Chapter 11
Worries
Sumi sits at her desk, scratching her head while having her coffee in front of her late afternoon. It's been about 4 hours since she's been working. In fact, she's been working non-stop since after she found out she has to pay the bills and everything, including their credit card bill. However, her wife, Kina is getting really worried about Sumi burning herself out because of this. She tries to tell her that she can take a break and all, but Sumi just keeps on working. This also worries her daughter, Hatoko. She was growing bored of playing with Kina the whole time and wanted Sumi to be part of it. However, the hard-working wife just couldn't keep her eyes off her work.
One night, Kina notices her little daughter walking towards her with a sad look on her face and is on the verge of crying. The brunette walks toward her and offers a gentle smile while stroking her hair.
"Hatoko-chan, honey, what's the matter?" She says softly.
"Mama Sumi. She...she still doesn't want to play with me..." Hatoko sniffles. "I'm...I'm afraid that she doesn't like me anymore..."
Kina shakes her head and kisses her daughter on the forehead. "No, no, no. That's not true, sweetie. Suu-chan is going to be alright. She's been...a little stressed lately. That's all."
"Stressed?" Hatoko repeats as she tilts her head in confusion.
"Yes, Hatoko-chan. Here, let me talk to Suu-chan, okay? You can go to bed, okay?"
The little girl nods and trots over towards her bedroom. With a nod, Kina walks over toward the little room where Sumi is on her computer and typing away. However, seeing some errors on the screen makes her frustrated by the minute. She is up to the point where she's going to smash the keyboard to pieces when she feels a hand gently on her shoulder and then arms wrapping around her. The gentle touch of Kina's makes her feel relaxed immediately.
"Suu-chan..." she whispers.
"Hey, Kina," Sumi says, not even bothering to look up at her wife.
"Listen, I know things have been hard for ya for the past week. The bills an' stuff," Kina says. "But sometimes ya REALLY need to give yerself some rest. You didn't even notice how ya made Hatoko-chan sad like that. She was just about to cry."
Sumi sighs and hangs down her head in shame. "That's right. I've been so busy that I've been ignoring you two. I'm so sorry, Kina."
The beautiful wife kisses Sumi on the cheek. "Thanks, but I think ya need to apologize to Hatoko-chan, too. She's asleep right now, though." But before she can say anything else, Sumi is already off her chair and heading towards her daughter's room. The gentle wife just smiles. "Suu-chan..."
**Hatoko's Room**
Sumi knocks on the door a couple times, but there is no answer. She quietly opens the door and finds the small girl lying at her side and fortunately for her, Hatoko is still awake. She's been holding and staring at her stuffed animal for a long time, not moving a muscle. Sumi quietly walks over and sits next to her.
"Hey, Hatoko," she says, softly. "You okay?"
The small girl still doesn't move a muscle, but soft sniffling is heard from her. Sumi reaches her hand over to stroke her hair to comfort her a bit.
"You've been...working non-stop..." Hatoko finally says. "I thought you...really forgot about me and Mama Kina..."
Sumi gently picks the girl up and wraps her arms around her. "I'm so sorry, Hatoko. This week has been very stressful for me, so if I thought if I don't step on it, I won't be able to help my family."
The violet haired young girl looks up at Sumi with a couple tears streaming down her face. "Y-you don't hate me?"
"Of course I don't hate you. You know I love you very much. And I love your Mama Kina, too."
A new batch of tears form in Hatoko's eyes and buries her head on Sumi's chest while sobbing quietly. The hard-working wife closes her eyes and strokes her daughter's hair, making her sob even more.
Unbeknownst to the both of them, Kina is standing by Hatoko's door, watching them and it looks like the two made up. She gives a gentle smile when she peeks at the door again and then leaves.