Chapter Twenty-Nine: Congregating
I found myself walking down a long path that stretched into the distance, seemingly to infinity. The sky was a deep, rich blue, though it would turn cloudy and gray every so often. There were no buildings or road signs to be seen anywhere. I didn't know why, but I was forced to walk at the same pace, neither speeding up or slowing down. I walked alone and, oddly enough, I was missing my right arm.
After walking for a really long time, another path intersected with mine, and a girl with brown, shoulder-length hair started walking beside me, and the path widened just enough for the two of us. She had a warm, calming, and timid presence about her, and I felt happy and safe.
We hadn't walked for long before a baby appeared in my arms, but the brown-haired girl disappeared from my side at almost the same time, and then the baby disappeared from my arms, and I felt my heart stop and I stopped walking, though I continued to move forward, as though on a conveyor belt. The path stayed the same width as I moved alone.
I moved without walking for a long time before another brown-haired girl appeared next to me; she was short and had short brown hair under a blue and white hat, and even though I felt uncomfortable around her I started to walk slowly and felt my heart start beating again; I still moved forward at the same speed as before, though. As we walked she got taller and taller, becoming more and more beautiful, more full of life, and she started to glow, like the sun on a spring day. As she grew, her hair got longer and longer until it reached the small of her back. She was my life.
Another path intersected with ours, and a girl who was a little taller than the brown-haired girl and had long, purple hair came from the side and walked with us, on the other side of the brown-haired girl. She had a warm, calming yet bubbly presence about her, and I felt happy and safe; for some reason she appeared to me as three girls. While we continued to walk she somehow gave me nourishment, and I felt a twitch in my shoulder and held up my right hand, which had somehow regrown along with my arm.
Eventually the purple-haired girl stopped us and held out her hand toward me, and I realized I had a choice; I could move on, leaving the purple-haired girl behind, or I could take her hand and allow her to continue on the path with us. I knew, though, that if I took her hand that she would walk between me and the brown-haired girl from that point on, which made me uncomfortable.
I chose to move on; I had the brown-haired girl, who was my sunshine, so I didn't need the purple-haired girl, who made me healthy yet uncomfortable.
The purple-haired girl disappeared and I walked with the brown-haired girl a little longer before she disappeared, leaving me alone on the path, which then narrowed. I stopped walking but continued moving forward, just as before. This time, however, the path started to narrow further, and it became difficult to stay in the middle of the path.
Without warning, the path abruptly came to an end at a cliff, and I tumbled over its edge, and I somehow knew that I would fall forever…
I woke up with a groan, and I reached for my head to stop the pounding that greeted me. "Ugh, that was weird…"
I felt a little dizzy as I got out of bed, likely due to the falling sensation from the end of the dream, and I leaned against the wall for a moment to wait for the room to stop lurching. I then felt a slight twinge of panic and quickly lifted my right hand to see that I did, in fact, have a right hand and arm. I then grunted as I pushed myself from the wall and headed to the door to my room, opening it and heading down the hallway.
"Good morning, Daddy!" Ushio greeted as she came out of the bathroom.
"Ugh," I returned. "Sorry, sweetie; rough night."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," she replied gently. "Did you have a bad dream?"
"Sort of." I shook my head and immediately had to lean against the wall as the room suddenly lurched; lesson learned. "No, it was…more like a weird dream that was kinda sad."
"I'm sorry to hear that," she repeated. "Well, I'm done in here, so I'll work on breakfast, okay? You remember that we're going to the church with Mika-senpai and her family, right?"
"I haven't forgotten," I said, giving my head an experimental shake and found that it was safe to move around again. "I'll get ready as fast as I can."
"Okay." She beamed at me before skipping down the hallway toward the kitchen.
I entered the bathroom and immediately splashed cold water on my face, which seemed to help with the remaining dizziness, and then studied my dripping face in the mirror. "What was that all about?" I said, thinking back on what I could recall of the dream. It was pretty obvious that it was describing my relationships with Nagisa, Ushio, and Mika, but I wasn't sure what, if anything, to do with or about it. "Well, I'll be seeing Pastor Jeff today; maybe I could ask him about it."
I splashed some more cold water on my face before drying it and heading from the bathroom to the living room, where Ushio was just settling into her seat. "Whenever you're ready," she said.
I grunted into my seat and put my hands together with her. "Thanks for the food."
We ate a quiet breakfast, cleaned up, and headed to the door to change our shoes. Once we were ready, we headed out.
I could feel Ushio's gaze on me frequently as we walked to Pastor Jeff's church. "Are you sure you're okay?" she finally asked. "You seem really upset this morning."
I tried to send her a reassuring smile, but her unchanging expression told me that I'd failed. "Don't worry about it, sweetie. I'm going to try to talk to Pastor Jeff about it and see if he can help me make sense of it…assuming any sense needs to be made."
"Okay," she said, her voice still showing concern.
I chuckled lightly as I reached out to ruffle her hair. "Don't worry about me, sweetie; I'll be fine."
