Chapter X

It's Not a Silly Little Moment

It's not a silly little moment…

It's not the storm before the calm…

- "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" by John Mayer.

Holly might have forgotten about her interview today if Michael hadn't woken her with a high-pitched, "Today's the day! The sun is shining! The tank is clea… the tank is clean. The tank is clean!"

It had been a week since she'd sent in an application for the position as an H.R. representative, and only twenty-four hours since she'd received the call requesting an interview with her. It had been twenty-two hours since Michael had last stopped talking about it.

He was probably more excited than she was, as he woke her up early to help her prepare in advance. At first, she'd been unenthusiastic, but by the time the alarm clock actually went off, she was beyond relieved for his help. She hadn't interviewed for a job in years, and she had been nervous ever since she'd applied for this one. But Michael had interviewed plenty of people in his career, and he was happy to help her prepare.

He was also happy to help her shower. That might not have saved as much time as it had spent, but it had unwound her a good deal. Even as she put on her makeup now, lips running over her pre-written answers in the mirror, she felt so impossibly relaxed.

"…glad to share my history with you…" she muttered silently, applying mascara slowly in focus. "Starting when I was twenty-one…"

"Five bed, six bath with a jacuzzi tub!" Michael interrupted as he stared down at his phone, swiping down the screen rapidly. He had stayed in the bathroom with her, still in his pajamas with legs curled up on the top of the toilet — just sitting in her company while she got ready. "Two of 'em! Two jacuzzis!"

Holly raised her eyebrows, mouth held open as she moved over to the other eye. "Michael, why would we ever need six bathrooms?"

"When we have kids," he pointed out and drew her attention away from her reflection. "Think about it! We could all pee at the same time!"

Holly just laughed at him and shook her head. "I don't think we need five bedrooms either. The odds are pretty good that we'll have two boys or two girls close enough to share a room."

Something about this had Michael beaming, and she smiled back at him.

"What?"

He chuckled a little bit, voice rising. "We're having kids!"

At that, her whole heart swelled a little bit. "Hell yeah, we are," she replied softly.

"You bet yo' ass we ah!"

"You bet yo mama!"

"You bet- hey, hey, hey!" he cut himself off, raising his phone up in the air. "Three bed, two bath. Big backyard. Check it out."

Holly dropped her lipstick in her bag and scooted over on the counter to see. Michael turned the screen for her to see, and scrolled through the pictures for her. "Look at that," he said from behind the phone.

The pictures were nice enough, and the backyard was pretty big, which had been one of their must-haves for future kids and pets. In the future, such a house would be exactly what they needed — but they couldn't afford a house.

"It's nice," Holly remarked as he pulled the phone away. "But we're looking at apartments, remember?"

Michael seemed a bit disappointed, but continued scrolling. "All the good houses are gonna be gone by the time we're ready to look."

Meanwhile, Holly examined herself in the mirror, done with the mascara. Her hair was done — check — and her makeup was complete — check, check — and her clothes hung on the door, the only thing left to be put on.

"Mom and Dad are paying for the wedding so that we can save up over the next couple of years — that way we can spring for something really nice to raise our kids in." She reached for her own phone, then, to check the time.

"I know, but there's so many nice ones now…"

"Holy shish kabob," she breathed, voice shaking as she hopped off the counter, nearly slipping on the wet bathroom floor. She immediately collected all her makeup into her bag in a rush.

Michael looked up. "What?"

Dropping her makeup bag into her purse on the floor, she mumbled, "I'm running late, honey. Can you help me change?"

Without missing a beat, he shot up to his feet. "On it."

So Holly wiggled her shoes onto her feet while Michael peeled her tank top over her head — and got it stuck on her head, covering her eyes. "I can't see," she announced in a muffled voice, wiggling her head around.

"Sorry," he breathed as he turned it, trying again. Finally, it came off her head. "Okay. Pants."

