Asuna's p.o.v.
I woke up the morning of the appointment with Kazuto's arms around me, as per usual. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I'd had a late night last night, so I knew that I was going to need a major nap at some point today.
Kazuto sat up next to me and looked around. I smiled at him sleepily, then rested my head on his shoulder. He smiled and kissed the top of my head.
"I still want to sleep.", I said.
"But I have to go to work and you have to go with Liz.", Kazuto said.
"I know.", I said.
"Well, let's get up and start moving. That should get our energy up.", Kazuto said.
I groaned, but sat up and got out of bed. I walked over to the dresser and got out the most basic clothes I could find that I could still go out in public in. I decided on a purple tank top and a shrug with some white capris pants. I changed into them and brushed my hair out. Kazuto put on his suit and tie, then walked out of the bedroom. Once I finished my hair, I followed him out.
He'd already gotten the cereal out and was pouring himself a bowl. I sat down next to him and poured myself a bowl. I ate my cereal in a daze and didn't realize that I'd finished when I did.
"Earth to Asuna", Kazuto said.
I snapped out of my daze, then looked over at him. He was smiling at me.
"I'm going to go finish getting ready.", he said.
"Ok. I'll clean up here.", I said.
kazuto nodded and got up, walking down the hallway and disappearing from sight. I got up and took the bowls to the dishwasher, then loaded them in. I put the cereal away, then walked back into the bedroom. Kazuto was brushing his hair. He finished, then put the brush down. I walked over to fix his tie. I fixed it into a windsor knot, then he kissed me. I smiled and kissed him back.
"I've gotta go, but I'll be back after lunch for the appointment.", he said.
"Ok. Have a good day and be safe.", I said.
"You too. I love you.", he said.
"I love you, too.", I replied.
Kazuto kissed my forehead, then hugged me before he walked out. I sat back down on the bed. I didn't have to meet Liz for another 4 hours. It was 7:00 right now, so I had time to sleep in. I laid back down on the bed and drifted back off to sleep
~~
When I woke up, it was 10:00. I looked at my phone to see that I'd gotten a text from Liz. She was just making sure that she hadn't gotten the time wrong. I texted her back, letting her know that she was correct and that I'd see her in an hour.
I stood up and walked over to the mirror. My hair needed to be brushed down on the left side, so I quickly did that, then I put on my makeup. It only took me about 30 minutes to get ready, including shoes and brushing my teeth. I turned off the lights in the house, then left.
I was meeting Liz at a Panera downtown. When I pulled into the parking lot, I still had 15 minutes before either of us were supposed to be there. I decided to go ahead and get us a table. I walked in and asked for a table for 2, then waited for the waitress to get it ready. While I was waiting, Liz walked in.
"Hey, Asuna. Sorry if I'm late.", she said.
"Nope. I just decided to come early.", I said.
"Ok, so I am on time. I didn't want to keep you waiting. How long have you been here?", she asked.
"Only about five minutes, so really not long. I'm just waiting on a table for us.", I said.
"Alright.", Liz said, sitting down next to me. She was in purple capris and a blue shirt.
We sat and talked for a moment until the waitress came and led us to the table. I sat down and hung my purse on the back of my chair.
"So how've you been?", Liz asked.
"Pretty good. I had a late night, so I'm pretty tired today. I'm going to go take a nap when I get home.", I said.
"Yeah, I could use one, too. I didn't get to bed until after midnight because Klein was on the phone with me. He wouldn't shut up and I didn't have the heart to tell him to.", Liz said.
"By the way, I still haven't seen your ring.", I said.
Liz laughed and stuck her hand out. There was a beautiful diamond ring glistening on her ring finger. It was really pretty and sparkled in the sunlight.
"Ooh! That's so pretty! I'm super excited for you. I can't wait until you guys get married. You make such a cute couple, even though he's almost 5 years older than you.", I said.
"Yeah, but I didn't care about the age difference. I think that if it's under 7 years in difference, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Now, I wouldn't go dating a grandpa, I'll just tell you that, but I'm cool with dating Klein.", Liz said.