"Okay," she repeated, finally letting a smile spread.
We arrived at the church to find several people out front, happily chatting in several small groups. We exchanged polite greetings with several of them before making our way into the familiar building. Once inside, a gentleman who appeared to be in his early sixties handed us a small pamphlet. "This bulletin will tell you about the church, as well as some local events," he explained before pointing to a set of double-doors nearby. "And the service is held in the sanctuary just through there."
"Um, thanks," I said, then passed the bulletin to Ushio as we entered the main room.
I wasn't sure what to expect from a western-style church, but I was still surprised to see a large room with stained-glass windows on the far side; one of them showed a bearded man speaking to a group of people, while the next showed him in front of some kind of plus-sign-shaped structure, and I assumed that the images had something to do with Pastor Jeff's religion. Looking around the room, I saw that long tables were spread around the room, with several chairs surrounding each of them.
I found the Hiiragis already seated at one of the tables. "Okazaki!" Kappei called as he waved us over. "Come sit with us!"
I exchanged a smile with Ushio before leading her over to the table; sure enough, two seats seemed to be waiting for us.
"Okazaki-senpai," Tadashi said, addressing my daughter, "would you please sit next to me? I would like to talk with you about your time at Hikarizaka, if we have the chance."
Ushio looked to me for permission, so I gave her a nod and she took a seat next to the third-year middle-schooler, at one end of the table. Satisfied, I sighed as I took the back of the remaining chair, and-
"Good morning, Okazaki-sama."
I froze mid-motion, the fact finally registering that the seating arrangement would put me next to...I sighed again as I took my seat. "Good morning, Mika."
"I'm very glad that you could-"
"Glad you could make it this morning!" Kappei greeted enthusiastically, drowning out his daughter's voice; he must have not heard her speaking, which made sense since he was on her other side and probably couldn't hear her talking to me. On his other side and opposite Mika sat Ryou, with Tadashi next to her.
"Thank you…both," I replied, directing the latter part of my sentence to the teen-aged girl. "Have you been here before?"
"No, this is our first time," Ryou replied, drawing my attention. "Kyou's been asking us to come, but our schedules haven't allowed it. After one of the other nurses reminded me that I'm the Head Nurse…" She giggled, and I smiled as I realized what she was getting at. "I'll be going in later today."
"I'll bet Kyou's happy about that," I remarked.
"As far as we know, she doesn't know we're here," Kappei interjected. "Should be a nice surprise."
I smiled at his words in agreement as I glanced at my daughter to see her and Tadashi happily chatting. Maybe if the two of them got together then Mika couldn't… No; I wouldn't use my daughter to get out of my own predicament.
"Okazaki-sama, do you like my dress?"
I hid my grimace as I reluctantly shifted my attention to the Hiiragi girl. Since she was seated I couldn't see her full outfit, but I could see that she had on a blue dress that matched the color of her hair and her eyes quite nice- I coughed.
"Are you okay?" she asked with a concerned look in her beautiful ey- I coughed again.
"I'm fine," I said, feeling my face heat up. "My throat's a little dry." It wasn't a lie, at least.
"I'll get you some water." Before I could protest she was up and heading away, the back of her dress swaying with the movement of her- DAMN! Three times?
"Thanks," I croaked at her retreating form before burying my face in my hands.
"You okay, Okazaki?" Kappei asked.
"I dunno," I replied honestly. "I'm doing my best, but if you two don't do something about her I'm going to end up your-"
"Heeeeeyyyyyy!" a familiar voice rang out, hopefully saving me from further embarrassment. "You made it!"
"Hey, Kyou!" Kappei greeted as his whole family looked to the newcomer, thankfully giving me time to work on pulling myself together. "Sorry to take so long!"
"We wanted to surprise you," Ryou explained.
"Well, you did!" Kyou chirped. "Hold on; let me grab an extra chair and I'll sit with you." Before anyone could say anything else, she was off like a shot.
"I'm glad to see Aunt Kyou so happy," Tadashi remarked, looking to his dad. "From what you and Mom have said, she's overdue for some happiness."
"Move over, Tomoya," Kyou ordered as she suddenly appeared between my daughter and I, chair in hand. "I want to sit next to Shio-chan, but I can see she's been talking with Tadashi."
I grunted in mild annoyance as I scooted my chair over, then grunted again as I realized that I would end up even closer to Mika.
My gruntings were justified, as I was sure I heard a quiet squeal just before a cup of water was placed before me and Mika reclaimed her seat. "H-Here you go, Okazaki-sama; I hope this helps."
"Thank you," I grunted yet again as I took up the cup and worked on emptying its contents.
"You're welcome," she replied, and even though I wasn't looking at her I just knew that she was blushing lightly.
A couple of minutes later I saw Pastor Jeff step to the front of the room. "Good morning, everyone. Before we get started; are there any announcements that need to be made?"
