The morning’s weather was beautiful—perfect for Anima and Luina’s anniversary. After finishing his morning routine, Anima sat down at the dining room table, wearing the white robe they had triumphantly found yesterday. He excitedly glanced at the door every few seconds, his heart racing. Luina was set to arrive at any moment, wearing the beautiful, snow-white wedding dress that had belonged to her late mother.
“Where Mommy?”
Marie, sitting next to him, was dying to see her as well, while Myuke and Bram were in the bedroom helping her get into her dress. Anima had offered to change in the same room so he could help, but Myuke told him off, saying that he wasn’t allowed to see her in it until she was ready. Seeing her daddy retreat from the bedroom with slumped shoulders must have been a sad sight for the little Marie, so she’d decided to go with him and cheer him up.
The door soon opened, and Anima immediately whipped around to face it. He held his breath as his anxiety skyrocketed in anticipation of Luina’s entrance.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
She’s an angel.
That was the first thought that crossed Anima’s mind as the sunlight shone on her beautiful white dress. The strapless bodice provided ample support for her breasts, and the long skirt elegantly spread out around her.
“You’re beautiful...”
Anima was so smitten with his wife’s wondrous beauty that he could barely mutter those words. Luina sheepishly giggled in response, then looked at him with a warm smile.
“The robe looks great on you. Is it comfortable?”
“It is. What about the dress?”
“It’s perfect. My stomach has enough space, and it isn’t tight around my chest either.”
“We could make it part of your wardrobe.”
It’d be a shame to never witness this sight again. Anima hoped she would wear this every day from now on; heck, she could even use it as pajamas.
“This dress gets dirty very easily, and it’s not made to be worn from day to day. It’s also very difficult to wash. The next time I wear it will probably be at our wedding ceremony. Can you wait until then?”
“It’ll be hard, but I’ll try. I only wish it would come sooner!”
“I hope I get to see you in that robe again that day.”
After a strong nod of affirmation, they got lost in each other’s eyes. The girls took that as their cue to give them some alone time.
“Sh-Should we go, girls?” Myuke asked her sisters, embarrassed by her parents’ display of affection.
“We’ll come down for lunch, m’kay?”
“Leggo, Brum!”
The girls quickly headed up to the playroom, leaving Anima completely perplexed.
“I guess they wanted to play today?”
“There are days like that—you know how much they love spending time together. Anyway, now that we’re all alone, we have the perfect chance to do things the girls shouldn’t see.”
Anima wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her small, glossy lips. Her sweet fragrance overtook his senses as they shared a long, passionate kiss. He leaned back, but was immediately drawn in again by her gorgeous eyes, full of longing. Their second kiss was to be just as passionate as the first, but they were interrupted by a creak from the door.
“Ah, sorry! I guess this was the worst possible time for us to come down.”
“We go back?”
“We’ll go back once we’ve got what we need, m’kay?”
Luina leaned back as the girls entered the dining room. While she’d overcome some of the shame she felt about kissing in public, doing it in front of the girls was different. Her face went completely red as she tried to collect herself.
“Did you come to play with me?”
“No, no. You two just keep kissing. Pretend we’re not even here.”
The girls rushed into the kitchen, then came out moments later with glasses in their hands.
“What are those for?”
“It’s a secret!”
The three of them scurried back upstairs.
“I wonder what they’re doing.”
“I don’t know, but it must be something fun. Myuke is watching over them, though, so we don’t have to worry about them breaking those glasses.”
“That’s good. Now, where were we?”
“They might come back to return the cups, so let’s go up to the bedroom first.”
They went up to the bedroom and sat down on the sofa. They talked, shared some kisses, and, before they knew it, had spent an intimate couple of hours together. The only thing that reminded them of the passing of time was their growing hunger.
“I’ll get started on lunch.”
“Thank you.”
Sent off with Luina’s warm smile, Anima walked down the hall and over to the playroom, its door closed. He could hear their voices coming from inside, which confirmed that they were inside, but as he reached out to the doorknob, he spotted a sign on the door that read “DO NOT ENTER”. It was written in Myuke’s handwriting.
“Girls, are you in there? Can I come in?”
“Wait!” Myuke immediately shot down his attempted entry, her voice followed by a clearly audible, panicked shuffle. “What do you want?”
“I wanted to tell you that I’m going to be making lunch soon.”
“Cool, I’ll be there in a second. Just wait downstairs.”
“Okay, I’ll be in the kitchen.”
As someone who usually jumped at the idea of getting to cook, that she was taking her time to head down to the kitchen was definitely out of the ordinary. Unsure of why she was acting so distant all of a sudden, Anima slowly dragged himself to the kitchen.
“Sorry I took so long,” Myuke said when she arrived a few minutes later. “Let’s get cooking!”
She was definitely excited, so if nothing else her enthusiasm for cooking hadn’t diminished. Even so, there were lots of questions left unanswered.
“Say, what were you doing in there?”
“It’s a secret.”
“Oh, okay... Do you want to play together after lunch?”
“No, we’re busy today. And don’t come into the playroom! I repeat, do not come in!”
“I-I won’t...”
Anima was distraught. Not only was Myuke giving him the cold shoulder, but Marie and Bram were also secluding themselves from him. It seemed as though the difficult time he’d been dreading had finally come. He had no time to worry, though. He and Myuke had to make lunch for their family.
They made some sandwiches, which the girls stuffed into their mouths at breakneck speed before rushing back up to the playroom. Bearing witness to their gluttony made Anima wonder if they were using the playroom as a workout room or something. Regardless of what they were doing, though, being left out of the fun and getting ignored by his three little angels dragged his spirit way down. He went outside to do the dishes, then slowly limped back inside and over to Luina.
“Is something wrong, Anima? Why the long face?” she asked in a worried tone. Anima looked at her, his eyes filled with despair as if the world were coming to an end.
“Luina... It’s over...”
“What is?”
“Everything! The girls have reached their rebellious phase!”
“No, they haven’t,” Luina giggled.
“But they’re so cold toward me! Myuke always helps with the dishes, but she ran off the moment she was done eating!”
“They probably came up with a new game, and she was just excited to go back to it.”
“Then why didn’t they invite me? Do they hate me?”
“They don’t hate you,” Luina answered in a gentle tone while looking right into his eyes. “They will never hate you—that’s a fact. You’re an incredible father, and they know that. I think they’re keeping their distance to let us enjoy each other’s company on our anniversary. It’s like a little date inside our own home.”
“Oh. That makes sense.” Anima calmed down after coming to understand what was happening. His mood became infinitely better, and he put on a wide smile. “Luina, let’s have a date in the bedroom!”
“That sounds lovely.”