"Five years. I've been single the entire five years I've been here! I haven't even gotten laid for almost as long!" Nanami whined as she ate her youkan.
Komari clucked her tongue and shushed her. "Hush, now. You'll disturb the other customers," she said as she was serving tables while half-listening to her and Kasumi's conversation.
"You're still only twenty-three years old," Kasumi said calmly. "You have nothing to worry about."
"It's not like men dislike ya either," Komari said lightly as she finally got through all the orders and sat down at the table. "Yer very pretty! Isn't she, Kasumi? I'm sure they're just intimidated by you. Didn't that older man from Westown ask ya out a few years ago? With the glasses? I think he asked ya out twice."
"No, he asked me out once. This was two years ago. I said no because I was busy doing the farming tips thing for Dad when I confessed to him myself later he had a girlfriend." Nanami snapped. "I can't help thinking what would have happened if I had said yes to him, would we be married by now?"
She couldn't even ask Ford if he was still interested because he was still dating that same person from out of town. It was highly unexpected. No one ever thought Ford was interested in anyone romantically, but then he confessed to Nanami, and then he got an actual significant other after getting rejected. Maybe she was wrong and they had broken up though? It had been a while since she had heard any gossip about Ford's love life and people in Westown loved to gossip about him.
She groaned. "Even Lynn has a boyfriend." Lynn was in high school now.
"…I've always wondered, but why is yer sister's name Lynn and yours Nanami?" Komari asked. Kasumi shushed her, as if she thought there was some big secret to this.
"I'm adopted. Didn't I tell you that?" Nanami said with wide eyes. "My birth parents were actually from Tsuyukusa. Uncle Frank was the reason why Mom and Dad chose to adopt me."
"Oh. Now that I think about it, ya did tell us that," Komari said, shrugging.
"Back to the topic at hand. You have nothing to worry about, Nanami. It's not your fault all the men in this area aren't good enough for you. Isn't it better to get into a relationship because you like that person and not for the sake of being in a relationship?" Kasumi said.
"Sheesh. You're so wise," Nanami said. "But no, I think a relationship itself is really nice, because at this rate I'll be single until I'm well into my thirties. I've been thinking about asking someone out. Just to see if I could go on a date and not screw it up… but what if I do? And I'm unable to show my face around town for a while? Why is this so hard?"
"It's not like yer the only one whose love life is all messed up… ever since I dumped Yuzuki, I haven't been able to find a date either… what if I hadn't broken up with him?" Komari mused bitterly. They started dating four years ago and broke up three years ago because Komari hadn't been able to picture a future with him. "I messed up my whole friendship an' now I can't get a date."
"Kasumi is the only one whose troubles are the exact opposite of ours, no? Men won't leave her alone." Nanami sighed. "Why is life like this? You make one bad decision and everything is messed up… and you're left thinking, what if I did this, what if I did that."
"Why are you so bent over shape about this?" Kasumi snapped, starting to lose her temper.
"I wouldn't be so bent out of shape over this if my farm weren't doing so bad right now. I planted turnip seeds and forgot about them so they all withered. Maybe my dad was right and I shouldn't be a farmer," Nanami mumbled.
"Me too. I wouldn't be so mad if the teahouse was doing a little better too, y'know? These last few years, we haven't been in the red, but we haven't made a nice profit either..."
"Failing in both my career and my love life… I'm only twenty-three but I feel like I'm done for," Nanami said somberly.
Kasumi slammed her hand down on the table, though she still looked relatively calm. "Please, no more. You two are perfectly beautiful women who need to stop it with this 'what if' and 'I'm done for' nonsense, okay? This is how you make yourselves miserable. As your friend and a fellow woman, I can say that neither of you two are anywhere close to being done for. Also, Ginjiro doesn't look pleased with us, so please quiet down."
Nanami and Komari glanced at Ginjiro and then at each other before they burst into laughter.
"Yer so serious it's a little funny sometimes!" Komari said, trying to contain her laughter.
"Kasumi… is right. Right? I hope she is. There's no way we could be done for. I can still turn my farm and my love life back around. In the next five years, I want to get married."
Komari gasped. "Me too! I want to get married in the next five years!" she said loudly.
Nanami giggled and put a finger to her lips, shushing Komari. "I think we've bothered the other customers enough," Nanami said, looking around. "Ah… I'm going to go now. I have to wake up early tomorrow to try to plant turnips that I can actually harvest." That was why she hadn't gotten drunk tonight.
Usually, after an evening at the teahouse, she, Komari, and Kasumi get some beer and drink back at the farm.
"See ya!" Komari said brightly.
"Goodbye," Kasumi hummed calmly.
As she left the teahouse, she realized the sky was very beautiful tonight and wished she had someone to share it with. She didn't realize someone was in front of her until she had run into them on accident.