A few people stood up and talked about some event going on at some school or event hall, and I assumed that it had to do with their kids or grandkids or something like that. I would have liked to have paid better attention to them, but the sensation of Mika repeatedly brushing up against my arm and shoulder was distracting me. "I'm sorry; could you scoot down a little bit?" I finally whispered to her.
"Sure," she whispered back with a puzzled look as she honored my request.
Fortunately, I was able to get focused just in time for a very important announcement as the pastor started speaking again. "Well, I suppose it's no secret that Fujibayashi Kyou and I have been seeing each other for while now. What you may not know is that Kyou and I have decided to end that relationship."
I sat up straighter in alarm as I heard several gasps from the audience. I thought he'd proposed and she'd accepted?
"Aw Jeff, stop messing with them," Kyou called from her spot next to me.
"Woman, you're spoiling my fun," he said with a grin. "All right, folks; sorry if I worried you. The truth is that we've decided on a date for our wedding and would like to invite you all there."
I wasn't the only one who breathed a sigh of relief.
"When is it?" an excited female voice asked.
"August 13th," Kyou replied, turning toward the voice. "It's a Saturday."
"That soon?" another voice asked, this one male.
"We're not planning anything extravagant," Pastor Jeff explained. "I'm fifty-one, and Kyou is…is…" It was obvious that he didn't want to reveal her age.
"…eager to become his wife," Kyou finished with a smile, causing the audience to chuckle. "We'll have a simple ceremony and a reception with food and stuff afterward."
"Kyou-san?" A gray-haired woman who appeared to be in her late sixties stood up. "If the two of you would be okay with it, some of us would like to make your wedding…more extravagant."
I looked back to my old sparring partner to see her exchanging a glance with her fiancé. "I…suppose… Should we talk with them after the service?"
"Let's do that," he replied with a nod. "I'll admit that part of the reason we weren't going extravagant was because of time and resources, but…" he looked back to the lady, who was still standing. "Thank you for the offer, Saitou-san; let's get together after the service, okay? Will that work?"
"Certainly," she replied before taking her seat again.
"Great!" he said with a clap of his hands. "If there's nothing else…? Then let's open with prayer." He held out his hands, palms upward, and I saw a lot of other people do the same so I copied them, more to not feel left out than anything. "Lord Jesus, thank you for this time where we can come together and worship you. Help each of us to remember that you are always with us, no matter the circumstances, and lead and guide us with your grace and wisdom. Let your will be done."
"Let your will be done," the audience repeated.
I opened my eyes and looked to the pastor to see him lowering his hands as he smiled and started toward our table. He changed course, however, when someone called out his name, and headed over to another table and sat in one of the available chairs.
"That was pretty cool," Kappei remarked as he looked over at his sister-in-law. "So…what do we do know?"
Kyou gave us a warm smile, which looked kinda weird to me since I wasn't used to seeing her so…happy? "Well, we can talk about pretty much whatever we want, like a family. We usually talk about how we think god might be working in our lives…" She looked around at us, "…but I get that might not work for you….yet. We pray for each other, and-" She cut herself off as a nearby group started to sing. "Yeah, that; we sing songs to and about God."
"Why sing to him?" Ushio asked. "Does he get power from it or something?"
"No, no," she chuckled. "Worshipping and praising him are for our benefit, not his. I'm not sure I understand it all just yet, but since we're separated from God, singing to him helps us to remember him when we're not in church."
"It is like studying hard before a test?" Tadashi asked.
"Sort of," she replied. "In this case, church is the study time, and life is the test."
Tadashi's eyebrows jumped. "I think I understand. Thank you."
"You're welcome." She ran her fingers through her hair as she studied us again. "I guess for visitors like you, maybe asking if you have anything you need help with would be a good start. Anyone need any help with life?"
I reflexively wanted to bring up the situation with Mika, but with her right there that would be more than a little awkward so I kept my mouth shut.
"I suppose…" I heard Ryou start, drawing my attention.
"What is it?" Kyou asked.
"I've been having trouble with a couple of the nurses under me," she explained. "One of them seems to have a problem with my authority, and the other makes a lot of mistakes; I think she's distracted because she's scared."
"Hm." Kyou pushed her mouth to one side, apparently considering her sister's situation. "I think Jeff would say that you need to be shown how to lead both strong-willed and timid people…"
"Ouch," Ryou said, ducking her head.
"Huh?" Kyou blinked out of her train-of-thought. "Oh, I didn't mean anything bad by that, Ryou! Because of my past, for example, I've have to learn how to interact with people…with this being an example."
"Oh," her sister replied with an understanding nod.
I was impressed; Kyou had grown so much since high school. I knew that she'd have to, just like the rest of us, but… "You've changed, Kyou."
"How so?" she asked as she drew a lock of hair over her ear.
"You seem…hm." I suddenly found myself at a loss for words. "The closest I could come is 'calmer', but I don't think that's exactly it."
"I think I get it," she said with a knowing smile. "I used to be pretty wild, even when I was with Sato, but now…yeah. I feel more secure now, like I'm where I'm supposed to be."
