"Will you be able to stay home today?" she asked as she zipped up her dress, watching him in the mirror as he stepped into his closet. He disappeared into the small room and she picked up her makeup brush, opening her powder to apply a thin and reserved layer. While he didn't step out to answer her, she could hear him just fine.
"I will – Suko said he would cover that last-minute meeting for me." Then he popped out of the closet, his shirt on but unbuttoned, and asked, "Do you think he'll be surprised?"
Holding the brush in one hand, she stepped closer and lightly kissed her husband's smiling face and replied, "He'll be thrilled."
Dressed and made-up, she got to work on breakfast in the kitchen, mixing up pancakes and sprinkling in a surprise – chocolate chips. Birthdays came only once a year, and if he were over-energized in the morning, then so be it. It would be worth the excitement of the treat. She made the table for two, setting out glasses of orange juice as the coffee pot percolated. She was warming the syrup and cutting the fruit into funny shapes when she heard him stepping down the hallway.
"Mom?" he called, even as he was heading straight towards her. She turned and chuckled, seeing him look so confused in his blue pajamas, his hair a mess.
"Well if it isn't my handsome birthday boy!" she greeted cheerfully, "Good morning, Mamoru! Are you hungry?"
He walked through the kitchen, padding over to his place at the table, and took a seat, "Yeah," he replied, looking a little confused – perhaps she should have woken him up like she usually did. But then his entire face brightened as she saw his little nose working. "Are we having pancakes?!" he asked excitedly, and she poured the first batch on the griddle.
They were halfway through their first pancakes – the chocolate chips were a success – when he took a sip of orange juice and asked her, very politely, "Did Dad have an early meeting this morning?"
She pushed her chair back and stood, belaying the answer as she returned to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee – the cue – and put on a new batch of pancakes. "Well, Mamoru," she said, careful of her tone. The front door opened and she tried to hide a smile at Mamoru's surprise as his father strode into the kitchen in his business casual attire and took a knee at their son's side. She pulled out the extra place setting she had hidden away.
"Today I work for you, son," he said convincingly, leaning in for emphasis, "Whatever you want to do, I will make it happen. What do you want to do first, Mamoru-sama?"
Their boy laughed, turning back to her and declaring, "more pancakes!"
After breakfast she cleaned up as the "men" went upstairs to get dressed and style their hair – Mamoru wanted to look like a proper 'boss', today, so he was taking his new employee to make everything perfect. When they came back down stairs she had to smile – Mamoru's hair was pushed back out of his face and he looked like an exact smaller version of his father, right down to the black slacks and white button-down shirt. "My, how handsome!" she remarked, putting her hand to her chest and glancing quickly at her husband. The taller man surreptitiously reached up, then put his hand on their son's head and messed up the hairdo.
"Hey!" Mamoru cried, grabbing hold of his father's wrist with both hands, his expression annoyed as he glared up in his father's general direction. He let go and Mamoru looked to her as if to say 'I cannot believe this utter betrayal'.
She put her finger to her lips and cocked her head to the side a little, as though really judging him, and then nodded, "I think you look even more handsome, Mamoru!"
Still annoyed, he tried to flatten his hair and turned to his father. "We still have to match!" he declared, and obediently her husband got down on his knees to let their six-year-old mess up his hair. Once he was done they both looked at her and she held back a laugh to nod appreciatively – now they both looked six.
Mamoru had an exciting day of activities planned – first they would go to the children's science center, where they would play in their new exhibit and watch the IMAX presentation about dinosaurs. They would have lunch at the science center, eating whatever they wanted, but they had to finish with space ice cream. Next, despite Mamoru's wish to go to the library for new books (so they could spend the night reading), they drove home and got him changed into shorts and a tee-shirt more befitting of the summer heat. She gave him her present – a new watch, a smaller version of his father's. He loved it. But next came her husband's surprise, and they all piled back in the car and headed for the soccer stadium – Mamoru would be attending his first game. When they arrived he looked a little confused, "Where are we?" but when his father pulled out the green jersey and baseball cap blazoned with the team's logo and handed it back to him, there was never a more excited little boy.
His team won, and Mamoru was ecstatic. And starving. They stopped off at a little restaurant for dinner, where he relived the game play-by-play, even standing at one point and acting out an impressive kick, pausing, and then cheering quietly as he pumped a fist in the air. She had to quiet him down every now and again, when the restaurant managers looked their way, but by dessert, after he blew out the candles on the small cake she brought in from the car, the game seemed to be finally out of his system, leaving him one happy and satisfied little man. They paid and left, planning to head home, but before they got to the car Mamoru turned around on them and said, "C'mon, Dad, Mom, I want to go for a drive now!"
How could they resist?
He was quiet in the car as they drove through the city, heading for Mount Fuji – his favorite road for all of its twists and turns and views of the city. She had to glance back occasionally to be sure he was even awake, but he always was, just smiling and looking out the window. They made it to the mountain, driving up the curving paths… when suddenly her husband turned to her, his tone quiet despite his terrified eyes. "The brakes and steering aren't responding." Ahead of them the road turned sharply to the left; beyond the road was nothing but a several hundred foot drop. They were moving too fast. She turned around, throwing her hand back to press Mamoru into his seat.
"MAMORU!"