Odd opened the door to the moving truck and stepped off. Closing his door he walked around the front and opened Aelita's door. Taking her hand he helped her down then closed the door. A moment later another door opened and closed and Ulrich stepped away from his car.
Ulrich tucked his hands into his pockets and looked at the house Odd and Aelita bought. Two story, four room house with two bathrooms, and a large living room and kitchen. New kitchen utilities all the color the black.
" How many square feet?" Ulrich asked Odd. Odd and Aelita had already started to walk in the house then turned around.
" About twenty five hundred and that's not including the basement," Odd said then opened the door with a key. Ulrich looked at the lawn that was dark green and healthy then at the garage. Odd and Aelita had down well he had to admit.
Ulrich stepped into the house and onto hardwood floor. Looking around he saw white carpet in the open space meant to be a living room. Walking to the stairs he walked up and took a peak around. Two rooms were on one side, two on the other. Ulrich took a left and found himself in the master bedroom. It was roughly a quarter the size of Ulrich's entire apartment. It had a large closet that he checked and a door the bathroom.
The bathroom was just as open as the livingroom. Lot's of walking room from the sink to the door. The sink had Mr. and Mrs sinks installed because Aelita hated it when Odd didn't clean his facial hair out of it. So now they had two so it was only his sink he screwed up. A stand up shower was on the left side, and a large bathtub and the other. The tub had several jets that could turn it into a massage or a bubble bath quickly. Odd and Aelita would definitely enjoy that tub.
Ulrich left the bathroom then looked at the other rooms. The other three were half the size of the master each, but were about the size of Ulrich's master bedroom. The one next to the master bedroom was already painted blue, awaiting the baby that would be soon occupying it. Ulrich figured Aelita would spend the next few months looking at the room, then look at her stomach, smile and say, ' Just a few more months.'
" Ulrich, we're gonna start unloading the truck now!" Odd shouted from the main floor. Ulrich closed the door to the baby's room then walked down stairs. Walking out the door he reached the truck and helped Odd with the ramp. As they started picking up boxes and moving them to reach the couch first so Aelita could sit down a car pulled to the side of the house.
Ulrich looked over and saw it was Jeremie. Jeremie opened and closed his car door then started to walk toward the truck. Aelita and Odd had called him to help with the move. Then he looked at Aelita. No one had told him she was pregnant.
" How long are you in?" Jeremie asked her while walking over.
" About three months. Want to see the house?" Aelita asked him.
" He'll see the house when he moves things in," Odd said then grabbed one end of the love seat. Ulrich grabbed the other side and then they picked it up and started to bring it inside.
" So Aelita, was this a planned pregnancy?" Jeremie asked her. Aelita glared at him so he looked at a box then picked it up. Noticing it was too heavy for him when it was a foot of the ground he put it back down.
" Still twig arms I see," Yumi said from below the ramp. A moment later William stepped into view. Jeremie hopped down to the ground and gave Yumi a hug.
" Heard you're Ulrich's boss now," Jeremie said to her, still finding the entire thing hilarious.
" I'm the boss of all of them. Odd and Aelita work straight for Ulrich but I'm above him. I make about one thirty a year, Ulrich a hundred and Aelita and Odd ninety a piece."
Ulrich looked out the door then stepped back in when he saw William. Odd started to step out but Odd was pulled back in by Ulrich.
" What the hell was that for?" Odd asked him.
" William came with her. How am I supposed to win her back with her fiancé breathing down our necks the entire time?" Ulrich asked then peaked out again.
Yumi picked up the box Jeremie couldn't and barely got it off the ground. Turns out it was heavy. Then Ulrich stepped onto the truck and picked it up.
" I go it," He said then carried it off like it was nothing.
" Mr. Stern, long time huh?" William asked him. Ulrich answered with a slight nod then walked into the house with the box. " He still hates me doesn't he?"
" I really don't know," Yumi said then took a light box from the truck and carried that in. William shrugged then helped Jeremie pick up and dresser and haul it into the house.
Aelita had labeled the boxes and directed them where to put the boxes. She sorted through the boxes in the kitchen and started putting things away right away. Starting with pots, pans, plates, cups, silverware, she put them away as the boxes came then started to sort the living room. Yumi decided to help her and the let the men deal with getting it all inside.
By four in the afternoon the truck and the cars were unloaded and into the house. Aelita had been in the house for three hours and it already looked like they'd been there for years. Odd opened a beer and handed them off to Yumi, William, Ulrich and Jeremie.
" Thanks for the help guys," Odd said to everyone.
" No prob. You helped me move," Ulrich said to him.
" Yeah, but out of my apartment," Odd said, making everyone laugh and Ulrich shrug.
" What are you going to name the baby? You already know it'll be a boy right, got any ideas?" Yumi asked Odd and Aelita.
" Haven't really thought about it," Odd said to everyone.
" What about Odd jr," Yumi asked.
" No," Aelita said right away, " Sorry but I've noticed people who name their son after themselves are usually assholes." Everyone nodded in agreement.
Then everyone began to think again. Odd saw a bowl on the table that used to be full of chips and picked it up. Seeing a sheet of paper around he took that and tore it into sixths. He then proceeded to pass each person a sheet.