"Yeah, I hear you," Kappei chimed in. "It's like when one of my runners hits his stride; the run becomes much easier, smoother."
"I'm not sure I get your analogy, but it sounds good," she replied with a shrug. "I'd have to think about it more, I guess."
"I admit to being anxious about my chances of getting into Hikarizaka," Tadashi offered. "With respect, Aunt, I'm not sure what your god can do about that, but I'm willing to give it – or him, I suppose – a try."
Kyou absently ran her fingers through her hair as she thought. "I think…we'd ask him to give you peace in your situation."
The middle-schooler briefly crossed his arms as he looked up in thought. "I…believe I understand."
She looked around the table before settling her gaze on me. "What about you, Tomoya?" she asked with a knowing look.
"No thanks," I said, holding my hands out defensively; I knew darn well why she was looking at me like that. "This is my first time here. And, to be honest, I don't trust that your god really cares about me since he let my old man bust my shoulder."
"Daddy…?" Ushio said hesitantly.
"But he could've been the one who gave you the resources to get it fixed," Kyou told me.
"Or he could have not let my old man bust it in the first place," I countered. "He could've also not let Nagisa die, for that mattter."
"Ouch." She studied me briefly before nodding sadly. "Fair enough, Tomoya; I think I get why you'd feel that way. You have had kind of a bum deal in life, haven't you?"
"That would be a bit of an understatement," I said, feeling bitter as I crossed my arms. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Mika studying me, causing me to feel self-conscious.
"Would…you at least be willing to pray along with us?" Kyou asked. "You wouldn't have to say anything; just be with the rest of us."
I sighed heavily; part of me really didn't trust some supposedly powerful guy I couldn't see, but another part of me considered the possibility that I was just being stubborn. Finally, I sighed again. "As long as I don't have to say anything, then fine. Sorry, I really don't mean to be a downer."
"Thank you, Daddy," my daughter said warmly, reminding me that she was watching my behavior. I felt even more self-conscious, so I sent a small smile her way to try to reassure her.
"Well, if there's nothing else…" Kyou looked around once more before reaching out with her hands, one toward Ushio and the other toward me. "We normally hold hands when we pray; I'll pray first, then squeeze Shio-chan's hand to let her know that I'm done. If she wants to pray, she can and then squeeze…" She trailed off as she apparently realized something. "Are you two going to be okay with holding hands?" she asked Ushio and Tadashi.
"I…think I'm fine," my daughter replied, blushing along with the Hiiragi boy.
"I am…not averse to the idea," Tadashi added. "I am just not…used to holding a girl's hand."
"Tomoya? You okay with your daughter holding a boy's hand?" she followed up.
I blinked several times before shrugging. "I don't have any reason to doubt his character." I thought a bit longer. "He's Kappei's and Ryou's boy, after all."
"Th-Thank you, Okazaki-sama," Tadashi stammered, his blush deepening.
"Hey, thanks for the vote of confidence!" Kappei said, sending a grin my way.
I returned his smile until I realized that…I would be holding Mika's hand. Suddenly I wasn't so comfortable with the idea.
Unfortunately I didn't have time to protest as Kyou took my and my daughter's hands. "Let's get started, then." I then watched as everyone else took each others' hands; even Ushio and Tadashi managed, though they blushed as they glanced at each other.
"Okazaki-sama?" I looked to my left to see Mika with her hand held out and a blush on her face. I gave Kappei and Ryou a cautious glance before taking her trembling hand in mine. Were it not for her feelings toward me I probably would have thought nothing of it.
Apparently satisfied that we were ready, Kyou bowed her head; I followed suit. "God, thank you for our time together. Thank you for bringing Tomoya and Shio-chan into my life. Please bless them in the coming week as they go to work and school, and help them be successful at whatever they do. Thank you again for bringing Jeff into my life; he's helped me in more ways than I could count and I thank you for him. Bless his health and his work. Let our upcoming marriage be another way you show your love to everyone."
I marveled at Kyou's manner of speaking until I heard my daughter's voice; Kyou must have been finished. "Um…thank you for my daddy." I then heard Tadashi yelp and smiled as I figured that she must have squeezed his hand a little too hard.
"P-Please help me with my subordinates," Ryou said with surprising confidence in spite of her stutter. "Show me how I can be a better supervisor to them."
"Good job, Ryou," I heard Kyou murmur quietly.
"I guess if you've got the time, show me how I can be a better coach," Kappei said, much to my surprise; I hadn't expected him to participate. "And, uh…if you could help Shino get over his injury, I'd be grateful."
He must have squeezed his daughter's hand, because I felt her suddenly twitch. "Please-" was all she got out before I felt her squeeze my hand. Since I wasn't interested in the activity, I went ahead and squeezed Kyou's hand.
"Thank you for hearing our prayers," Kyou said, apparently bringing things to a close, "including the ones that weren't said. Help us to be…edifying to each other and help us to grow, not just mentally and emotionally but spiritually as well." She seemed to pause, and I figured she was trying to figure out how to finish. "Let your will be done," she finally concluded. I heard everyone else at the table repeat her words, and then I felt Kyou release my hand as we opened our eyes. "Well, if there's anything anyone wants to talk about, go ahead," she prompted.
