The blind date had turned out to be nothing but a gigantic failure. With no real concept of what kind of person she looked for in a man, Yumiko had placed her newly discovered single life in the hands of the adults she knew. Dion was off limits as her usual go-to-guy, and Tayler was still dealing with the fact that his best friend and his cousin had divorced. He was doing his best not to give her that "I told you he was gay" look, but she could see it lingering in the handyman's eyes whenever the mere mention of Dion's name cropped up in conversation.
With no knowledge of how to act on a date in these modern times, or what kind of guy she found interesting Yumi given in to the blind date. The guy ended up being the direct opposite of what she didn't even know she was attracted to. As she skipped out on him, she had briefly wondered if he would ever come to realise his date had become nothing more than a dinner for one?
Those thoughts were put out of her mind when she entered the club. It was the youth scene, but she was still young enough to get away with being in a place directed mainly at teenagers. The way she looked she doubted if any of her students would even recognise her. But the man she had recognised knew who she was, if only that was because she was a patient and something like the practise of dentistry was on a much more personal and private level than teaching. She had barely even had one drink, but there she was, pulling him onto the dancefloor the moment a song called out to her. They'd talked, joked, laughed and somewhere there was a connection. At least Yumiko hoped there had been a connection when they finally parted ways.
She'd removed her shoes in the taxi home and walked barefoot up to her front door. Once she pushed it shut she leaned against it and smiled to herself. It wasn't her sunbeam smile - it was just a small and personal smile of a happiness that she didn't want to share with anyone else. She had kissed him - just before climbing into the taxi - small and quick, pressing her lips against his in what her daughter affectionately called 'Fairy Kisses'. She'd tasted alcohol, smoke and something she didn't recognise on him, even in those few brief moments where she stood on her tiptoes to reach him.
Poppy had noticed a change in her the next day as they ate breakfast together. She'd asked how her mother's date had gone, and if the man was nice. Yumiko didn't lie to her daughter, but she ommited certain facts when it came to her telling her daughter the tale. She didn't mention how she had left the guy hanging, nor did she tell her daughter just how arrogant she thought the man was. She just honestly and sweetly told her that she ended the date early but instead of going home thought she'd go to a club. Poppy was a smart girl, there was no point in trying to make a nightclub seem innocent just because she was six years old. Yumi told her how she had met Dr. Lyall there.
Once again, Poppy's ability to spot things even before her parents did amazed Yumiko once more because the little girl giggled at the mention of their dentist and told her mother "I knew you liked him, Mommy, you smiled at him in that way you smile when someone makes you happy by just being there, rather than making you happy to see you smile." It was confusing at first, but once she thought about it, Yumi was glad for her daughter's insight. There was a nervousness inside her though - what if Alex didn't like her back?
When Friday came around, though, her worries slipped away when her phone rang and his voice rumbled over the line. She pressed her back against the wall near her phone and smiled that personal smile again while she talked to him. It wasn't formal in the way a dentist would call to check up on his patient. It was him calling her up to ask her if they wanted to do something over the weekend.
She still didn't know what type of man interested her, but as far as she was concerned she didn't need to spend much time thinking on it anymore. She wasn't settling for the first thing that came along that showed an interest in her - she was spending time with a man who liked her and who she liked back. If it didn't last then it didn't last. There was a wedding ring set as a link in a bracelet around her wrist that reminded her that she could be strong in the face of loss.
It must have been around the fifth 'date' or so that she invited him back to her home. She'd been unable to filter out what was a date and what wasn't for the times they had met up, and so just classed the times when it was just the two of them as dates. If she were to include the times it was a stroll in the park while Poppy fed the ducks, a chance meeting up at the school because Alex had been called in for a 'catch up review' of his son's progress and even the dental appointment for him to bear the bad news that one of Poppy's milk teeth was causing her adult teeth to grow in crooked and therefore it needed pulling. Poppy hadn't been too pleased with the diagnosis, so Yumiko suggested that to make up for being the bad guy, Alex come with them to the playcenter and pay for her to get in. Poppy was then happily distracted by slides, swings and a giant ball pit while Yumiko sat happily with Alex in the little area set aside for parents. They had held twined their fingers together under the table while they sat side by side and talked endlessly about everything and anything.
They had been out for a nice little meal in a cafe one of Alex's other patient's had recommened and instead of going their seperate ways, Yumiko asked if he'd like to go to her's. She even tempted him with a lemon marble cake and added that Poppy was at her father's, meaning it would just be the two of them.
When they arrived, Yumiko could sense just how nervous he was. She had to admit though, she was pretty nervous herself. This was her home; it was a family home and she was sure he was worrying over that fact. Vincent had told her that Alex hadn't been the World's Best Dad, but she had reminded him that she wasn't interested in Alex for his talent (or lack thereof) as a father. From what she could tell he was good with Poppy and she could tell that somewhere inside him she could tell that Alex wanted to repair that broken relationship with his son it was just that he didn't know how to go about it. She wasn't nervous about the same things as Alex though.
Dion had been her one and only experience. Unable to get anything out of the physical relationship for himself, he had induldged Yumiko as physically and mentally as he possibly could. Alex was so far on the side of different compared to Dion that she had no idea what to expect. As she lead him through her hall she thought about hiding her nerves under smiles and laughter, but thought better of it. She had never been very good at burying emotions. As she set the slice of cake on the coffee table, she sat down facing him and placed her hand on his knee and told him that she was feeling a little nervous but that she was also sure that she wanted to take their relationship a step further.
Then she shared that little private smile of her's with him. It had just bubbled up from the warmth inside her and slipped onto her face.
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