Chapter 3: Good Days and Bad Days
Erin woke up feeling uncomfortable. Her stomach ached and her back was sore.
She frowned as she buried deep within her blanket.
She reached over to the other side of the bed, not surprised to find it cold and empty. Hatori was probably in his office doing pre work to his actual work.
She sighed, she had to get up.
She dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom.
She stared at herself in the mirror, taking in the sight of her messy hair and pale skin. She sighed once more, before begrudgingly starting the shower and taking off her clothes.
As she took off her underwear she froze as she felt something drip down her leg. She heard it drop against the floor.
She looked down to see blood running down her leg and splatter against the white tile floor.
She stared at her blood covered hand as she felt her heart hammer against her chest.
This was so sickeningly familiar to then. To that night.
Breathe Erin. Just breathe. It's just your period, this isn't like that time. She tried to convince herself. However, it didn't work. She began shaking and she felt sick. The steamy bathroom air was making it hard to breathe.
She backed into the bathroom shelf, causing it to fall and crash against the floor.
She jumped at the sound and yelped.
She could hear footsteps outside the door. She panicked. She was going to be in so much trouble.
"Erin, what happened?" Hatori asked as he took in the scene in front of him.
Tears fell down her face. "Hatori! I-I'm sorry! I don't know what came over me… I… the blood… the shelf… I didn't mean to!" She cried.
"Calm down." He said, trying to figure out what happened. His eyes found the blood on the floor. "Did you hurt yourself?" He questioned, his voice hitching as worry consumed him. He looked over her, determined to find the source of her pain.
She shook her head. "No, I just got my period. I- I'm sorry! I should've been looking at the calendar. I just... I saw the blood and I panicked, I'm so sorry!" She cried.
Hatori's face softened and he sighed in relief. She wasn't hurt. She was okay. "Erin, it's alright. You're safe." He said, draping a towel over her.
"Please don't be mad." She said quietly.
"Shh, don't even say that. I would never be mad at you for something like this." He said softly, holding her close.
She buried her face in his chest, before pulling away.
"It looks like… It looks like the night I was bleeding and it got on the floor I couldn't stop it." Erin said, looking down at the blood, before digging in the cabinet for tampons.
Hatori looked at her questioningly, as he wet a towel. "What do you mean?"
She paused, realizing she never told him. She never really talked about the specifics. Especially with Hatori. She didn't want him to get upset.
She inhaled shakily. She was going to have to tell him this stuff eventually. "One night… a few weeks before I ran away… I guess he went too far and hurt me. It hurt so bad, I was bleeding all over the bathroom floor. I-I couldn't stop it." She said, her voice getting shaky.
Hatori paused. She was telling him details. She never told him any details of what had happened.
His heart felt like it was ripped out of his chest. He imagined a 17 year old Erin silently sobbing on her bathroom floor all alone as she bled. The thought made him sick. He clenched his fists, before finishing wiping up the blood.
He couldn't get angry. He had to stay calm. Erin would never open up to him if he got upset. He stood up and rubbed her back. "Erin, I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to go through that." He said solemnly.
She turned to face him and he rested his forehead against hers. "If only I could've met you earlier, I could've helped. I-I…" He started but stopped, looking down at the floor. He gripped the bathroom counter as his mind raced.
No, jail wasn't punishment enough for what that bastard did.
She shook her head. "Hatori, don't say things like that. You shouldn't think like that. What's done is done. I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything." She said.
He looked up quickly. "No. No, you can tell me these things. I want you to. I'm sorry. I just… I can't imagine what you had to go through." He said, wiping the blood from her hands.
Erin took a breath and nodded, unsure of how to answer. She looked over to the shelf. "I'm sorry."
He looked over to the shelf as well and waved it off. "It's alright. I can just rehang it." He said, finishing cleaning her up. He stroked his thumb across her cheek "There. It's taken care of. Now finish getting ready. Would you like to come with me to the office today? I could use your help with a few things." He asked, looking down at her.
Erin's eyes widened. He wanted her help? "You want me to help? What could I possibly do to help you?" Erin asked, looking up at him.
He laughed slightly. "Erin, you help me all the time. I need some help organizing some files and paperwork. I just haven't had time." He said, releasing a sigh. "It's tedious, I can understand if you don't want to."
Erin perked up. "No! I want to help! I won't mess up, I promise!"
Hatori shook his head and smiled. She sounded so excited. "I never thought you would. Now get ready, we're leaving in ten minutes." He said tousling her hair, and turning to walk out.
Her jaw hit the floor. "Hatori! That's so little time!" She whined.
He looked back at her and smirked. "Well you better hurry then." He said tapping his watch before closing the door.
She sighed. He was insufferable.
She looked back at the shelf on the floor. She frowned. She shouldn't have freaked out like that. She had been doing so well.
She thought back to that old birthday wish she had made on her 19th birthday. She was almost there. She was so close, but every time she thinks she's there something sets her back.
Maybe she'd never get there...
