Formal Invitation
Chapter 41: Formal Invitation
“Darling, can you go grab the mail for me?”
Tawan looked up from the book she was reading at the dining room table to Ira in the kitchen pouring them a glass of wine.
She was still having a lot of fun reading both fiction and non-fiction works about space as a way to relax each day. Her mind went back to Sammy winning 1st place for his science project he worked so hard on with some guidance from her and she smiled proudly. He was so happy and proud of himself that he talked about it for days even keeping the ribbon on his chest that whole day up until Ira made him take it off for bed.
Tawan nodded and stood, closing her book and setting it down on the table, and Ira smiled to her thankfully as she finished pouring the last glass. She walked their glasses to the living room and set them down on the coffee table before heading back to the kitchen to grab the bottle for them. It had been a long week between work and catching up with Wei, so they were very appreciative to have the weekend for themselves.
Wei was still in town for a few more nights so he took the twins to his and Tawan’s parents house to spend the night so he could spend more time with them before he headed back home. He had enjoyed his week off from work and catching up with his family, especially spoiling his niece and nephew. Tawan and Ira even managed to tag along for a few activities so that they could all hang out together.
Wei, very much serious, also took every opportunity he could to butter up Ira for his future request to have the twins come to Hong Kong for a few weeks. Tawan was very amused by his very clear to her antics while Ira was obliviously eating up whatever he could come up with. One of the tools in his tool belt was telling her that he could get her some collectable dolls that she had been unable to procure from a woman who worked for the distributor he would occasionally see for dates.
Ira sat down on the couch and curled her feet under herself as she waited on Tawan to return with the mail.
She perused her cellphone and smiled at the pictures she took yesterday at Tawan’s parents' house. They had all met over there for one of the last family dinners they would would have with Wei in attendance for a while. Her phone buzzed with a notification from her Instagram and she clicked on it, smiling more as she knew what it was for already.
She had posted a family picture from dinner yesterday and it had received a lot of engagement. It was one of the family all getting ready to enjoy dinner outside. Wei had taken it selfie style since he was the tallest and had the longest arms to get everyone in the frame together.
Tawan was in the middle of serving the twins food, who were seated between her parents, just as Ira grabbed her from behind to hold and pose. Tawan immediately looked to her and smiled adoringly just as her brother snapped the picture. Her followers were entranced, always hooked to her personal posts since they were sometimes rare.
Tawan walked through the front door, shuffling through the mail for anything important with she tripped over one of the twins shoes that was in the middle of the walkway. She cursed herself for not paying attention then lightly kicked the shoe out of hers and anyone else’s way as she straightened herself. Ira looked up to her just as she rounded the corner to head straight to her, tossing the mail on the table.
She figured it was mostly junk mail or bills or something else unimportant, especially unconcerned now that it was time for them to relax and enjoy their evening alone.
“Anything important?” Ira asked, leaning over to grab their glasses. She handed one to Tawan just as she plopped down next to her.
“Nothing from what I could tell,” she answered, smiling to her in thanks.
Ira clanked their glasses together and they smiled to each other before taking a sip. They both let out audible sounds of satisfaction, sighing and humming before giggling to each other.
Life had been so hectic yet so fulfilling for them over the last few months. It served as a reminder to them that they needed to make sure to always continue to ground themselves with family and alone time for just the two of them. Ira especially agreed now that she was getting more busier and wanted by so many brands who made her start to feel like she was running from job to job.
“We have the whole house to ourselves for the weekend. What should we do?” Tawan asked, looking to her with a lazy smile.
Ira looked up, holding her glass in her lap and pondering with pursed lips. “Hmm, definitely a lot of sleeping,” she replied and they both laughed.
“I know you’re exhausted, baby,” Tawan comforted, reaching over to cup her cheek. “We’ll stay in bed all weekend. Whatever you want. You don’t even have to move. I’ll bring you food in bed and whatever else you want.”
Ira grabbed her hand to kiss her knuckles. “I love you,” she smiled sweetly.
“Anything for my lady,” Tawan joked, cheesing as she leaned to her.
Ira laughed and dropped her hand to reach over to grab her under her jaw to pull her a little closer. She pressed a kiss to her lips then leaned back to smile into her eyes before going in for a longer kiss.