" Write down a name and put it in the bowl," Odd said to everyone.
" Odd, we aren't picking our son's name from a bowl," Aelita protested.
" It's just to give us ideas," Odd said to her. Aelita groaned then wrote a name down and put in the bowl. A minute later so did everyone else.
Odd let Aelita draw then took the other five. " Let's see what it could have been. We have Tom, Max, Matt, Simon, and George." Odd, Yumi, William, Jeremie and Aelita groaned. It meant Ulrich won the draw.
" And the winner is.." Odd said then unfolded the sheet of paper and read it.. " Francis."
Aelita looked at the sheet of paper then at Ulrich. " Francis," she said aloud, " My father's name."
" Wasn't it Franz?" Odd asked Aelita.
" Franz is his nickname Odd," Jeremie corrected like Odd was a complete idiot.
" I agree with Ulrich. Let's name him Francis, please," Aelita said to Odd.
" I don't mind," Odd said to her. Aelita kissed Odd and Ulrich saw Jeremie cringe. He knew it bothered him. Then he looked over at Yumi and William and cringed himself.
Everyone at dinner sat together and ordered something because no one felt like cooking. They all sat in the diningroom, everyone eating and talking. The five got along like they were kids again. Though things had changed a lot since. Ulrich was still in love with Yumi, and Jeremie still with Aelita. But Yumi had William and Aelita had Odd. But for the most part everyone was fine.
Ulrich dropped his fork and decided to get some air. If he watched William sneak another kiss with Yumi he'd puke. Sliding his chair away he walked out of the room and no one noticed. Yumi lifted her head away from William's talking about the wedding and saw that Ulrich was gone. Hearing a door open and shut she left her chair and walked to the door.
Ulrich sat on the steps of the house and just listened to the sounds. He heard two dogs having a conversation in some backyard a few blocks away. In the next street over a car alarm went off for three seconds then the owner stopped it. He sighed then looked up at the cloudless sky, he would have stared at the moon but it was on the other side of the house.
" What're you doing outside alone?" Yumi asked him. She sat next to him and looked over at him.
" Just wanted some air," Ulrich said to her.
" Liar," Yumi said to him with a smile. She knew when he was lying. When doing so he'd look around your eyes and not in them. Hard to find the difference but Yumi knew.
" Is seeing me with William bugging you?" Yumi asked. She was pretty sure that was the reason.
" A little I'll admit, but I really don't care. It's just I dated you for three years and I kinda still feel like you're mine," Ulrich said to her, making her giggle then look at the ground.
" Good times," Yumi said with a smile.
" Yeah, but your dad hated me with a passion. How many times did he attempt to break us up?" Ulrich asked.
" It was a daily thing. Even up to our engagement," Yumi answered, thinking about it.
" It was only because my grades were low and my future was unpromising. Has William met him yet?" Ulrich asked. If he hadn't he was in for a fun surprise.
" Actually yes. He's the one who introduced us. Well, reintrodused," Yumi answered then looked over to him again.
" What does William have that I didn't?"
" Rich parents. But William didn't take his dad's company. He decided to finish college and be a teacher instead," Yumi said then looked out to the sky.
" Still weirder is Odd and Aelita married. I would have bet money in jr. high it would have ended up Jeremie and Aelita," Yumi said with a laugh.
" Things are weird in life. It's just a matter of getting used to them," Ulrich said then stood up from his step.
" That was a good idea by the way. Naming him Francis. Aelita's pretty into the idea," Yumi said to Ulrich as she stood up as well.
" Thanks. What was yours? Max right?" Yumi reached for the handle then stopped. She then turned around and nodded at him. " Can I asked why?"
" It's what I would have named our baby if I hadn't miscarried," Yumi said then sat back on the steps. Ulrich sat with her.
" To be honest, you weren't the only one interested in being a parent. I had it all planned in my head back then. We get married before he was born, have him a little after that. Then we go to college, my mom helping because by now she's divorced because my dad didn't support her supporting us. We graduate from college and get decent jobs to raise him on. Maybe at about twenty five or six we plan for the next one. A girl who looks just me but acts just like you. We all live as a family till Max graduates and starts his own family. Lili graduates and then we retire somewhere warm. Soon we spend the rest of our days on lawn chairs on our patio watching every sunrise while holding hands. Age takes its toll, late eighties, early nineties we lay in bed with our children, grandchildren, maybe even great grandchildren till we finally pass."
Ulrich listened to every word she said. She said it with so much passion. Almost like she still wanted that to happen. Everything she said she meant. Yumi always liked to plan ahead.
" Is that still your plan?" Ulrich asked. Yumi shrugged in exchange for an answer.
" Parts of me still want it I suppose. Sometimes things just don't go as planned. Just got to live with it," Yumi said then stood up off the stairs again.
" What parts did go as planned?" Ulrich asked then stood up as well.
" You grew up. I knew it would happen one day, just wasn't sure when," She said then kissed him on the cheek. " Thanks for making that go as planned."
Yumi stepped back into the house and Ulrich stood there. He rubbed his cheek and smiled to himself. " Better than nothing I suppose," Ulrich said then went in too.
