In the gentle breeze, we were swaying. His pale yellow, pleated dress was playing with the wind. The ribbons on his shoulders were flapping slowly. Our friends were arguing at the front of our new house.

"I will do it. You don't know what you're doing. If there's things to be done, they should be done properly, do you agree? We can talk all day about it if you want, but these gutters aren't going to replace themselves. I'm going on the roof now."

"You're being a little harsh, Yuuhi. Let them try. Show them how. It will go faster with more hands."

"I quite disagree." The calm voice of Keitaro now, among the bickering. "Yami does know what he's doing. He creates buildings all day. If they need a security system, we'll bring in Masaki. That's your specialty, correct? IT? But, for example, if they need central air, and they do need central air, Yami is the one for the job. There's things that can be helped with, such as pouring concrete for the new walkways, and sealing the driveway. However, for something like this, I'd trust the expert. I'm sorry."

No one could argue with that. Keitaro wasn't one anyone could mess with. He was the boss, in so many ways. Essentially, this was his house. He'd bought it. So, everyone had to listen. He knew what was right for us, anyway. I'd let him take charge. I was happy to be at the side of the house, enjoying the shushing of the summer trees, guiding Sana in the wind, seeing his blissful smile and closed eyelids, seeing that truly happy, relaxed face. Hearing the music of nature, dancing with him.

This was our dream. Our own house. How many days had I been lost in it? Wondering how it would be. Doing domestic things with him, enjoying being together. But, dancing with him, standing on our grass with my bare feet in the dirt. Holding him, feeling the light material of his dress on my arms, his blonde hair against the bottom of my face, loving him. This big maple tree in front of us. Our maple tree. I could never have dreamed it. It was beyond good, too good to ever dream up. This kind of happiness.

Slowly, small tears wet my lashes. I closed my eyes, too, listening to the breeze. Birds played in the distance, calling to each other. Singing. The overgrown grass blades tickled my feet with every swaying movement. The flowering weeds danced as the wind overcame us once again.

A future. There were boundless things ahead, and I wasn't afraid. We were together, and I could do anything. He was in my arms, safe and protected. Always. This was our house, and would always be our house. We could grow old in it, and I could watch him become grey, the lines growing on his face with each passing day. His sweet face, mine forever, and I would watch it smile in an endless parade of smiles.

The yellow bow in his hair began fluttering in the wind as a stronger breeze passed by. Perhaps there would be rain. I opened my eyes again as I felt it against my face.

"Look, hotshot! There's dark clouds in the distance! You make me so mad! I needed to get these gutters in place, but you wasted so much time. What am I going to do?!"

Yami was yelling. It was understandable why. In my slowed down thoughts, I took time to consider everything. Trying to take everything in, more time to analyze. He'd wanted to help us. It was his day off, and he'd wanted to do all he could. But, with time wasted fighting with Nobu, who also only wanted to help us, he hadn't done half the things he wanted to do today.

"I'll at least clean them! They must not have been cleaned in a year or more. How long was this house up for sale? Was there any upkeep by the previous owner at all during that time? Like the grass. I need to mow it. I'll go to the hardware store and get something soon. I need to dig some of it up, so I can begin the walkways. I'll lay down the guide ways for it. Then we can pour."

"We?" Nobu asked, confrontational, but hopeful, too.

"I want to pour concrete," Masaki said.

"It has to be level. Imagine if it wasn't? How would Sana get around? It's so important."

"We can get it to be level. That much we can do. Show us what to do, and we'll do it," Keitaro said calmly, ending this latest argument. Nobody talked after that, but I heard the metal clank sound of the ladder meeting the roof.

In the breeze, I started to hum. So in joy, so in bliss. Needing to get this feeling out of myself, enjoying. A little nothing of a song, barely making any musical sense. But so full of joy and love.

At the corner of my eye, I saw Keitaro emerge around the side of the house. He stopped, standing there. I knew he was watching us.

My head moved down, the side of my cheek meeting Sana's sweet hair, his bow against it, the velvet soft and fuzzy. I hummed, loving every moment. Crying, the most blissful I'd ever felt. So in love and happiness, that it was like I wasn't even me anymore.

After a while, I realized Keitaro was smiling. With every sway to the left, I saw him there at the edge of my eye. He was smiling so much.

Eventually, he spoke. Those calm words.

"You're so lucky."