I laughed at the thought of Liz marrying a 76 year old grandpa. When I was tired, everything seemed funnier.
"Can I start you ladies off with something to drink?", the waitress asked, walking up to our table.
"I'll have a water.", I said.
"Same here.", Liz said.
"Two waters.", the waitress said as she wrote down our orders.
"I'll be right back.", she said.
The waitress turned and left.
"So it might be a little strange for me to ask, but have your twins started moving, yet?", Liz asked.
"Yeah, they kick occasionally and it's harder to get comfortable at night, but I think it's cute.", I said.
"Aww, that is cute. I'm happy for you and Kazuto. You really deserve to be happy.", she said smiling.
"Thanks. We are happy, especially now that we're expecting twins.", I said.
"Your life is going to get harder, though.", Liz said.
"I know. I'll have to stay home and take care of them while Kazuto's away all day at work. I've already told him that when he gets home after they're born, I'm giving them to him and getting a shower.", I said.
Liz laughed.
"I can just imagine that.", she said.
I laughed with her at the thought of Kazuto not knowing what to do when one of them cried and panicking because he couldn't figure out what was wrong. I picked up my menu and started looking through the choices. I eventually decided on the chicken and dumplings bread bowl.
"I can't decide. What are you having?", Liz asked.
"I think I'm going to have the chicken and dumplings.", I said.
"Ok, that sounds good. Yeah, I think I'm going to have that.", she said.
Just then, the waitress came by with our drinks.
"Can I take your order, or do you still need a minute?", she asked.
"I think we're ready. I'll have the chicken and dumpling bread bowl.", I said.
"I'll have the same thing.", Liz said.
"Ok, two chicken and dumpling bread bowls. Anything else?", she asked.
"No thanks.", I said.
The waitress nodded and left, taking our menus with her. I took a sip of my water, then put it back down. Right on cue, the twins started moving around as soon as I got something in my stomach. This time, they seemed a little more active. They were kicking, rather than just moving. I put a hand to my belly and rubbed for a minute, but it didn't help.
I guess that they do get a little more active as they grew. I was starting to get really uncomfortable. I didn't think anything of it.
"Are you ok? You look pale all of a sudden.", Liz said.
"Yeah, they're just kicking a little. I'm ok.", I said.
We talked until our food came, then we ate. I didn't manage to eat much of it, but I ate what I could. I didn't even touch my water again. When we finished eating and paid the bill, it was 1:00. My appointment wasn't until 2:00, so we had time to kill.
"Hey, do you wanna take a walk?", I asked as we were leaving the restaurant.
"Sure. We can walk down to the park that's nearby.", Liz said.
"Nice. I just feel like walking. I've been told that it's normal, but it's still weird.", I said.
"Hey, I knew a pregnant lady once and she ate and did some weird stuff. She would eat pickled plums dipped in nacho cheese.", Liz said.
"Ew! That's disgusting.", I said.
"Even worse were the sardines dipped in chocolate.", she laughed.
"Blech! How could you bring yourself to eat that?", I said as we started walking away from the restaurant.
"I know, right? It was awful looking, horrible smelling, and I bet the taste was even worse.", she said.
We laughed as we walked down the sidewalk beside the park nearby. There were some boys playing baseball by the fence. They looked like they were having a pretty good time. None of them looked older than 12 years old.
I watched as one of them hit a homerun, but what I wasn't watching was the ball. It flew through the air and hit me in the head. I blacked out, falling on top of Liz, who barely caught me as I lost consciousness.
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Hey, guys. Super short chapter, this time. I know, I'm sorry. I've been suffering from writer's block for this story. My other story, I can come up with ideas on the fly, but this one's a little harder since I've been working on it for so long. By the way. In two weeks, Summer will be here for me. I operate on a school owned laptop, so that means that I won't be able to update as often as I'd like to. We have a PC, but I'm probably not going to get much time on it.
I just thought I would prepare you. I'll try to add four or five new chapters before school ends, but no promises. I'm sorry for those of you who are really dedicated to my story. You have my thanks for sticking with it thus far.
-Scarlet