Page 108 of Let's Talk About Love

“You both get arrested and charged with felonies?”

Alice thought about it. “That’s actually a solid possibility considering where we’re going. But I’m sure everything will be fine. Super fine.” She wrapped her arms around his back, tilting her head. “My clean criminal record and I will see you bright and early at the church.”

“I’m going to take a shower.” Takumi kissed her again before leaving. She could kiss his mouth forever and never get tired.

“I’ll order dinner,” she told him. “And pick up the rose petals. I guess.”

“Leave them!” Takumi called from the room.

After ordering a copious amount of Indian food Alice sat on the couch to wait for him. True to his word, he had let her help decorate his shiny new apartment. They had shopped together over the course of a weekend and through several different stores—he had told her no more than yes—because he waited an excruciatingly long time to tell her he didn’t like her idea for dark colors. He had wanted cheery. “Think commercial American Easter minus the hot pink,” he had said.

They had lucked out and found a futon in the exact shade he had wanted: a vibrant blue, which became the base color. They spent the following weekend with the twins painting the rest of the wooden furniture to match. He agreed to accent with delicate lavenders, soft yellows, a sweet shade of pale green (to be usedsparingly), and eggshell white. The best part was the frameless color photos—he wasn’t allowed to paint the walls, so they agreed pictures were the next best thing. Some were of family and friends, but the majority were the seemingly hundreds of landscape photos he had taken over the years, but never quite knew what to do with.

She loved being in his apartment. The overall effect was a soothing one—it felt like Takumi.

He had just gotten out of the shower when her phone rang. “Hello,” she answered.

“Hi, baby, it’s your mom.”

“Yes, I know,” she said, amused.

“I’m just calling to tell you to check your e-mail. I bought your plane ticket vouchers. The confirmation should be there.”

She watched Takumi answer the door and pay for dinner. He stared at her in disbelief when he saw the size of the take-out box, needing both arms to hold it.

(It was cute how the amount of food she could and wanted to eat still surprised him.)

“You bought two, right?” she asked her mom. That was her belated Christmas present—plane tickets. She had asked for two vouchers to use sometime in the future.

“Adam says someone named Takumi is coming with you for the baby’s christening?”

ADAM. “That someone is my boyfriend.” Takumi glanced at her as he set the box down on the coffee table. “He’s looking forward to meeting you.”

“And when were you planning to tell me about your little friend?”

“Boyfriend. And right now, since Adam can’t keep his mouth shut,” she joked.

“That’s not funny.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I’m kind of busy right now. Can I call you tomorrow?”

“You’re going to call me? Wow. What an honor.”

“Now that’s not funny. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

“Your dad?” Takumi asked when she hung up.

“Mom.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yep.Takumi Meets the Johnson Familyis officially confirmed.” Things still weren’t totally back to normal with her parents, but they were getting there. “I picked a movie.”

“Start it. I’ll get the plates.”

Halfway through the movie Alice turned to him, and said, “Fun fact: the only thing the rooms in this spooktastic hotel have in common is the wallpaper. It takes a minute to notice on screen, but it’s always the same. If I were the designer, I would have picked something more symbolic than glorified art deco. It becomes super distracting and pulls you right out of the movie.”