Tuning Heartstrings

Chapter 24

(Written August 27, 2014)

We get up from our bed, and Jason walks to the window and opens the curtains. We hold hands and leave the room to check out the house. In front of our bedroom is the washroom. Liam's room is on our side of the hall, and John's is across from ours on the left side. The last door is at the end of the hallway, covered by a thick, creamy white curtain. "Ma'am, do the honors, please," Jason says as he bends down, bows, and points to the curtains.

As I move the curtains aside, I smile at my discovery. It's a screen door that opens to a backyard with finely cut grass, cute bushes, a white fence surrounding the entire yard, a pool, a palm tree, and colorful flowers along the fence. "I thought we should see our first sunrise in LA together," Jason says. I kiss him. "It's beautiful."

After a few minutes, the sky begins to slowly turn blue, so we turn around and head back to the beginning of the hallway. As I look down, there's the circular staircase I always forget about. Funny, I don't remember seeing it yesterday either—I guess I was really tired. We walk down the stairs, which lead us to our new living room. I look around; it still has the Sony TV and the bean chairs from the apartment, except the chairs are on the side for when the boys play video games. John bought a brown sofa for the new living room, and it matches the color of the walls.

"Isn't it a nice house?" I turn around, realizing Jason has been looking at me the whole time I was observing the house. "Yes, it's amazing."

"Jason, go upstairs and brush your teeth, and I'm going to make breakfast for all of us." With that, I turn around and enter the kitchen, excited to cook in a bigger kitchen.

As I begin to wash my hands, I realize there's someone behind me. Two hands firmly grab me by my waist, and a few seconds later, they begin to tickle me. I spin around in Jason's hold to face him. "Let go of me! I told you to go and freshen up." He makes an innocent smile and tells me to go freshen up and let him cook. "JASON," I say, and he mimics my voice, "LIZZIE."

"Jason, go please."

"No my lady, I shall not leave you. The distance is too far; I don't think I will make it!" he says in a Shakespearean dramatic voice. I squint my eyes and cross my arms in his grasp. "So dramatic, shall I ask the guards to take you away?" I say, trying to hide my smile with anger.

Instead of feeling guilty, he lets go of me with one arm and starts pulling my cheek. "Aw, my lady looks so cute when she's mad. Why don't we just go back to the bedroom?" I hit his arm. "Ahh, okay, let's get to work, ma'am."

He lets go of my waist and looks around the kitchen to see what we have brought from the apartment and store. He quickly finds waffle mix, blueberries, milk, and whipped cream. "Liz, I've changed my mind. You are going to make waffles while I cuddle with my girlfriend," he says with a mischievous smile. I give him a quick kiss as he hugs me from behind and mixes the bowl of batter in front of me. Not to get morbid, but I wonder what I would do if Jason wasn't in my life. I'd probably be dead.