Questions Of Laundry And Forever

Question Of Laundry And Forever

There are three quiet knocks on her door. Leo's head pops up from the sound, alert and curious, while Luca just tilts his head a little before laying back down again against her stomach.

Lisa was spending the afternoon of her day off scrolling mindlessly through her phone and lazing on her bed. That is, until this interruption. She looks away from her phone and shouts towards the door.

"Come in - I'm clothed!"

The door opens, slightly and with a creak, to let in blonde hair and kind eyes. Lisa smiles. Her best friend hasn't even completely step into her whole room yet it is suddenly awash in brightness and warmth.

Lisa swears that the girl was the incarnation of all good things in the world.

"Oh, Chaeyoung-ah!”

“Lisaaa…”

There is a whine in Rosie’s voice. Lisa finally notices that her best friend was wearing a pout instead of her usual soft smile.

Her brows knit together in confusion. She sets her phone down beside her and pushes herself up to a sitting position, Luca being forced to move away to make room for her.

“Aww, Rosie, what’s wrong?”

Rosie side steps into her room and closes the door softly behind her. Lisa notices that the other girl was wearing her favorite sock on her left foot but the other was bare.

She chuckles. She now has a feeling on what this was about.

Rosie is a big strong girl - probably one of the strongest people Lisa ever knew - but that doesn't mean she doesn't enjoy being babied, especially when Lisa is the one doing it.

"Lisa did you see my other sock in the laundry?" Rosie lifts her socked foot and wiggles her toes in it. "It's missing its pair."

Lisa wonders how her best friend carries so much adorable in her slender frame. She feels like she's about to combust.

"No, Rosie, I didn't." Lisa nods off to the side of her bed, to the corner where her overflowing laundry basket sat. "As you can see, I haven't done laundry yet." She chuckles.

Rosie just huffs and pouts some more, so Lisa scoots over to one side and makes space for her best friend to sit. She pats the space and motions for Rosie to come over.

Her best friend just complies, pout still etched deeply.

Lisa wraps her arms around Rosie instinctively. A part of her knows this isn't just about a missing sock and there's something else that's truly bothering her fried. She pulls them both down to lie on her mattress beside Luca.

Rosie melts into the embrace and into the cushions with a soft sigh and closes her eyes. Lisa tightens her embrace. They stay like that for a while, covered in each other's comfort and warmth, basking in the security of the sincerity and depth of their affection for each other. Their chests rise and fall together as their breathing slowly come together in rhythm.

Lisa almost falls asleep when Rosie suddenly speaks.

"Do you think they're ever gonna find each other again?"

Lisa opens one eye lazily, too cozy to push herself to full consciousness.

"Huh?"

Rosie nuzzles the side of her head closer to Lisa's.

"When a sock loses its other pair, do you think they get lonely? Do you think they'll ever find each other again?"

Lisa chuckled. Rosie wasn't making sense.

"What is this about?"

Rosie sighed and closed her eyes.

"Well, aren't socks made to be in pairs? Aren't they supposed to be together forever? What happens then if they lose each other? Aren't they soulmates?"

Rosie turns to Lisa and looks her in the eyes. Lisa holds her gaze, studying it. There are galaxies and constellations and shooting stars behind those irises and Lisa struggles to breathe.

There is an art that cannot be captured - cannot be portrayed. Lisa was sure that it was this.

Time stills to a halt once again.

Lisa wanted to preserve the moment - crystalize it and hang it up in the sky. There is a light here that could illuminate a thousand dark nights. But she was asked a question and there was a worry in her best friend's heart that she had to quell. So, in the quietest voice, breaks the silence.

"I'm sure you'll find the other pair, Rosie. It'll find its way back somehow."

Lisa brushes a few strands of hair way from Rosie's forehead and places the softest kiss there.

"And if you're actually talking about us and not socks, well, I know we'll always find our way back to each other."

Lisa feels Rosie smile against her collarbone, feels herself be pulled closer and held tighter. She closes her eyes and savors it.

"Lisa, I love you."

"I love you, too."

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Epilogue:

There are three loud knocks on her door. Leo's head pops up from the sound, alert and curious, while Luca only moves his ears towards the sound.

Lisa emerges from her shower to see that Rosie was already in her room, excitedly waving two socks around and hopping.

"Lisa, I found the other sock!"