With everything whizzing by them and making them dizzy with wonder if they will be able to keep up, it was moments like this that rooted them to remind them that this would always be their end of the day. Whether it was chasing the twins around in the backyard or a simple kiss like this, they knew deep within their bones that they would always come back down together.
Ira pulled back a little and Tawan, smiling in bliss, slowly opened her eyes to her and Ira laughed at how lovesick she looked.
Tawan playfully pouted, scrunching her nose a bit, and Ira cooed at her as she tickled her fingers under her chin while leaning over again to peck her lips a few times before giving her another long kiss. She pulled back again and roamed her eyes over Tawan's face in nothing but pure love just as her eyes opened again, this time a little breathless. Ira smiled and carefully wiped her thumb over her bare lips to remove her lipgloss.
“You might fall asleep the next time I kiss you,” Ira whispered, her breath hitting Tawan’s mouth. She gently wiped her thumb over her lips again.
Tawan slowly smiled as she came to focus. “I’m tired but not that tired,” she replied, making them both laugh softly.
“Hold me?” Ira asked, laying on her best puppy dog eyes.
“Wine first,” Tawan nodded and finished hers.
Ira quickly downed her glass, wincing some as it traveled up to her head and down into her stomach.
Tawan reached over and took her glass so she could set them both down on the coffee table next to the bottle of wine. She eyed it quickly, committing to finish it off before they went to bed, then turned back to Ira just as she stood to head over to their corner of the couch. Tawan got into position and fluffed the pillow before settling her back into it, scooting down some to be half sitting up just as Ira crawled up to lay between her and the couch and half on top of her.
“Comfortable?” Tawan asked, hugging her close. She combed her fingers through her hair as she looked down to her.
“Very,” Ira said into her chest, tangling her legs with her right one. She felt a kiss to the back of her head and smiled as she snuggled closer.
Tawan stared up at the ceiling and played with the ends of her hair as she smiled at the thought of staying like this all weekend.
She thought about FleurDe’s first two months in publication and the whirlwind that seemed to keep picking her up every single time her feet barely touched the ground. They were receiving a lot of positive feedback from readers and constructive criticism from their peers in the industry. FleurDe was still learning to walk on fresh, wobbly legs, but they were sincere in their approaches so that they could learn and grow.
Ira, eyes still closed and smiling contently, took in a deep breath through her nose to slowly exhale as she sank into her wife’s warmth.
She tried not to let the spell that Tawan’s gentle caressing of her hair was casting on her make her fall into the much deeper arms of slumber. The last few weeks alone had given her so much experience to take to her next job, but her body had dragged itself across the finish line. She was thankful, so very thankful, for everything that had happened since Paris, but it felt like a year’s worth of work in just less than six months.
“New Years in New York can’t get here fast enough,” Tawan mumbled tiredly.
Ira chuckled and Tawan followed suit as they both realized they had been thinking along similar lines.
She picked up her head and reached up to kiss Tawan, pressing her lips a little firmly against hers for added affect, then rested back into her spot. Tawan circled her arms around her shoulders to squeeze her close then reached down again to kiss her hair and inhale her, rubbing up her back. She made a mental note to gather the final information for their getaway to show Ira tomorrow so they could finalize taking time off.
No matter what, they were dedicated to leaving for some alone time for just the two of them.
“I can’t wait,” Ira agreed, muffled against Tawan’s chest.
“And we can’t come home early no matter how much we miss the twins,” Tawan added pointedly, making them both giggle.
“Aww, now I miss them already,” Ira pouted some in thought.
“Babe,” she warned, laughing. “I miss them, too, but when is the last time we took a vacation just the two of us?”
“I know, I know,” Ira relented somberly. “But they’re our babies. I always miss them.”
“As do I, but I want some alone time with you with no interruptions for a little while,” Tawan added, her nose tickled by her hair as she scratched her fingers up her back.
“We’ve been so busy, I know,” she agreed again and sighed.
“Busy is putting it lightly,” Tawan mumbled to herself.
“Okaaay,” Ira griped, pinching her ribs playfully and making her squirm.
“I mean, even if we just lay in bed all day and do nothing,” Tawan continued, looking back up to the ceiling in thought.
