When I woke up the next morning, I could smell the food wafting in from the kitchen. I caught the hint of cinnamon and the unmistakable smell of dark roast coffee. I rose and shook my slightly longer than shoulder length hair out of my face as I padded out to find my pink-haired wife flitting about the kitchen, already dressed in one of her business suits.
Say what you will about my wife, she may be silly and a little inscrutable at times, but when it came time for her to clean up, she cleaned up well.
She gave a steaming mug a push, making it slide down the breakfast bar to come to a stop just in front of my stool. I would ponder how she had managed it, but I learned years ago not to try to decipher her methods. I merely took the mug by the handle and breathed in the smell before sneaking up on it. Two sugars, no cream. Perfect.
“You’re up early,” I said to the woman as she slid a handful of crepes and eggs onto a pair of plates. “Last minute changes?”
“Yeah, Sonata texted me about them last night while you were in the shower,” she mumbled around a mouthful of toast. “We’ve got to go see about the layout in a different hall before we can begin setting up.”
I took a bite from my breakfast as I thought. “Is it going to be a difficult transition? Because if it is you have to charge them for that.”
“I know,” she said as she hastily ate. “Nata already told them when they contacted her about the switch.”
I swallowed a mouthful of eggs. “So, just another day in the exciting life of a caterer?” I teased lovingly.
She smirked at me as she dropped her empty plate into the sink. “Couldn’t have it any other way,” she said with her typical good cheer. “You mind washing up before you go?”
I waved her off. “I’ll get it under control. See you tonight?”
She skipped over and gave me a quick kiss before grabbing her messenger bag and knife case and heading out the door.
As I was doing the dishes, I couldn’t help but remember the first real date we had gone on. She had cleaned up well that time too. Much better than I had.
I felt horribly underdressed.
I was clad in the cleanest jeans I had, a shirt so new it still had the fold creases in it, and my green vest. I know it wasn’t much different then how I normally dressed, but hey, I didn’t do the pigtails, having let Sonata braid it for this special event.
That counts for something, right?”
But next to Pinkie in her soft pink dress, I felt like a slob. It wasn’t that it was such an upscale look on the girl so much that it was so different than what I was used to from her. It was…subdued. Calming, and she had a similar look in her eyes.
“I…I should change,” I said, feeling my cheeks heat up.
“You look fine,” Pinkie chirped. “It’s only Mason’s.”
“But you’re…” I motioned wordlessly at her outfit.
“Psssh,” she waved me off. “Laundry day. It was clean.”
The nervousness drained out of me in a laugh.
“I can understand that,” I said through the giggles. As I regained my composure, I smiled at the woman before me.
“Pinkie, I gotta say,” I whispered. “You clean up pretty good.”
“Why thank you!” she said, standing up even taller than a second ago. Somehow. “You’re not half bad yourself, Ari.”
She led me over to her car, a Jeep I noted with surprise.
“Well, get in,” she said, popping the locks as she climbed in herself. “We’re going to be late for our own date, silly!”
I climbed in and had no sooner fastened my belt before the vehicle was backed out of the stall and headed for the highway.
I kept sneaking glances at Pinkie as she wove her way along the asphalt river. She seemed so relaxed, singing along with the radio.
“Going to get right back around, yeah…SOS DJ keep the party hopping…toes tapping never stopping till we break through to get right back around.”
“How can you sing and drive?” I asked simply. “Shouldn’t you pay attention?”
“I am, though,” she said, never taking her eyes off the road. “You act like you’ve never driven before and sung to the radio.”
Her head swung up as the silence drug on.
“You can drive, right?” she asked.
“We never saw the need,” I said.
A few more minutes of silence.
“Then I’ll just have to teach you,” she declared as though proclaiming a royal decree.
“But…”
“No time for that.” she said.
“But…”
“No time for that either.”
“Pinkie…”
She looked at me as we idled at a stop light.
“Aria, please,” she said, a smirk on her face. “It’s only our first date! Have patience!”
I rested my head on the dash as she giggled and we continued onto dinner.
“What have I gotten myself into?” I whispered to myself.
I buttoned the top button of my blouse and slid my vest on. It was getting a touch threadbare, but it was a part of me. I made sure to tuck my coffee mug into the washer before starting it, having had two more cups of the dark brew before getting dressed myself.
“The happiest I’ve been in a long time,” I said to myself, remembering that crazy night. “That’s what I got myself into.”
i glanced at myself in the mirror and adjusted the collar of my top and slid a hairpin into place just behind my right ear of a star with a cello’s F hole shape behind it. My own personal symbol, my cutie mark, as it were. I mean, it was on my flank the one time I had returned to Equestria, so I guess that’s accurate.
My phone buzzed, and I checked to see a text from the drummer of the band I sang with every night.
Hey, Flash and I are running late, don’t start without us!
I smiled. Lemon Zest was always running late.
Don’t worry, I haven’t left the house quite yet. We’ve got a big gig tonight.
I smiled. Let Limestone have her grudge. Pinkie and I did what we wanted to with our lives, and that made us both smile.
And that’s all that matters.