"Oh! I'm so sorry," she said as several things clattered to the ground.
Nanami hurriedly kneeled and started picking up the items. It was mostly letters and small packages. She glanced up and saw Wayne in front of her as he kneeled and started picking up his things too.
After this was all sorted out, Nanami wondered if this was fate. "Sorry I ran into you. I wasn't paying attention… the sky was simply so beautiful."
"Yes, it's stunning," Wayne replied, chuckling. He winked. "Much like you. I guess the rumors are true; Brad and Carrie always lament that you spend your evenings at Tea-ful Reunion instead of their place."
Huh? Did he actually come here looking for her? Nanami reminded herself over and over that he was this kind to every woman he met. He was on the verge of being a playboy, except he rarely ever played around.
"I try to go over to Garden Reunion when I can, but Komari would act like I betrayed her if I spent an evening there," she said, laughing. "What are you doing in Tsuyukusa at this time anyway? I see you most often in Tsuyukusa in the morning…" Nanami ran a hand through her hair.
"I have an urgent package to deliver to Ginjiro. We were paid a premium to deliver it to him within the same day," Wayne explained.
"A-ah, I see," Nanami said. What did she expect? There was no reason for him to actively seek her out. She stepped aside so he could enter the teahouse.
He winked at her. As he walked inside, Nanami clicked her tongue and had to resist kicking something.
The next day, she felt sick, so she had to go to the clinic to get checked out by Ford. She didn't go until evening, just before she normally went to Tea-ful Reunion to have dinner with Komari and Kasumi, because she was busy planting turnips and taking care of her animals. It took much longer than usual because she felt sick.
"You have a rather mild fever. Also, you've been drinking far too much lately," Ford said calmly.
"H-huh? I didn't drink last night!" she protested.
"Are you lying to me?" Ford asked, staring down at her over the rim of his glasses.
"No! Ask Wayne! He saw me after I left the teahouse yesterday," Nanami said.
"Well, one night still doesn't erase several months of binge-drinking. I know your farm has been having troubles lately, but please refrain from… what do they call it… ah, 'drowning your sorrows'. It is quite obviously bad for your health," Ford said calmly. "If not, I'll personally tell Komari to stop giving you alcohol."
She nodded, knowing everything he was saying was true. It was so embarrassing to hear someone else mention that her farm was having troubles though.
"Fine. I'll try to stop. I promise," Nanami said, twirling a lock of her hair. "Sorry to be bothering you so close to closing. Have a good evening."
"I was going to give you medicine for your fever as well. Hold on," Ford said as he looked for the specific medication.
"Do you really have the time for this? You could just have Wayne deliver it to me. Don't you have a date tonight or something? It's Friday evening."
"Date? Oh, no. She and I broke up," Ford said calmly. His tone was even but the look on his face betrayed him. He seemed to actually be pretty upset over it.
Nanami didn't know what to say about this at first. "U-um…"
"You don't have to reply to that," Ford said, his facial expression cold and hard.
Nanami had a feeling they broke up since there had been so little news about him but now she almost felt bad for thinking about it at all. "Well, I'm still sorry to hear that," she said genuinely.
Ford handed her the medication and she bowed slightly. "Yes, I've been hearing that from everyone lately."
"Thank you for this," she said meekly. "I really will stop drinking, I promise."
"Good. Someone your age shouldn't be ruining your body with alcohol," Ford said. "Honestly, I worry about you sometimes."
The last sentence had her raise her eyebrows. Did he still have feelings for her? He looked like he had something else to say to her but he hesitated and took a step back from her. Nanami noticed but didn't say anything.
"Um, I'll get going now," Nanami said quietly.
Ford headed for the door to hold it open for her and as he did, their fingers brushed against each other. Nanami felt the situation become even more awkward and excused herself quickly, practically running down the stairs and nearly tripping more than once, her heart beating like a drum in her chest.
Hey there! At the time I published this, it was two in the morning. My OC/version of Nanami wears the Pink Girls' Yukata and has the dark brown ringlets hairstyle, light pink eyes, and porcelain skintone.
I love the Tsuyukusa girls. Kasumi took on the role of Key in this, but she's a much gentler and friendlier version of Key. To those of you who have read/watched Tokyo Tarareba Girls (there is a currently ongoing drama which is being subtitled but I doubt any of you have watched it if I'm being honest), there (probably) won't be any affairs. I highly recommend Tokyo Tarareba Girls, except to those who don't like reading about affairs.
I don't know what the main pairing in this will be yet, but why don't you recommend someone for Nanami? I'll definitely take recommendations into account! I married Ford first but will marry Wayne for my second file. I headcanon Ford as being ten years older than Nanami (making him thirty-three in this) and Wayne as five years older (making him twenty-eight years old).