Month: August 2022

This diary entry is part 21 of 31 in Lily's diary dated 14 - August 2022

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

Jack is gone.

Well, first things first.  I said no girl-piles.  But Grace had other plans.  I woke up with a five year old spooned up against me.  It was so cute!  I didn’t want to get up!  But I had to.

Then we all piled into the car, after eating breakfast, and we drove back up to Austin.  They dropped me at my house and picked up the other Lily (the dog), who was staying with Dave and Sabby, and more importantly, Marie while we were in San Antonio.  Apparently they had a blast!!!  Sabby took them both to the dog park, especially because it’s a lot cooler now, and they just had a ball, chasing each other around and playing and fetching sticks!  I guess dogs need a vacation too.

Anyway, Jack gave me a kiss goodbye, and Grace gave me a big sniffly hug, and they went off to say goodbye to Liz’s family too.  I’ll miss him.  I’ll miss them.  But I’m glad they come here every now and then to visit.  It’s so nice.  Next time I’ll go visit Jack, but I don’t know when.  I can’t visit over Christmas because Ai’s coming, and… hmm.  Maybe Thanksgiving.  I’ll have to see what my schedule is like.

Jack and I were talking last night about what our life will be like when we’re adults.  Will we be together?  How will that work?  We don’t know.  But we know we want to.

I miss Grace too.  I love her.  She’s like a practice child.

Anyway, the rest of the day was spend being a little lazy.  It was a big weekend and school is tomorrow.  Each of our classes has a syllabus, and requires certain textbooks, so Beth and I had to go and pick up some last minute supplies.  But other than that, it’s just a nice, lazy day.  But tomorrow starts school!!!

Love you all!!! ❤

This diary entry is part 20 of 31 in Lily's diary dated 14 - August 2022

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

This is a post with subscriber content.  If you’re not old enough for PG-13 content, that’s not for you.  It’s okay, though, nothing that moves my story forward is ever restricted to subscribers.

OMG I love the theme park!!!

They have ROLLER COASTERS!!!

… Jack isn’t the biggest fan of roller coasters.

I forgive him.  Besides, it’s OK.  Liz likes them!

We went on this ride called Goliath! It’s high!  It’s fast!  It’s twisty!!!  Jack went on it with me – but he said that’s the only one he’ll go on with me.  Aww.  But I appreciated his sacrifice.  He looked a little green after but recovered quickly.

I went on all the rides!!! WEEEE!!! We had a nice theme-parky lunch and he played arcade games with me!  That was fun!!!

We’re staying at a hotel tonight!!!  They already would have gotten a room for Jack and Grace, so they just let me and Liz stay too!  But beforehand, they gave Jack and me a talk.  They said… “You’re sharing the room with Grace.  If she comes to us with any questions that she shouldn’t be asking at her age, then both of you are going to be in so much trouble.  Jack, you’ll be grounded for a month.  And Lily… we’ll tell Sabby.”

Oh.  That’ll do it.

So after they got the rooms, we went for dinner.  It was a nice dinner, nothing fancy but enjoyable.  We all chatted about stuff and Grace was making a huge mess and all smiles through the whole thing.  I guess that’s life with a five year old, right?

Grace is here with us now, and we’re about to put her to bed and go to bed ourselves.  No girl-piles tonight.  Grace has a roll-a-way, I’m with Liz, and Jack by himself.  

But first both of us are going to read Grace a story.  That’ll be so much fun!!!

Tomorrow we’re going to head back to Austin, and then they’ll drop me off home and head back to Ohio.  Aww.  But it’s been a wonderful week with Jack.  And I start school on Monday!!

Grace says “Love you all Auntie-Lily’s Friends!”

Love you all!!! ❤

This diary entry is part 19 of 31 in Lily's diary dated 14 - August 2022

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

Ohhhh I gotta keep an eye on Crystal!!!

So all the girls came over today to meet Jack.  Well, to have a sleepover too, but to meet Jack too.  So Jack and Grace came over, while his parents had some alone time.  I guess what’s the point of having a vacation if you can’t have some alone time, right?  Grace is pretty easy to take care of and everyone loves her, so Sabby didn’t mind at all.

