Infatuation Stage
Also called "Honeymoon stage," is the so-called Hollywood version of romantic love. It's characterized by feelings of butterflies-in-the-stomach and fluttering heartbeats. In this stage, there is a tendency to idealize a person with a high degree of passion and usually "unrealistic" expectations about the person's ability to satisfy all the person's needs and wants.
Mai frowned.
She and Naru had been in an official romantic relationship for five months. She had been living with him in a house in Shibuya since the start of the relationship too. She still felt butterflies-in-the-stomach whenever she woke up to Naru's face, and she still idealized Naru to a certain degree.
But Naru..?
Mai sighed and tapped her pen on the page of her notebook where she scribbled notes from one of her subject's lesson for the day.
Her class ended with an assignment on relationship cycle theories. She went straight to the SPR office where she kept the assistant's table in the reception room since she joined Naru's office crew. The day was an uneventful one and she was re-reading her lecture notes in preparation for making her homework when she came across the five stages of romantic relationship.
Mai continued to read her notes.
"…constantly thinks about the person… thinks the person can do no wrong…"
Mai frowned again.
"Mai, tea!" echoed Naru's voice.
Mai glanced at the door to Naru's office and sighed. "Sure," she muttered, standing up from her seat. She went to the kitchenette which was just beside her table and poured Naru a hot cup of tea that she prepared the minute she arrived in the office.
She walked to the office door with the tea cup in a tray. She glanced at the door, imagining how he sat on his desk browsing through files in his laptop. She took a deep breath, turned the door knob and opened the door.
Contrary to what she imagined, Naru was on his feet browsing his personal bookshelf for books.
Mai walked into the room with the tray and smiled at him. "Tea," she said before walking to the desk and placing the tea cup near his laptop. She turned to look at Naru but he kept his eyes on the shelf as his index finger grazed through the book spines.
Mai walked to stand beside him and looked at him – waiting for him to say something out of courtesy.
Naru pulled out some books and browsed through more book spines.
Mai leaned slightly against the shelf and looked innocently at Naru.
Naru checked the books in his arms and browsed the shelf again.
Mai smiled at Naru.
"Don't lean on the shelf," Naru finally said.
Mai frowned. "A 'thank you' would be nice, you know."
Naru pulled out another book from the shelf. He just ignored her.
Mai rolled her eyes. "Did we have a Honeymoon Stage?"
Naru stopped his browsing and stared at the shelf. "What?"
Mai shyly looked away. "I was trying to do my homework on relationship theories and I browsed through my notes, and I read about Honeymoon Stage and I just wondered—"
"Relationship theories," Naru said, browsing the shelf again.
"Yes," Mai replied. "We're supposed to research on theories. But while I was checking my notes for the instructions on the homework, I read about Honeymoon Stage and I thought that we—"
"Here," Naru said, handing her a hardbound book.
Mai slowly took the book, raising her brows at Naru in question.
"That has something on relationship theories," Naru said, looking back at the shelf.
Mai glared at Naru. "Thank you," she said, trying hard not to snap at him. "Now if you could just let me finish my question about us — ever— being in the Honeymoon Stage—"
The bell of SPR's front door rang, followed by a muffled "Good morning!"
Mai sighed and rushed to the door. "Good morning!" she greeted, closing Naru's office door behind her. "How can I help—Oh! Ayako!"
"Hello!" Ayako greeted walking into the reception are with Takigawa and Yasuhara in tow.
"What's up, Jou-chan?" Takigawa said, ruffling Mai's hair.
"H—hey!" Mai said, chuckling at Takigawa. "Let me get you guys some tea."
"Thanks, Mai-chan," Yasuhara said as Ayako and Takigawa took a seat in the couch.
Mai pranced to the kitchen and prepared the tea.
Yasuhara, Takigawa and Ayako were regulars in the SPR office. Yasuhara was Naru's first part-time assistant. Since he was also taking his degree in Business Management, he resigned from the bar and worked in the office in his spare time.
Takigawa and Ayako were invited to the SPR office in investigations as exorcists and assisting investigators. Takigawa was especially handy in setting up cameras with Mai to monitor supposed paranormal phenomena.
But they were also in the office in their spare time, usually to chat with Mai while there weren't any clients.