Holly grabbed her blouse and tugged it over her head, while Michael helped her step into her blackest pants. Straightening her top over herself, she hopped into her pants; once a hand was free, she fumbled for her engagement ring on the counter. She slipped it back onto her finger, where it belonged.

"Thank you, Michael," Holly breathed as she pulled her jacket on. Before he had stepped back, she grabbed him by the hem of his t-shirt and tugged him to her lips. She held him there, appreciating him for as long as she could until she had to let him go.

"-mmyou're welcome," Michael said when she broke away, eyes opening slowly. He drew a deep breath. "Is there anything else I can… pull…" He cleared his throat. "…off your body?"

Holly chuckled under her breath, sending him a teasing look. "Nice try," she squeaked, and her voice reached a higher pitch than she'd expected. Her nerves were catching up to her.

"Hol, you better get your butt down here and eat some breakfast before you leave!" her mother called from the hallway, knocking on the wall. Holly smiled to herself and pushed the bathroom door open, hurrying out into the bedroom. She heard Michael walking in after her.

"All right," she mumbled to herself as she dropped her phone into her purse and turned, in a full circle, in search of her notebook with all her notes inside. "Where's my notebook? Michael, have you seen it?"

"Right beside you."

"Right." She picked it up, but dropped her pen, and bent down with a jerk. It slipped under the dresser to her ultimate dismay. "Oh, come on…"

Then a pair of warm hands walked their fingers around her waist, stopping her thoughts in an instant as they guided her up again. No sooner had she reached a relatively-straight posture than had his mouth landed on her neck, kissing there. He knew it tickled, and he did it on purpose.

"Michael!" she protested with a wide smile, neck curling up around him. "I'm late, Michael. Let me- Michael!" she shrieked as he licked her neck playfully.

"I love you," he said into her skin, tickling her even more with his breath.

"I love you, too," she said in surrender. "Sneaky Hobbitses."

"Let's get some breakfast before you go."

She sighed but did not complain at Michael for joining her mother's nagging. "I'll never get away without it, will I?"

"Hm… Nope." He stepped around to open the bedroom door for her, and she stepped through with a nod of gratitude.

"Are you going to be okay here with my parents?" she asked, starting down the stairs.

Michael chuckled. "I think I'll survive. I think."

"I'll cross my fingers for you."

"I'll cross my fingers for you," he shot back. "I'll cross 'em harder, not that you're gonna need it."

They stepped into the kitchen together, finding an interesting combination of order and chaos as Mr. Flax sat at the dining table, with food perfectly not-touching on his plate and newspaper perfectly folded, while Mrs. Flax stood at a stove loaded with bacon and waffles, hair perfectly streaked with waffle batter. When she saw Holly, she sprang to life.

"Hollywood, don't even think about leaving here without food in your stomach. I'll chase you down and rear-end you."

"Thanks, Mom," Holly replied as she approached the counter. Michael stepped past her and opened the refrigerator.

"Do you want any juice?" Michael asked, in a similar tone of voice to her mother's.

Holly smiled, collecting a waffle off the top of a stack. "That's okay."

"Two or three?" Mom called.

"Just one, Mom. I won't have a lot of time."

"Just one waffle?"

"How about coffee?" Michael offered.

Holly didn't respond, simply shaking her head in disbelief of the two people — the two who got along the least in the house, but behaved so similarly sometimes that it was hilarious. "I love you guys. I've got to go."

Michael shut the fridge immediately. "Smile! Everyone loves you!"

"Take another waffle!" Mrs. Flax insisted.

Holly ignored them both, slinging her purse back over her shoulder and heading toward the door. As she passed by her father, she set her hand on his shoulder as a "goodbye."

Then he called after her, "I'm not worried at all." And out of everything that had been said to her today, that was probably the most reassuring.

With all their support behind her, Holly shut the front door behind her and rushed, so close to being late but feeling much more confident now.

Sorry for the late update - depression has been bad lately, but I think we've found a therapist for me, so that much is good. Two chapters coming today to make up for the absence. Thanks for reading and reviewing!