So Diana came over, and she was polite.  She said something similar to what Beth said when she first met him, like “She didn’t tell me you were so HOT!”.  But then, after a bit of shyness, she got over it and everything was fine.  Dave started grilling (though it was kind of rainy out today, around lunchtime it was okay.  And COOL too!!!) and Diana started making her famous tacos.  Y’know, I really should talk to Sabby about hiring her when we start our business.  Cookies AND tacos.  Can’t beat that.

Crystal came over before lunch was done, and girl looked him up and down like a piece of meat and she was starving.  It even made Jack a bit uncomfortable.  She didn’t say much, except, “Lily, if you ever get tired of him, throw some of that my way!”

Honestly, that wasn’t cool, but other than a few glances, she kept it to herself, so I let it go.

Crystal and Diana loved Grace, though.  OMG they just fawned and doted all over her like she was the cutest thing they’d ever met – and let’s face it, maybe she was.  Grace loved it.  She was telling stories and playing games and just monopolizing the whole room – and she was so cute none of us minded at all.  And Grace loved Diana’s tacos.  Everyone was getting along sooo well, I just love it when that happens.  It started storming a bit around mid afternoon and Grace was scared, so we all just cuddled her and told her stories and eventually she just fell asleep, even though it was storming.  Awwww!!!!

I’m…  not sure when Jack and I are going to have any alone time before he leaves, though, and that makes me a little sad.

Anyway, Jack went back to his room with Grace, and we’re about to make a girl-pile.  Yaaaaaay!!! I love girl piles!!!  Then we’re going to the theme park in San Antonio tomorrow!!!  Jack’s family is taking me and Liz is coming along too!!! YAAAAAYYYY!!!!!  I think I’ll love it!  Especially spending time with Jack!!!

Roller coasters tomorrow!!!

Love you all!!! ❤

This diary entry is part 18 of 31 in Lily's diary dated 14 - August 2022

Hi! It’s me! Lily!

It seems like all we’re doing is travelling!  Jack, Sabby, and I went to Houston today to see Emiko!

Jack’s never been to Houston.  The Katy Freeway is impressive!!!

Anyway, Jack met Emiko and her family.  She made a nice Japanese lunch.  Aika and Mika quite obviously had a crush on him…  awww.  Now they know how David feels about them.  Everyone seemed to get along, though.  Emiko seemed torn, though.  Like she wanted to be motherly, and grill him, but didn’t feel comfortable.  So that was a little awkward.

Emiko told me he seemed like a nice boy, and seemed particularly intense when she talked about what it was like to be pregnant without the father anywhere around.  She made absolutely clear that she didn’t wish that on me, and if he was planning to do anything like that, he’d better just walk away now.  I wish she’d phrased it a little better, but I love her for saying it.

Jack, bless him, looked her straight in the eyes, and said “Two things.  Firstly, Lily has made it very clear that the only way ‘that’ is going anywhere near ‘there’ is if we’re married, and while that can be frustrating, I agree with her and am respecting that.  Secondly, if Lily ends up pregnant, I will be the happiest man on the planet, because I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have a family with.  I won’t leave her.”

I…  pounced on him.  I mean, literally jumped up, growled, and kissed him senseless.  Then I came to my senses, saw Emiko and Bill sitting there smirking, Sabby frowning, and Aika and Mika with their mouths dropped.  I cleared my throat and sat back down primly.

“Well, then,” Emiko said delicately.  “i guess that settles that.”

Bill giggled.  I just looked at him.  “What?”, he said.  “That was funny”

Aww. I guess it was kinda funny.  I mean, the look on Aika’s and Mika’s face… I giggled a bit too.

Anyway, an hour or two later, we drove back… it had started raining and we drove through some pretty heavy rain on the way back to Austin.  Yaaaay!!! We need the rain!!! How nice!!! And we’re supposed to get some tomorrow too!!!

