~Rapunzel
This afternoon, when I went to turn on Tangled Fan's tablet, I found a sticky note attached to the screen.
"If you're afraid to talk to me, don't be. And if you think I'm mad, I'm not, I promise. But if this is the last you want to see or hear of me, I promise it will be. Just let me know one way or the other...even if it's just a note. I'm worried about you.."
I cried. I HAD been wanting to talk to him, but I was just scared. I had gone through alllll of the blog posts --I actually read them all...twice...up to the post explaining about my accident. I had also looked up that Thompson Square song he had had me listen to when we broke up before we got engaged...(guess I'm best known for my stupid mistakes, huh??) and it made me remember THE ENTIRE EVENING. Reading the posts, I also remembered quick little fragments. I remembered quite a bit about Casey, Audrey, and Jordan, which makes sense, because he's talked so much about them. I also remembered talking to Zelia about something. But...back to the current time, I couldn't believe how stupid I had been. That assumption that he was married didn't even make sense...but at the time, it did. I felt so horrible about how I had treated him, and I couldn't believe that he cared so much about me. I didn't deserve that!
But after I dried my eyes, I suddenly began to feel giddy. He wanted to see me, so he'd see me.
I snagged Pascal, and hurried to his side of the table. He wasn't there, but I found out where I had been hearing quiet strains of some familiar song. He was under the chair, listening to Tangled Fan's MP3 player. He had the headphones, of course, but had it just loud enough that I caught a few louder notes every once in awhile.
As soon as I caught a glimpse of him under the chair--which was pulled up to the table-- I suddenly got nervous. I didn't know why, but I did. What would I say? What would I...oh boy.
My heart almost immediately started thundering. I dropped down from the table to the chair, almost tripping over my own hair. After I untangled my legs from my hair, I took a deep breath, glanced at Pascal, who was on my shoulder, and then laid down on my belly, hanging my head over the edge of the chair. He was RIGHT THERE, but he had his eyes shut, and the music was probably too loud for him to hear me when I said 'hey you'. I could hear what he was listening to, and it was that Thompson Square song....If I Didn't Have You, I think?
That's when I noticed the wet on his cheeks.
Enough of THAT! I took a lock of my hair, leaning over as much as I could so I could just barely tickle the tip of his nose with it.
"Hello," I giggled when his eyes flew open and he swatted at his face. He was in the middle of scratching his nose when he finally saw me.
His eyes lit up like a little boy's. "Rapunzel?! H-how long have you been here? I'm sorry, I didn't notice you-"
"It's fine," I laughed as he scrambled to turn the music off. "That's the song you had me listen to before we got engaged, right?"
He finally looked me in the eye, and he gave me a surprised smile. "Yeah, it is...I had it on, uh...I had it on repeat."
"Hmm. Okay, we'll talk as soon as I get down," I told him, standing up. He jumped up as well, and then held his hands up, giving me an adorable smile.
"I'll catch ya,"
I sat down and allowed myself to slide off of the edge of the chair, and he quickly caught my waist, setting me down ever so gently on my feet. Suddenly, though, he bit his lip and gave me a mildly concerned look.
"So...what's the verdict?"
"Um...I don't really know what all to say. I have a lot to say, you know. But I do know one thing, and the verdict is that I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you all over again. How's that?"
He gulped, and I thought he was going to hyperventilate for a minute there.
Finally, he chuckled. "I would normally have a quick answer to give to you in response to that, but I can't even think straight. I blame you,"
"Okay. Well...I-I read everything, and I even remembered a few things. I remembered the night we got engaged, and quite a bit about the girls, and talking to Zelia about something. I'm glad you gave me that note, because I WAS scared to talk to you. Anyway, I'm so sorry for accusing you of all that stuff, and-and for all the hateful things I told you. I was so dumb...as always. I don't even deserve to be with you...you're so great of a guy, and I'm just...I'm me. I screw up--"
"Alright...I'm gonna stop you there. You don't screw everything up, and it's okay. I love you--oh, gosh...I love you so much, honey..." he grabbed me into the tightest hug I could ever imagine -- so tight that he literally lifted my feet up off of the ground a tiny bit, to be exact. But before I could settle into the hug and return it, he let go of me and gave me a wide-eyed stare. "Wait. You remembered--you remembered a few things?"
"Mmhmm-- I mean, not EVERYTHING...I wish I could remember everything, but I can't. Just what I said about," I rambled. That's when he sprinkled my face in at least half a dozen soft kisses -- across my cheeks, my nose, and on my forehead. And then he hugged me again, bending so he could bury his face into the crook of my neck...right before his shoulders started shaking.
"Eugene, geez...why are you crying?!" I was slightly alarmed.
He sniffed and pulled himself together before lifting his head to look at me. "I'm just so glad...you don't know how many nights I spent up, worrying about you and wondering if we would be able to resume our life together. And if I wasn't worrying about that, I was promising that if we would get back together, I wouldn't let you out of my sight again. So don't, um...don't be upset if I'm a little squirrel-y about letting you climb anything tall. And...it's awesome that you remembered that much!" he gave me that crooked grin, and I had to smile.
