"Hey, isn't that the new toy the kids are all asking for? The one you said Eri wanted?" Hizashi pointed at the commercial on their television. They were seated on their couch relaxing before bed, both dressed in comfortable clothing. The blond man had a pair of boxers on that were neon pink and blue on, with tiny microphones printed on them.
Elly glanced up from her phone and nodded. "Yeah. They're like little finger huggy things that laugh and cry and stuff."
He squinted hard at the screen. "They're hideous," he shuddered. "Why is the sloth purple and yellow and ... glittery? Izzat glitter?"
"Pffft. Like you're one to talk. You're dressed like an old mTV logo!"
He whooped laughter and dragged her into his lap. "Damn, that's cold ... but it checks out, and she's right!"
"Ha!" She poked him in the leg. "Don't get me wrong, Zashi, they're adorable on you. But, ah, oh yeah. This reminds me of a story."
"Whuh oh."
"So, we weren't all that rich growing up. We were strapped a lot for cash, so my mom pinched every penny she could. This would mean, I guess, taking me to this kind of cheap store my stepfather worked at a lot. She stayed there for hours! I was little, so I would get bored. One day I took these finger puppets in that we'd made together to play with. I lived them so much, 'cause my mom had made tjem for me. You couldn't buy them in a store or ever get them anywhere else, right?"
Hizashi kissed her neck softly as she spoke, humming soothingly to indicate he was listening.
"Mmn. Um. So I went under the clothes racks to play, and at some point either she called me or she moved away. I was afraid, so I ran over... and forgot them. I really don't remember what happened, except they were nowhere to be found. Someone stole them."
"Ugh," he winced. "Another kid maybe?"
"I can hope. If it was an adult, that was a monstrous thing to do."
"So, you got upset. I mean, duh. Child loses toys, cries. That's a no brainer."
"Yeah. Mom took me to the lost and found, and asked if they got put there that they let us know. But they never were. And what does my mother say while I'm wailing and hurt that my only friends were taken from me?"
He bit his lip. "I can guess."
"Yep. It was all my fault. I shouldn't have taken them in the first place, so it's <i>my fault</i> they're gone forever."
He sighed. "Sorry, babe, that's not right. I mean, sure if you hadn't taken them they wouldn't've been swiped. But you didn't mean for it to happen, and that was likely the first time you experienced loss like that. You didn't know it <i>could</i> happen."
"I know that now." Elly shrugged. "After that, though, I was so careful of my toys! I mever took them anywhere and I got paranoid about 'hurting' or losing them."
"Aww."
He deftly changed the subject after that to other matters and she forgot all about the memory for an entire day. Hizashi had left after school for a gig at a local ballpark and she had worked late. So they over lapped when they arrived home, him getting there first and her after he had left. She sighed, a little sad that he wasn't here so she could receive one of his enthusiastic hugs.
When she opened the door and had removed her excess gear, however, she saw he had left her a surprise.
Elly laughed out loud. In the middle of the jumbled mess of craft supplies on the kitchen table were two very poorly-made finger puppets. One had a hefty chunk of troll doll hair on top of his head, and the other had a pipe cleaner tail with a double tip. He had cut a heart out from red construction paper and placed them on it. When she lifted one up to take a closer look she saw he had written her a note.
"<i>we can make better ones when I get home later ♡</i>"
She smiled happily and gently put the Mic and Cheshire puppets back together.
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