AN: The middle section in this chapter is different from anything written before in this story and I think in all my stories about from An American Love Story

Chapter Twenty

Tonight I actually have a fashion show and I hate that I have to be there. I knew that I couldn't stop my work forever and that people are looking forward to my new designs but I wanted for him to be able to leave the house at least. The nurse has said that he's doing okay today but I don't want to leave him even if it is with Julie.

I set the dinner down on the table for the girls and kiss the top of their heads. I put the smaller portion on the plate and go over to my bedroom. I hope that I don't wake him up, he is always so sleepy and worn down but it's good that he's been following conversation again. As I open the door, my eyes widen as I didn't expect at all to see what is happening in front of me.

Kuon is not only awake but he is sitting with his back pressed against the wall, there are a lot of pillows there which makes me feel a little better about this but he is using a laptop. He is using a laptop with a dimmed screen but….I stand there and blink at him. I hate to say it but I'm worried that his brain is going to explode.

I stop short and put the tray down on a side table so I don't drop it. "Wh-wh—wha—" I struggle before taking a deep breath and come towards him. My eyes widen even more and I feel myself screaming internally. He's using social media!? In his condition, with his celebrity status, he shouldn't be doing this. "Co—Corn," I struggle as I look at him, his eyes are on the screen but I can see the strain. I am pleading that he doesn't have another seizure right now.

"Sweetheart?" I ask as I just watch him in a confused manner. "Do you think you should be on the computer?" My hands are twitching. I want to take it away from him but he's an adult and he's four years older than me and he's my husband. In traditional Japan it would never be considered right to snatch the computer away from your husband as if he's a child.

"N-Nn-nnnea-rrly…dd-d-onne" he struggles before reaching across to have some water and my eyes travel over to his hand. He's temporarily closing his social media accounts. I could have done that for him. I know his passwords. I know that he's not supposed to be pushing himself but I could have done that for him.

"Did you want me to help?" I ask and he shakes his head. He finishes up with a few other websites before getting a blank Word document open and types into it.

Houlw cumm I can wrote better than I taalkk

I stare at what he put. There are a lot of spelling and grammar problems with his writing but I understand what he means. He's not having problem with producing language or understanding language, he's still the incredibly smart Kuon that he always has been but it's the way of speaking and of making those movements and sounds. I don't quite understand it but then I'm not a doctor. One of the therapists I spoke to thinks that it has psychological reasons too and I can understand that.

"I don't know sweetheart," I whisper as I hold his hand. "It'll get better."

He nods and shuts the computer off before lying back and sighing with exhaustion. I know he's frustrated at his condition and I'm frustrated too. He's always been the type of person who has been praised and complimented and even though I know that it's amazing comparing his recovery with those in similar accidents, he doesn't see it that way.

"Kyo-Kkkyyo—" he struggles and rolls his eyes as he turns to me. I look back at him and push his hair back in a comforting manner. I hum as I try to listen to him but he looks away. I don't know whether to pressure him into saying anything but I stand and get the food. I hate that he can't even come and sit at the dining room table with us. He takes the food and sits up again before tucking the napkin into his shirt.

"Your mother will be here soon," I tell him and he nods. "How about we all eat dessert together?" I ask him as I smile seeing him eat even if his portion is smaller than Ana's. He nods and I kiss his cheek again. "I'll be back when it's time for dessert," I tell him before taking his hand in mine. I hold it tight and let my thumb brush over the back. "I'm so proud to be your wife and the mother to your children," I tell him and he smiles. I know it's hard on him but he hasn't given up. I smile. I know inside that very soon he'll be himself again even if it's a year or two, he'll have recovered before any of us know it.

….

….

"So, Shuuhei," one of my very old friends says as we sit at a table in the corner of a bar in Tokyo. I have missed this place, there's no doubt in my mind about that. It's an up-scale place that a lot of celebrities frequent and there's always a crowd watching me but I feel that this is a different experience. "Everyone wants to know the hot topic and since you're so close to the subject himself." I sigh. This isn't the first, second, or even the tenth time someone has tried to engage me in conversation about Kuon. He's the most famous actor to have ever started off in Japan and I know Japan considers him their actor. I'm proud of him but I feel protective as well.

"The video was shown here too, wasn't it?" I ask and sigh before drinking a sip of the beer. "I would love to say no comment, are you going to let me get away with that?"