Mai walked out with the tea cups set on a tray. She served the tea to each guest and took a seat on one of the sofa chairs with a smile on her face.
"I'm glad you're here," she said. "Today's been uneventful."
"Eh..?" Yasuhara said, smirking. "…Even with Shibuya-san?"
Mai stiffly smiled at Yasuhara – her eyebrows twitching.
Yes, SPR meant "Shibuya Psychic Research," not Society for Psychical Research. Apparently, it wasn't wise for Naru to use his legal name, Oliver Davis, since it would give them too much unnecessary attention from the parapsychology community.
London SPR alone had received almost millions of requests from enthusiasts and skeptics who merely wanted to see and criticize their investigators in action. Such requests made it difficult for them to focus on more important cases. It was basically like in a public emergency hotline where people with nothing interesting to do make prank calls, keeping the lines busy and making it difficult for people who really need help from getting what they need.
Ayako smirked. "Why do I have a feeling you and Naru just had a fight?"
Mai shyly looked away. "It's not a fight," she said. "I'm the only one who was shouting…"
Takigawa chuckled. "You should really stay away from Ayako," he said. "You're picking up her habits."
Ayako glared at Takigawa. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," Takigawa said, looking stiffly away.
Mai and Yasuhara chuckled.
But contrary to Ayako's usual response to Takigawa's comments, she didn't hit him in the head. It's one thing that Mai noticed in Ayako for the past months. She wasn't as violent with Takigawa as she usually was in the past.
"What's it about anyway?" Takigawa asked.
Mai sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "The usual," she said. "He's not listening to me."
"Aw," Yasuhara said. "I know he's a snob and an ice cube, but I don't think he doesn't really listen to you."
"Yeah," Takigawa said, leaning back on the sofa. "I have to admit he's good at paying attention to you."
"I agree," Ayako said, nodding. "I mean, let's face it. You're still here despite the trouble you get yourself into in case investigations? After all those times Naru insisted that you focus on your studies instead?"
Mai looked away.
That was true. For the past five months of working for SPR, Mai had fallen into wells, encountered bone-cringing apparitions, and traumatic nightmares while assisting Naru in investigations. Naru had tried to keep her away from SPR work, but he listened to Mai's pleas and allowed her to stay in the office as his assistant.
"What were you telling him exactly?" Yasuhara asked. "…When you had the one-sided quarrel, I mean."
Mai shyly looked down at her lap. "I was asking him if we went thru a Honeymoon Stage," she answered.
"YOU'RE PREGNANT?!" Takigawa exclaimed, standing up from the couch.
"Who's pregnant?!" Lin cried, rushing to the lobby from his office.
"MAI!" Takigawa answered.
"What—?!" Mai gasped – her cheeks scarlet. "NO! I'm not pregnant!"
Lin sighed and dejectedly glanced away. "Oh," he said.
"BUT YOU SAID YOU'VE HAD YOUR HONEYMOON!" Takigawa shouted.
"Who had a honeymoon?" Naru asked, calmly shutting the door behind him.
"Naru," Mai shyly said, standing up from her seat.
Yasuhara was smiling ear to ear. So was Ayako.
"YOU TWO!" Takigawa angrily snapped, pointing at Naru. "MAI'S PREGNANT!"
"I AM NOT PREGNANT!" Mai shouted, shutting her eyes in shame – cheeks in a deeper shade of red.
"Who's pregnant?" John asked, suddenly standing by the front door with Masako.
John and Masako were also regulars in the SPR office. They didn't visit as often as Ayako and Takigawa because they were slightly busier than them. Masako was busy with a show on TV, while John was busy attending to his parish.
But they helped out with investigations at Naru's request. And sometimes, when they had spare time, they visited Mai in the office.
Mai looked shocked and embarrassed at the two.
Naru sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I told you, this is an office – not a café."
"We're terribly sorry, Shibuya-san," Masako shyly said. "John-san and I were around so we decided to pay you a visit."
"I brought biscuits," John said, showing the paper bag in his arms. "I received a lot of them from an orphanage that a friend of mine keeps. I figured I could share them with all of you."
