WhenIGetHomeMyWifeAlwaysPretendstobeDeadAllenxRioChap9
Thirty minutes later, I have finished my bath. Already clothe in the beautiful dress, I wrap my golden locks with the fluffy towel and walk out of the bathroom; feeling refreshed as ever. Felicity and Tina are waiting for me, maybe to halt me if I ran off.
"Great! I was thinking to barge in and drag you out of the bathtub."
"Hey, you're the one who told me to exit when I'm squeaky clean."
"Eh…well, alright! Now let's move to Yuri's room!"
I can only sweatdrop at her antics.
Yuri's room is a few steps across the bathroom. Her room is tidy, if I say so myself since there are only few things there. A single bed is located on far right corner and a vanity is placed in between the wardrobe and a desk.
Adjacent to the desk is a shelf filled with books and little trinkets; some is made from porcelain, some from wood. Framed photographs decorating the wall next to it, adding some colour on the plain beige wall.
"Where's Michelle? Call her in, we want to start the make-over!" Felicity instructs Tina before the messenger skips away to the first floor. She then turns to me and asks me to occupy on the vanity stool. I oblige and settle down in front of the mahogany wood vanity. On its table lie various cosmetics and make-up utensils; a set of eye shadow colours, mascara, a light pink lipstick, a manicure and pedicure set, blush, foundations, you name it.
"Felicity." the said woman turns her face to my direction from her spot on the bed. "Care to explain what's going on?"
Her smile radiates innocence, but what I see are mischief and tease.
"Well...it's a surprise of course~ and I intend to keep it that way." she chortles 'innocently'.
Before I can ask for more, Tina enters the room with Michelle on tow. The magician stands behind me and grins widely as she cracks her knuckles.
"Let the magic starts!"
And with that, I am officially their make-up model. Well, since they're my best friends, they often do my make up. So I guess it's okay to let them handle it. Though their intention is still unclear, I'm sure that they mean no harm.
Felicity starts off with applying the foundation over my whole face while Michelle buffs my fingernails.
"Close your eyes, Rio. I'm going to smear the eye shadow! Hmmmm... What colour to use..."
Michelle pipes in, now begin to polish my nails, "Use the colour that compliments her eyes. Use light, not dark! She may be a married woman but she's not that old."
"You know, Michelle." I comment, "it's kind of pointless to paint my nails beautifully...because my hands will done hard labour tomorrow."
"Hush now. It's nothing wrong with a woman being beautiful even it's only for a few hours." she sasses at me.
"You need to look your best! Tina, be a dear and buff her toe nails."
"Roger that! One set of nails buffing coming up!"
WhenIGetHomeMyWifeAlwaysPretendstobeDeadAllenxRioChap9
The sun has already set by the time they are done with the makeover.
"Gorgeous!"
"I really out done myself! A touch of my magical fingers brings the colour to life!"
Well, I can't disagree with her. The red lipstick lusciously paints my lips, my deep blue eyes are highlighted by the gradation of brown as the eye shadow, and pink blush dusts around my cheeks-giving it a healthy glow.
"Now for the final touch!"
She takes off the pink top hat rested on her head and shows the empty inside to us. Then she rummages through it and pulls out a...
"Viola!"
A...sunglasses?
"What...will you do with that...?"
"You'll wear it, of course! It will keep the eye shadow in pristine condition." she put on the sunglasses before (once again) wraps the same black cloth over it to block my vision.
"There's the last place you need to go before the grand finale!"
Man, I'm just too curious! What is this so-called "grand finale" they keep on chatter about?
I feel guilty for them to always lead me anywhere, but the again, this is all their idea.
They put on a pair of plain, light brown stocking before low-heels covered my feet. A fluffy coat is draped on my shoulders to prevent cold air from nipping the exposed skin.
They drag me out of the toasty warm house and after a few minutes walk, we step into another building with white tile floors.
"She's all yours!"
And...for the second time, they left me in Goddess-knows-where.
The nerve of them! They even didn't take off the blindfold! I'm about to uncover the blindfold myself when a hand gently halts my movement. Out of reflex, I slap the hand away and step away from the anonymous.