Now, for a little bit of a bonus, but only if you’re a subscriber!!!  This isn’t the kind of subscriber-specific content I’ve had before, but I found a picture of me on the beach in Florida wearing a swimsuit!!!  But I don’t want just everyone to be able to see it.  So if you’re a subscriber, there’s a picture below.  If not, well, sorry!!!  But for you, I’ll have a picture too!!!

Here’s a picture for y’all that aren’t subscribers!!!

That’s me in Japan wearing my kimono!!!!

Love you all!!! ❤

This diary entry is part 17 of 31 in Lily's diary dated 14 - August 2022

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

So today we went to Dallas!!!

It was fun!!!

It was a three hour drive, though… longest drive I’ve ever taken.  I was in the backseat with Jack and Grace, and Grace kept saying “Are we there yet?  Are we there yet?”  Grace’s parents were on their last nerve!  haha!!!  We stopped at a rest area to stretch our legs and get a break from Grace saying that!!!

We didn’t do anything really hugely special.  We took Grace to a gaming place and let her play skee-ball and stuffs!!!  It’s like that place on 183, but bigger!!!  She had a blast!!!  Then we went to Reunion tower and had dinner up in the big ball.  Dallas has such a pretty skyline, especially around sunset!!!  Then we drove home!!!

Jack fell asleep on my shoulder!  It was sooo sweet!!!  I just played with his hair and let him sleep.  Finally I dozed off too.  Grace was conked out the entire way home.  Then we got home, and they dropped me back off here!!!  Jack gave me a nice goodnight kiss!!!

It was fun, but…  apart from Jack, nothing special.  It was a good dinner, though!

Tomorrow, Sabby is going with Jack and me to Houston, we’re going to meet Emiko!!!  Sabby wants to come along because she doesn’t trust us driving that far alone yet.  I guess I don’t blame her.  I-35 to Dallas was kind of a mess!  I’m glad I didn’t have to drive that!

And then on Friday, the girls are coming over to meet Jack!!!

I wonder how Jack feels being the center of attention!!!

Love you all!!! ❤

This diary entry is part 16 of 31 in Lily's diary dated 14 - August 2022

Hi! It’s me! Lily!

Well, I have some free time now I wasn’t expecting.  I thought I was going to have to work for this week, but… I don’t!  And I don’t have classes until next week!  And I can drive!  So…

I went and got Jack!!!

Jack’s father has to work, and his mother, well…  they had a nice date last night so she is napping, so I have Jack all to myself.  Grace was over at Liz’s, so Jack and I went over to Liz’s and we took a walk with Liz and Grace!  We walked to a local park and let her swing on the swings.  we brought Marie and Lily too and they ran around the park playing with each other!  It was a nice, lazy morning and early afternoon.

It was starting to get hot though, so Jack and I went and got lunch for everyone!  We couldn’t take Grace though because my car doesn’t have a carseat.  But we went to HEB and got all the fixins for a nice lunch!  Macaroni salad, Potato salad, you know, all that kinda stuff.  It was nice just spending a day with Jack and Liz and Grace.  Don’t feel bad for Jack’s parents, though – they went out for lunch and I think they’re really enjoying having Grace spending time somewhere else for a while.  She’s a good girl, but even good girls can get tiring if they’re around all the time.

After lunch we put Grace down for a nap (Liz’s mother was home so she was in good hands), we got Beth, and the four of us went to the mall.  It’s fun just walking through the mall holding Jack’s hand and looking at all the cool stuff.  He bought me a present!  That’s so nice of him!  It was nice just spending some time with my sister, my best friend, and my boyfriend.  Three of the most important people in my life.

Beth seems a little jealous but Jack put a stop to that right away, and I love how he did it.  I swear, that boy is the Beth-whisperer.  He said “Beth, you’re fifteen.  But you are certainly one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever met, and one of these days you’ll find a boy you’ll like and we’ll be telling you to stop sucking on his face in public.  But Lily is my girlfriend and I don’t get to see her often, so just deal with it, okay?”

