Tea's mother had readied their small guest room for Kaede, and it seemed as though she had been preparing for the Emperor of Japan instead of her daughter's friend from New York. Every inch of the room was immaculate, in stark contrast to the downstairs of the house: a neatly cluttered menagerie of magazines, china figurines and various framed photos commemorating Tea during her stages of childhood and adolescence.
She set about unpacking while maintaining the neatness of the room. She hadn't brought much: a few dresses, a slinky party dress, a few pairs of knee-length jeans, several t-shirts. It was as if she had packed to go to her own home in Alabama for a week instead of a country halfway across the world.
Tea's mother had greeted her so kindly. Despite Tea's protestations that her mother was simply dying to meet her, Kaede hadn't expected the warmth Mrs. Gardner had shown her. Mrs. Gardner had been waiting by the mailbox, and as soon as Tea had emerged from their cab, mother had pounced upon daughter, hugging her and crying joyously. Kaede had finished paying the driver, pulled their bags from the back. Mother-daughter scenes had always made her feel awkward: growing up with only a father, there hadn't been many emotional times.
But then, Tea's mother had bustled over, helping her pull her duffel bag from the trunk of the cab.
"Oh, sweetie, let me help you," she'd said, smiling warmly. They'd gotten her bag out, and shut the trunk. As the cab pulled away, Kaede had bent over to pick up her bag, but Tea's mother had took Kaede's hands in her own. Stopped her.
"I've been looking forward to meeting you for so long," Mrs. Gardner said gently. "Tea's told me so much about you. I'm just so glad to finally get to see you in person." Kaede could have been looking at Tea aged twenty years: she and her mother shared the same azure eyes, same downy brown hair. The only differences were the crinkles at the corners of her eyes, the soft grays that blended into rest of her tresses.
"I appreciate you letting me stay for the week," Kaede began awkwardly. She had expected friendliness, but not a second set of blue eyes that looked so warmly over her.
"But of course!" Mrs. Gardner dimpled. "Now, let's get you kids settled in." Kaede bent over to retrieve her bag, and together the trio had marched into the tiny but welcoming house.
It was the kind of mother that Mrs. Gardner was that inspired Kaede to believe that maybe she too could be a good mother someday.
The rest of the day was a quiet affair, with a simple dinner prepared by Mrs. Gardner. The three women had barely finished their meal and were just taking the dishes to the sink when there was a pounding at the door.
"It's probably for you, Tea," Mrs. Gardner said sagely and took her daughter's plate. Tea went to the front door bemusedly, and as Kaede and Mrs. Gardner finished clearing the table, they heard the door creak open, and Tea's cry of delight.
"Mom!" Tea cried as she came back into the kitchen leading a young man by the hand. "Did you tell Yugi to come tonight?"
Mrs. Gardner simply smiled a knowing smile, and finished drying the serving bowl.
"Oh, Yugi!" Tea said again, throwing her arms around the boy. Kaede averted her eyes, recognizing both the name and the boy from Tea's stories. He was just as she had described, from his pale skin, violet eyes and incredible hair. She smiled secretly, bringing the rest of the dishes over to the sink.
"That was very good, Mrs. Gardner," Kaede said pleasantly, handing her the rest of the silverware.
"Kaede!" Tea turned around, looking rather abashed. "I'm so sorry! Yugi, this is Kaede. And Kaede, well, this is Yugi." There was something about the glimmer in her eyes, the color in her cheeks that suggested that perhaps Yugi might be more than a friend in Tea's eyes.
But Kaede smiled her charming smile and shook Yugi's hand. "It's so good to meet you," Kaede greeted him. "Tea tells me all the time about you."
"She does?" Yugi looked rather surprised. "She must talk a lot, because I've heard a lot about you too."
"Tea, talk a lot?" Kaede quipped, before the three of them burst out laughing.
"Kaede and I met on Broadway, during Phantom of the Opera," Tea explained to Yugi.
"She was Meg…" Kaede began.
"And Kaede was of course Christine." Tea smiled at her friend. "As if she would play anything lesser." Kaede rolled her eyes at her friend's excessive praise.
"Are you just a dancer or a singer too?" Yugi asked Kaede, obviously interested.
"I'm really a much better singer than dancer. Tea gives me too much credit either way," Kaede explained. "But I do dance and sing, and I love every moment of it." She felt a little sadness coming over her: it had been a month since her last production had ended, and she still had another week until rehearsals started for the new play. Acting, just the thrill of donning another persona, being the shining star for once, was her life.
Kaede saw the obvious joy in Tea's every movement at seeing her best friend from her hometown. No matter how close she and Tea were, Kaede had always suspected that there was just something that Tea was holding back. Seeing her with Yugi confirmed Kaede's suspicions. Kaede realized Tea just might be in love.
"I hate to be a wet blanket," Kaede said suddenly, "but I really am very tired. Do you mind if I excuse myself and go to bed?" She added a rather convincing yawn.
"Of course not," Mrs. Gardner said smoothly. Kaede had half-forgotten that she had been there all along. "You must be exhausted; travelling always takes all the energy out of you."
Kaede smiled gratefully at Mrs. Gardner. Tea protested, but not too forcefully.
"Are you sure Kaede? I think I'm going to stay up a while more." Tea cast a sidelong glance at Yugi, one that didn't go unnoticed by Kaede or Mrs. Gardner.
"Come on, Kaede, I'll show you where everything is upstairs." Mrs. Gardner led Kaede out of the kitchen and upstairs: the hot water tap stuck if you didn't jiggle it right, and Mrs. Gardner would have no guest suffer a cold shower.
Yet despite her claims, Kaede lay wide awake for a long while that night. Tea's muffled giggles drifted up the stairs and into Kaede's ears, echoing in her mind. Perhaps it was the strange bed, the strange room. Or maybe it was the different country, with its own time zones and customs. Maybe it was the idea of Ken, laying half a world away and just as sleepless as she when night fell in New York City.
But it couldn't be the idea of Tea in love, or the bright blue eyes of the rude stranger from the plane that kept Kaede awake that night.
"Couldn't be," she muttered as the first light of dawn broke over the horizon.