Pilot
Chapter 1: Pilot
Tawan woke with a start, rustled from her light slumber at the sound of distant, muffled yelling in her minds background. It was a sound she was all too familiar with that still brought her the faintest of sleepy smiles as she tightly closed her shut eyes to force herself awake. She yawned and stretched her arms and hands from under the covers, turning on her left towards the bedroom window.
This was her morning routine when she woke up alone during the week - letting the sun’s rays that broke through the curtains of the window hit her half closed eyes to further stir her awake. She laid on her back, gave a deep yawn, then smacked her lips as her eyes adjusted to her surroundings. She turned her head to the right, sitting up a little to look at the clock on the nightstand for that side of the bed, then laid back down to rest a moment.
She still had a few hours before she had to head into the office, so she closed her eyes and rested her hands on top of the covers over her stomach. This was her quiet moment - despite the sounds she could hear outside her bedroom door - where she would take a moment to prepare for the demands of her career. The older she got, the more she realized this short and seemingly insignificant moment in the morning before she got up to start her day really prepared her for all that would come.
Though Tawan was beyond thankful for her job and all that it had provided for her, the last few years became very demanding with her promotion. She was the editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine after having worked her way up in only the way a prodigy could ever do over the last seven years. She was always meant for great things, but the expectation of that was quickly catching up with her. Thus, the stress forced her to reflect on how to take better care of herself as she went through this transition.
However, Tawan did wonder many, many times if her stress would be greatly alleviated if her boss - the owner of the magazine - trusted her more to do what it takes to make the magazine successful. Her predecessor certainly did which is why she personally advocated for Tawan to take over when she announced her retirement. Though Tawan - who was second to her as the managing editor - was shocked when she informed her of this at a long work lunch, she knew deep down that this moment found her like it was destiny.
The owner of the magazine, Mr. Tek, looked deep in confusion and thought as Tawan’s boss, Lily, explained why she had tapped Tawan as her successor. She listed all of Tawan’s contributions and successes over the last five years, then informed him of Tawan’s vision and goals for the magazine. The woman was an old legend in many spaces of the fashion world, and that never more evident to Tawan in the way that Mr. Tek - who always scowled and looked like he had just licked a lemon - absorbed her words and slowly nodded as if she was the one making him.
Tawan was beyond touched that Lily remembered so much about her. In her early days at the magazine, she tried not to put too much expectations into it so that she would not be disappointed due to a bad work experience and the stressful environment from her first job after graduation that made her question her career choice in journalism. But the way Lily was listing the things that they had discussed over the years, both in professional and personal settings, and all very important to Tawan, she smiled thoughtfully as she realized that she had some pretty big shoes to fill.
Lily took leadership and mentoring very seriously because of her experiences in male dominated fields as sometimes the only woman in the office. She really took a liking to Tawan as she observed her interactions with the other team members. Tawan loved to teach people, and this was more than evident when she approached Lily with an idea for onboarding, training, and coaching processes to ensure that the team was well equipped and supported.
On top of this, when Lily’s mother got really sick and she had to take extended time off to care for her in her final weeks, Tawan stepped up to take the reigns of ensuring no bumps in the rollout of that month’s issue. That was a crucial issue during the summer as many brands were launching their new projects, and Tawan worked relentlessly with the other leaders to ensure that the magazine stayed on track for its scheduled release.
And what a successful issue that was for all involved.
Tawan stretched once more then sat up in bed as she ran her fingers through her hair and let out a small yawn. She turned to her left and reached to grab her phone off the nightstand to check for messages. Normally, she would practice disconnecting from her phone in relation to work, especially after having just woke up, but they were a few months out preparing for the summer and all the glory that fashion brought during that time. Luckily, there wasn’t anything important for her to review, so she scrolled social media for a few minutes as her mind and body raced to wake up fully.
“Alright, time to get this day started.”
Tawan begrudgingly slid from under the covers and stood as she set her phone back on the nightstand, giving her back a stretch as she did. She did her morning stretches then moved to the dresser to grab some underwear before heading to the closet to grab an outfit for the day. Just as she was about to enter the closet, she noticed her favorite navy blue pantsuit and a pale yellow dress shirt set neatly on the back of the sofa chair. She smiled as she walked to it and picked the clothes up, turning them a few times in satisfaction and noticing that they were freshly pressed and steamed of wrinkles.
She nodded in both thanks and appreciation as she turned to head to the bathroom to shower and get ready for work.
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“Star! Make sure you put your homework in your backpack. Don’t forget again!”
Ira was plating breakfast, chopping fresh fruit, and making lunches all at once as she constantly eyed the clock for time. She still had an hour before she would need to take the kids to school, but she always worried about being late despite the fact she almost never was. Ever since she became a mom, she felt like she was racing a clock - father time in the moments that seemed to come and go with her babies and the need to always be on time for things so as to not be a burden.