And… that worked.  Beth can be stubborn and never backs down, but girl also knows when she’s been out-argued, so she calmed down and soon was looking at all the pretty and shiny stuff right along with the rest of us.

Anyway, after a few hours, I dropped Jack back at his hotel (his parents had already picked up Grace) and they all went out to dinner.  I went back to the house with Beth and Liz and we’re having a mini-sleepover.  Which looks like it’s going to turn into a huge gossip session about Jack.  Hah!  I only have good things to say!  Liz, though…  she’s his cousin.  She has stories.  Poor Jack.

So we ordered pizza and we’re chomping on pizza and watching a movie and having fun being girls.  We’re growing up.  I guess we should enjoy these moments while we can.  Right?

Jack and his family are going to go up to Dallas tomorrow to sightsee.  They invited me along.  Liz doesn’t really want to go, so it’s just me.  We’re not staying the night, though, it’s just “drive up, see a sight or two, and drive back”.  But hey, sounds like fun.  I don’t think I’ve ever actually taken a road trip, except to Houston.

Hmm, speaking of Houston…  I’m not sure Jack’s ever met Emiko.  I’m thinking about it, and I can’t remember that ever happening.  Maybe we should fix that.

Okay… time for bed!

Love you all!!! ❤

This diary entry is part 15 of 31 in Lily's diary dated 14 - August 2022

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

As you might have expected with a post involving Jack, there is subscriber content in this post.  But as always, it is not necessary to the story, and you’re not missing anything important if you’re not subscribed.

Jack and I went on a date!!!

But…  first.

I talked to the owner today.

I told him that I was going to start doing dual-credit courses at the community college, and wasn’t sure if I could work at the convenience store anymore.

He just said “Lily, this is a convenience store.  It’s not an engineering firm.  Students like you come and go, I’m glad to see you come, and I’m glad to see you go.  Most of the time, you go because you have something better in your life to move to.”  He leaned forward.  “I don’t want to have long term employees.  This kind of place isn’t made for that.  One year… two years tops… and I’d rather you move on to something better.”  He sighed.  “School is important.  Very important.  It’s not important which school you go to, or what you study…  but it’s important that you study.  You have an opportunity.  Take it.  Take it, run with it, and make me proud.”

I sniffled.  “You’re… you’re proud of me?”

He smiled.  “Lily, it doesn’t matter what you do in life.  You were talking about investing in a business with your mother.  But whether you do that, or become a professional blogger, or CEO of some big company somewhere… no matter what you do, this will always be your first job.  And I can look at my wife, and my friends, as you’re talking on the TV, and say ‘I knew her back when she was sixteen years old and doot dooting and karen wrangling.'” He grinned.  “I read your diary, you know.”

My eyes widened.  “You -”

“I don’t have children,” he said.  “It’s not that I don’t want them… I just don’t have them.  I like having a convenience store.  Every time I hire someone your age it’s like I have another child, and every time they leave it’s like they’re leaving the house and making their own way.  You’re a special girl, Lily.  You’ve dealt with so much… and you’re always happy and smiling and looking forward to the next thing.  There’s…  always a place for you here, if you need it.”

I couldn’t help it.  I gave him a big hug.

“I know your boyfriend is over this week.  I can hire someone easily to start tomorrow, I’ve got three applications waiting for an answer.  Go, have fun this week.  I’ll pay you until Friday.  And Lily?”

“What?” I said.  I was kind of shocked.

“Don’t be a stranger.  Come by sometime and let me know how you’re doing.  I’m sure my wife would love to make you some Indian food.”

I took off my apron and handed it to him.  He gave my name tag back to me.  “Remember,” he said, and sniffling, I left.  What a nice man.

I came home, feeling a little sad, but happy at the same time.  Sabby asked me what happened.  I told her.

She sighed.  “I’m going to have to make that man some cookies,” she said simply.  “You hit the jackpot with him, you know that, right?”

I nodded.  “I hit the jackpot with a lot of things,” I said softly.  She gave me a big hug.

