When Winter Arrives

Chapter 8

A Month Later

Bridget waited for Himari to visit, but she never visited for a month. Hudson walked into the hospital room. "Guess what." "What?" Bridget asked. "Himari is finally here!" Hudson replied. Himari stood at the door. "Himari!" "Hello, Bridget!" Himari had a sympathetic look on her face. "How are you?" Bridget asked as Himari walked into the room. "I am okay. I am sorry I did not visit for a month; my mom wanted me to stay at my aunt's house for a month and she lives about 2 hours away from here." Himari chuckled. Bridget tilted her head, "Why did you go to your aunt's house? Was there a specific reason?" Himari's smile weakened. "Don't worry about it." Bridget began to feel worried. What was she not telling her? "Okay well, I'm glad you're back!" Bridget smiled. Himari smiled and grabbed the back of her neck nervously. Himari looked at Hudson. "Can you walk out? I need to tell her something privately." Himari asked Hudson. Hudson nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Himari glanced back at Bridget. "What's up?" Bridget sat up. "Well..." Himari sighed. Bridget's smile dropped. "Do you not love me now because I have cancer?" Himari looked down. "No, I do love you. I told my mom I was gay." Bridget grabbed Himari's hand, that was just resting on the bed. "And she didn't accept you?" Himari looked up at Bridget, "She kicked me out of the house." Bridget stared at her. "Oh." Himari looked around the room. Bridget let go of Himari's hand and grabbed her phone. "What are you doing?" Himari asked. "Give me a minute, Mari." Bridget typed in her dad's phone number. The phone rang. "Wait, who are you calling?" Himari asked. The phone got answered. "Bridget, I'm busy." said Rowan, Bridget's dad. "I know, but I have a question." "If it's about your homework, hang up now." He replied with a demanding voice. "Can my friend move in with us? Her mom kicked her out." Rowan sighed. "Why was she kicked out?" Bridget looked at Himari. "She was kicked out for something dumb." "Like...?" Her dad asked. Bridget looked at Himari again. "It's not important." Bridget heard a man in the background, "Mr. Kelly! You have a meeting tomorrow." "Thank you! Okay, fine, but you are taking care of her." Bridget smiled. "Thanks Dad." "Don't call me that." Rowan demanded. Bridget's smile faded. "Okay, sir. Bye." Bridget hung up. "He said you could move into the house." "Oh, thank you!" Himari exclaimed. It was quiet. Himari looked at Bridget. "Are you alright?" Bridget shook her head, "I just have issues with my dad, that's it." "You shouldn't have asked him then, I'm sorry." Bridget looked at Himari. She grabbed Himari's chin. "It's okay, I'm willing to sacrifice for you, my love." She smiled. Himari smiled back. "I'm going to move my stuff into your room." Himari giggled with excitement. "Yeah, since I won't be in there anymore." Himari looked at Bridget, "What do you mean?" "Don't worry, you'll know soon!" Bridget giggled. Himari gave Bridget a sympathetic look and she left the room.

Himari walked to Bridget's house with one briefcase full of stuff that she needed. A car pulled up beside her. The car was blue, and it had a sticker on the front of a character from and old television show. The driver put down the window. Himari stared at the car.
"Are you Himari Saito?" Asked the driver. The driver was a man who was wearing a black suit, he had a brown beard, and he had short hair that looked like it was styled with hair gel. The man had a deep voice, he sounded like a boss of some crew. "Yes, I'm Himari." "Oh, hop in then." Himari hesitated. "Oh, come on. I am Rowan Kelly. I am the man that owns the house you are moving to." Himari gasped. "You're Bridget's dad?" "Yes, but I don't like that label, it makes me feel old." Himari chuckled and opened the back door. She jumped onto the back seat and buckled her seatbelt. Himari closed the door. Rowan did not know how to have conversations properly, for he grew up in a non-social household. They stopped at a red, traffic light. The car was silent. Himari looked at Rowan. "May I ask, does Bridget have a mother?" Rowan sighed. "Yeah, but I don't want to tell her what happened to her." "You should someday soon, you know." Himari mentioned. "I would, it's just that I've been so busy lately." Rowan added, "If I tell you, will you tell her for me?" Rowan asked. "Maybe, it's not my business though." Rowan sighed, "Just tell her for me, I cannot because I have a lot of work to do. I am a businessman; I own a company." Himari sighed, "Okay, ramble about the story." Rowan sighed as the traffic light turned green. "I'll tell you when we get home." Rowan replied.

Rowan pulled the car into the driveway and parked it. "Home sweet home." Rowan worded, as he stepped out of the car. Himari stepped out of the car with her briefcase, and she observed the house. Himari looked at Rowan. "I'm going to be moving into Bridget's room." Rowan looked at Himari. "We have a guest room; you can claim that one." Rowan walked to the front door. Himari walked along behind him. He unlocked the front door and stepped inside. "Now that I think about it, I never actually went into Bridget's house." "Well, the rooms are upstairs. Follow me and I will bring you to your destination." Rowan said as he stepped on the first step. Himari followed Rowan to the guest room. "Here we are. Apologies for it being dusty. The bed was made; it had a white sheet with a black blanket. The pillows were black and white. "It's fine, I like this room!" The walls were painted dark purple, the floor was a white carpet. There was a stand in front that had a big screen television mounted on the wall above it. It had black curtains to cover the windows that were pointed out the back of the house and out the side of the house. There was a desk in the corner that had a comfortable, white office chair. There was a white dresser with metal handles on each drawer. "Thank you for letting me stay here." Himari thanked as she ran to give Rowan a hug. Rowan put his hand on Himari's head to keep her away from him. "I'm not a hugger." Rowan put out his hand for a handshake. Himari had a confused look on her face and shook his hand. Rowan went downstairs. Himari put her briefcase on the bed. She grabbed her clothes and put them in the dresser. Her socks and underwear went in the top drawer, the pants went in the second drawer and the shirts went in the third drawer. There was a tiny wardrobe by the window. There were coat hangers in the wardrobe. Himari unpacked the rest of her stuff. After Himari was done unpacking, she placed the briefcase on the shelf in the wardrobe and she went downstairs. Rowan was sitting at the table in the kitchen. He made a cup of coffee and a cup of tea for Himari. "Here's some tea if you like it." Rowan told Himari as he scrolled through his laptop. "I'm not a fan of tea, but I'll drink it anyway." Himari sat across from Rowan at the table. "So, you want to know about Bridget's mom?" Rowan asked. Himari shook her head. "Let me explain to you about what happened to her." Rowan closed his laptop. He looked at Himari, who was patiently waiting.