Chance Encounter
"Sure. When did you have in mind?" Mari's mum replied.
She somehow couldn't believe the she, that they, were having, or going to have, a talk about their daughters' relationship. Of course she'd always been prepared at some point to meet with Mari's fiancé's family; but her image of them was a unit similar to their own with a handsome black haired boy standing alongside her blushing, admiring daughter.
She hoped her voice didn't sound unnatural or strained over the phone.
"Well I'm free Wednesday afternoon if that's convenient...or possibly Friday afternoon."
She vaguely recalled that Akko's mum worked in sales or something. She certainly had the crisp voice of a person who was used to negotiating.
"Wednesday would work, where do you want to meet?"
Come to think of it when had she found out about Mari and Akko?
"I don't mind heading over to yours, if its no inconvenience?"
"No that will be fine,"
"Can you remind me of your address?"
"Yes, we're subarea 12 number 6 on Block 8. What time were you thinking of coming over?"
It all felt a little systematic but then she was still going through the motions and hardly knew Akko's mother.
I wonder what became of her husband?
"I'll be there at 3 if that is suitable?"
"Yes, that's fine,"
"Thank you for your hospitality," Akko's mum ended with and the line went dead. It struck Mrs Kumakura that Ms Oohashi was not all that savvy with switching from business mode to conversational on the phone.
I guess I'll have to wait till Wednesday to sum her up properly.
House chores for the moment forgotten she walked upstairs and into her bedroom; well their bedroom. He was still downstairs reading the paper and she fervently hoped he hadn't noticed the telephone conversation. Taking a deep breath she laid down on the soft white duvet stared at the white washed ceiling; the quiet punctuated by the ticking of their bedside clock.
"It feels like they've opened Pandora's Box," she murmured to herself between deep breaths. In the sunlight she felt sleepy and so wriggled further up the duvet so that her head rested on one of the pillows: She wouldn't rest long, just 15 minutes or so for there was a lot to do and she was not the sort of person who would be idle in her duties.
But for the next 14 minutes, till she reluctantly rose and headed back downstairs, rest wouldn't come because the same thoughts kept troubling her, one in particular over the others because she knew her husband all too well: How badly is he going to take the news on Saturday?
A short time later Akko and Mari emerged from the subway of Hibiya Station. The journey itself had been uneventful, spent sat next to an otaku guy with J-Pop playing a few notches too loud from skull headphones with a couple of Volumes of Battle Vixens manga on his lap.
He, like the thinned crowds of older men and women and the occasional white skinned tourist, had paid them little or no attention and so they left him absorbed in his own world as they had come across him.
"Have you ever been to Hibiya Park?" Akko asked Mari as they emerged into the pleasant sunlight warming the light brick buildings either side of the street. Mari nodded as Akko slipped her right hand into her left; holding hands when they were out together was becoming as common as breathing.
"A long time ago I think we came here as a family on a couple of occasions...the last time was probably during the year we met. Have you ever been here before?"
"No, it just caught my eye on the map and it was nearby. I hardly ever went very far."
Mari nodded thoughtfully.
"Then lets enjoy your first time here and...and make some good memories!" She exclaimed, stammering part way through as she realised she was saying something somewhat out of character for her.
Much more like Akko in fact...like with the photo pictures, or on school trips or whenever we do something new.
"Heh," Akko huffed happily, beaming at her, "that's the spirit!"
They broke into giggles as they passed along the narrow streets and clusters of spindly evergreen trees flailing weakly in snatches of wild breeze; a couple of old ladies laden with groceries casting them confused and disapproving glances respectively. Oblivious to them they continued on, turning right and then left down a quieter road that should open onto a main road; beyond that would lay Hibiya park.
On the left side a short white wall was topped by a waterfall-esque iron railing, which curved in towards the property at the top. Part way down the walls themselves curved inwards to a pair of efficient metal gates and beyond that the road flowed into a circular courtyard: There a large black saloon peeked out from behind the circular bush that the road wrapped round. Beyond that a two story house rose up, not imposing but with the modest glamour of something truly expensive.
Akko noticed Mari staring as they passed it and a thought struck her.
"Would you like to live somewhere like that one day Mari?"
Mari glanced up at her in surprise and her brow creased in thought.
A couple of steps on she answered,
"I don't really mind. It would be kind of nice but I think I'd be as happy in a house like my present one in the future if we were to, say, start a family."
