The Ultimate Summer Vacation

Chapter 10

Kari didn't think she could ever have a day more depressing than the day she told her parents she'd be leaving them forever.

"Kari, I just don't understand," her mom repeated through her sobs. She had begun crying just after Kari had sat them down to speak with them. Her parents, like Matt and Tai, had automatically assumed she was pregnant. So, after many reassurances by both her and Tai, she had been able to calm them down and tell them what was happening to her and T.K.

"What do you mean you're not human?" her father asked when her speech was finished. Kari could detect the terror in his face, but alongside that was a trace of terror.

This time her mother laughed instead of sobbed. "Of course she's human; I was in labor with her for nine hours. This is ridiculous; you're my daughter."

Kari sighed, "I know, Mom, of course I'm your daughter. But I'm not just that, I'm more, don't you see?"

"She has to save the world again," Tai said, faking a smile in an attempt to better explain.

"I'm still missing it though," her mother stammered, her tears falling freely down her face. "Why can't you ever come back? Whenever you and your friends went to the digital world before you could always come back…"

"I'm not going to the digital world, Mom," Kari tried to explain again. "It's a different world."

Kari's father gave her a solemn nod. "I don't like this one bit," he said, "but I trust you. You wouldn't leave us by choice so it must be important." He turned to Kari's mother for support but she just continued to cry into Tai's shoulder. Kari exchanged a glance with her older brother and they both understood there would be nothing they could say to comfort their mother until she calmed down.

That calm didn't arrive until many hours later. Kari was in the process of packing an overnight bag to take to T.K.'s when she snuck out the balcony again later. It took her 0.2 seconds to stash the bag under her bed when she was interrupted by the soft knock on her door.

Her mother's eyes were still bloodshot when she entered the room and took a seat on Kari's unmade bed. Unsure of where she should sit Kari stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess," her mother apologized, "I just…I love you so much Kari…" She started crying again, but thankfully not the heavy sobs like before. Kari sat down on the bed beside her and wrapped her arms around her shoulders.

"I love you too, Mom."

They held each other like that for a while before her mom broke away from the embrace.

"And you said T.K. is going with you?"

Kari nodded. "And Gatomon and Patamon."

Gatomon jumped on the bed at the mention of her name. "Don't worry Mrs. Kamiya, I'll keep Kari safe."

Kari's mother smiled for the first time as she scratched Gatomon behind her ears. "I know, Gatomon." Then she sighed. "Kari, I know you and T.K. love each other, but are you sure you've thought this through? Are you sure he's the one you want to spend the rest of your life with?"

Kari laughed. "Well, first of all I don't really have a choice about that. Second of all, yes, yes, and yes. I've known that since I was eight years old."

Her smile made her mother smile. She reached out to smooth her hair and sighed again. "I just keep thinking about all the things you'll never get to do. I've been fantasizing about your wedding day since you were born."

Kari felt the blood drain out of her face. Wedding day? She was too young to be married.

"Or grandchildren," Kari's mother continued.

Gatomon laughed at the expression on Kari's face. "Kari, your eyes are as wide as mine," she joked.

Kari laughed and forced herself to blink.

"Just think about it," Kari's mother said as she left the room.

And Kari did think about it. Surprisingly, it was for the first time. It had simply been a given for her that she would be with T.K. forever. She never thought she'd need a fancy white dress or a ceremony to confirm it. Her mother would though; this would not be the last time she'd hear about it. She wondered if T.K. had thought about it. She knew she wouldn't be able to sneak out to see him tonight, not now that her mother had regained her speech. She couldn't imagine her mother's hysteria if she came back to Kari's room and found her bed empty in the middle of the night, especially after she just told them she had nine months left on Earth.

Would T.K. want to get married? What about T.K.'s family? What about their friends and everyone from school? She already knew what rumors would fly about her if they announced an engagement. She might as well register at Babies'R'Us.

That train of thought was abandoned as her cell phone began to ring. She didn't have to look at the flashing screen to know it was T.K. calling.

"Hi," she answered, trying not to let her exhaustion creep into her voice. Even after all this time she still got a rush of butterflies in her stomach as she waited for his response.

"How'd it go?" he asked.

"Uhh, well, I guess it was what I could have expected. They asked if I was pregnant, and then mom cried a lot." She thought it was best to leave the second conversation for a better time.

"Same here, except they didn't ask about a pregnancy."

"Wow, that's a first," Kari said, reminding herself how much she liked T.K.'s mother.