"Oh!" Mai excitedly said. "That would be great for tea! Please take a seat. I'll prepare tea for everyone." She took the bag from John and turned to Lin. "You too, Lin. Take a break. I know you and Naru skipped lunch again," she said before walking to the kitchenette.
It was something Mai noticed whenever she didn't arrive in the office in time for lunch – both Lin and Naru would forget to get something for lunch, or Naru would be too busy to eat lunch. And noticing the number of packages the office received from England that day, Mai knew the two had been too busy to get out of the office.
Lin took a deep breath and sighed. He was hungry. He sat on one of the sofa chairs. Naru took a seat beside him, while Masako and John occupied the couch across Ayako, Takigawa, and Yasuhara's couch.
"So Taniyama-san is pregnant?" John asked as Ayako pulled Takigawa to sit back down beside her.
"No," Lin, Ayako and Yasuhara answered at the same time Takigawa said "yes."
To clear the confusion, everyone looked at Naru.
Naru just raised a brow. "We haven't even done anything."
"Oh," Masako, Yasuhara, Ayako and Takigawa muttered. Lin sighed. John just smiled.
"Man, you're slow," Takigawa said, leaning his back against the couch.
Ayako frowned at Takigawa. "You get mad when Mai's pregnant, but you get disappointed when she isn't," she said. "What the hell do you want to happen to her exactly?"
Takigawa shyly looked away. "I was just saying—"
"How did we end up talking about this anyway?" Masako asked.
Yasuhara chuckled. "Takigawa confused 'honeymoon stage' with 'honeymoon,'" he said.
Naru frowned at Takigawa.
Lin coughed a laugh.
"Oh dear," John said, smiling.
"What—?! Aren't those two the same?" Takigawa asked.
"No, they're not," Ayako answered. "Honeymoon Stage is a phase in a relationship. Honeymoon is a period in marriage."
Takigawa looked away. "Yeah well, they used the same word."
"You should have waited for me to finish my sentence," Mai said, walking out the kitchen with the tray of steamy tea cups and biscuits. She served the drinks and the plate of biscuits on the center table before taking a seat near Naru.
"Why were you even talking about honeymoons?" Masako asked.
Mai sighed. "I was telling them about how I wanted to ask Naru about the Honeymoon stage," she shyly said, taking a biscuit from the plate.
"What about the Honeymoon stage?" Lin asked.
Yasuhara chuckled. "You're dismissing some facts, Mai-chan," he said. "She said she was upset with Shibuya-san because she wanted to ask him a question, but he wasn't listening to her."
Everyone except Mai glanced at Naru. Mai was looking shyly away – her cheeks flushed. Naru just sipped his tea.
"Mai-chan wanted to ask Shibuya-san if they went thru a Honeymoon Stage," Yasuhara continued.
Lin choked on his tea and coughed painfully.
Masako hid a smile behind her kimono sleeve.
John just nodded in understanding.
"What's the difference between the stage and the period anyway?" Takigawa asked.
"The Honeymoon Stage is when a couple is head-over-heels in love with each other," Ayako answered. "They're in so much euphoria with each other, they're inseparable. The Honeymoon period in a marriage is a celebration after the wedding. That was what you were dreading earlier when you thought Mai was pregnant."
"Oh," Takigawa said, scratching his head. "Why do they have the same term?"
"Honeymoon Stage is similar to the Honeymoon period in many ways," Yasuhara answered, smiling at Takigawa. "Intense sexual activity is one of them."
"Oh," Takigawa said, nodding at Yasuhara. He then glanced at Naru and Mai. "No wonder Mai-chan asked Naru."
Mai's cheeks were in flames.
"Intense sexual acidity is one of them, yes," Ayako commented. "But it's also called the Infatuation Stage because it's a time when couples like each other so much, they think they're partners are the most perfect people in the world. It's like when you have a high school crush."
"Uh–huh," Takigawa said. He glanced at Ayako. "Did we go through that?"
"Yes," Ayako bluntly answered. "You just interpreted the stage as a period."
It was Naru's turn to cough as Mai gasped.
Ayako and Takigawa had been joined to the hip for the past months. No one knew exactly when it started, but Yasuhara was sure it started in the bar when Mai was in England. They just couldn't admit it to anyone because they publicly said there was no way they would date each other.
