Sorry it took so long for me to update. I've been busy with my other story, 'The Whole Package'. If you haven't read it, I definitely recommend that you should. My number one priority is to finish that one, but don't be too disappointed coz I'll still be updating this story every now & then.
Chapter Six
They moved into the living room with their coffee & chocolate cheesecake, so they could watch the television for any further information about the cruise ship & the mysterious virus that plagued it. Mimi pulled her feet up under her; propped herself up with sofa pillows, leaned her head against the back of the couch, & said, "Tell me about Ms. Motomiya."
Matt turned the volume down to a faint whisper. "Ms. Jun Motomiya? Why?"
"You told me you were rebuilding her closets. I though you meant you were putting in new shelves or something."
"That's how the project started out…a fairly minor remodel. She wanted to turn the small bedroom next to hers into a walk-in closet & dressing room."
"And she ended up with a whole new wing instead? Was that your idea or hers? Because if it was yours, Matt, you're wasted in construction. You should be selling office buildings."
Matt shook his head. "I just do what the customer wants."
"Even if it's impractical?"
"You don't get anywhere in this business by telling the customer what they should want. That just makes them go hire a different contractor."
"But you don't get anywhere by giving them something they won't be happy with, either." Mimi sighed. "Do you remember when you asked me about that house across the street from Ms. Motomiya's & why I sold it twice? You were right, you know."
"About the original buyers not being happy with it?"
She nodded. "It was the first big piece of property I ever sold & I was so excited at putting the deal together that it didn't occur to me that this couple wasn't the Georgian-mansion type. It's a great house, but completely impractical for them."
"How long did it take them to figure it out?"
"About six weeks."
"Ouch."
"They didn't blame me, but I always felt I should have asked a few more questions. Made sure they didn't just jump into something without thinking it through."
"So you think Jun's new wing is impractical."
Mimi was startled. "Did I say that? I didn't mean to. I was speaking generally. If someone wanted you to build them a house that was half-Oriental & half-Tudor, would you do it?"
"I might try to nudge them toward on style or the other," Matt admitted. "I do have a reputation to protect."
"And you'd also discourage them because in the long run, they wouldn't be happy with the contrast & they'd never be able to sell it."
"Do you always think in terms of how hard something will be to sell?"
"Of course," Mimi said calmly. "I grew up with a dad who always talks about his business. And besides, a house is the biggest, most expensive single thing most people ever buy. It makes sense to consider what's going to happen when they don't want it anymore…whether that's next year or decades in the future. For instance, if instead of a ground-floor master suite, Ms. Jun was building an aviary so she could breed parrots & cockatoos…"
"Funny you should mention birds. If she had a hobby, maybe she wouldn't be watching like a hawk as every nail goes in. And she might even quit issuing change orders every twenty minutes."
Mimi giggled.
Matt stretched both arms out along the back of the couch. "So how do you know it's a master suite?"
"Well, you did say she started off wanting a new closet & a dressing room, so it seemed a reasonable assumption. Besides…" She shot a sidelong look at him. "I walked through it today."
"You just strolled in & looked around?"
"I was hunting for you," Mimi pointed out.
"Even though the SUV was gone?"
"I didn't know it was gone. You might have pushed it around the back of the house out of sight."
He grinned. "Your excuse doesn't hold water, Mimi."
"All right," she admitted. "I wanted to see what you were doing. I thought from what Sora told me that you were…" She stopped, just a little too late, & bit her lip.
"A sort of odd-job handyman."
Mimi was relieved that he didn't sound as if her misinformed opinion bothered him any. And why should it? Why would Yamato Ishida care what she thought he was?
"Well, yes, what do you call yourself, anyway?"
"General construction contractor."
"Well, that covers a multitude of sins. What exactly do you do?"
"My company builds houses, remodels kitchen, converts garages into offices, and turns warehouses into lofts. My ordinary crews handle most of the work, & if we get into something more specialized, we subcontract."
"I had no idea," Mimi admitted.
"Well, we could probably spend the whole evening talking about me, & vice versa."
He was right, of course, Mimi thought. Just because they cared about the same people didn't make them pals. They might have known each other for some time now, but in all those years they've never really been that close.
"Talking about our differences would certainly be more fun than watching the news channel…Look, there it is, the ship. And there's a number to call for information." Mimi sat up abruptly. Her foot slipped from under her, knocking the remote control off Matt's knee, & as they scrambled to get it under the coffee table, they bumped heads. By the time they were upright again, the story was over & the phone number disappeared,
Mimi groaned. "Did you catch any of that at all?"
"No, but surely they'll come back to it." he leaned back once more. "Why did you assume that we have nothing in common?"
"Hmm?"
"You seem to think if we compared our likes & dislikes that we'd find nothing but differences."
She picked up her pillows & settled back against the couch. "And you think we have something in common? All right, I'll play the game. What's your favorite music?"
"Rock."
"Classical, Pop, & RnB for me," Mimi said. "Food?"
"Steak. I've got you there, haven't I?"
"No, you don't. I chose steak because it was in Sora's freezer, & I had guessed that you're a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. I'm a seafood & salad person, myself. Way to work off stress? And I don't mean the sort of exercise that involves a woman."
Matt grinned. "In that case, playing my guitar."
Mimi made a face. "Too boring for me. I prefer window shopping at the mall, followed by a bubble bath. So far, you're zero for three. Sure you want to keep going?"
"Only if I get to ask the questions."
"But then you can lie about your answer in order to prove your point."
"And you haven't been doing that? Come on, Mimi. When I started your car last night, there was a rock CD in the player."
"It was a compilation of different songs, a friend gave…"
"Sora keeps mostly fish & chicken in her freezer, so you must have had dig in to find that steak. As for guitar & shopping…" He shrugged. "Okay, maybe we're different at that so I say it's two for three. Favorite hobby?"