She shook the thought from her head. Being negative wouldn't help.
She would get there.
She was sure of it.
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"Kazu! Don't you ever organize? Your filing cabinet is a mess!" Erin exclaimed, crossing her arms and looking back at him.
Kazu looked up at her from his desk and laughed. "Oh come on now Erin, don't be dramatic."
"I'm not being dramatic. It's not organized at all. How do you find anything?" She asked, pulling the papers out.
He tapped his head with his pen. "It's all organized up here."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah well it needs to be organized out here, you know in the real world." She said matter of factly, plopping the stack of unorganized papers on his desk.
He watched her thumb through the papers, as he got up from his desk. "Alright, alright little miss. Just make sure you tell me how you organize them." Kazu said, resting his hand on her head.
She looked up at him questionably. "Who are you calling little?" She asked.
Kazu laughed, tousling her hair. "You."
Her brows furrowed as she shooed his hand away. "I'm not little. And don't mess up my hair."
"You are, and it's okay. Now I need to fax some stuff. I'll be in the hallway if you need me." He said, turning to leave.
"What would I need you for?" She asked, tilting her head.
He shrugged and smiled. "What if you can't reach something?"
She crossed her arms and looked away. "Goodbye Kazu."
He laughed as he walked out. Teasing her was just too much fun.
Erin shook her head as he left. She looked down at the papers as she began to organize them. How could someone work with everything so unorganized? And how has Hatori not made him organize yet? She knew Hatori's office was immaculate. The man had everything organized on an almost unhealthy level.
As she went to put the papers in the drawer correctly, one slipped from her grasp and slid under the cabinet.
She groaned as she got down on her hands and knees to glance under the cabinet. She tried to reach it, but her hands weren't small enough to reach underneath it.
She sighed and stood up, brushing off the dust on her skirt. She'd have to tell Kazu to dust.
She moved the cabinet over so she could finally reach the paper. Behind the cabinet was filled with dust and cobwebs, she sighed once more. The paper was probably dirty now.
She bent down to grab the paper when she saw it.
She was face to face with a big black spider.
Her whole body froze as she stared at it.
Suddenly it moved and Erin yelped loudly and jumped back. Dropping all the papers in the process.
Kazu looked up from the fax machine.
Shit. What trouble could she have possibly gotten into?
He quickly walked to his office. He walked in to find Erin standing near the window, frozen.
"What's wrong? What happened?" He asked, looking around for the source of her fear.
She turned to look at him quickly. Tears fell down her face as she ran to hide behind him. He felt her cling to his lab coat tightly. "I-It's… There… There." She cried, before saying something that came out a mumbled mess. There's no way anyone could understand it.
"What? What is it?" He said looking around.
"T-There's a… There's a big… S-Spider! Behind your filing cabinet!" She cried pointing to the cabinet.
At the words 'spider' Kazu felt his heart stop.
His eyes scanned the area by the cabinet till he finally saw the wretched thing. Erin wasn't exaggerating. It was huge. Chills went up his spine as he looked at it slowly crawling up the wall.
"You gotta kill it!" Erin whined, pulling his shirt.
"Kill it?! No way!" He exclaimed, stepping back. "I hate spiders."
Erin's mouth gaped. Was he serious? This man was really scared of a spider? "What do you mean you hate spiders?! Just kill it!" She exclaimed.
"You kill it." He said, trying to put more distance between him and the thing.
"I can't kill it!" She exclaimed.
"Look little girl, there's one thing I don't do. And that's spiders. That's where I draw the line." He said using his finger to draw a metaphorical line in the air.
Erin scowled. "Oh come on! You can't be serious! It's just a spider!" She exclaimed, crossing her arms.
"If it's just a spider you deal with it." He said matter of factly.
"Ugh! You're insufferable! Just kill the fucking spider!" Erin said, stomping her foot.
"I'm not killing that spider. Final answer." He said crossing his arms.
"Pansy!" Erin exclaimed, clearly flustered.
Kazu looked at her in disbelief. "You were the one who was crying in the first place!"
"Yeah but I'm a girl. I can be scared of spiders. You can't!" She argued.
As they argued, they didn't even notice what was going on until...
BANG!
The loud sound pulled them from their argument. They looked over to see Hatori holding his shoe against the wall. When he moved it they saw the big stain it left behind.
Hatori dropped the shoe, wiping the bottom on the floor. "Disgusting." He said, staring at the stain.
"Thank you." Kazu said, clearly relieved.
Hatori pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do I even want to know what happened?"
"Kazu's cabinet was dirty and he wouldn't kill a spider." Erin said, crossing her arms.
Kazu raised his hands in defeat. "Alright I'll admit it. I have a fear of spiders, but apparently so does Erin. So I'm not alone here."
Hatori sighed and looked over at the two of them. "It's just a spider." He said exasperated. "And you two know we have patients right?"
Kazu went to apologize, but Erin spoke first.
"How can you say it's just a spider? It's just heights but you're still afraid of them." She said matter of factly.