“Baby, I heard you,” Ira mumbled into her chest, rolling her eyes in slight annoyance.
“Hell, I’m sure Mali has seen you half-naked in the dressing room more than I have all week,” Tawan grumbled a bit, mostly blaming herself for also not being more aware.
“Oh my god, Tawan!” Ira exclaimed, amused as she sat up to look at her. “Are you done, my love? I said I heard you and I agree. We need to make time for each other.”
Tawan grimaced up to her apologetically. “Sorry, got carried away. That was mostly me upset with myself,” she confessed, cupping under her chin.
Ira chuckled and shook her head at her as she leaned down to her. “We will fix it together,” she promised, giving her a sweet kiss before pulling back just a hair.
“And I promise we will go to Greece with the twins,” Tawan assured, caressing her thumb along her jaw.
Ira grinned as she looked between her eyes and lips like she did not know which one she enjoyed the most.
She could not remember the last time they took their children to the beach, but she was willing to bet it was when they were around three years old. They both wanted to make new memories with their children so they had a specific moment to look back on for each year of their lives. This would be monumental for their family over the years because Tawan and Ira would have memory and photo books filled to the brim of them and the twins.
“I love you so much,” Ira whispered so devotedly.
“You’re my universe,” Tawan whispered back, tucking some hair behind her ear.
Ira bit down on her bottom lip, half shyly and half confidently as she moved in to give her a deep kiss that made Tawan’s toes curl.
She turned her head to open her mouth and build up what she wanted to be a night of staying up as long as they could to get lost in each other. Tawan grabbed the back of her neck to pull her close and hold her there, their bodies molding perfectly, and her other hand moved down to grasp her butt. Ira moaned into her mouth at the same time her thigh bucked between her legs making her groan out in frustration.
Ira broke their kiss with a loud smack of their lips. “You taste like wine,” she said hotly against her lips.
Tawan slowly nipped at her lips a few times. “I can’t wait to taste you some more,” she smirked between kisses. She tangled her fingers into her hair to turn her neck to kiss it.
“B-baby, slow down,” Ira sputtered breathlessly, trying to keep her concentration and composure. “The night is...still young.”
Tawan ignored her as she practically sucked on her neck, sliding her tongue and wet lips across as much real estate of her soft skin as she could. Though she only had one glass of wine, downing it the way she did before they made it to this position made her body feel like jelly. She wanted to start their weekend alone on a high note and sleep in until noon tomorrow with no interruptions.
The only energy Tawan wanted to exert for the next few days was on Ira, and Ira could tell they were not going to leave their bed much the next few days.
“N-not yet,” Ira laughed distractedly to herself, flushed as she pushed off her chest. She moved back over to her previous seat to grab the bottle of wine, her body pulsing with arousal.
“Hey,” Tawan pouted confusedly, eyes still darkened with lust. “What are you doing? I was just getting started.”
“Let’s finish our wine first,” Ira chuckled, pouring them another glass. “I’ve been wanting to try this one with you.”
“Ira,” Tawan half whined and groaned, her bottom lip pouted. She sat up in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at her with a furrowed brow.
“You know this is one of my favorite things to do with you. When’s the last time we had wine together and took the time to enjoy it?” Ira asked innocently, eyeing her with her puppy dog eyes as she extended her a glass.
Tawan, still pouting some, thought for a second. “Ugh, fine. Okay,” she half grumbled knowingly, taking the glass.
“Finish telling me about your next issue idea,” Ira asked, looking at her over her glass as she took a long sip.
“Darling, really?” Tawan sighed at her, shaking her head as she took a large drink. “I’m thinking about you naked and you’re thinking about fashion. Is this really on your mind right now?”
Ira swatted at her leg making her laugh. “I can do two things at once, Tawan,” she laughed alongside her.
“We’ll see,” Tawan muttered into her drink.
“I heard that,” Ira laughed again, reaching over to playfully pinch her thigh.
Tawan laughed again before she searched her brain for a starting point.
They had talked about her idea for FleurDe’s next issue launch while they got the twins ready to go stay with their uncle and grandparents. She was mostly bouncing ideas off of Ira, not really having anything concrete, just like she always did when she was at Vibe/Me. Ira’s degree in business and her work experience in the world of fashion allowed for Tawan to really critically think and develop concepts for issues that organically introduced and excavated topics for her readers.