So I took the little extra time I had and made sure I was nice and pretty, you know, makeup (but not so heavy Sabby went Claire Huxtable on me about it), one of my nice black dresses, some pretty stockings, some mid-heels.  I looked good.  I always look pretty good but I looked really good.  Jack came around and we went on a date!

Well, first, we had dinner.  It wasn’t anything really special, but it was nice.  We went to a Japanese food place and had sushi!!!  Delicious sushi!!!  But… it’s not like real Japanese sushi.  But I wouldn’t know that if I hadn’t actually had it!  But I told him all about my trip to Japan and it was nice, just spending time with him after all those months.  I think the last time I saw him was… what.  Memorial day?  I forget.  But it was a long time ago!!!

And then…  boy did his homework!!!  OMG!!!  He took me to Mt. Bonnell!!!  We sat there, cuddled up to each other, and watched the sun set over the mountain!!!  Even though there were some clouds and a little tiny bit of rain, it was still really pretty!!!  We spent some time kissing too, omg I missed that!!!

And then asked me if I wanted to go back to his room.  Apparently his parents wanted to go on their own date, and Liz’s family took Grace for a bit because they wanted to be alone too, so…  OMG.  I missed him sooooo much.  We didn’t have a whole lot of time, but it was enough.  He…  He showed me how much he missed me.  Repeatedly.  And enthusiastically.  I didn’t know those kinds of noises could come out of me!!!  Ahhh….  it felt sooo good, such a relief.  I missed being with him that way.  Especially after we both… took care of each other and just cuddled up, wearing as little as possible.  There are certain parts of me he just…  loves to touch and kiss.  And I love it just as much when he touches and kisses them.  OMG, it’s sooo nice.

But he was very respectful of the line, and I really love that about him.

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But that couldn’t last forever, and he took me home finally.

Oh I love that boy soooo much!!!  And I love his family too for coming over here and letting me have time with him!!!

Sabby is so right, I hit so many jackpots!!!

Love you all!!! Especially Jack!!! ❤

This diary entry is part 14 of 31 in Lily's diary dated 14 - August 2022

Hi! It’s me! Lily!

We all went to the waterpark!!!!  The BIG indoor one!  The one Grace wanted to go to!!!

And it was so much fun!!!

Grace couldn’t ride in any of the adult rides, but she liked floating in the river, and there were some kiddie rides for her.  But Liz, Jack, and I just went nuts!  We went on ALL the rides!  Waterslide!  On it!  Tube racer ride?  On it!!!  Rocket catapult ride?  Well… there isn’t one.  But it’d be fun, right?

And it rained a little bit today too!!!  But we didn’t see much of it, we were too busy splashing and zooming!!!

When we got home, we took Lily and Marie to the dog park and let them play.  They had a blast!!!  Running around, chasing each other, catching the frisbee… but it was hot, so we couldn’t spend as much time there as we wanted.  But they had fun!!!

Tomorrow I’ll talk to the owner, and also have a date with Jack!!!  I don’t know what we’re going to do, but I hope there’s some chocolate in there somehow!!!  Yaaaayyyy!!!!

Anyway, I’m tired.  Waterparks are hard work!

Love you all!!! ❤

This diary entry is part 13 of 31 in Lily's diary dated 14 - August 2022

Hi! It’s me! Lily!

And Jack is here!!!  YAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!

He showed up this afternoon, and we all went out for dinner!  My family, Jack’s family, and LIz’s family (don’t forget they’re cousins!).  There were a lot of us, so we just went to that barbecue place with the long tables!!!  They don’t get good barbecue in Ohio, and, well, this is Texas, we have good barbecue!!!

I gave Jack the biggest hug and the kind of kiss that made Dave tell me to cool down.  And I don’t regret it!  I missed him!!!  I missed his arms!!!  He had chocolate for me too!!! I love him!!!

And I gave Grace a big hug too!  She doesn’t lisp anymore!  She’s soooo cute!!!  She had a present for me!  It was a drawing she made!!! I love it!!!

And they brought Lily the dog too!!!  Lily and Marie aren’t sure what to make of each other – lots of butt sniffing… but they seem to be getting along!  We’ll take them both to the dog park tomorrow and let them play together!!!