"Ah," Akko replied, feeling her ears heat up. Family was something that Mari seemed to focus on more; for her it was still a way off, and yet to hear Mari speak of them having a family was heart warming.
"Grrr...as soon as we can we should move in together!" Akko exclaimed causing Mari to take a deep intake of breath.
"Eh?" Mari gasped. She was used to being the one to suggest such steps, it coming from Akko was a surprise.
"Otherwise I'm going to end up unable to hold back in public..." Akko's fingers gently stroked the back of Mari's hand. For such a small action Mari found her blood heating up surprisingly quickly; maybe Akko's quieter tone was also to blame.
"Mmmm," she murmured in accession
Conscious of where they were their hands tightened and squeezed closer in unison to make do for now and Mari added as the reached the junction,
"I too want to move in with you as soon as possible."
"Ah," Akko managed as they waited for a chance to cross. Then in a stronger tone added, "then we'll make it work, right. Where there's a will there's a way."
"Um," Mari confirmed in agreement.
Akko glanced up and down the main road before them; it was divided in the centre by a metal partition which would be awkward to cross. But the nearest crossing point was five minutes south where a cyclonic green traffic light stared forlornly through the petrol inspired heat haze. On the other side of the road was an entrance to the park, marked by bollards with a metallic art sculpture in the form of a green ribbon wrapping itself in loops of 8 just beyond. The dying off of traffic heading from right to left convinced Akko to go for it.
"Let's go!"
She led Mari to the central intersection; halfway across Mari suddenly realised the problem.
"Ah! We have to climb over that?"
Akko smiled,
"Yeah, don't worry, I'll help you."
Mari cast Akko worried glance but said nothing. At the metal divider both of them were able to struggle over without too much difficulty and Akko began to suspect Mari was more unhappy about doing something irregular than the difficulty of actually doing it. Even so she slightly regretted this course of action.
They waited with backs against, and hands clutching, the smooth cold rail as cars and small delivery vans sped past at speed; enough to make even Akko feel a little uncomfortable so that she instinctively retook Mari's hand and edged closer in a subconscious effort to shield her. In the distance horns blared and the rich stench of petrol hung about them; apparently some people liked the smell but Akko couldn't see why.
Then a gap opened up and she quickly led Mari across the road and through the bollards to the scented paradise that lay beyond.
As their feet slowed upon the gravel and they walked past the writhing green piece of art work that, on closer inspection, resembled a four way linked chain, Akko got the admonishment she was half expecting.
"That was kind of dangerous Akko," Mari reproached.
"Ah, yeah..." There wasn't really much of an excuse. 5 minutes walk south wouldn't have killed them. "Sorry."
"Still this place is beautiful," Mari added gazing out upon a tabletop of green surrounded by a collage of colored trees.
"Um," Akko agreed as they continued along the path and moved deeper into the park.
Hibiya was a maze of wonders and water played a big role; they passed by the dam where steep stone banks were lined with a flourish of bushy green hair from stunted green trees and through courtyards presided over by pink and albino sakura trees whose petals spread across the floor like precious, scattered gifts of nature. It was so beautiful in fact that it took them a couple of hours and well into the afternoon before they thought about food.
It was on reaching a pool with softly sloping grass banks, a relatively secluded spot among a sea of larger trees, that Akko's mind turned to Mari's handmade bento.
Before them a small wooden pier stuck out into the lake with a row of smaller trees lining the way in. At the heart of the mirrored lake an impressively sculpted, pentagram shaped fountain spewed water somewhat bizarrely from the back of a white albatross.
Akko's glance had shied a couple of times before to the plastic bag she carried containing the bento's Mari had prepared before they had left and now, seeing a good stretch of bank overlooking the lake to eat them on piped up,
"Shall we stop and have lunch..."
She was cut off by a familiar voice,
"Heyyy! Akko, Mari, wait for us!"
Mari and Akko glanced at each other, it couldn't be and yet it surely was...
They looked back down the path, which parted lines of well ordered trees, to see an oddly matched pair approaching. One was a short woman with pigtails and wearing a pink and red patterned dress billowing outwards at the waist. The other was much taller and dressed in a blue jumper, short denims and thick cream tights and waving languidly at them with a large smile on her face.
"Sugi..." Akko said in disbelief,
"...and Tamamin," Mari added in equal surprise.
Slowly things develop and move on - where things go still has the capacity to surprise even me but I remain convinced their love will win through. Thanks to allthose who continue to read and/or review XD