Chapter 1

Chapter 1/A Mother's Life-Changing Confession

She finally told me about him two weeks ago, during her birthday dinner. She purposely waited until that night to throw this bomb at me, knowing that I would not do much to make her feel guilty on her day. I am, unfortunately, too much of a good daughter.

I knew something was up the moment she told me we would be having dinner at 'Adelais', the fanciest restaurant in Tokyo at the moment. My mom has a lot of money, but also a great appetite, so it was suspicious that my mom would decide to go to a place were they give you tiny amounts of food.

The waiter showed us our table, which was beautifully set with candles, flowers, and exquisite dishes and wine glasses. My mom ordered some nice red wine and served both of us. The people sitting next to us, a couple probably in their 60s, looked at her disapprovingly, having easily realized that I was too young to drink (Drinking age 20).

"Keep staring, please! I REALLY enjoy it!" my mom said to them, a little too loudly for my taste. Once the old couple resumed minding their own business, and all the heads that had turned to look at my loud mother turned back to where they belonged, my mom thought it was time to focus on me.

"So, honey, how do you like this place? Really nice, isn't it?" She said, still wearing that fake huge smile she always uses to try to hide an upsetting truth. It had been on since this morning, and I was getting tired of her dishonesty. It was time to make her talk. I took a deep breath. Showtime!

"Yeah, it really is." I answered smiling, but then I continued talking in a more serious tone. "What isn't that nice is the fact that you've been hiding something from me. And it must be something big too. I mean, you could eat a horse and still be hungry, so coming to a place where they give you a tablespoon worth of food per course, must have been for the solely purpose of making me happy so I wouldn't be as upset after you told me what you are hiding. Don't get me wrong, I love being here and I thank you for it, but I know you have to tell me something important, so don't wait any longer and just tell me."

With that I laid back on my seat and crossed my arms. I looked at my mom reassuringly, and waited for her to talk. She was looking down and fidgeting with the sleeves of her black cocktail dress for over two minutes before she finally gathered the strength to confess.

"I wanted to tell you months ago but I was afraid you would not approve."

"Why wouldn't I approve? Why would I approve now? What has changed? What have you… done?"

"Well… I have been seeing a man for two months…"

"Really?? That's…that's great! I am happy for you!"

"…and a year…"

"What?! A year?! How…?!"

As I yelled my right hand hit my wine glass and the wine tainted my beautiful beige dress burgundy. I quickly excused myself and went to the restroom, locked the door, and laid my back against it. I needed to calm down and think for a few minutes. I was not expecting her to say that. I mean, I though of the possibility of her seeing someone because she is a beautiful, intelligent, successful woman, but I did not expect her to have been with someone for over a year and not telling me about it! To be honest, I wasn't even angry, just very disappointed that she had waited this long to tell me.

My mom and I have always been really close, having only had each other since I was born 17 years ago. I never met my father because he was just a part of a summer romance that ended in disaster. His name was Roman and he lived in France, and at the time, my mom being 23, neither of them could afford to visit each other after the summer ended. Once my mom became a well-known doctor it had been too long (over 10 years) and she was afraid he had forgotten her and decided to just keep the memory of that great summer. When I was 10 she went out with a handsome pilot for six months, but then she discovered that he had a sweetheart in every airport, and she was heartbroken again. This time it was even worse, because she couldn't help remembering again the good times she spent with Roman.

I didn't now if I was ready to handle another heartbroken mother, but after a few minutes pacing in the restroom I felt growing calmer, so I cleaned my dress and got out from the restroom. Suddenly I couldn't wait to ask my mom about him, to see if she was truly happy. I went back to our table and sat down.

"Are you ok honey?" She asked, a worried look on her face.

"Yes, I just had to get clean up a bit. So mom, tell me about him. Is he a frog and that's why you were afraid to tell me? " I wasn't trying to be mean, but I had to get the tension out of my body somehow.

"You know I don't really like frogs… and even less kissing them." Her cheeks turned slightly red. "No, he is actually pretty handsome. His name is Izanagi, he's 43, and he is a chef at a restaurant downtown. He has been divorced for five years and he has a son, Inuyasha, who I think just finished his sophomore year, like you, but at Urayasu High School, in Hiroshima. I am sure you too will get along well. He is really nice and smart… like his dad (sigh)."

"Oh... well, great!" I have always hated it when adults act like teenagers in love, it makes me crazy uncomfortable, but I was glad to see my mom so happy.

"I am happy you see it that way honey!" She paused for a second and then got that worried look back on her face. "Especially because of what I am about to tell you…"

"There are more surprises tonight??" I wasn't sure I would be able to handle much more tonight. "Are you two engaged or something??"

"Oh, no! No, no, no… it is way too early for that!"

I won't lie, I was pretty glad to hear that.

"Then, what is going on?" I was really interested and scared at the same time.

"Well, honey. You see, Izanagi and I have been talking, and we have decided that it is time to take our relationship to the next level."

"Ok…" I was REALLY hoping she wasn't talking about the intimate part of their relationship. She continued:

"We have decided… that we are going to live together!! Isn't that great??" She really looked like a crazy teenager in love right now.

"Does that 'we' include me?" I knew the answer, but I still felt like I needed to ask.

"Of course honey! And it includes Inuyasha too! We have a bigger house and enough space for two more people, so they will be joining our family." She then stopped talking and looked at me, looking for approval. But what could I do? I had never seen her so happy, and seeing her like that made me happy too. Nevertheless, these two men couldn't be bad people if my mom had dated Izanagi for over a year and still was teenager-crazy happy and in love. Welcoming two strangers to my family was a price I was willing to pay to keep our original family as happy as we could be.

"I am happy you two are ready to take your relationship to the next level. And I will support your decision if you are not being forced into it and if it really makes you happy. You can tell me if you don't really want this."

"I do. And I hope this decision will make you happy too. Remember, our family" she pointed at each of us "will always go first."

"I know." I nodded.

I was scared, but I also felt the excitement that comes with doing reckless and hasty things.

"So, when are they moving in?" The excitement took over for a second and I started thinking about how we would arrange our home and what we would need to change to make it work better for the four of us. My mom bit her lower lip and looked down.

"They have almost finished packing, and they have already sold their house. Izanagi said they would probably be coming on Saturday."

"That is five days from now!!" I wished she stopped this game of telling important things one by one.

"I know! Isn't it great?!"

Officially speechless, and feeling like I was about to pass out, I nodded. I definitely was too much of a good daughter.