I nodded a little, acknowledging this.

"You really are," he reiterated. I realized his voice was a little choked. I turned my face, seeing him in full. He was grinning, so happy for us. "I mean it. This kind of love. You have no idea how special it is. It makes me try to appreciate Karin more. It changes me every day. It challenges me to think, 'what can I do better for her?' But, you don't think about that kind of stuff about him, do you? It just comes naturally. I can tell."

"Yes."

Sana sighed in my arms, as the warm breeze washed over us again. So comfortable and loved.

"I want you to be able to love him freely," Keitaro sighed, never stopping in his smile. "That's why we needed to do this. This thing you have, it's so beautiful. I don't want it to have to suffer from anything. We'll all help. You used to say that I inspire you to be a better musician, but you inspire me to be a better person."

"Keitaro." I couldn't help but say it happily, but I was so touched. My heart was beating faster, thinking about his words. The depth of them. My mentor, saying this to me.

"We're going to work hard to make this house livable. We'll move your furniture in soon. Think about what things you want to keep and what you don't from your apartments. I think that large, center room has a lot of potential. I'm so jealous of that huge tatami room. But, I know you can make good use of it. You can dance in it, I bet."

He was right. I'd dance in it. That's what I'd thought about when I saw it. How big it was. I remembered it from the picture in the listing, but that picture paled in comparison to how large the room really was. It was the practice room of my dreams. And the back side of it opened up to a large porch. I could open it to nature, and dance. The perfect backdrop, a communication with the natural world, inspiring my dance. I loved every bit of it already.

Large thumping sounds came from the roof, and I recognized these as Yami's work boots. They made a strange rhythm.

"You're so happy, you can't even answer me," Keitaro sighed, his smile growing even more. "Look at you. I'm so inspired. I'm going to pick up Karin when I get home. She's going to think I'm crazy."

"Try it," I sang, closing my eyes again, just feeling Sana's soft hair against my cheek, his bow fluttering in the wind.

He laughed. "I'm going to. Sometimes, I think we're too old for new things. But, even as we get older, I still see you doing something new. All of this is new to you, but you're so natural. I think, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, and telling myself I can't do things. Thinking too much. But, you make it look so simple. I think there's a profoundness in that. Maybe everything really is simple, and I'm the one who's difficult."

"Maybe." I giggled a little, seeing Sana's cute face. He moved his lips a little, his cute tongue appearing briefly as he wet them. They did look a little dry.

"Yes, maybe. You're right. I'll try to think about it differently."

A loud thump made us jump. Sana's eyes opened wide, the spell broken. It had been nice while it lasted. A scrambling of sounds from the roof made us all look upwards. My mouth was open.

"BEES!" Yami yelped, running on the semi-flat roof. "BEEEES!"

"What the fuck?!" Nobu cried out, bursting into laughter from the front of the house. "Where?!"

"On the left side of the house! I need to get down! Run!"

"Get into the house!" Sawai-san called to everyone. "Are they angry?! What did you do?!"

"Oh, shit," Keitaro gasped, gesturing for us to come. I twirled, glad that I was barefoot. My feet were solidly on the ground, just like when I would dance. I had the most grip that I could have. Like this, I spirited Sana away to the front of the house, up the new wheelchair ramp. His wheelchair was already on the wrap around porch, waiting. Keitaro was running behind us.

"Grab his wheelchair," I said, slightly out of breath in my quick movements.

"Got it," he said, assuring me. I heard the gentle clicking of the rubber on wood as he followed us into the house.

The smooth, shiny hardwood met my bare feet. Everyone was gathered at the front of the house, in the kitchen. It seemed like a wide open space now, with no furniture. Yami ran inside, and to my surprise, Nobu came in after him.

"Thanks for the help with the ladder," Yami said to him, wheezing for breath.

"I don't know why I did it," Nobu shrugged. "Instinct, I guess."

"Well, thanks, whatever it was."

"It was nothing."

Sawai-san intervened. "Looks like we're going to be here for a while, with the bees and rain," she said. "Why don't we all go sit down? The tatami room might be more comfortable than the kitchen." She began to walk towards it, just off the kitchen.

"Bees. I can't believe it. As if anything else needed to happen. What kind of bees are they?" Masaki asked, turning to follow Sawai-san.

"I don't know. They're not hornets, that much I know. They're not wasps." Yami was still trying to catch his breath, his hand on his chest.

