This chapter tells a lot about Mimi's past.
Hybrid Fairy - I guess now you already know that you were right:)
Hippie Pot Smoker - thanks for the review. I really appreciate it!
jack-e - Yes, Mimi's still pregnant & Michael's completely out of her life. Sora will find out about Mimi in the next couple of chapters. There's a little bit of Tai in here somewhere, just a little tiny bit! Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough.
KoumiLoccness - I'm sorry, but I don't have any idea of what you're talking about.
Chapter Four
Mimi slept badly.
When she was a little girl, she & her father got along really well. He gave her everything she wanted. She had been 'Daddy's little girl' and everything was okay until her parents decided to get a divorce. Mimi took it really hard. She loved her mom & they were very close, and she hated her dad for letting her go.
Mimi's father was a very busy man. He barely has time for his family. Her mother always complained about it but her father wouldn't listen. They went on & on until her mom had enough. She made him choose between his work & his family.
Flashback
It was in the middle of the night when Mimi woke up to the sound of shouting voices. She knew that her parents would stop soon so she tried to go back to sleep, but they continued fighting. Rising up, she decided to go downstairs and see what was happening.
She was in the middle of the stairs when she heard the word she thought would never happen.
"Divorce? You want to get a divorce?" she heard her father say.
"I don't think I have much choice," her mother answered.
"Are you threatening me, Mina?"
"I don't want to live with a man who'd rather pick his job over his own family. You can have the house but I'm going to take Mimi…"
"No way! She's my daughter, too! I won't allow you to take her away from me."
"The nerve! You don't even spend any more time with her, Max. You might've given her everything she ever wanted, money, nice clothes, toys, every goddamn materialistic thing. But haven't you ever thought of giving her what she needed?"
"What do you mean? All I want is to give her a better life"
"Where were you when she had ballet & piano recitals? Where were you when she won the spelling contest? Where were you when she first sang in school? Where were you when she got a terrible fever? Work! You're always at work!" tears started flowing down her face. Her mother was always there for her...but never her dad.
Mimi didn't hear the rest of what they were saying because she quickly went back to her room…her face filled with tears.
Using his influence & money, Max Tachikawa took custody of Mimi & got the house…leaving his wife heart broken. Later on, Mimi heard that her mother went off to New York.
After the divorce, Max Tachikawa was never the same man. He became bitter, cross, strict, & over protective of his only daughter. Mimi knew that deep inside, her father still loved her mom & she hated him for letting her go.
End of Flashback
Later, as she stood under the hot spray of the shower, her thoughts slid inexorably to Matt. She'd been stunned to find him in the kitchen. Some time during the eight years she'd been away, she still…amazingly…find him attractive.
'Pretty Boy'. That's what his buddies had called him & he took the nickname with good humor. Since he was little, he would make sure that his hair was styled & neat. But now, it seems like he gave up on styling gel & just let his hair be.
His eyes…those dazzling blue eyes…always reminded her of the ocean. It was his best feature and every time she looks at him, it made her heart beat faster.
But he must never know it. And he must never know that she lied when she said she never thought about the past. Now that she was pregnant again, she thought about it all the time. Thought about him & the sweet love they shared, and the child they had so passionately, yet tenderly created together.
Stepping out of the shower, she reached for a towel & swiped it over the mirror. She stared at herself, & mused ironically, that Matt hadn't recognized her. She looked so colorless, she barely recognized herself! The girl he knew had been vibrant & pretty, with a healthy glow on her pretty face, & her hair dyed in Pink…she always loved that color.
She sighed as she blow-dried her…now natural brown hair. Right now, she & Matt have different lives. And she'd rather keep it that way.
Although Odaiba was a small town compared to New York City, it was big enough for the two of them because she had no intention of leaving. And once she ousted him from Laurel House, she would move-in & make it her home…and her new baby that was now the only important thing in her life.
"You, Miss Tachikawa, are one very careless driver!"
