an hour and I feel guilty for going out with you." Sora clapped her hand over her mouth. She hadn't ment to say that last part, but Tai didn't seem the least baffled.
"Ah, it's okay." He said to her. "It's only a half our drive, and we have reserved seats. I'm sure the babysitter has a good excuse, and if you feel guilty for going out me, well I feel the same."
"You do?"
"Yeah. I feel like I'm throwing away Katherine."
"I kinda feel the same about Matt."
"Ah, you know, it's Matt. He won't mind."