first american title | tenya iida

thirty-two

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lydia's pov

Our hands stay intertwined as we take the last drive with the real estate agent. "This house has a rough driveway, but once you see it I think you'll really enjoy it," he says. The car bobbles back and forth until the home is in view and we stop. "This house was built in the nineteen-sixties, it comes with the land surrounding it and the barn in the field over there," he explains, pointing to the large red barn and acres of golden fields. 

As we walk into the house, I say "It's pretty."

Tenya nods. "I like it," he replies, running his hand over the walls. "Does it come fully furnished?"

The agent nods. "Yes, it does. It has three bedrooms, two baths." He leads us to a rather large kitchen. The appliances aren't the newest, but the cabinets are white and the sink is big. I can envision Tenya chopping bell peppers and onion in this kitchen. To the side of the kitchen, there is a small oak table with chairs surrounding it. We see the master bedroom and bathroom, as well as the remaining rooms. The home is overall very nice. 

As we walk outside, I notice two horses grazing in the field. I stare at them, admiring their tall stature and grace. "Those come with the property as well," The agent tells us. 

I look up at him. "They do?"

He nods. "The owner didn't want to take care of the upkeep of them, they decided to throw them in with the property. 

Tenya interrupts and asks, "How much does this place cost?" 

"Two-point nine million," he replies. "Under budget."

I turn to face Tenya and smile. "Sounds perfect."

So we go back to the hotel and talk it over, just Tenya and me. "I think the house we saw today was perfect," I mention.

"You do?"

"Mhm," I reply. "It felt right." And with that we agreed, it was the house.

After a month of moving in, we were finally settled. It may have taken quite a few drives back and forth to move all our stuff out of apartments, but we did it. 

I pressed my hands against my back as I looked out the kitchen window to the lake view. The pregnancy had taken a toll on me, despite only being a few months into the pregnancy. Behind me, I can feel Tenya press his body into mine and settle his head into the nook of my shoulder and his arms hugging right above my belly. He kisses my neck softly, "Good morning baby," he mumbles, his warm breath wafting onto my skin.

I smile at his touch, turning my head so I can see just a sliver of his face. "Morning," I say in a hushed tone, not wanting to disturb the peace of this early dawn.

"How far along are you?" he asks. "I keep trying to stay on top of it."

My head rolls onto his, resting softly. "I'm about three months today, twelve or so weeks."

He hums. "In a month we'll be able to know if it's a boy or girl."

"I don't want to know," I say. "I wanna be surprised."

"You do?"

I nod. "If I don't know until they're born it's okay with me. It'll be a surprise for us."

"What do you want to name them if they're a girl?"

I pause, shuffling through my mind searching for an answer. "Hazel."

"Hazel?"

"Mhm. Hazel Allison Iida," I tell him. 

There's a chuckle before he says, "Hazel Allison Iida? What about for a boy?"

"Evan. Evan," I pause, thinking.

"Tamaki. Evan Tamaki Iida," Tenya suggests.

I smile at the idea. "Tamaki?"

He nods. "It's a pretty name."

And he's right, it is. So it's set in stone. I look down at the barley visible bump on my stomach; the baby inside me would be here before I even knew it. We needed to start decorating the baby room. We had the essentials: a crip and a changing table but not much else. I absolutely couldn't wait until they were here. 

Tenya would be such a wonderful father, so caring and gentle with his children. He would pull them into his arms and whisper kind words of how much he loved them. There would be tales of how we met each other. At night he would tell them about the stars and the constellations. His mother and father would be so relieved to learn he was having a child. I could already picture Tenya frantically worrying about me and the child when I was in labor. 

Soon enough there would be a child running wild in our home, giggling and laughing and asking us a million questions. Tenya's shoulders would be the highest mountains to them, I would be their hero, and it would only last for a second. Those few seconds would be the best times. 

The next day Tenya goes to work and I focus on fixing the house up. The actual home isn't bad, in fact, it is wonderful. However, the land is overgrown, teeming with unruly plants and what I can only assume is plenty of critters. I haven't seen the barn, either. I'm sure the horses need feed and a vet check-up. There is plenty to do around here.

 The day begins with me driving to the nearest feed store. A few bales of hay will do the trick. When I was very little, when my mother and father will still together, we had horses. My mother would look so magnificent atop the white horse- whose name I have forgotten over the years. The two horses in the field didn't need feed yet though. They had filled their bellies by grazing for a long time now, and they would continue to until I could fix the property. 

As for the barn, I approached it quietly, hoping no animals would be burrowing inside. As I swung open the doors, a few birds squeaked and flew out the door. Sure, it was run down and like everything else- overgrown, but it would suffice as a barn. 

I leave the doors wide open so the place and get some sunshine and I begin taking weeds out. There are a few old saddles sitting around, but they aren't anywhere near salvageable. It takes me a few hours, but I eventually clean the barn out. Now to tackle the horses themselves. 

While at the feed store, I remembered to buy two halters and matching lead ropes. It would probably take me a while to catch one of the horses, but it had to be done at some point. With a carrot in one hand, halter in the other, I approach the brown Arabian. He ignores me for me a moment before turning around and nibbling on the carrot in my hands. As he does so I toss the lead rope around his neck and put the halter around his nose and ears. He seems to be used to being haltered, which makes me happy. I try the other horse two. Both of them seem comfortable being haltered, so they've probably been ridden before, just not for a very long time. Once Tenya comes home I stop working outside. We go to bed, and the day ends on a good note. 

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