Jolene

Hollande sighed in relief as she wheeled her suitcase into the house and kicked off her shoes at the door. She loved the feeling of coming home after being away and recently coming home felt even better because it meant she wasn’t running around Long Beach peninsula in Washington. Ever since her father had passed, she’d been spending half of her time up there trying to settle his three properties and estate. She was the only child and the responsibility fell solely on her to clear out his overly abundant collection of packing peanuts and broken down cardboard boxes.

“I’m home!” She hollered out, unsure if her boyfriend was here or not. His car was in the driveway, but she knew he was prone to walking down the street to their friend’s homes frequently.

When she got no reply, she made her way to the laundry room and unloaded her dirty clothes into the washer. She had some space left over so she went and grabbed some laundry from the hamper in the master bedroom to top off the load. Zacky, her boyfriend, was always complaining about how he never had clean socks yet she had bought him more recently. She was half convinced that he would take them off at his friends’ houses and forget them because he never seemed to have more than four pairs at their house.

“Hollie, you home?” She smiled as she heard his voice from the foyer. He must’ve noticed her car in the driveway. It hadn’t been long that she was away but it was still nice to come back to him after being gone for even a weekend.

“Yea, laundry room.” She hollered back as she finished loading the clothes and started measuring the detergent.

“Welcome home.” He greeted her walking into the room and placing a kiss on her cheek. “How was Washington?” He asked and Hollande rolled her eyes pouring the liquid into the machine.

“Same shit, different day. The fucking realtor is a nightmare. The contract on the small house fell through. It’s the last one and this fuck can’t get a deal to last on it.” Hollande complained pressing the buttons for the machine to set the load conditions.

“Jesus. Again? That’s the second time. We might as well just keep the house for a vacation home.” Zacky replied exasperatedly. Every time something bad happened up at the properties, Hollande had to go back up and hand-hold to get everyone through it. She was exhausted and just wanted the whole ordeal to be done. Her dad had died almost six months ago and she was still struggling with the system.

“It’d save a hell of a lot of trouble.” Hollande sighed leaning against the machine and listening to make sure that it actually started. She’d been having problems with it over the last few months and knew they’d probably need a new one soon; she’d been so busy with everything else though that she hadn’t had time to get around to it yet.

“Well, I’m glad your home.” Zack responded opening his arms to indicate he wanted a hug. Hollande smiled and gratefully stepped forward into them. He was her teddy bear and she was so glad to be able to come home to him at the end of her trips.

“I am too. You have no idea.” She murmured before placing a small kiss on his cheek. The two were only a few inches separate in height and if she wore heels, she was sometimes taller than him. It wasn’t a huge deal anymore, but when they’d first started dating in high school it had been a major issue for her. Hollande had never liked being tall – it didn’t fit with what she considered her image.

“How much would I need to beg for you to make chili for dinner?” Zack asked and Hollande laughed. He always, without fail, thought with his stomach. She was half convinced the only reason he was with her was because of her cooking abilities.

“Chili takes too long. I can make it tomorrow. What do you say to fried rice and dumplings?” She questioned lacing her hands behind his neck and leaning back slightly – his arms around her waist helping to support him.

“Do we have dumplings?” He asked knowing that Hollande normally kept a bag of frozen dumplings from the Asian market in the freezer but he’d eaten the last of them when she was away.

“There should be two bags in the basement. I bought extra last time since I knew I’d be away. Did you not find them?” She inquired silently hoping he hadn’t found them and eaten them all because she could really go for some right now. He didn’t often check the basement freezer though where she kept extra food and only used the fridge down there for beer when the guys were over.

“No, why didn’t you tell me?” His mouth was slightly ajar as though he was shocked at the news of Hollande hiding food from him.

“Because I knew you’d eat them all.” She joked poking him lightly in the stomach.

“I wouldn’t have.” He protested letting her go as she twisted in his arms and headed towards the basement door to grab the dumplings for their dinner.

“I’ll believe that when pigs fly, sweetheart.” She called back and he rolled his eyes before heading towards the living room. He could cook, and sometimes he helped her, but he preferred to just reap the benefits.

When they had started dating, the duo had loved cooking together. They use to completely destroy Zacky’s parents’ kitchen cooking dinners together and baking sweets. When the band started getting bigger, Zacky had given up a lot of the cooking passion and now it fell mostly on Hollande’s shoulders. Hollande didn’t mind, but she couldn’t deny missing the days of them cooking together; she knew he was busy though and figured it was just easier to do it on her own most days. It was part of long-term relationships, she had to admit, and she knew things wouldn’t always be like their teen days… although, she’d always miss those days.