I was sitting at the window seat folding silverware into rolls when a bout of nausea washed over me causing me to gag. Blast it! I'd gotten that flu that was going around. It had been nearly three and a half months since we'd arrived from Britain. We'd only been married four months and he was gonna see me at my worst. This is not going as planned. I pushed the folded silverware towards the middle of the table, making room for more.

I continued to fold for a bit until another wave of nausea battered my stomach and head. I covered my mouth, not wishing to puke all over the newly washed and folded silverware. I rushed towards the bathroom, running into Kinnosuke who had been carrying a large bucket of water. Thankfully he had a good grip on it and didn't drop it but it did spill some. I continued to run past him anyway. He called after me, not with anger, more with concern. I suppose he knew that if something wasn't wrong I would have apologized and helped him clean it up.

I entered the Women's with very little time to get to a toilet or a sink. I reached the sink and puked up my breakfast, retching several times before I was done. I heaved once or twice and nothing came up so I wiped my mouth with the nearby paper towels. There were tears in my eyes from the effort. My stomach felt like it was in knots. I was covered with a thin layer of sweat.

I went to leave the bathroom but Kinnosuke had pushed open the door before I reached it. He had respectfully stayed outside of the bathroom. He knew how much I'd hate to be seen by him in that state. There was a worried look on his face and a white clean towel in his hand. His cap that he usually wore in the kitchen had fallen off. His hair had the look it had when he'd run his hands through it many times, awry strands of curls going this way and that.

"Are you alright Chrissy? It sounded pretty bad..." He looked at his hands. He was really worried. I could tell. I put my hand on his cheek. He looked up.

"I'm okay, baby. I think I've caught that Flu that's been going around. I remember that Kotoko had it right after I visited her last week? It's probably just a twenty-four-hour bug," He sighed, conceding to me. He didn't look any less worried though.

"Alright, if it makes you feel any better I'll go visit the hospital and get a check up," I patted his cheek. "I'm sure it's fine though," He put his hands on my hips and looked into my eyes with sincerity.

"Well, I want you to go home right now. I'll clean the bathroom and see you this afternoon. I'll get Mr. Aihara to let me off, maybe I can switch shifts with one of my coworkers, yeah? I'd take you home if I could, but you know how it is," I did know how it was. He carried more than his weight at this restaurant. Sometimes he wouldn't come home until midnight or later because he'd been prepping food for the next day or going through stocks and then he'd leave at six the next day so he could get a head start. It took a toll on the young man. My man.

I hugged him for a minute before I said "I guess I'll go now," With and exhausted tone.

"I want you to take the car, I can walk," He said, pulling away from me.

I tried to protest for a bit, but he eventually persuaded me. Just because I was sick didn't mean that I wanted the man I love to be more tired out than he already was. It hurt my heart to see that weary look in his eyes. The eyes that were always full of fervor and passion when we were dating. It made me want to cry a bit. And after we'd said our goodbyes I actually did. I missed him the second I got in the car. I cried all the way home, muttering my feelings for kinnosuke to myself as I drove.

When I got into the apartment I slid my shoes of and began to take off my work clothes, readying myself for a bath. I turned on the bath through a monitor in the kitchen as I got myself a cup of water. I knew that getting dehydrated would be the worst thing. I went into the hallway closet, grabbing a hair and body towel off of the shelves. The monitor beeped from the kitchen, signalling that the bath was full.

I walked into the bathroom, stripping off what remained of my smelly work clothing. I set the towels on the sink and eased myself into the steaming water. 'Thank God for baths' I thought to myself. I grabbed my phone from where I'd set it, intent on calling the nearby hospital. Kinnosuke and I didn't have a family doctor at the time so I just supposed I'd get a random doctor so when the woman on the phone said "Alright, so nine O'clock tomorrow with Doctor Naoki Irie…" I was very surprised. I'd thought that Naoki would be extremely busy having just become a resident. I replied with an affirmative. But I didn't know how I'd feel with a male doctor. So right before the woman hung up I said "Is there a chance I could get a female doctor? I know it's not like he's an OBGYN but I'm still not the most comfortable…" She replied with the names of a few female doctors and I chose one randomly.

I hung up the phone as the conversation ended. I sighed. Because I wanted a different doctor the meeting was going to be delayed by two days. I figured I'd be over the bug by then anyway and Kinnosuke and I could save on medical bills.

I immersed myself into the water, covering everything but my hair. I thought of Kinnosuke and his worried face and tired eyes. I thought of his brown skin that was so often covered with smudges of smoke. I thought of the tiny nearly invisible scars on his arms and face, the ones caused by grease and water. I thought of his scent, the muskyness of the grilled meat and sauteed vegetables that softened the stronger more masculine side of it. His hair always smelled of smoke and char, I think it came from him being around the grill so often. Right under the kitchen hood. The same kitchen that made his skin glow with a thin layer of sweat and grime. The same kitchen that caused him to smile and grin at me with joy when he'd been given a compliment on his food. He'd show me his perfect white teeth as a response to the adoration that he received from patrons and coworkers alike.

That same kitchen that caused him to flop into bed at ungodly hours nearly every night. The same kitchen that caused him to wake me up with a kiss every morning before the sun had risen above the mountains. The same kitchen that cause him to run his hands through his with frustration every time something went wrong. The same kitchen that give him that look in his eyes. The look that I hated, and still do. That weary, hurt animal look. The one that said "I don't know if I can do this," His confidence had been taken along with his sleep. Taken by the work master that was his love for food. His love that had turned into an obligation.

Then I realized: Kinnosuke can't work there anymore. It's killing him. He needs to feel that love he'd had for food again. There was no way that would ever happen if things continued like they did. Master Aihara had taken something from him and I would not allow it to continue.

I got out of the tub and dried off. I need to mentally prepare myself. I walked to the bedroom and put on some comfortable home clothing. The clock said three PM. He should be here soon. I started to rehearse what I wanted to say to him. Going over it in my mind again and again. Whittling it down to less than a paragraph. By the time I'd made it there It was already five and I was starving.

"Kinnosuke should be here by now. This is practically evening," I said to myself as I walked to the kitchen. I began to to pick through the cupboards. Eventually I settled on ramen. I boiled a pot of water and sifted through the refrigerator for ingredients. I decided I needed to call Kinnosuke. This was getting ridiculous, it was near five-thirty! I dialed his number on my cell. It rang seven times and then stopped.

"Hello?" I said tentatively.

"Is this Kinnosuke Ikezawa's Wife?" Anxiety settled into my bones and I froze. It was the voice of a young man, but I didn't recognize it.

"This is she," My eyes began to fill with tears 'What had happened?' I thought to myself.

"Mr. Ikezawa left to go home about twenty-five minutes ago," I sighed with relief.

"Oh, thank God," I whispered under my breath. "Alright, thank you. You can leave his phone in his locker, he'll pick it up tomorrow,"

I hung up after exchanging pleasantries and getting his name, which was Kousuke Tachibana, he had said that he was a high school part timer that had just started working that afternoon.

I smoothed my tanktop with my hands and brushed off my silk pajama pants. Kinnosuke would be home any second. The pot had began to boil, I turned it off and went to cutting up vegetables to put into the ramen. I was grabbing some ham and eggs from the refrigerator when I heard the lock on the door click.

Kinnosuke! I ran to the door and stumbled into his arms as he opened it.