"Okay. Don't cry, though, because if you do, I'll start up, and then..." I trailed off, reaching up to wipe his damp cheeks before kissing the tip of his nose.
He chuckled. "Okay. So, are you free today?"
"Pssh, Eugene, no. I'm the most popular doll here, so I'm spending all day with my doting doll followers. You know how many I have! Punzie, Anna, Emma...." I joked sarcastically, and he laughed.
"Mmhmm...okay. I guess that's more important than talking with your husband, who has missed you this week..." he sighed, backing away from me with what seemed like a poor attempt at a forlorn face.
I giggled. "Come back here," I said, reaching to pull him into another hug. He sidestepped quickly, staying JUST out of reach, and continued backing up away from me teasingly, giving me a silly grin. He had a mischievous glint in those perfect brown eyes, so I played along.
At least...until he tripped over his own feet and started backpedaling. I didn't stop in time, and when he went down, I tripped over HIS feet, too. Luckily, I didn't land right on him when I fell face first onto the floor...which would have been awkward.
"You okay?" he asked, even though he was still laughing.
"Yeah. Are you?" I grinned, not even embarrassed over my fall...my face was red, though. I propped my chin up on my arms and peeked at him from the corner of my eyes, and caught him grinning at me.
"Never better," he said -- and I'm pretty sure that didn't mean that he was okay after tripping.
I turned over on my back, putting my hands behind my head, and then just laughed. "We're so weird..."
"Yup, but I wouldn't have it any other way," he agreed, his teasing smile turning into that special little grin that only he can make...the one that makes my heart flip-flop a little bit.
We talked late into the night, and eventually decided to talk to Tangled Fan in the morning about renewing our wedding vows, but then he cleared his throat and asked if I wanted to stargaze.
I gasped. "Eugene, is that even a question?! Yes, of course!"
He laughed. "Well...c'mon."
I gathered Pascal, and we headed for the windowsill...only to see that the sky was blanketed in thick clouds laden with rain.
"Hmmm..." I sighed. "Looks like we'll have to stargaze another day."
"Yep...sorry for getting your hopes up," he cleared his throat and peered out the window. I followed him and tucked myself under his arm, putting my own arms loosely around his midsection.
He chuckled, kissing my hair before he gave me a one-armed hug. We just stayed there for a couple of minutes, and then I spoke up.
"If you don't want to renew our vows, I'm fine with that, too...I mean, I think it's a pretty big thing just for me, just because I can't remember our wedding day. Then, we could get back to being husband and wife, and parents quicker."
"No, it's fine! I want to make sure you're comfortable with it, and I know you wouldn't be comfortable just going from thinking I betrayed you to back to being a wife and mother within a week...so that's just fine."
I grinned. "I guess you do know me better than I know myself."
"Well...we HAVE known each other for almost nine months. That's a good while in doll time."
"I guess..." I sighed. "I wish I could remember EVERYTHING! I feel pretty stupid, not remembering all this stuff."
He turned so we were facing each other, and he took my hands in his. "Hey...don't say that, and don't think that. Like I said...I'll help you remember. Whenever you're not sure about something, just talk to me. I'll be happy to reminisce."
I smiled, trying not to tear up. "Okay, mister perfection..."
He laughed, reaching to kiss my nose. "I suppose....we should probably go to bed. It's eleven-"
"Eleven?!" I gasped. "I guess so...wow."
He grinned. "Yup. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess?"
"Guess so, " I agreed, letting him lead me over to his side of the table. We stopped at the divider, and I gave him a smile, reaching to hug him. He gave me yet another perfect hug, and when he pulled away, I bit my lip and blushed. I wanted to give him a kiss--since we ARE married, I guess--but I was kind of nervous about it, I'm not sure why.
"What?" he asked. "You look like you're worried."
"I AM a little nervous..." I trailed off before standing up on tiptoe, pulling him by the shirt collar so I could reach to kiss him. He stiffened in surprise, but then he slid one arm around me, putting his other hand on the back of my head before he gave me a fervent kiss in return. I'm pretty sure it contained any pent-up emotions he may have had...all I know is that it was perfect and it made my stomach erupt in butterflies, my heart pounding.
When our lips parted, he grinned down at me.
"Hmm...that was pretty terrible."
Not quite what I was expecting, but at the same time...it's Eugene. Only he could say that and NOT ruin the moment.
I laughed. "YOU'RE terrible."
"You wouldn't like my any other way!" he bumped his forehead against mine before brushing his lips against mine again, and I grinned.
"Probably not. Okay...I'll see you in the morning. What time?"
"Yup...bright and early. I'm up at seven," he told me, "and if I'm not, just come and scream in my face."
Hmm....imagine me screaming in someone's face....I can't see it. Can you guys?
"Okay," I laughed.
We said our good-nights, and he gave me a kiss on the cheek and one last hug before I left for my side of the table. I didn't bother changing into my nightie, I just faceplanted on the floor with Pascal, curled up, and went to sleep, relieved to have this resolved.
But oh my gosh...I can't believe this was all real. He's my husband. We have three kids. And...oh, wow. I'm a really lucky girl. I can't wait for tomorrow, and I can't wait until we can renew our vows!
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