As Tawan rambled on about her ideas and some of the ones that her team had shared, Ira nodded along as she sipped her wine.
Out of the corner of her eye she caught the mail again and turned to it, interrupting her wife only to tell her that she was still listening but wanted to sift through the mail really quickly. She hated having things strewn around the house so she wanted to determine what mail they needed to keep and what to throw away. She set her wine glass down and picked up the mail to go through it quickly.
“I don’t know…,” Tawan mused, looking up at the ceiling in deep thought. “I think that maybe the team should-,”
“OH MY GOD!” Ira half screamed and squealed.
Tawan was snapped out of her thoughts. “W-what?! What happened?” She asked concernedly, her heart pounding in her chest as she immediately moved to her side in worry.
Ira was clutching two identical envelopes and pointing at them as she made sounds but no words were coming out.
Tawan looked between her and the envelopes, her worry turning into anxiousness despite her wife’s lips pursed like rainbows and stars were about to burst from her. Her eyes were wide, a little wild as if she could not believe what she was holding, and Tawan let her eyes finally rest on the envelopes. Ira thrusted them into her hands and covered her mouth as she began to bounce in her seat in anticipation.
They were envelopes from the local governing body of Thailand’s Most Influential Awards, an awards ceremony that honored the countries most influential, breakthrough, motivating, and inspirational citizens for the year on a range of topics.
“Holy shit,” Tawan whispered to herself as she stared at each envelope.
“Why would they send us invitations?” Ira asked giddily, her hands covering her mouth again. She felt like she was about to burst from both excitement and anticipation.
“I don’t know,” Tawan answered, gulping a bit before rushing the next part. “M-maybe you got nominated for something o-or they just want us there in attendance as guests or something.”
“But we each got an envelope! OMG, this is so exciting. Open it, open it,” Ira squealed, pointing at them enthusiastically.
Despite Tawan’s apprehension at wanting to open her own envelope, because she could not for the life of her understand why she had one instead of being included as Ira’s plus one, she was beyond excited for her wife.
She had kept her ear to the ground on what the industry was talking about and Ira was included in those conversations. Like Tawan always knew, her wife's ability to leave her insatiable mark on those she interacted with made others eagerly want to meet her. Ira's bubbly personality and desire to learn was just as much discussed by the decision-makers as much as it was by her own peers.
In fact, a revered veteran model, after having had a conversation with Ira as they sat to spectate a runway show, had nothing but kind words and praises for her during a press conference after an event last week. She called her one of her favorite new talents of the year.
Tawan set her own envelope back down on the coffee table and immediately tore into Ira’s to let her eyes roam over its contents. Ira waited with baited breath as she watched her wife slowly smile then grin before kissing the card and jumping onto her for a hug. They fell back and she started laughing as Tawan peppered her face with kisses before burying her nose in her neck and pulling them back upright.
She sat back in her seat to read to Ira that she was nominated for ‘Breakthrough Talent of the Year’. Ira, shocked, put her hands to her mouth and Tawan showed her the proof.
“This is amazing, baby!” Tawan boasted, grabbing her wrist to put the card in her hand. “Look. This is all of your hard work you manifested.”
Ira gulped as she read the card. “I can’t believe this,” she whispered to herself, still in shock.
Tawan chuckled and grabbed her face to force her eyes to hers. “You worked hard for this. Believe it,” she reminded her, leaning over to kiss her in congratulations.
Ira, brought back to reality, smiled against her lips. “Thank you, my love,” she said thickly, sniffling some.
Tawan kissed her again, pressing their lips together a little more firmly after a few pecks.
She wanted her to feel how proud she was of her as much as she heard it. This was a major accomplishment for Ira, one that she had been working hard for over the last few years. Ira never expected to be on this fast paced trajectory that she was currently trying to keep herself balanced on. It seemed that every time she would start to develop imposter syndrome, something would come to remind her that she was right where she was always meant to be.
Everything just kept affirming itself and it reminded her that Tawan also got an invitation.
“Wait!” Ira said excitedly, pulling back abruptly and looking at her. “You got one, too! Let’s open it.”