"What, are they honey bees?" Keitaro asked.

"Maybe."

"We'll make sure. Did they swarm you?" Keitaro followed everyone into the tatami room. I'd particularly enjoyed hearing the doors slide open and stop against the slats of wood. It made me sigh, knowing I'd hear this sound a lot.

It didn't feel real that this house was ours. It felt like being in someone else's house. I was in wonderment, listening to them talk about bees, but not, at the same time.

They were our bees, too, whatever they were. That filled me with a sense of wonder, too. A strange peace.

"They didn't swarm me, they were just there. They're flying into somewhere, probably a gap in the roof. If there's a gap there, we might be looking at an expensive repair. The previous homeowners were really irresponsible to sell the house in this condition. I'm kind of upset."

It impressed me to hear Yami saying these things. He was so professional. A different side to him. Keitaro brought Sana's wheelchair over to me. It sounded different on the tatami. I wondered briefly if the wheels would break the delicate weaving, but if it did, that was our tatami, too. Our tatami scars. It filled my heart with such warmth. A beautiful warmth.

Keitaro made an inquisitive noise. "Well, it just means we get to rip the house all apart and make it as we want it to be. I think that's kind of a good thing. If the house needs repairs already, why not rework the whole thing?"

Yami scratched his head and squatted down. "I don't know. That's quite a lot of work. I do have some work buddies who want some extra cash, though. I hate to mention money, but a lot of this might not get done without it. I want to work for free, but they won't."

"Don't worry about it. I'll consider it as part of the costs."

Yami nodded gratefully. He snapped his fingers in the air. "There's beer in the fridge. I put it there last night. Not a lot, but. It's something."

Keitaro groaned in relief. "Sounds nice."

I sat Sana down in the wheelchair. He smiled up at me, and I took the chance to lean down and kiss him. They could have their beer and talk about repairing the house. I touched his cheek, and his eyes closed, a slow smile forming. So in bliss. I had all that I needed.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and looked up. Sawai-san was there. "Your marriage presents are in the attic. Your mom told me. I bet there must be cups in there, or something that can hold water. A pitcher, maybe. I don't know. You two must be thirsty. Should I go look?"

That solved a mystery. In the attic. We had an attic. Swirlings of love twirled into my belly.

"Okay. That sounds wonderful. Thank you so much," I said, wanting to put all of this meaning into my words. Truly thankful.

She nodded, understanding. Her smile was all I needed to know.

As she left, everyone settled on the floor. Yami's footsteps were on the hardwood floor of the kitchen. The fridge opened, and I realized it was our fridge. Ours. My hand rose to my chest, so touched by this. It was everything.

I arranged myself on the floor, sitting casually like everyone else. Everyone's socks were variously colored. It made me realize I needed to get house shoes, and plenty of them, as soon as possible. This meant I also needed a place to store house shoes. Luckily, this house didn't have a separate entryway, where you needed to step up. It would have been the perfect place to store shoes, but it would have made it impossible for us to live here. Sana wouldn't have been able to traverse it. I was so thankful.

So thankful, thinking about buying house shoes? My hand went to my chest again. What an impossible thing to think about. But, here it was. A year ago, if you'd told me I'd be happy thinking about things like this, I'd have told you that you were crazy. That there was no way this would be my life. A year ago, I was about to perform at a summer festival with Keitaro and Davy. My life was going a million miles per hour. Now, it was like a snail's pace, thoughtful, curious. Appreciative.

I was so grateful.

A conversation started up again, Masaki talking about a security system. Keitaro was listening intently, so focused. Serious. Nobu paid attention to his friend, respectful. As it went on, Yami came back with some cans of beer.

Immediately, my mind went to my tatami. If they spilled that beer? An instinct came about. To protect this dear thing to me.

He passed them around, and everyone cheered them together. The sounds of them popping open met my ears. My hand slipped upwards, and met Sana's fingers. His fingers gripped mine, beginning to play with them, almost making me forget my intent at them all.

My finger went up at them, accusing. "If you get one drop of beer on my tatami, I'll kill you," I said, staring at them intensely.

"Yes, mom," Keitaro replied, so serious. He burst into laughter, and more laughter followed by everyone. I looked up, and even Sana was giggling into his hand, looking like he was trying not to. It made me crack up, too, unable to contain myself.

Just so happy, that everything was shining bright.