"Who's there?!"
No reply.
The person takes another step forward and I take another step back while trying to unknot the blindfold. Damn Felicity and her knots...
This cycle goes on until the back of my knees hit something. The anonymous clamps my shoulders and gently pushes me down the...stool?
Wait a sec...
"Now you realise who is this, no?" T-that voice!
Before I can utter a reply, both the blindfold and the sunglasses are lifted off and I am face to face with a half-body mirror. My eyes immediately detect the person smirking behind me and it widens in surprise. My palms starting to sweat, my fingers begin to fidget, and my heart accelerates inside its rib cage—ready to burst at any time.
There he stands, the man I've been searching for since I arrived back from Castanet Island.
Damn it, I thought I'm ready to face him one-on-one but now that he's here...I wonder where that courage now... Argh! I can't lose my cool. I refuse! Then what should I say?
"Cat got your tongue, princess?" I snap out of the reverie when he speaks while combing the golden tresses.
"W-well, I-"
'I want to apologise'
The words are in the tip of my tongue, but here I am; gaping like a fish in the dry land.
"Don't worry, princess. I'm used to it." he remarks confidently.
I can only watch from the mirror as he works his magic on my hair. The awkward silence ensues around us and Allen seems to have no intention to break it. Maybe he doesn't feel awkward at all. This is quite...um...upsetting since he always have something, anything to talk about.
Ah yes…he's still mad at me.
But why he didn't avoid me? On the contrary, he confronted me with his own style. His own style, being: asked Felicity and the others to 'kidnap' me in order to doll me up.
Is he waiting for me to apologise?
I'm over thinking this…
I must've mulled it over some time, because my heart has calmed down—it still beating in a moderately fast pace, though. Focusing on the man behind me, I notice that he is all dress-up in a black tuxedo with wine red shirt underneath, and a black tie complements the formal attire. Before I can give a comment about it, he's done.
He takes a step back and admires his work.
"You know, I'd like to use an extravagant style but time is not on our side for now. Come on!"
He takes hold of my upper arm and pulls me outside after turning the lights off. I can feel anticipation growing inside me as we walk briskly upon the thin layer of snow toward the ranch.
He skids stop in front of the ranch house and fumbles with the key. I notice soft, orange-yellowish lights fickle just behind the thin brown curtains that are draped to the windows. Maybe candle lights? But I only have one...
The door is unlocked and he stands aside, "Ladies first."
Well, chivalry will never die as long as there are people like him...
"Thank you."
As I step inside, a whiff of warm vanilla invade my nostrils. Light classical music is played from the radio on the L-shaped kitchen counter, creating a classy atmosphere in the rustic room. The lights are dim, lamps are all turned off and in exchange the aromatherapy candles are lit. They are situated on the kitchen counter, on the windowsills, and one is on the...
"Oh my..."
The last candle stands on the dining table, surrounded by plates of full course meal; from herb salad to chocolate lava cake. Two slim flute glass are filled to the brim with clear light yellow liquid, the lighting makes both glasses sparkle mildly.
"A dinner fit for this special occasion, no?"
I spin around to meet his gentle gaze. A dashing smile adorns his face as he takes a step forward.
"Let's eat before it gets cold."
WhenIGetHomeMyWifeAlwaysPretendstobeDeadAllenxRioChap9
The sounds echoing in the quaint house are only the music and the tinkling tableware against the plate. No words were exchanged while we ate, but it didn't feel awkward at all. The food spoiled my taste buds with its marvelous taste, so I didn't really complaining. Especially…the dessert.
Chocolate lava cake is the best.
Since it's the delicious dessert we are talking about, I really take my time savouring every single crumble of the cake. I didn't notice that Allen has done with his cake and he's staring at me across the table.
"Oh, don't mind me," he says when I stare back at him, "Take all the time you need. It amuse me to see your eyes light up at every bite you take."
I bashfully put down my fork and avert my gaze, "Hey, it's embarrassing…"
"No, it's cute." He chuckles and then puts a finger under my chin to push my face up in order to meet his gaze.
