It is a Sunday, and she is waved off from the flower shop by her mother. Between her full-time job as a Physical Education teacher, and part-time studies at night, she still finds time to help out at the family's flower shop as much as she can and is pretty dedicated to it. She sighs; she doesn't even need to guess to know her parents' wish for her to settle down with someone, especially at her age. She has to tell them time and again, to be patient and not interfere with her (lack of) love life.
Well, the free day means a day of long-overdue catching up. She arranges for a lunch date, and heads out. She walks down the now-familiar path towards the little house she has accustomed herself for months, with a large bag in hand. It doesn't take long before she is pressing on the doorbell and waiting patiently for the home owner to let her in.
A crash and yelp is heard, and an eyebrow is raised. A moment later, the door swings open, and a pair of arms engulfs her in a tight hug.
"Sora!"
"Hi Mimi," she greets, and pats her best friend's hair, now back to its original orangey-brown colour. The last time she saw Mimi, it had been black, and to be honest, it was a colour she would rather not see on Mimi again.
Mimi lets go of her, and flashes her one of her brightest smiles. She gestures for her to come in, which she does eagerly. The warmth in the house is way more comforting than the cold winter air outside. She shrugs off her coat, which Mimi takes and hangs on one of the hooks plastered to the walls next to the door. Once her best friend has her hands free, she pushes the paper bag into her arms.
"These are from my mother," she tells her. "Loads of funny food from Okinawa."
"Give her my thanks," Mimi says, taking the paper bag filled with goodies to the kitchen.
She follows, since the kitchen is where the two have their long talks. She makes herself at home at the dining table before Mimi tells her to, and watches as the younger woman places the goodies in one of the cupboards, then takes a pair of gloves from the counter, and removes a small rectangle casserole from the oven.
"This looks amazing, Mimi!" she exclaims in awe, as the dish is placed on a round hot pad in front of her.
"Thank you," Mimi says cheerfully while placing her own plate of baked rice at her own seat. "I wouldn't be a soon-to-be-graduate from a culinary school if my dishes aren't awesome!"
"A designer doesn't have to have awesome designs to graduate," she counters, cringing at the memory of some hideous designs she has seen at college.
They laugh, and venture into a conversation of catching up, such as her job as a Physical Education teacher at a local elementary school, her part-time fashion design course at design school, and Mimi's impending graduation and spring wedding. The wedding naturally takes up the bulk of the conversation.
"Sora! Will you make my bouquet?" Mimi asks, grasping her hands in hers. "I know you're making my evening gown as a wedding present, but I was thinking the bouquet is also an important part of a bride's outfit, and you're my only florist friend, and you make such beautiful bouquets, and—"
"Didn't my mother discussed with your wedding planner about the flower arrangements?" she interrupts, before Mimi could go any longer, which she knew the younger woman has the ability to. She is puzzled with the sudden request, because all the details are with her mother, not her.
"I told them to leave that out. Your mother seems to have caught the reason why." Mimi winks, and she blushes.
"I want you to be the one to make my bouquet because you're my best friend, and you make the most beautiful and meaningful bouquets ever!"
She relents under the power of Mimi's puppy eyes, and the fact that she can't ever refuse the sincerest requests from her best friend.
"How do you know that Izumi's the one?" she asks abruptly, but her curiosity pushes on. "I mean, you're only twenty-four."
"Going on twenty-five, which isn't young, by the way," Mimi chides, but with none of the annoyance she would expect on any other woman. "And didn't Koushiro ask you to call him by his name?"
"It'll take a while to get used to it."
"How do I know he's the one, huh…"
She sees the gentle smile grazes the corner of Mimi's lips, and a blush tinting her cheeks. Such a quiet and serene expression is rarely seen on Mimi, but she notes that the younger girl looks happy.
"It's a lot of things, Sora," Mimi starts, twirling her spoon in the air and staring right at it. "Like how his presence makes me comfortable and nervous at the same time, and how he never ceases to make my heart beat like, like… how the needle goes when the sewing machine is switched on!"
Trust Mimi to use some strange metaphor…, she thinks dryly.
"You just know, Sora," Mimi continues dreamily. "Seeing him… being with him… just the thought of him, and it feels like everything changed because of him. Like there are only more good things to come."
"I never thought you'd get together with that sort of guy, much less marry one," she teases, enjoying the sudden blush of embarrassment from Mimi.
"Neither did I! I mean, look at him!" Mimi exclaims, her hands flailing about. "He's such a nerd, and he's always glued to his laptop and solving some complex algorithm in there. And—"
"You used to be a small-time model," she continues for her. It is a comparison she has heard too many times. "And you've never liked math or science."
"Yeah," Mimi agrees with a giggle. "And I would get annoyed with him, and ended up screaming at him more often than not."
"You gotta be grateful that school project helped you score a husband," she comments playfully.
Mimi puffs up her cheeks in a pout.
"Well, he's the cunning schemer who joined the same class because he overheard me expressing my interest in the class."
"Think about it, Mimi. Not many guys would join an elective called 'Social Etiquette and Good Manners'. That must have taken a lot of courage."
"Or none, since he doesn't really care," Mimi says, taking both casseroles to the kitchen sink. "Even then, he's extremely lucky we were paired up."
"And you find out later he's just very shy, and not really ignoring you on purpose," she says, joining Mimi and stands by her side while Mimi washes the dishes.
Mimi laughs. "How could I not like him after he stuttered his way through that confession of his?"
"You liked him before that, Mimi."
The younger woman flicks drops of water, which is thankfully not soapy, at her, and she is forced to wipe specks from her face.
"How was I supposed to hang out with him when I was an image-obsessed and popular teenage girl?" Mimi groans.
"Well, he made things easier for you," she replies thoughtfully. "And etiquette class taught him to dress and talk better, so you don't have to waste your breath telling him how to."
Mimi seems lost in thought, so she turns the faucet off for her.
"Point taken," Mimi says.
She waits for Mimi to dry her hands, and they head back to the dining table. It is when she notices her friend giving her a side-way glance.
"So who is this new guy who has caught your attention, Sora?"
She sighs in defeat. There isn't much she can hide from her best friend, so she tells her about the big hair man. Just the gist of it though, because Mimi has a way of forming her own fantasy.
A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed. No Taichi this chapter, but I promise he'll be back in the next. Meanwhile, have a bit of Mimi :) Cheers!