Chapter 3 – Sorry I'm Late

Ichijou looked out the window of the infirmary as she laid on the bed. Her ankle was throbbing in pain but what hurt more was the fact that someone purposely did this to her. Ever since she started middle school, the girls in her class have been getting more and more malicious towards her. 'What did I ever do to you?' she thought as she tried to hold back the tears. Things were going poorly at home and now they were going poorly at school as well.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the window. At first, she thought it was the wind, after all, the infirmary at the school was located on the third floor. What could it possibly be if it wasn't the wind? But then, she heard another knock and a whisper, "Ichijou…open…the window!"

Wait…that's Motoi's voice! She quickly got off the bed and hopped on one foot to the window and unhooked the lock. What she saw made her jaw drop, Motoi was hanging on the small window ledge, his feet dangling 30 feet above the ground. As soon as the window was opened, she used all of her energy to drag him up. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Sorry for being late, the teachers didn't let me come visit you because they said it wasn't that serious. Can you believe they didn't even punish the girl that stepped on your ankle?!"

"That doesn't matter right now, why were you hanging from the window ledge like that, you could have died!"

"Well, the third floor is where all the offices are. There are teachers constantly walking around in the hall, I would have been found. But listen to this, you know how Maru always starts fidgeting whenever he needs to go to the bathroom really badly?"

"Yeah, but he's always too scared to put his hand up in class. He even peed himself once because of that."

"Exactly, I noticed that so I tossed him a note saying I would put my hand up and be his washroom buddy if he would do me a favor."

"Blackmail, I see."

"I needed someone to push me up, I'm not tall enough to reach the window ledge from the second floor."

"Where is he now?"

"I think he's waiting in one of the washroom stalls, after all, he can't go back to class without me."

The two of them burst into laughter as they pictured the poor boy waiting anxiously for his washroom buddy to come get him. "You're terrible, how can you put Maru through that?!"

"If I'm terrible, what are you for laughing so hard at this?"

However, they both stopped laughing when they heard footsteps making its way down the hall toward the room. "Oh shit, I'm screwed if they find me here," said Motoi as he made his way toward the window again. But before he could attempt another suicide mission, Ichijou pulled him back.

When the teacher came into the room, he found Ichijou quietly lying in bed. "What was all that noise I heard?"

"I think it might have been the wind, the nurse forgot to close the window," said Ichijou.

"Ah, I see. I'll close it then."

Once the teacher left, Motoi quickly surfaced from beneath the sheets and took a deep breath. "You almost suffocated me!"

"If I didn't hug you close it would have been obvious!"

"True…thanks for the save. And, uh, get better soon," said Motoi with a rosy tint on his cheeks. As he tried to get out of the bed Ichijou held onto him tighter and dragged him back under the sheets.

"What about Maru?"

"Maru can wait."

"Sorry for being late, I was a bit swamped at the office but I heard it wasn't too serious. Are you okay?" asked her husband, Shu, as he quickly walked up to her. He was five years older than her, had short brown hair and a serious look befitting that of a lawyer. He was always very upfront about everything, the complete opposite of someone she knows. That helped a lot when they started dating. She couldn't imagine what it would have been like if her assigned partner reminded her of Motoi.

"Don't worry, it was my fault for being careless," said Ichijou as she gave a warm smile to her husband.

"C'mon, let's get you in the car," said Shu as he slung her arm over him and supported her body with his shoulders. His fresh cologne scent was a nice breath of fresh air compared to the sterilized scent of the hospital. His muscular build and wide shoulder gave her a sense of dependability.

'That's why I love him because he's dependable. Because he would never let me down or leave me hanging. Because he's not like you, Motoi.'

Their car was nice, prestigious but not flashy. Her husband didn't like flashy things, he always talked about how those things were liabilities rather than assets. Even though he was like that, he still bought her such a flashy diamond for her engagement ring. "Are you still okay for tonight's dinner?" he asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" she asked in a daze.

"The dinner that I told you about a week back. Some of my colleagues are coming over tonight with their kids," he said as he kept his eyes on the road. "Don't worry, you don't have to cook when you have an injured ankle. We'll just order some takeout."

"Yeah, sure. No problem," she said as she turned her head back to the passenger window and watched as the world whirled by her.

After a few minutes of silence, Shu asked in a worried tone, "About your checkup today, did something go wrong?"