"You got some chocolate there."
Jutting out my tongue and drag it across my lips, I try to clean up the remnants that didn't reach inside my mouth.
"Hey, I don't taste any—"
Before I can finish, Allen dabs the chocolate across my upper lips.
I'm completely stunned and it doesn't really help when he inches closer to kiss me.
My eyes go wide as he continues his ministrations. He opens his mouth to nibble gently and lick the smear of chocolate on my upper lips. After he cleans it, he parts and goes back to his seat with not even a bit of embarrassment on his visage.
"There. All clean."
I can only stare at him, awestruck. My lips…it still feel the sparks and the tingling sensation doesn't stop. I still can feel his tongue glides gracefully and takes away every inch of chocolate that he spreads.
"Wh-wh-wh-wh…"
"Are you asking me why, princess?"
I don't trust my own voice so I just nod.
He sits upright, "Well…you've been looking nervous since you saw me."
Braving myself, I try to reply—only for me to scold myself as I squeak out, "B-but that's not really a reason to…!"
He holds up a palm, signaling me to stop, "Let me finish. You made me start, so let me finish it."
His wish is my command, so I clamp my mouth shut.
"Listen. I know why you've acting weird since few months back and you don't need to tell me what a jerk I was for getting mad at something that was trivial because I already know. I know, I was wrong."
He raises his point finger; "First, I was wrong for getting mad at you only because of the stained dress. The stain is easy to remove with the right way. And second," another finger is raised, "…I'm sorry for making you lonely. I was way too engrossed with my work that I forgot about you and our wedding anniversary. So…I'm sorry."
…Woah, this is new. Allen apologises first? I never expected that!
"So…all of this…?"
"It's one way to make it up to you."
All is still and uh, kind of awkward…
"…"
"…"
"…I know that I'm forgiven but I need you to confirm that."
"…"
He clears his throat and almost shyly peers to my eyes, "So…am I forgiven?"
After I snap out of my trance, I let out a small laugh.
"Yeah…well, of course you're forgiven, if…"
Hearing the 'if', disbelief crosses in his face for a second.
"…if you accept my apology too."
It seems that his mind is currently processing what I've just said, so I decide to explain.
"You know, you're not the only one at fault here. Because I just ruined the dress. So…I'm sorry for ruining it. I'll wash it tomorrow okay; it will be squeaky clean!"
Now, it's his turn to laugh. It echoes around the room, uplifting the atmosphere into a much friendly and light one. Soon his laughter died down but the smile remains.
"Or we can have it laundered. Then we'll go to the city for a date."
The city? Hmmm…that reminds me of something…ah!
I pummel my fist on my other palm and exclaim "Th-that's right! I need to see a fellow doctor there."
Hearing the word doctor, Allen's happy expression turns a bit serious. Concern laces his voice as he asks me why I need to see a doctor.
Well, I am going to tell his the news sooner or later.
"Well…I might be pregnant…"
His blue eyes widen in surprise and anxiety got the best of me. I gaze downward as hundreds of unpleasant thoughts run through my mind. I'm so engrossed in those thoughts that I fail to see that he's now kneeling in front of me, with a big smile plastered on his feature.
"…Rio. Hey, look at me."
His hand slowly lifts my face and my irises meet his gentle gaze, which holds unspoken joy.
"Hear me out again, will you? You don't need to worry. I will be there for you in every step of the progress. This child is a blessing and I will be more than happy to be their father. We'll get through this together."
I'm so touched by his words; I can feel the emotion and love in every single word he said. My eyes begin to water but the corners of my lips are itching to move northward.
I feel so loved and happy and…blessed.
"Now, now. Don't cry, you'll ruin the make up!"
"Those are tears of joy! I'm so happy…"
"I am too, Rio. I am too."
WhenIGetHomeMyWifeAlwaysPretendstobeDeadAllenxRioChap9
Done! Done, I tell you, done! There will be an epilogue but this one is still on progress!
Review and constructive critics are always welcomed!