We ended up hearing about Tadashi's concern over the application process. "I think I'm just being irrational about it," he lamented.
"Hey, we're all entitled to be irrational every once in a while," I said half-jokingly. "Even we so-called adults do it."
"Speak for yourself," Kyou quipped with a teasing smile, which I returned.
"Kyou…I think being with Pastor Ashton has been very good for you," Ryou said. "I know we said you seem calmer, but…" She reached up to dab at her eyes. "I'm just so happy for you."
"Me, too," Kappei agreed. "I'll also be happy to get my house back."
"Kappei!" Ryou scolded while giving her husband's arm a whap. "How could you say that?"
"No, I get it," Kyou said, waving a dismissive hand. "Thanks for letting me crash with you. I'm just glad that I didn't have to move back in with Mom and Dad; that would have been embarrassing at my age."
"You know that none of us would have thought any less of you for it," Ryou said compassionately. "That man was simply horrible to you, and you needed time to pull yourself together."
"Well, thanks to Jeff – and then God – it didn't take as long as we thought it would," Kyou replied with a flip of her hair.
We chatted a little more before Pastor Jeff approached the front of the room again, this time to lead us in what he called the 'closing prayer': "Lord Jesus, thank you again for our time together. Bless us as we go our separate ways, and continue to lead and guide us in our daily lives. Let your will be done."
"Let your will be done," the audience again repeated.
"Hey Okazaki," Kappei said as we started to our feet, "we're heading out to lunch after this. Would you two like to join us? I can't treat this time," he added with a wink, "but you're more than welcome to join us."
"I dunno…" I said, grinning at him. "No free food? How am I supposed to freeload if-"
"Daddy!" Ushio gasped in a scolding tone. "We're not freeloaders! Please stop talking like that!"
"Take it easy, sweetie," I chuckled as I raised my hands defensively. "I'm just kidding. Kappei, we'd love to go."
"Great!" he exclaimed with a handclap. "After Kyou and her fiancé are done talking with their wedding planners we'll head out."
"All right," I acknowledged before turning to Ushio. "If you want to look around while we wait, I'm fine with that. I'm going to wander around a little bit myself."
"Okazaki-senpai," Tadashi interjected. "I have a few more questions, if you're willing to talk with me some more."
"Of course!" my daughter chirped. "What do you want to know?"
I smiled to myself as the two teens headed toward the exit, presumably to talk outside; it was a beautiful day, after all. As they left my line-of-sight I turned and headed toward the front of the room. Pastor Jeff wasn't there, but the two images that had caught my interest were.
The first one was unimpressive. It was as it had appeared me when I first saw it; a man addressing a large crowd. I wasn't sure what to make of it, so I moved to the second one, the one showing the man stuck to two pieces of wood attached in the shape of a 'plus sign'. It looked like he'd been mounted on the wooden structure, and it appeared as though his hands had been attached to the cross piece while his feet were attached to the center piece.
"Okazaki-sama? What are you looking at?"
I flinched as I looked to see that Mika had joined me. "Nothing important; I was just curious about these when I came in and wanted a closer look."
"I see," she said, moving next to me to look at the image of the man on the boards. "I think Aunt Kyou's talked about this; if I understand correctly, that man's being executed by being nailed to that…I think it's a cross."
"Hm." I studied the image again. It seemed odd that Pastor Jeff's religion would put a criminal at the front of the room. "Did she tell you why he was executed?"
"She did, but I had a hard time following it," she admitted. "I just know that he did it for us."
"Us?" That made little to no sense. "He committed a crime for us?"
"He died for us," a new yet familiar voice interjected, and Pastor Jeff stepped up to my other side. "I couldn't explain the whole thing in just a couple of sentences, but he took the punishment for all of our sins, every bad thing we've done or thought or will ever do or think." He gestured at the image. "That's him, taking the punishment we deserve."
"Sounds pretty far-fetched," I said, crossing my arms. "I mean, he lived a long time before we did, right?"
"…Yes and no," he replied ambiguously. "I'd be happy to tell you the story and give you all the details, but I wouldn't want to keep the Hiiragis waiting. Perhaps we could get together sometime this week and I can tell you all about it."
"Maybe," I said, still skeptical.
"Before we go, though, I'd like to show you something," he said. "We talk about Jesus' ministry and his death, but this is really what Christianity is all about." He led us to a small model that appeared to depict a boulder to one side of an opening to a cave. "Here it is."
"A rock and a cave?" I asked, puzzled.
"No no," he chuckled. "This represents the empty tomb that Jesus had initially been buried in. He rose to life again three days later." I started to open my mouth, but he raised a polite hand. "Again, I'd love to go into more detail, but we have people waiting for us. I just wanted to give you a better perspective about my faith."
"Fair enough," I grunted as Mika and I followed him to the church entrance.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said as we met up with the others.