“Oh, uh…,” Tawan bumbled, shaking her head. “Not right now. Let’s focus on you.”
Ira looked at her confusedly, not understanding why she was being awkward and nervous about her own invitation.
Tawan’s eyes roamed everywhere but her as her intrusive thoughts told her it was a mistake she got an invitation because she had no idea why she would receive one. Though she knows her launching FleurDe has generated a lot of attention to her, she really did not feel like she did anything worth being invited to this major event let alone being considered for anything. This was a rather prestigious and respected academy of the finest in various industries.
“No, don’t you start that,” Ira reprimanded, tossing her card on the coffee table. She quickly snatched Tawan’s and opened it before she could protest.
“Ira,” Tawan groaned, looking away apprehensively. Her fingers started to fidget with her wedding band and her leg bounced.
Ira ignored her and brought the card up close to her face to read and hide behind. She believed that whatever Tawan’s card said was positive, because why else would she receive her own if it was not, and smiled proudly before even reading it.
Tawan braced herself, psyching herself out for no reason, and shuffled in her seat nervously as if she was being scrutinized. Just as she was opening her mouth to ask Ira what it said, the tension suffocating, Ira jumped onto her lap and hugged her around her neck. She felt the air being knocked out of her but she still was able to catch her with ease as she kissed along the side of her head.
Ira was squealing again and it made Tawan go from nervously smiling to chuckling wholeheartedly at her wife’s bounciness. Ira pulled back to look at her and flash the card to her with the biggest grin Tawan had seen in a while. Tawan looked at her a little bemused but flicked her eyes to the card she clearly wanted her to see.
The prideful glint in her wife’s eyes made her fears calm.
“What the fuck?” Tawan whispered to herself.
She had been nominated for ‘Influential Writer of the Year’.
“Your work over the last few months including FleurDe’s issue launch,” Ira boasted excitedly as she read the card again.
“Maybe they sent that on accident,” Tawan tried to reason, her disbelief clouding her judgement.
“Tawan!” Ira gasped, playfully smacking her shoulder with the card. “Not only was it addressed to you with our address, it clearly states its for your freelance work and the issue launch for FleurDe.”
“I just mean there’s no way I could-,”
Ira turned her head to be eye level with her to press her lips to hers as hard as she could to silence her and her rambling negative thoughts. It worked and Tawan immediately closed her eyes and reciprocated. She smiled against her lips for a moment in triumph and to let her revel in it before breaking them apart.
“If you don’t accept this then I’m not going,” Ira told her seriously, not even bothering to threaten her.
“Ira,” Tawan groaned softly.
“I mean it, Tawan,” she insisted and grabbed her neck to force her to look at her. “How am I supposed to trust you when you say I earned this if you can’t even accept that you earned yours.”
Tawan’s shoulders sagged as she looked into her eyes. “I’m just…shocked,” she trailed off, sighing to herself.
Ira gently scratched her fingers at her neck. “Being shocked is okay, but being doubtful is not,” she smiled tenderly.
Her words mulled around in Tawan’s mind before she chewed on them a bit more. She was still working on her work place trauma at Vibe/Me, so even though everyone had been so kind and encouraging thus far with FleurDe, she would have moments where she was waiting on the rug to be pulled from under her. Tawan thought she might need therapy to mitigate and manage this, but this invitation and Ira’s happiness for her helped absolve it for now.
A slow smile started to spread across her lips as she started to catch up to it all and it made Ira giggle as she kissed her temple.
“You’re right,” Tawan said quietly, smiling into her eyes with a slight blush.
“I’m always right,” Ira stated, grinning as she leaned to her mouth. “And don’t you ever forget it, baby.”
Tawan started grinning with her as her mouth hovered near hers, taking a moment to look at her eyes focused on her lips before abruptly standing them up.
Ira giggled for just a moment before Tawan grabbed her around the waist to dip her for a kiss, eliciting the girliest giggle from her she was sure she had ever heard. Tawan smiled against her lips just before Ira turned her head so she could pull her closer by her neck to wrap her arms around it to kiss her deeply in both congratulations and joint celebration. It was like fireworks were going off around them and the world dissipated.
All this did was confirm to them what they knew all along. That life was only going to get better for them here on out.