The next morning, I woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs and to the faint sound of a piano.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I took my time getting out of bed. I looked over on the desk next to my bed to see a plate of toast, bacon, and eggs sitting there. I picked it up and smiled.
I opened the door and walked down the hallway. I followed the sound of the piano to Axl's room. I knocked on the door and heard the piano stop. I slowly opened the door and peeked inside.
"Good morning, sleepy," Axl greeted me as I took a bite of my toast.
"Morning," I said with my mouth full, making Axl chuckle.
"Sit," He said, patting the empty spot on the piano bench next to him. I sat my food down and walked over to him and sat down.
"Can you play?" He asked and I shook my head.
"Do you know anything?" He asked me.
"The B flat scale," I said.
"Play it," Axl said and I nodded. I played it the best I could.
"That's a start," He said.
"Are you teaching me how to play?" I asked him.
"Do you want to learn?" He asked me.
"Sure," I said.
After Axl taught me a few more scales and a few cords, I decided to finish eating my breakfast.
"Do you know what time it is?" Axl asked me and I shook my head.
"It's almost eleven. You slept in," He said.
"And yet this food is still warm," I said, finishing off the last bites.
"Do you want to see something?" Axl asked me.
"What is it?" I asked, setting my empty plate aside.
"Come out on the balcony and see the view," He said. I followed him onto his balcony. The smell of salt water and the sound of seagulls was refreshing.
"It's such a pretty view," I told him, looking out over the ocean.
"Laura," Axl said, turning to me, "I was wondering something."
"Yes?" I asked.
"Do you want to be my girlfriend?" He asked me.
I smiled. "Of course. I would love to," I said, "Is that what you were going to ask me in the car last night?"
"Yeah. I just needed time to think about how I wanted to say it," He said.
"I would've said yes in the car, you know," I said.
Axl smiled. "Well, I'm just glad I asked and we're together now," He said.
"I am too," I told him.
"Do you want to meet Kiyoko, the lovely creator of your food?" Axl asked me.
"I'd love to meet Kiyoko," I said and Axl took me downstairs.
"Kiyoko!" He called.
"Yes, Mr. Rose!" She answered back. She hurried into the room and her eyes widened and she smirked when she saw me.
"Did Mr. Rose finally find himself a girl?" She asked. I giggled.
"Kiyoko, this is Laura. I figured you two should meet since Laura will probably be over here more often," Axl said, smiling down at me.
Kiyoko smiled. "Hello, Laura, I am Kiyoko," She introduced herself.
"Hello," I said back.
"Do you want to see picture of my daughter?" She asked, reaching into the pocket of her apron. I looked up st Axl.
"Kiyoko talks a lot about her daughter. Her and her husband are divorced and they never see each other, which is why Kiyoko has so much time to spend here," Axl explained to me silently.
"Here she is. This is Emi. She live with her father in San Diego," Kiyoko said, showing me a picture of a young, Japanese girl that looked around the age of seven or eight.
"She's very pretty," I complimented.
"Thank you. She is very good at music like Mr. Rose. Oh, how she loves to sing and dance," Kiyoko said happily.
"Well, thanks for that, Kiyoko, but it's time for you to get back to work," Axl said.
"It was nice talking to you," I said.
"It was nice talking to you too, Ms. Laura," She said and she walked back into the other room to continue her work.
"So, what are we going to do?" I asked Axl.
Axl looked around for a minute and then back at me. "We could go out on the beach?" He suggested.
"I don't have a bathing suit or anything," I told him.
"I'll have Kiyoko run to the store and get you one," Axl said.
"Aren't you just so sweet," I said.
"I know," Axl said, grinning at me.