"Don't worry about it, princess," Kappei said with his trademark smile.
"Are you ready to go, Daddy?" Ushio asked as she glanced between me and her upperclassman.
I smiled down at my little girl. "Yeah, sweetie; I'm ready."
As we followed Kappei and his family and Kyou and Pastor Jeff, I found myself glancing back at the church several times, unsure of what to do with what I'd just experienced.
Lunch was unusually uneventful, allowing us to enjoy a good meal with good company, and we ended up leaving the restaurant later than we thought we would.
"Dad, would it be okay for me to go to the Okazakis' place today?" Mika asked as we worked on going our separate ways.
"I don't mind if your mother doesn't," he replied before turning to his wife. "Any problems with it?"
"I'd like to know why she wants to go now," she replied. "After all, she normally wouldn't be going there until it's time to make dinner, which won't be for a few hours."
"I'd…just like to spend time with them."
"I don't mind as long as Tomoya-san doesn't," Ryou said as she gave me a sympathetic look.
"Well, Okazaki?" Kappei said, clapping me on the shoulder while giving me a knowing look. "You mind if my daughter invites herself over?"
"D-Dad!"
"I'd love to have her over," Ushio said before I could form a reply. "If you're willing, you could help me understand some of my homework."
"I'd be happy to!" the older teen exclaimed.
"Please, Daddy?" Ushio said while giving me her best puppy-dog eyes.
"I…all right, fine," I said. "I plan on reading in my room anyway, so…sure."
"Great!" Mika chirped, clapping her hands. "I'll help Ushio-san with her homework, then make dinner. Then we can eat together!"
"Sounds great!" Ushio chirped as well. "It's going to be so much fun!"
"Make sure to come home after dinner," Ryou admonished. "Remember that you have school tomorrow."
"I haven't forgotten, Mom," Mika said as she glanced at me repeatedly while blushing lightly. "I'll come home after dinner, I promise."
"All right then; have a good time," her mother told her.
The girls talked quietly to themselves as they followed me to the apartment, so I took the opportunity to go over my 'life checklist'; during lunch, Pastor Jeff had asked me to give him a call after dinner; he wanted to talk with me about the 'final session' he'd been working on setting up, so I made a mental note to take care of that. I'd forgotten to bring up the dream, so I added that to the list. I also needed to make a follow-up appointment with the hospital so my doctors could check on my progress, so I made another mental note to call the hospital during my lunch break on Monday. I sighed, satisfied that those were the only major events I had to worry about for the time being, though my situation with Mika meant that she could throw monkey wrenches in at any time.
We arrived home, and the girls waited patiently while I unlocked the door, and then we all went in. Shoes were exchanged, and they headed for Ushio's room while I headed to mine for some reading and, hopefully, a short nap.
I must have conked out while reading, because I was startled awake by a knock at my door. "Just a minute…" I mumbled as I got to my feet while rubbing some sand from my eyes.
"I'm sorry if I woke you," Ushio said when she saw my face; I must have looked grumpy. "I just wanted to let you know that I'll be running to the market to pick up a couple of things for dinner. We're out of a couple of seasonings that Mika-senpai was planning to use for our dinner."
"Okay," I said, rubbing my cheeks to help wake myself up. "Has she started prep already? Do you need my help?"
"I don't think so," she said with a shake of her head, "but you could check with her, if that's all right."
I nodded sleepily. "I'll splash myself and head down. Sorry for sleeping so long."
"It's fine," she giggled. "You've had a pretty exciting day, after all. Be right back!"
I smiled as I watched her scoot away; I missed having the energy levels that she seemed to take for granted. "Well, let's see what we can do," I grunted as I headed to the bathroom.
A few minutes later, I wandered into the kitchen area. "Do you need any help out here? Since Ushio's out, I thought I'd offer."
"No, I'm fine here, thank you," the purple-haired teenager replied as she stirred a pot. "If you're not busy, you could get dinner plates and bowls out, though."
"All right." I headed over to the cabinets and got out the requested dishes and headed back into the living room to spread them out on the kotatsu. "Anything else?" I asked as I reentered the kitchen.
"Not…really…" she said, the spoon slowing.
"You sure?" I said as I stepped up next to her with concern. "I don't mind helping, you know. My shoulder's a lot better so I can carry more stuff."
"I know. It's…"
I had a bad feeling but decided to ask anyway. "What is it?"
She turned the burner down and put the spoon on the counter to face me. "Okazaki-sama? There's a school dance on the last night before summer break. Would you go with me? As my date?"
"No, Mika, and I think you know why," I told her as I crossed my arms. "I know you told me to prepare myself, but you should also be prepared since you know how I feel about the situation."
"I do," she said, casting her gaze downward.
I studied her for a moment, then sighed. "Look, I'm sorry if I came on too strong; it's just that you're a nice girl who's set her sights way too low as far as I'm concerned."
"I disagree, but I respect your opinion," she said quietly. "Could we do another picnic sometime, at least?"