She was laser focused as she carefully and meticulously placed the fruit in the specific sections she always did in the bento box. The rice had to be a perfect mound, the protein had to be layered, and the veggies had to be on situated a specific way. Ira took her children’s nutrition very seriously ever since she read that kids perform well at school when they have breakfast and a nutritional lunch.
Though she had read this as she held a few weeks old Sammy after he awoke the second night in his new bedroom fresh from the hospital, bouncing him gently and humming to him softly while occasionally pressing a kiss to his soft head to lull him back to sleep, it was proving to be correct these days as the twins excelled rather well in classes.
Speaking of…..
“Mommy?” Sammy said and tugged on the hem of her shirt.
Ira, the tip of her tongue slightly poking out in concentration, leaned closer to the protein she was layering. “Just one second, baby,” she answered, eyes not leaving her task.
Sammy tried to see what she was doing by raising on his tippy toes, but his eyes barely met the top of the counter. His tongue poked through his lips in concentration, same as his mother’s, as he tried to stretch as high as he could to see what all the fuss was about, his small hand grabbing onto the counter for balance as he maintained his grasp on her shirt. The corner of Ira’s mouth twitched a bit in both amusement and adoration at his curiosity, and she quickly glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as she fixed some veggies into a position she preferred.
Satisfied, she stood straight and put her hands on her hips proudly as she observed her final work of her children’s school lunch. Ira looked down at Sammy, who was still trying to get a look, then chuckled to herself as she picked him up and held him to her front so he could fully see. She brought her head around to look at him as he looked at the food in both appreciation and hunger which made her giggle at how big his eyes were. She pressed a long kiss to the back of his head then inhaled him before she set him back down, patting his butt to make him move out of the way so she could get him his breakfast.
“Go get your sister for breakfast,” she instructed and moved to grab plates.
Sammy rushed off throwing out an okay over his shoulder as his morning hunger was fueled by the intoxicating smells and visuals of both his breakfast and lunch. Ira smiled to herself and shook her head as she rounded the kitchen island to the dining table to set the plates down before going back for the glasses of juice to go with them. She looked at the table with hands on her hips again, proud of her work and the satisfaction her family would surely get from the meal, then went back to the kitchen to finish the coffee.
“Something smells good.”
Ira smiled, like she always did when she heard her favorite voice, and continued with her task of making them coffee. Arms suddenly snaked around her middle for a back hug, a familiar and unique warmth that she instantly molded and melted into, before hands rested on her hips firmly but careful to not disrupt her routine coffee making process. She felt lips on her exposed right shoulder blade, kisses pressing up a trail to her neck before she felt a cold nose and heard a deep inhale at the nape of her neck. Another favorite sound of Ira’s because she felt their body relax and could hear their mind instantly become worry free.
“You should have slept in a little longer,” Ira stated, having caught the time again before starting on the coffee.
Tawan sighed, knowing she was right but also wanting nothing more than to spend as much time with her family as she could when the opportunity presented. She had been so busy with work the last month that she had missed more than half of Star’s soccer game a few days ago, almost completely out of breath as she tripped her way to Ira and Sammy in heels as they cheered her on. Ira told Tawan that Star started playing better when she showed up because she had been struggling for most of the game. Sammy clung to her leg from the moment she arrived and well until after the game was over, talking animately about the math test he had passed with flying colors that she had helped him study for.
“I missed you guys,” Tawan stated, kissing her shoulder blade once more.
Tawan released her wife and moved to step beside her to help finish the coffee. Ira smiled sadly, a little upset by her wife’s words because she knows she has been working so hard and felt guilty about all the time and moments missed that she got to experience. She glanced at her wife’s movements then briefly at her face to admire her before focusing back on her own coffee, knowing this was a conversation for later in the evening.
Tawan raised her finished cup to her nose and took a deep inhale with a pleased smile, savoring it and praying it gave her the strength needed to get through the day. Ira chuckled at her, always amused when she was this theatrical, then carefully bumped shoulders with her. Tawan gave her a wink then took a sip, letting out a very pleased sound before taking a longer drink. Ira chuckled again as she took a sip of her own then bit down on her bottom lip as she looked to her to carefully and lovingly smack her butt.
“Breakfast. Now,” Ira ordered, taking another sip. “I’m going to grab your children.”
Tawan laughed as she rounded the island for the dining room table. “They’re always my children when they do something you don’t like,” she retorted amusedly.
“Yeah, because I sent Sammy to get Star for breakfast like five minutes ago,” Ira responded over her shoulder as she left.
Tawan smiled as she shook her head and sat down for breakfast. She could hear Ira calling for their children then little voices and giggles as they knew they were caught being late for breakfast again. Not long after that, Tawan heard little feet take off down the hallway towards the kitchen, and she braced herself for the bear hugs they would launch her way like they always did in the morning and especially after not having seen her much the evening before.
And as always, Ira would smile adoringly at the sight, her arms crossed at her chest with her coffee cup resting near her heart as she was reminded of her greatest blessings and most purest love in the form of the three human beings before her.