"Painting," Mimi said firmly.
His eyes widened. "Really? I learned to love painting when I saw…uh…Del Venice's masterpiece &…"
She flung a pillow at him. "It would be more convincing to lie if you got your facts straight, Matt."
He took the cushion & handed it back. "All right, does it count if I'm willing to learn? You can teach me."
"Not me…I mean…" She caught herself. "I mean…I don't take students."
Matt was laughing. "What you mean is you were lying your head off."
"I wouldn't know anything about painting even if it bit me," Mimi admitted.
"Well, that's something we have in common." He sobered. "You're exhausted aren't you? Go to bed, Mimi. I'll sit here for a little while till the run the story again."
Mimi yawned. "Now who's sounding domestic?" She felt herself turn red. "Oh, no, that's not what I…"
"…meant to say. I know, now go get some sleep. I'll check on the babies before I go."
In the master bedroom, Mimi changed into her sweat pants & t-shirt, telling herself that her fashion choice had nothing to do with Matt still being in the house. It was just more practical to dress warmly. And if she needed to get up with the babies while Matt was still there…well, there was no sense in letting him suspect that she was trying to be seductive, when in fact it was the last thing she wanted.
So if you haven't got seduction on the brain, a little voice whispered, why did the concept even cross your mind?
How long was he going to stay, anyways? Until the station ran the story again, he said. But was that likely to be a few minutes, or a few hours?
She lay down on the bed, remembering the way Matt had stretched out both arms along the back of the couch, his muscles flexing. The back of her neck tingled, as if he was still close enough to touch her. The sole of her foot still felt warm from brushing against his knee as she had pushed herself up. And the top of her head throbbed where she bumped into him…though it wasn't a painful sort if throb but an excited one. She felt as if the room was spinning.
With the last of her energy, she pulled the comforter up over her. she wondered if he was still sitting out there, waiting for the story. Perhaps she should just peek out & see whether he'd gone. And if he hadn't…
Mimi, you are losing it, she told herself firmly. She turned onto her side & pulled the comforter over her head.
Mimi woke with a sense of doom, feeling as if she missed something important…something along the lines of a college final or a job interview. She slept deeply, and if the twins had awakened in the night, she couldn't remember it. Maybe she was learning to sleepwalk.
Or maybe she just didn't hear them. She frowned at the bedroom door & chewed her lip. The door was closed, though she remembered leaving it half open so she could hear the twins more easily. Or was she remembering a previous night?
With Matt still sitting out in the living room, would she really have left her door open? Surely not…& it was just as well, too. She could imagine the reaction if he happened to see a half-open bedroom door. He'd probably think that she was hoping he'd come in…& then he'd no doubt start giving her that half-bemused, half-fascinated look again. The look which always made her want to scream.
The look, come to think of it, that she hadn't seen since he'd first shown up to work on the dishwasher on Saturday. Don't get your hopes up, Mimi, she told herself.
She heard Nikko & Ella chattering away, in the baby babble which she was only now starting to comprehend. But the sound wasn't coming from their bedroom. How had they gotten out of their cribs? What on earth were they doing…& why did they sound so happy about it?
Mimi took the corner into the dining room with her bare feet flapping on the hardwood floor & stopped dead. The babies were in their high chairs. Nikko banged his fists on the tray, Ella reached up to Mimi & uttered a nonsensical-sounding sentence, and Matt, who's standing in the kitchen, said, "How do we work this breakfast thing, kids?" he turned around to look at the twins as if he fully expected an answer, & focused on Mimi. "Hi, there."
"You're here early," Mimi said. She ran a hand over her hair. Not that it would do any good, she thought. She felt…and no doubt looked…as if she'd been on a binge the night before. But then, she realized, Matt looked a little rumpled himself.
"Not exactly."
She frowned. "You mean you just stayed?"
"Yeah, you'd only been gone ten minutes when the news story about the ship ran again, so I knocked on your door to tell you about it."
"I didn't hear you."
"That was obvious," he said dryly. "You were so far gone I thought it would be safer for everybody if I stuck around. So I sacked out on the couch."
"I don't know what to say." She moved past him & reached for the box of baby cereal.
Matt shrugged. "I'm just doing what's needed to be done."
"Thank you," Mimi said slowly. She handed him a bowl. "Stir this up, will you?"
He grabbed a spoon, pulled a chair around, & sat down in front of the high chairs. By the time Mimi finished mixing the second bowl of cereal, he was in a rhythm…a spoonful for each twin in turn.
"You're using the same spoon to feed them both?"
"It's efficient," Matt said. Besides, twins who chew on toys together share every germ together, so what's the difference? They're not complaining."
"Just don't let Sora catch you at it." she handed each of the twins a spoon.
"Go get dressed," Matt said. "We can handle this end. And I'll have to stop at home & get some clothes before I can go to the job sites, so I'd like to get going as soon as possible."
"Okay, if you're sure." Odd that he said get some clothes, rather than just change clothes, Mimi thought. Unless… She said slowly," What did the reports say about the ship?"
Matt didn't look up from the cereal-insertion assembly-line. "So far they've made no progress in figuring out what the virus is."
"Which means there's no end in sight?"
"That's pretty much the size of it. Do you want to pick your twin for the day, or flip a coin to see which one you take?"
AN: So far, so good. Matt & Mimi are getting along quite well, don't you think? Chapter 7 will be up soon! Please review!
Janay – I'm really glad you like my story. You should also read 'The Whole Package', you might find it nice! Just4reviews, Hesitate – thanks! I'm glad you like it. Dark's Assasin & Assasin's partner – you guys are so cool! When I saw your name, I kinda thought that you two are related in some way…I'm really flattered that both of you like my story. Keep R&R!