"We can do that," I conceded. "Maybe after my next follow-up appointment for my shoulder and my last session with Pastor Jeff."
"That sounds wonderful," she said, her disposition brightening noticeably.
"All right, we'll work something out after my life becomes less crazy then," I said, hoping that would satisfy her. Apparently it did, because she squealed softly as she grabbed up the spoon and fired up the burner to start stirring again. I watched her for a moment before heading over to the kotatsu with a chuckle and plopping down into my seat to look out the window. I then grunted in annoyance as I got up to open the curtain, then plopped back into my spot and enjoyed the view.
Ushio arrived with the needed ingredients about ten minutes later, and she joined her schoolmate in the kitchen, where they spent the rest of dinner prep talking and giggling with each other. How they found so much to talk about I was sure I'd never understand. Eventually they started bringing out covered dishes and bowls and set them on the table. "Dinner's ready," Ushio told me, more a formality at that point then anything.
"I see that," I remarked, sharing a smile with her. "Do you need any more help?"
"No, thank you," she replied as she headed back into the kitchen.
She came out one more time with Mika following her, and they set what I assumed were the last bowls on the table. My assumption was proved correct when Ushio took her place at the kotatsu, with Mika next to her and across from me.
"Thanks for the food."
I felt Ushio glancing at me several times as we loaded up our bowls, and my curiosity finally got the better of me. "Is something wrong, sweetie? I could be wrong, but it feels like you need something from me."
"There is, but I feel bad asking about it," she admitted.
"What's the matter?" I asked before taking a bite of my meal.
"Well…the school's having a dance in the evening of the last day of school, and I'd like to go," she said, ducking her head.
Of course, I already knew about the even from Mika's request, but I realized that I didn't have all the needed information. "Well, what time is the dance? I don't mind if you go, as long as it's not too late."
"It's…kinda late," she told me. "It goes from 6 PM to 10 PM, but that's not the real problem…"
"So, what's the real problem?" I asked, starting to become a little impatient.
She stared at her plate, apparently unable to look me in the eye. "First-years can only attend the dance if a parent comes with them."
"Seriously?" I looked over at our guest, who was staring at the top of the kotatsu. "Mika? Is this true?"
She nodded several times, her eyes still on the table. "I've never seen it happen myself, but apparently the school had a problem with second- and third-year boys harassing the first-year girls for a couple of years a few years ago."
"So why didn't they just demand chaperones for the older grades?" I asked. "If they're the problem, shouldn't they be the ones monitored?"
"I guess they tried that, but the parents wouldn't show," she said. "So, the parents of first-years have to be there, but they'll have the support of the school's staff when it comes to…dealing with problems."
I couldn't see how it would cover any legal complications, but the school must have accounted for that, so… "The last day of school, huh? From six to ten?"
"That's right," Ushio replied.
I couldn't help but feel like I was being set up. "That's a Friday, so I don't have work the next day…" I sighed. "Okay, sweetie; I'll be there. Did you want to be there for the whole thing?"
"I'd like to be there at six if I could," she replied with a cute blush. "I don't think I'd want to be there the whole time, unless my friends are there."
"They will have stuff for the parents," Mika offered. "You'd just be there if she needed to come to you for something, like if a boy kept bothering her then she could come to you for protection."
"Were there any problems like this last year?" I asked, suddenly concerned.
"Just a couple, but they weren't anything big," Mika replied. "You were a teenager once, Okazaki-sama; I'm sure you remember what your classmates were like."
I smirked as I realized that she was excluding me from her criticism. "Yes, I do remember; In fact, I remember Sunohara kept talking about wanting a girlfriend, and even ended up harassing a girl, who turned out to be the girlfriend of the captain of the rugby team."
"He…He did?" Ushio exclaimed, pressing her hands against her cheeks. "Oh, no…"
"Yeah," I chuckled. "He ended up getting beat up in the boys' bathroom."
"Is Sunohara-san a friend of yours?" Mika inquired.
"Was," I corrected. "And only sort of; Koumura-sensei – my first-year homeroom teacher – introduced us to each other since we were both troublemakers." I smiled wistfully at the memory. "Man, those were the days, huh?"
"Do you miss them?"
"Huh?" I blinked at Ushio's question. "Oh. Yes and no. I wish I wasn't the delinquent that I was…but I guess if I wasn't I might not have met your mother."
"And I wouldn't exist…" Ushio murmured. "Daddy, this might sound weird, but thank you for being a delinquent."
"You're welcome, sweetie," I chuckled.
"Wow…" Mika breathed, drawing my attention. "To think that one decision can make such a huge difference…"
"Like if Daddy went to the library instead of hanging out at the bottom of the hill?"
The older teenager blinked, then looked to me. "Why? Is that where you met your wife?"
I nodded, smiling at that memory as well. "Yeah. She was at the bottom of the hill, trying to find a reason to go to school since all her friends had already graduated."
"She was held back?"