"I think she was even kind of expecting it," T.K. said. "I have more to tell you though, are you coming over tonight?"

"No," Kari said reluctantly, "not tonight. I'm afraid my mom's going to freak out again."

"Ok," T.K. said, "that's cool." Kari could tell by his voice that he was disappointed, but Kari was already stretching out across her own bed. She hoped her future bed in the other world would be just as comfortable as home. If that world had beds, that is.

"See you tomorrow?" she asked. The next day was a Sunday, so they'd have plenty of time to spend together.

"Sure. Want to come over here?"

"Okay, see you in the morning!"

"'Kay, good night. I love you."

"I love you too."

Kari hung up the phone and wiped the goofy grin off her face that always followed a conversation with T.K.

"Hey, Kari," Gatomon said while she curled up on the foot of her bed, "if you and T.K. get married would that make me the 'Mon' of Honor? Or would it be Best 'Mon'?"

Kari laughed and got into bed as well. "It would have to be 'Mon' of Honor. Patamon would be the Best 'Mon.'"

She fell asleep laughing at Gatomon's silly joke, but then dreamt of beautiful blonde haired blue eyed babies.

It was one of those dreams that was so vivid and lifelike she couldn't shake it all morning while she prepared for the day. It wasn't until she reached T.K.'s apartment and the door swung open to reveal his perfect face that images finally slipped from the forefront of her mind.

He greeted her with a tight hug and tender kiss that made her knees want to give out. He led her inside and sat her down on the comfy living room couch.

"How's your mom doing?" he asked while he slid an arm around her.

"Better, I think," she replied, leaning into him. "She didn't cry when she saw me this morning." This was true; Kari's mom had winked at her when Kari had told her where she was going.

"You know, T.K.," Kari said seriously, sitting up so she could look at his face. "My mom had the craziest idea yesterday. I haven't really taken it seriously; I just want to know what you think…well…I think that she thinks we should get married…"

T.K. smiled, but Kari didn't see the surprise she was expecting to see in his face.

"And how do you feel about that, Kari?"

"What do you mean how do I feel about that?" she asked, suddenly feeling extremely uncomfortable. "Why are you not shocked like I was?" Her face felt hot, the room felt hot and stuffy. "Wait a second…" It was starting to hit her now, so hard she could barely breathe… "Are you going to ask me to marry you?"

The smile on T.K.'s face widened. She could see Gatomon and Patamon peeking out from behind the kitchen doorway. "You're in on this!" she yelled at Gatomon, who tried to duck back into the safety of the kitchen.

"Kari," T.K. said, taking her hand in his. He reached into his pocket with the other.

"Oh God," she said, her eyes probably as big as her face again.

He pulled out a small black velvet box and placed it into her palm. "This was my grandmother's ring. My mom gave it to me last night."

She opened the box slowly, feeling as weepy as her mother as the tears started to build up in her eyes. Inside was the most beautiful piece of jewelry she had ever seen. The band was simple silver and the stone a very large round cut diamond. Kari knew her cheeks had to be bright red. Her anxiety was almost to the point of being uncontrollable.

"T.K., wait," Kari said before he could "pop the question." "We don't have to do this. I know it's what our parents would want, but honestly, it doesn't matter to me." She looked up at him but saw only confusion and a little bit of hurt in his eyes. "Oh, I'm not explaining this right," she cried. "What I mean is…I don't need a ring, I don't need a wedding…I love you and I always will."

She reached closer so she could kiss him but he stopped her.

"Kari, this isn't about what our parents want us to do. We're spending the rest of our lives together in a way no one else will ever understand. A wedding here, with all of our family and friends, would put it into a perspective that they can understand. Plus, it'd be one last chance to see everyone together. The only thing I want more than to marry you is to be with you, so Kari Kamiya, will you marry me?"

She nodded her acceptance. "I'd do anything for you, T.K."

This time he moved in to kiss her and as he slid the ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand she already felt the weight of it as not just a shiny bauble but also an extension of herself. She broke away from his kiss so she could admire it.

"I just have one question," Kari asked, looking back up at him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Did my mother talk you into this?"

He laughed before confessing that she had called him last night. "It was just a coincidence," he assured her, that he and her mother

She laughed with him, somewhat unbelievingly, as she curled back into him on the couch. It wasn't long before Gatomon and Patamon joined them, arguing over who would be "Best 'Mon,'" and despite all of her nervousness about what would happen to them in September, for once she felt peacefully calm and blissfully happy.