Seated alone at the kitchen table, Mimi was startled by the sound of Matt's voice as he came in through the back door. Putting down the mug of coffee, she dropped her hands to her lap, & hoped she looked calmer than she felt.
In the moments before he closed the door, a dash of morning air swept into the room, making her shiver. "Careless? Really?" she kept her tone casual. "Why would you think that?"
He scowled at her. "The Porsche at the back is yours?"
She nodded & quirked a quizzical eyebrow.
"Then you owe me."
"For what?"
For splashing mud all over my suit," he growled. "Last night, on Main Street"
"Oh, that was you!"
"You knew?" Indignation resonated in his voice. "But you didn't stop to apologize?"
"Sorry. I knew I splashed somebody…and if I'd known it was a lawyer…" she chuckled. "So…sue me!"
His scowl deepened. Before he could say anything, she added contritely, "Look, I really am sorry. A cat darted in front of the car & I have to swerve to avoid it. If I had time to think, I would of course have chosen to kill the cat rather than splatter your suit. What is it by the way…just as a matter of interest? Armani? Canali?"
He glared at her for a further moment…and then his laughter rolled out. "Armani, I guess."
She leaned back in her chair. "Whatever happened," she asked, "to the teenager who swore that he would never wear a suit, even if he is a lawyer?"
"What happened," he retorted, "was that I was just wearing that suit because I had to go to court with a client. I normally wear casual clothes to the office."
"You only wear a suit when you need to go to court." Mimi stated.
Matt nodded before asking, "So…did you sleep well?"
"Yes," she lied. "I'd been on the plane for hours & I had a long trip, so I was bushed. Besides, there's nothing to beat sleeping in one's own bed."
Reaching for the green & white hand towel that dangled from a hook on the wall by the door, he said on a teasing tone, "You think?"
She felt her cheeks go warm. The last thing she wanted was to get a conversation with this man about sleeping in any other bed than her own. "Yes."
"Ah, well," he drawled, "to his…or her…own." He rubbed the towel over his damp hair & then ran it over his neck & arms. Slinging it over his shoulder, he glanced at the carafe of coffee that she made earlier.
"Can I have some of that?" Without waiting for an answer, he poured himself a cup. Pulling out the chair across from her, he sat down. "So," he said, "you had a long trip. Where'd you come from?"
"New York."
"Ah, a city girl. So, city gal, how about filling me in on what you've been doing the past eight years? That's one expensive car you're running. You must either have a good job…or you married into money."
"Neither," she said. "I don't have a job & I don't have a husband."
Silence swelled between them, broken only by the hum of the refrigerator. He was the first to speak. "You're on your own?"
She hesitated. Eventually, he…and everybody in town…would learn that she was pregnant. But for the time being, she wanted to keep that secret to herself. "Yes," she said. Then to divert him she said, "I want to go & visit my father's grave. Is he at Odaiba cemetery?"
"No, they built a new cemetery six years ago….it's out past downtown, take the second exit…or is it the third?" He scratched a hand through his blonde hair. "I'll drive you"
"Thanks, but I'd like to drive myself. I'll just but a map."
"You didn't use to be so independent!" He said it without thinking, but when he saw a shadow darken her eyes, he could have kicked himself. If she was independent now, it was because she'd had to be. When she had most desperately needed support, she'd been let down by those she should have been able to depend on the most.
She pushed back her chair & got to her feet. "I am independent, Matt." She spoke quietly. "And I cherish my independence. I've learned the hard way that the only person I can count on is myself."
He stood, too, all six-foot-three of him. Fisting his hands by his sides, he faced her steadily across the table. "You're wrong, Princess. If there's anything I can do for you, just say the word."
She looked at him for the longest time and then she said, with a twisted half smile, "There is one thing you can do for me, Matt."
"Sure," his heart leaped with anticipation. "What is it?"
"Please," she said, "don't call me 'princess'." And without another word, she flicked back her long, straight hair & walked out of the kitchen.
AN: The next chapter will be scenes between Matt & Sora.
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