How Oblio's Parents Met
It was Tan's business that brought him and his wife together. Tan was supervising his workers in the office and dance studio. While he was making his rounds by the dance studio, he saw a young woman getting scolded by her instructor, he walked in and asked, "What is the problem?" The instructor responded, "This no-talent child has no place here, she can't follow instructions and has no rythm." "But i'm trying my best, to meet your needs, it's just classical dancing is not my style." The woman spoke.
"Your mother had high hopes that you would change your style of dancing and stay away from the bad crowd. Our session is done for the day, please leave."
Tears were forming in the woman's eyes as she left the studio. The instructor left to attend to her other client who was walking in, Tan left to find the woman and try to comfort her.
He found her in the cafeteria sitting by herself at the far end crying, he walked over to her. "Uh... are you okay?" "Does it look like i'm okay or your just too stupid not to see the tears?"
"Okay you don't have to get all hostile, I was just worried."
"Worried, this place is only for people who like classical styles of dancing, not for people like me."
He pulled the chair next to her and sat down. "Okay, what is your favorite style of dancing?" "Why do you wanna know?"
"I was just asking." They sat in silence for a bit and he then asked. "Uh, this might sound like i'm hitting on you, but want eat lunch together?"
"Are you really hitting on me?" "I'm not." "Well, it'll be an hour till my mom comes, okay."
Tan gets up and she follows, they leave the building and head to a Japanese Sushi restaurant.
They enter the restaurant and walk up a set of stairs to a balcony area and sit at a booth table. "Okay, this looks like a very expensive place, why choose here?" She asks. "My mom owns the place," he replies. "Would it be intrusive if I asked your name?"
"It's Mio, and you?" "Tarahashi, this might not be the place to say this, but i've noticed the cuts on your right arm."
Mio grabbed her arm in surprise, no one has ever noticed them before, she thought this guy was too observant and it creeped her out. She was gonna say something when a woman came to their table and hugged Tarahashi.
"My lovely boy, your here today again." The woman kept hugging him until he turned a purple like color.
"You come here alone all the time and now you decide to bring a date." She complains. "It's not a date, she's a client at the studio and why do you gotta be so loud?"
"Not a date, boy when are you gonna find someone to be with and give me grandchildren?"
Mio sat there looking at Tarahashi blush and argue with his mom and she thought why couldn't it be this lively at home. At least his mother was playful.
After about 45 minutes Tarahashi and Mio left the restaurant and went back to the studio. The ride was quiet and in the studio's parking lot they waited for her mother.
"You don't have to stay with me you know."
"It's not safe for woman to be out this dark, so i'm not leaving."
More than a hour just passed and still no sign of Mio's mom. It started to get cold being in the middle of December.
"Your mother was talking about grandkids, so how old are you?" "I'm 22 will be 23 this month. And what about you, your what 19 or 20?" "No, actually i'm 15."
A cracking sound when through Tarahashi's mind, trying to process her answer.
"Why are you so quiet," asks Mio. "I know it's hard to believe with the way I look. That's why mom doesn't let me have friends, because if their guys all they'll do is hit on me and sometimes the girls are no different. About the cuts, my mother did that to me as punishment, I have many other marks, but I can't show you them."
Tarahashi wanted to say something, but a car pulled in front of them before he had the chance. The window was rolled down and a woman who must be in her 30s, but looked older yelled for Mio to enter the car.
Pt. 1 End