"Just a little tired," said Ichijou as she turned her head back to look at her husband. "Don't worry, I'm perfectly healthy." She reached out and gently touched his arm. "Soon we can have our first baby."

He didn't respond, he didn't even look back at her. He always got like that whenever they talked about having a kid. He would become unresponsive and distant. At first, he avoided the topic by saying they should focus on their careers and stabilize financially before having a kid together. But now, it was at a point in their lives where it was the social norm to have one. Even more so for the fact that they've already been married for over five years.

Due to his job as a lawyer, he often comes home late and would be too tired for anything in the bedroom but sleep. He would often eat dinner at the office as well so their time together didn't amount to much over the weekdays, and over the weekend he often wanted some alone time to relax. That's something that never makes it into the calculations, whether or not couples matched personality-wise.

She had always been very extroverted, but thinking back now…wasn't Motoi also introverted? They got along just fine, why can't it be the same with Shu? Ever since their wedding night, they haven't gotten a chance to try for a baby again. She didn't understand why. As well as she could remember, the night was pretty good. When Motoi and her were dating, they did it quite often. But then again, that might have been their teenage hormones driving them. 'Stop comparing or you'll end up like him as well. The fish that got away always looks bigger.'

After they got home, Ichijou cleaned up and got a new change of clothes while Shu called to order the food. As she changed from her casual clothes to a dress, her keys fell out of her pocket. The little bear that was attached to the keychain fell face-up onto the floor and looked back at her.

"T-Today's your birthday, right? I just happened to see this, so I figured I might as well get it for you…"

'Why do I still have this?' she thought as she picked up the keychain. 'It doesn't even fit well inside my pocket. Something that he probably spent less than a minute getting for me.' She unhooked her house key from the keychain and got ready to throw it into the trash can. But then, something stopped her. The little bear stared at her with its cute inanimate eyes, its fur full of stains that would never wash off. How many times had she tried to throw this thing away? 'Why can't I…?'

"Ichijou! The guests are here!" her husband called out.

She looked back at the keychain and decided to simply leave it there, 'I don't need to throw it out. I'll just not use it.'

A few families made their way in with a few kids running past her in the hallway. "Ichijou, I don't think you've met the new guy yet. This is Takeshi and his wife, Rin, he recently joined the firm after graduating from university."

"Nice to meet you," said the young couple as they bowed to slightly.

"Likewise," said Ichijou as she returned the gesture.

"Come on in, I'm sure you guys are hungry by now," said Shu as he ushered the young man inside.

"Famished," said Takeshi jokingly as he walked ahead.

"Ichijou-san, I heard you work for the government as someone who supervises yukari couples," said Rin as she took off her shoes. Her long eye-catching blue hair briefly touched the floor.

"Why do you keep your hair short?"

"Easier to clean. Why? Do you want me to grow it out?"

"Nah, you look good with short hair."

"Aww, aren't you a sweetie-pie!" she said as she pinched his cheeks.

"Why do you always have to make fun of me when I compliment you…?"

"Ichijou-san?"

"Ah yes, I recently got assigned to a few new couples who just received their government notice," said Ichijou as she tried to smile courteously.

"Any troublemakers?" Rin asked jokingly.

"Haha, yeah I've got some but I haven't failed yet in my three years working there and I don't plan to fail now."

Rin laughed as well, "Yeah I remember when I got my notice, I was so nervous. Thank goodness Takeshi was such a good man, we hit it off right from the beginning! I always appreciated what you guys do for society, so thank you for your hard work."

"No need to thank me, I didn't come up with the idea."

"Well, in a couple of years, I actually may need to thank you," said Rin as she touched her stomach, a rosy tint colored her cheeks. The look of pure love Rin gave to her husband made Ichijou feel a little uneasy. How long has it been since she has seen a look like that?

"When that time comes, I'll make sure to take care of her."

"Oh no, we don't know what gender it is yet."

"Oh right, sorry."

"You're having a kid, Takeshi? Congratulations!" said Shu as he overheard their conversation. The rest of the guests joined in on congratulating him as they all sat down around the dinner table. Over the course of dinner, Ichijou couldn't help but stare at the young couple across from her. The way they whispered in each other's ears whilst stifling their giggle made her realize that her uneasiness was…jealousy.