I nodded again. "She had some kind of…illness or something. She was sick for most of her third year…her first time, I mean, so she ended up missing too much school. To make a long story short; she was a third-year for three years before she finally graduated. We married not too long after that, and Ushio was born not too long after that, and…" I felt a tightness in my chest at the memory of Nagisa's closed eyes and pale face. "Anyway, I'm glad I could be a delinquent for you, sweetie."
"I'm so sorry for your loss," Mika said, laying a hand on my arm.
"Thanks," I said. "Anyway…as far as the dance…" I glanced cautiously at Mika, "…I'll support you as much as I can."
"Thank you, Daddy!" Ushio positively lit up. "I'll do my best to not give any boys the wrong idea! In fact, I've been talking with my friends, and we plan on hanging out and dancing together. You shouldn't have to worry about me at all!"
"I'm glad to hear that," I replied; truth be told, though, the look of excitement on Mika's face had me more worried about myself than my daughter.
Ushio and I waved as Mika headed away from the apartment, and I pulled out my phone as I shut the door. "Do you need anything from me, sweetie? I need to make a couple of calls."
"I'm fine, thank you. I'll work on cleaning up."
"Thanks," I said, then had my phone dial Kappei's number.
"Hey, Okazaki!" he boomed as usual, causing me to have to hold the phone away from my ear. "Is my daughter on her way?"
"Just saw her off," I replied.
"Did, uh…she do anything weird?"
I reflected on our time together. "No, not really. She did ask me to the dance on the last day before summer break."
"Yeah, she told us she was going to."
"Kappei, are you sure you're all right with your daughter pursuing someone a year younger than you?"
I heard him sigh. "Normally, I'd be really uncomfortable with it. You, though?" Another sigh. "I'm finding it harder to find arguments against it."
Was he serious? "Well, what about your wife? She can't be okay with this!"
He laughed for some odd reason. "Do you think I don't know about how Ryou used to feel about you? Feelings like that don't go away so easily, right? She hasn't said this, but I think she's glad that Mika's getting the chance that she never got."
"Kappei, as your friend; I am so sorry that I've messed up your family. Other than Tadashi, I guess."
He laughed again, more loudly. "Buddy, we just don't know what life's going to throw at us, am I right?"
"You can say that again," I muttered.
"Anyway, it's not your fault; my daughter's chosen to follow her heart. You didn't make her do it."
"Small consolation," I grunted. "Does this mean you won't at least try to…I don't know, get her interested in someone else?"
"You're the reason she changed her mind about her life, man! You think her mother and I'll be able to change her mind back that easily?"
"I guess not," I admitted. "Well…for what it's worth, I'm sorry for any trouble I've caused."
"Weird as it sounds, you really haven't caused any problems. Sure, Ryou and I didn't expect our daughter to fall in love the way she did, but it's still not like you intentionally encouraged her, right?"
"That's true."
"So if you want her gone, you're gonna have to figure out how to make it happen," he told me. "Even though she still lives with us, she's still an adult and we'll respect her decisions as long as it doesn't put the family in danger."
"Understood," I grunted, starting to wonder if I'd ever be able to speak in a normal tone again.
"Anyway, is there anything else?"
"Nope. Looks like I have some work to do."
He chuckled good-naturedly. "Take it easy, man."
"You, too."
I ended the call and immediately had my phone call the church office. I expected to have to leave a message, but was surprised when the call was picked up. "Glory to God, Pastor Aston speaking."
"Hello, Pastor; this is Okazaki Tomoya."
"Ah, Tomoya-san! Good evening!" Even though I couldn't see him, his tone of voice brought a smile to my face. "Thank you for being willing to call so late."
"No problem," I replied, thinking it odd that he would thank me for calling in the evening; normally it would be the other way around. "What's up?"
"I've been able to schedule your last session for our usual time, a week from this Saturday. Will that work?"
"I have that time blocked for us for the time being," I told him. "It'll work."
"Great!" He sounded unusually excited. "Would you bring your daughter with you, too?"
"Um, sure," I replied. "Why do you want Ushio there?"
A longish pause. "I…can't tell you."
"Same reason as before? Don't want to spoil the surprise?"
"Something like that, yes."
I'd agreed to it, so… "All right, I'll make sure she's there."
"I appreciate it. Speaking of Shio-chan; are you taking her to the school dance?"
How did he know about that? "Yeah, she just asked and I agreed to chaperone her. Why?"
"Just wanted to be sure," he replied. "You understand that your last session will be the day after the dance, right?"
"Hold on," I said as I headed over to check the calendar; sure enough… "Damn-oh, sorry; I mean yeah, I see it."
"Is that going to be an issue?"
"Not if I can help it," I told him. "I'm not going to mess up all the work you put into this."
"I appreciate that. Well, if anything changes, don't hesitate to let me know, okay?"
"Got it," I said. "Anything else?"
"No…No, I think that takes care of it. We'll see you then!"
"All right, Pastor. Thanks."
"God bless!"
"Yeah…" I replied, unsure how to respond. "Take it easy."
I ended the call and pocketed my phone, wondering if my life would ever settle down.