"Did you two just admit that you're a couple?!" Mai excitedly asked.
Naru frowned at Mai.
…Count on Mai to soften the blow of a bomb.
It was one thing to admit to a relationship, and another to admit to being sexually active with each other. Naru could tease Lin about his nightly activities with Madoka but there was no way he would want to hear how Lin and Madoka really did it.
And judging by the snickers in the reception room, Naru knew he wasn't the only one thinking that Ayako spilled too much information.
Mai's question seemed to have sunk some sense into Ayako. She looked away, her cheeks as red as her hair. Takigawa was shyly scratching his head.
"Oh that's not all," Yasuhara said.
Naru rolled his eyes.
Sure, Yasu. Add some more.
"They're living together now," Yasuhara continued.
Mai and Masako gasped. "Since when—?!"
"You didn't tell me?!" Mai asked, frowning.
"Or me," Masako said, frowning at Ayako.
Masako, like Mai, had become close to Ayako. But they still threw insults at each other once in a while, mostly about age and credibility.
"Oh I was planning to tell you," Ayako shyly said. "I just didn't know how. Besides, he and I haven't been together that long."
"—in one roof," Yasuhara added, smiling.
Takigawa frowned at Yasuhara. "Shut it, Yasu," he whispered.
"So you're living in Takigawa-san's place?" Masako asked.
"No, we bought a new place," Takigawa answered.
Ayako nodded. "You can live there with us, Mai-chan," she excitedly said.
"Oh," Mai shyly said, smiling.
"Yeah, Mai-chan," Takigawa said. "Our place has two spare rooms! You can pick which room you want, and you can decorate it too."
Mai shyly looked down at her lap.
It was common knowledge in the group that Mai was Naru's fiancée. But since Mai pursued a college degree, the date of the wedding had to be pushed farther than what Naru's parents wanted. They had a lengthy debate on when they should do the wedding. In the end, Naru's suggestion that they do the wedding once Mai was ready won.
How they were going to know if she was ready was something only Mai and Naru would know. They would most likely just have to wait until Naru "formally" proposed to her.
Until then, their friends and family would just have to cross their fingers and hope they don't break up again. If ever it did happen though, Ayako and Takigawa had expressed their intention of taking Mai under their wing. So hearing the couple offering Mai a room in their new home wasn't new to Naru.
Lin glanced at Naru.
He just sipped his tea. After all, there was just no way he and Mai would break up again.
"Thank you," Mai politely replied.
"It has to have room for Shibuya-san too," Yasuhara said.
"Of course Naru can sleep there," Ayako said. "The rooms are big enough for three."
"Thank you for the biscuits, Brown-san," Naru said, before the conversation was directed to him and Mai having kids. "Would it be possible for me to buy some for my mother? She adores tea biscuits."
John smiled at him. "You're welcome," he said. "Yes, I can ask my friend about it. I know they also make biscuits by purchase orders. I'll give you their contact number."
"Me too!" Ayako excitedly said. "I really liked the cookies."
"Oh, good!" John said. "The orphanage would be glad to have more clients."
"John-san," Yasuhara said. "I'd like to have some too. These cookies are used to raise funds for the orphanage, right?"
"Yes," John answered. "The kids from the orphanage help in making the biscuits too."
Yasuhara smiled. "I'd like to buy some," he said. "I'll also sell some to my friends. They love these kinds of cookies."
"Me too, Brown-san," Masako said, smiling sweetly at John. "I'd like to buy some."
"I'd like some too, Brown-san!" Mai cheerfully said.
Lin nodded at John.
John stood up and bowed gratefully at all of them. "Thank you so much, everyone! This will really help the orphanage."
"Sure thing, Brown-san," Takigawa said, munching on the cookies. "They're really good anyway."
The group continued on to discuss their current whereabouts and plans. Masako tried to invite John in her TV show as a guest. Yasuhara was wondering how much he can earn in selling the cookies from the orphanage. Ayako and Takigawa were being bombarded with questions about when they were going to tie the knot, which led to asking Lin about he and Madoka's wedding that was scheduled in the coming month.
They also discussed the news about Emi's upcoming wedding, Shiro-kun's dream of working for SPR someday, and pregnant Florence's invitation for all of them to visit their expanding restaurant in England.
