It was the next day. Today is Saturday. I rang the bell. The door opened. Arima and her mother greeted me.

  "Welcome, dear Grey."

  "Thank you."

  "Don't wait, don't wait. Come inside. It's cold outside."

  I took off my boots and stepped inside. I took off my coat.

  "Grey, give me your coat, I'll hang it."

  Arima's mother took my coat from my hand and hung it on the hanger. Arima showed me the way.

  "This way, Grey. You can sit anywhere you want in the living room."

  I sat on a couch in the living room. Arima sat next to me. Her mother sat opposite us.

  "Grey, make yourself at home."

  There was a silence as we looked at each other. Arima's mother was smiling at me. What should I do? Should I say something? Should I introduce myself? I'll try this.

  "First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Grey Wood. I'm 17 years old."

  "My name is Elma Violet. You can call me by my first name, dear Grey."

  Elma introduced herself to me. Now there was silence again. I still don't know what to do. Elma spoke.

  "You look nervous, dear Grey. Relax."

  Do I look nervous? I'm not nervous at all. I took a deep breath and spoke.

  "Thank you for allowing me to date your daughter."

  "You don't have to thank me. If my daughter chose you, I won't interfere with what's between you. Besides, I'm the one who should be thanking you. You saved Arima from that man yesterday. I'm grateful to you. I trust you for the future."

  Elma seemed really pleased.

  "Arima told me a lot about you. And as far as I can see, you're as wonderful as Arima described."

  "I don't think I'm that wonderful," I replied.

  "You shouldn't underestimate yourself, dear Grey. My daughter has been very happy since she's been with you. That's no small feat."

  I glanced to my right. Arima looks embarrassed. She was playing with her hand.

  "Arima, can you bring the desserts?"

  "Okay, Mom."

  Arima got up and set the coffee tables. She went inside. She brought the plates and glasses on the tray. They offered dessert and tea. We started eating together. These desserts look homemade.

  "The dessert is very good," I said.

  "I'm glad you liked it, Grey. I made it. Arima helped too."

  "I didn't do much," Arima said. "I'd like to eat what Grey made."

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  "Do you make desserts too, dear Grey?"

  "I only know a few recipes. That's all."

  "Mom, don't mind Grey's modesty. He made a cake the other day. It was one of the best cakes I've ever eaten in my life."

  "It was just an ordinary cake. I tried it while learning to cook."

  I don't really think I did very well. I just follow the recipes I know. Elma spoke.

  "So you know how to cook too. I was afraid Arima would go hungry because she's clumsy at cooking. I can trust you in this regard too, dear Grey."

  I won't comment on this. A suspicious, or rather curious, expression formed on Elma's face.

  "Dear Grey. Is there something bothering you? I haven't seen you smile since you came here."

  Before I could answer, Arima interrupted.

  "Grey never smiles. I've never seen him smile so far."

  "Oh, oh! Why don't you smile, dear Grey?"

  I don't know the reason either, but I'll give an answer.

  "Honestly, I don't know why I don't smile either. I guess I don't feel like smiling. I've been like this since the accident I had 2 years ago. The doctors couldn't find the cause. I didn't get a serious injury in the accident."

  "Is this the accident where your mother died?" Arima asked.

  "Yes."

  There was a few seconds of silence. I guess I wasn't expected to mention something like that.

  "I'm sorry for your loss and get well soon, dear Grey."

  "Thank you."

  After Arima finished her dessert, all the treats were finished. Elma got up and started collecting the plates.

  "Kids, is there anything you want?"

  After we said we didn't want anything, Elma went to the kitchen with the trays. I looked next to me. Arima continued her shy demeanor. Arima turned to me. She smiled.

  "Come here," Arima whispered.

  Arima took my hand. We stopped while walking through the corridor. Arima peeked inside from the end of the kitchen door. When she was sure, we continued walking. As we passed in front of the kitchen door, I saw that Elma was rinsing the dishes. We sneaked around the house and came to a door at the end of the corridor. Arima opened the door. I encountered a colorful room. Actually, it looked a little too bright to my eyes. Since I started seeing the world in gray, colors look bright or dull. This room was the brightest place I've ever seen. It's the first time I'm entering a girl's room.

  "I wanted to show you my room, Grey."

  There were plush toys lined up on the bed and next to the desktop computer on the desk. Although the shades of red and pink dominated the room, the white color found in places added a sense of spaciousness and elegance to the room. It's very different from my room.

  "It's quite colorful," I said.

  "You can sit wherever you find suitable."

  While I was looking around the room, Arima closed the door behind me. I sat on the bed and took a white plush toy that caught my eye on the bed. It's a plush polar bear, I guess. It's bigger than the rabbits Arima brought me last time. Arima stood in front of me. She slowly approached and hugged me. I put the toy in my hand aside. Arima gave her weight on me while hugging and I lay on my back on the bed.

  "Arima, you're heavy."

  The girl leaned on the bed and lifted herself a little and looked at me. She seems annoyed by what I said.

  "No, I'm not."

  Arima was breathing heavily while saying this. She brought her face closer and started kissing me on the lips. We kissed for a few minutes and Arima pulled back. Her face was red.

  "I wanted to do this. Since you kissed me yesterday. I'd like to kiss more, but I can't continue because my mom is here."

  Arima got off me and sat next to me. I continued to lie on my back. Arima took the bear and showed it to me in front of my face.

  "If you like this bear, it's yours. You can put it in your room. It adds a softer atmosphere. And you remember me and today."

  "How can I forget today?"

  After I asked this, Arima turned her head.

  "You silly."

  "I don't understand why I'm silly."

  Although the question I asked embarrassed Arima, today is not much different from other days for me. I'll probably remember today's events vaguely after a while. I sat up on the bed and waited for Arima to calm down for a while. When the girl's face returned to normal, we left the room together. When we went to the living room with Arima, Elma was sitting there. When she looked at us, Arima spoke as if she had to explain.

  "I was showing Grey my room."

  I also showed the white bear I took with me when I left the room to support what Arima said. While we were going to the positions we sat in when I first came to the living room, Elma was smiling from under her mustache. She probably suspects we were doing something. Fortunately, she shows respect by staying silent. We continued our conversation from where we left off. We talked about classes, what we did during the day, what we liked, etc. Since it was getting late, Arima and Elma saw me off to my house. I went back home. It was starting to snow lightly again outside. I left the bear on the small drawer next to my bed in my room.