So after the barbecue we all went to our separate places – Jack and his family are staying at a hotel again, and I’m… not with him.  Awww.   I…  miss him.  I want to spend some time alone with him.  But we’re going on a date soon, so there’s that!! But waterpark tomorrow!!!  Yaaaaaaayyyy!!!!! I love the waterpark!!! Did I tell you that???  His family can do that because his father works from home!  Like Dave!  How cool is that!  They can go across the country and not miss work!!!  I want a job like that!!!

Oh, and I enrolled for community college courses today!!!  I enrolled in a few, it’ll be challenging!!!  But with all the classes I enrolled for…  I don’t think I can work.  Well, I could,, but I think Sabby wouldn’t like it.  At all.  So I’ll talk to the owner tomorrow, but I might have to resign.  Aww.  I like it there, but this might be the only way I can do college.  I’ll let you know which classes I take soon!!!

Anyway, I need to sleep.  This will be a fun week!!!  I hope!!!

Love you all!!! ❤

This diary entry is part 12 of 31 in Lily's diary dated 14 - August 2022

Hi! It’s me! Lily!

And it’s still dry!!! Awww!!!  The weather service keeps saying there might be storms, but there never are!!!

Jack is on his way!!!  He’s in Memphis now and they’re having dinner!!!  Yaaaaay!!!  Lots of driving!!!  Maybe someday soon I’ll take a road trip too!  So far I’ve flown everywhere, but driving seems fun too!!!  Maybe when Ai comes over we’ll take a road trip somewhere!  But the US is so much bigger than Japan…  maybe we’ll go to Dallas!!!  Or a rodeo!  Or San Antonio!!!  Or a rodeo in San Antonio!  Or Fort Worth!!!

Oh, speaking of San Antonio, guess where we’re going next weekend!  The theme park!  Jack and his family and Liz and her family will go with us to San Antonio for the weekend, and then we’ll go back to Round Rock and they’ll go back to Ohio!!!  And we’re going to the waterpark on Sunday!  YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!!!!!  And Jack and I will go on a couple of dates next week!!!

I wonder if he has anything fun planned.  I…  don’t, yet.  But I’ll think of something!

I don’t think Jack’s met the girls yet.  He’s met Beth, but he hasn’t met Diana, and I don’t think he’s met Crystal.  So we’ll see if they react to him the same way Beth did.  Back off, girls!  He’s mine!  Hahah!  But I’m only partly kidding.  I’ve only really described him as “hot”, but… he looks like one of those k-pop stars that Liz is always fawning over.  BTS?  I don’t remember, I’ve only really listened to J-pop so far.  But he’s got that… look… to him that all the girls just seem to fall all over themselves for.  He tells me I’m hot too.  I don’t really see it…  but I guess if I do my hair just right and wear just the right makeup and costume I could look like a j-pop idol!  Not k-pop, though.  Those girls are soooooo beautiful.  And they can dance too!!!

But I’m okay with how I look.  Jack likes my appearance, and that’s all that matters.

Okay!  Liz is over tonight – Beth is over at Crystal’s – yaaaaay!!!!  Crystal has a house that Beth can go over to!  Sabby said that they’re spending too much time here.  She likes them and everything, but wants Beth to get out of the house sometimes too.  You know, broaden her horizons.  So Beth and Diana are over at Crystal’s, Liz is here… and as much as I like them all, it’s soooo nice and quiet.  Liz isn’t really an energetic girl.  She’s studious and driven, but not really prone to the kind of craziness that fourteen year olds have.  I love it!  But a little quiet is nice too.

We’re going to brush each other’s hair now and go to sleep, after we take Marie for a walk.  Liz and Marie get along fine now.  I don’t think Liz is going to get her own dog, but Marie will take her the ball and Liz will throw it, and that’s half of it right there!  And… aww.  Marie is on Liz’s lap right now and Liz is scratching her head.  That’s adorable!!!

Okay!!!  Bedtime!!! Nite!!!

Love you all!!! ❤