"Kuu, we're asking out of a place of concern," another one of my drinking buddies says and I turn with a sad smile. I don't know if it's okay to talk about Kuon. I trust these men with my secrets but this involves my kid.

"Are you sure you won't repeat it?" I ask them. I know that it'll be in the media eventually and it's not like the secret identity he had for so long. I know they are concerned for our family and concerned about Kuon but I don't want them to get the wrong impression about my kid. I look down.

"I've seen people get into accidents before, Shuuhei," Hideki tells me and I sigh. I know it's obvious that if the circumstances were even slightly different, Kuon would be lying dead in the street.

"He's doing so much better than the doctors believed," I say in relief and all three of the guys I'm with turn to me. They can see the smile on my face as I look at the beer in my hands. I laugh weakly. "He lost a lot of blood from the accident, had to have a transfusion, I was more than happy to provide it for him. It was," I tap my head where Kuon's scar is. "He had bleeding in his head from where he hit it. For most people, it would have led to an instant death but he managed to survive through the surgery. He has trouble with his speech and won't be acting for a while if ever but he's surviving. He's recovering and surviving through something that would kill most people. I'm really proud that he's doing so well."

"Tell him we're rooting for him, Kuu" Takeru says and I nod. I take another sip of my beer as the food arrives and I look down. They're not judging him or asking about any brain damage or if he's disabled. It brings me some relief."

"You know the other kid on that video," Lance, the fourth in our party says and I look at him. "He was fired from the agency he was with because he didn't represent them with his actions. It appears that the video has blocked a lot of doors for him and no agency will take him."

I sigh before reaching for a piece of the yakitori, "Am I supposed to care?" I ask with an eyebrow raised and Hideki looks at me with surprise.

"I've never seen you this cold before," he comments and I shrug.

"He could have killed my daughter in law and the mother to my grandchildren," I tell him them. "And he's responsible for what happened to my son. I wish I could trash his image and keep him from working anywhere ever again." I know that they are not used to this side of me. Even Hideki who had been with me during my rougher years when I first started acting on screen hasn't seen this part of me for a long long time. "His family, according to Kyoko-chan, operates a large chain of Japanese inns. He can always sliver off back there like the serpent he is."

"Woah, we're seeing a new side of you tonight," Lance says and I'm about to reply but hear my phone. I stand up to take it, walking outside the restaurant. It's a work call, some movie offer and I tell them that I need to sleep on it. I might take it but I wish that it was Kuon who was working, he loves acting. As I stand outside the bar, my back pushed against the wall, I hear someone approach me. It's an actor in his thirties. He bows quickly.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Hizuri-sama," he says as he gets out of the bow. This guy looks extremely familiar and I think that he's visited the US multiple times, is that where I know him from. "My name is Kijima Hidehito, I'm a long time friend of your son. I hope it's not over the line to ask how he is. I've been trying to be respectful and not call him or Kyoko-chan."

"He's alive and recovering. Maybe emailing one of them would be better than calling. He's still got a lot of problems that he has to work through," I advise and the man smiles with relief, his eyes lighting up. He looks like a playboy, very suave, knows just what to say but the look in his eyes is of a child promised a great vacation.

"Thank you," he replies. "I'm just very glad that he's still alive."

…

….

Mom is sitting with the girls to the side of the bed and Ana walks over to me, she climbs up next to me and I roll to the side and look at her. Reaching a hand out, I gently cup her cheek and let my fingers go through her beautiful hair.

"Hhhe-ey" I whisper and see Rose coming over so that she can spend time with me as well.

"Be careful when you're sitting with your dad," Mom tells them and I sit up. I take Ana in my arms gently and put her on my lap, I put one arm around her and the other around Rose as she hugs me from the side.

"Grandmother was going to tell us a story," Rose explains and Mom smiles back at me. "She said it was about you and when you thought you saw the witch." I bow my head and smile, that must have been when I was four but of course Mom remembers it.

"Is it okay if I tell it, Kuon?" Mom asks and I nod. I hold my girls closer to me and kiss each on the top of their head. Kyoko must have left for the show already. I see Mom position herself before she starts to tell them this tale which Kyoko has always thought of as adorable.

End of Chapter Twenty

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Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Nineteen

Kaname671

AN:

Last year I managed to reach 2,876,334 words on this site 😊 Let's see where I get to by 2021.

Happy New Year Everyone