The group dispersed at the usual time that SPR closed its office. Yasuhara, Ayako, Takigawa, John and Masako all bid Mai, Naru and Lin goodbye. They walked out of the building together. Mai, Lin and Naru did their usual office closing rituals and decided to leave several minutes after the others walked out the door.
Naru walked into the kitchen while Mai was putting the clean tea cups back into the cupboard. "Are you taking the book on relationship theories?" he asked.
"Oh yes!" Mai answered smiling at him. "I'll finish my homework at home."
Naru nodded and turned away. Before he could walk to the lobby, Mai pulled the end of his white shirt's long sleeve.
He turned around, raising a brow at him.
Mai shyly looked away. "Um… About the question I had—"
Naru sighed. "I was infatuated with you when I first came to Japan," he said.
Mai looked surprised at Naru.
"We've had power struggles since we met each other again in England," Naru continued. "We've learned to cope with problems outside our relationship in our experiences in Amsterdam and in the months after we went our separate ways. I've been fully aware that we can be ourselves with one another when we met again here in Japan, and I've also been quite aware that there's no one else I'd rather be with."
Mai's cheeks were flushed to say the least.
"If you ask me if we've gone thru the Honeymoon Stage," Naru continued. "This is my answer." He walked closer to Mai. "What about you?"
Mai smiled. "Yeah, I thought we're way passed that too."
Naru smirked and lightly kissed her lip. "Let's go home so you can finish your homework early tonight," he said before walking out of the kitchen.
Mai smiled but realized something and quickly followed him out. "Wait!"
Naru stopped and raised his brows at Mai.
"According to my lecture notes, people don't find their partners capable of any wrong in the Honeymoon Stage," Mai said. "But you always saw my flaws in the first months we've been together here in Japan."
"It also said it includes constantly thinking about the person, intimacy, and wanting to be always with the person," Naru said before walking back to his office.
"Yeah but—" Mai froze.
She remembered how Naru held her hand, how he embraced her tightly at night, how he walked her to school, and fetched her from work in the first months that he lived with her. She also remembered how Naru stooped as low as working as an assistant bartender just to look after her.
And constantly thinking about the person… So in all those times Naru seemed indifferent to her presence, he was really thinking about her?
Mai turned to grab all her things from her desk with a bright shade of red on her face.
Lin and Naru walked out of their offices, locking the doors behind them with their own office bags. Lin was the first to grab his coat from the rack and walk out the office, since he was going to drive the van.
After grabbing his coat, Naru turned to look at Mai. "Are you done there?"
"Y–yes!" Mai said, running to him with her bag on her shoulder.
Naru wrapped his free arm around Mai's waist, turned the lights off, walked her out and locked the door behind them.
They were on their way down the stairs when they saw a young man in a high school uniform looking up at the stairs to the office.
"E–excuse me," the young man said. Mai couldn't see his hair from under his beige bonnet. But judging by his eyebrows, he had brown hair. "Is this the way to Shibuya Psychic Research?"
"Yes," Mai said, prancing down the stairs with her trademark smile. "But we're already closed. We can set up an appointment for you tomorrow if you want."
"Oh–uh… Tomorrow," the young man shyly said, looking away and scratching his head.
"Is it urgent?" Mai asked. "My boss is still here."
The young man smiled at her. "It's okay," he said. "What time will you be open tomorrow?"
"We'll be here from 8:00 in the morning to 5:00 in the afternoon," Mai answered.
"In that case, I'll be here at 10 in the morning," the young man said.
Mai smiled. "Okay! Let me just take note of that." She pulled out the tablet-phone Naru bought her and took note of the schedule in her calendar. "What's your name, sir?"
"Izu Suichi," the young man said. "You work for Shibuya Psychic Research?"
"Yes," Mai answered. "My name is Mai. I'm a part-time assistant."
"Mai," Naru said, walking down the stairs to stand beside her. "What's going on?"
"Naru! Izu-san, this is Shibuya Kazuya," Mai said, introducing Suichi to Naru. "He's my boss." She turned to Naru. "Naru, we have a client!"
Happy Holidays everyone! ^ v ^