Saturday morning, Asuka sat on one of the tall stools at the kitchen counter, watching me cut up some strawberries for the top of her specially-requested waffles. I was lucky my mom had caved and bought a waffle-maker for Asuka for her last birthday; no matter how skilled a cook you are there are some things you can't make without the right equipment, and it just figured that Asuka would hone in on one of those things to be her favorite. The strawberries and whipped cream, though - those were my personal touch.

Asuka swung her legs back and forth in front of the stool and put her head in her hands, watching my knife intently as each cut freed another slice of her favorite fruit. I swept up a handful of the cut pieces and tossed them on top of the otherwise finished dish, then slipped the plate across the kitchen island's countertop, landing it right in front of my daughter. She squealed with delight and grabbed the knife and fork to dig in.

Her first bite already on the way to her mouth, she stopped, looked at me with her most piercing emerald gaze, cocked her head to the side as she always did, and then grinned. "Thanks! Today's the best day already. I'm so excited! I get to go to the park and see Hiroki-kun with mama!"

I should have been accustomed to it, but it still took me a minute to register that she wasn't talking about her birth mother. When that finally got through, I cringed, and tried to busy myself emptying the cutting board's remains into the trash and dunking it into the sink.

"You're gonna have to go with papa, today."

I could practically hear her frown behind me as the clanking of silverware stopped. "…But…"

I glanced over my shoulder at her. "You and papa will have the best time though, okay? Promise."

"If you say so." She finally stuffed another bite into her mouth and chewed it thoroughly, watching me the whole time. I was starting to feel like she was a scientist and I was her experiment, and turned back to the sink to busy myself with the dishes. "It's just, I haven't seen mama for awhile. Are you okay, papa?"

I let out a long breath and turned, giving her the most genuine smile I could muster. I wanted more than anything to hug her tight, but she wouldn't appreciate my interrupting her meal.

"Don't worry about me, baby girl. You just worry about having the most fun you possibly can have today, okay?"

She thought about it, nodded, and set herself back into her meal. But as I was opening the fridge to pull out some leftover mabo tofu to eat for my own breakfast, I heard her ask in a small voice, "Will you still do my hair up pretty for me?"

I grinned at her. That was easy enough on any day; easier this morning than she knew. Or maybe she did know, and that was the problem.

"Of course, angel."