Kazu's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He looked over to Hatori. "Wait, you're scared of heights?"
Hatori made a face. "No."
Erin laughed slightly. "Yeah okay."
Kazu chuckled slightly remembering their time in Seoul, when he wouldn't stand on the balcony. Guess it all made sense now.
"I am not discussing this with you two. Clean up the papers and behave." He said sternly, leaving the room.
Erin looked at Kazu. "Great now you got me in trouble." She said, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Me?! You were the one who dropped the papers in the first place." He laughed.
She huffed, resting her hands on her hips. "Yeah well if you kept your office organized I wouldn't have ever had to get the papers together in the first place." She said.
Kazu chuckled as he began to pick up the papers. "You're really something Erin."
Erin sighed. "I've been told." She said picking up the papers as well.
After finally finishing the cleaning and organizing, Erin sighed. She didn't want to cause Hatori any more trouble. She already messed up this morning. Today was just not her day.
Her therapist said she would have good days and bad days… but still.
Tears stung at her eyes as she closed the filing drawer.
"Well I have to say that looks much better." Kazu said from behind her.
She nodded, pushing her feelings down. "Yes. Now it better stay like this. I better not have to reorganize in a month." She said looking back at him.
He smiled. "Come on, have more faith in me."
She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Keep it clean, or I'm buying spiders and releasing them into your office." She said turning her nose up at him.
His eyes widened. "Oh come on! That's evil and you know it!" He whined.
Erin laughed. "Think of it as motivation. Now keep it clean."
Kazu smiled and gave her a nudge before going back to his desk. "Whatever you say, little miss."
She frowned. "I'm not little." She pouted.
He laughed, adjusting his glasses as he read over a file. "Whatever you say."
She crossed her arms and huffed. "Fine. I'm gonna go see the warden."
Kazu laughed at the use of Hatori's joke nickname. "Tell him not to fire me while you're in there."
Erin nodded as she walked out, her anxiety rising. What if Hatori really was mad? What if he was disappointed in her?
"I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed." Her uncle's voice replayed through her head. She shook the thoughts from her head as she went into Hatori's office.
He was probably in with a patient so at least she could have a moment to herself.
She quickly went in and shut the door, before resting her forehead against it.
She was shaking, and trying desperately to hide it.
Just breathe.
She just had to-
"Are you alright?"
She jumped at the sound of Hatori's voice. She turned to see him sitting at his desk.
Fuck.
"S-sorry. I didn't think you'd be in here." She said, staring at her feet.
He got up from his desk and walked over to her. "You didn't think I'd be in my office?" He said, tucking her hair behind her ear.
She shrugged, not making eye contact with him.
He leaned down so he could look at her. "Erin, what's wrong? Did the spider scare you that much?" He asked.
She shook her head. "No… I'm just… I'm worried you're mad at me…"
He looked at her questioningly. "I'm not mad at you. Why would you think that?"
She finally looked up at him. "Because I've had a bad day… I freaked out this morning… and I messed up on helping you." She said, tears burning at her eyes before rolling down her face.
He sighed and pulled her close. "I apologize if I was too curt with you about the spider incident." He said softly, holding her close.
She made a muffled whine as she buried her face in his chest.
"I just wanted to help. But, now I'm a hassle." She said sadly.
Hatori tilted her chin up so he could look at her. "Erin. You have never once, nor will you ever be a hassle. And it's okay to have bad days. Everyone has bad days." He said, kissing her forehead.
"But-"
"No buts. Remember what your therapist told you? Some days will be good and some days will be bad. It's simple. It's not a straight line of just all good days." He said holding her hand. "The important thing is, that even on your worst days you know I'll always be right here." He said with a smile.
She nodded her head as she tightened her hold on him.
"Kazu's office organized?" Hatori asked.
Erin nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty bad. But luckily I fixed it."
Hatori laughed slightly. "I figured he'd listen to you. I've been asking him to organize for months." He said patting her head and walking back to his desk.
Erin looked at him questioningly. "What makes you think he'd listen to me?"
Hatori looked over at her and shrugged before sitting down. "He has a hard time saying no to you. So, I figured if you told him to organize he wouldn't argue."
Erin thought about what he said. Did Kazu have a hard time saying no to her? "Does he really?"
Hatori smiled slightly as he wrote something down. "I think a lot of people have a hard time saying no to you. Myself included of course."
Erin walked up to his desk and leaned against it.
"Hatori, you say no to me all the time." She said matter of factly.
He laughed and looked up at her. "I said I had a hard time. I didn't say it was impossible."
She rolled her eyes. "Is it almost time to go home? I'm exhausted." She said plainly. She was anxious to put this day behind her.
"I just need to finish a few more things, and then we can go." He said, his attention shifting back to his paperwork.
She nodded and plopped onto the sofa, laying so she could look out the window.
She took a long sigh and rested her head on her hands.
"Erin, try not to worry so much. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day." Hatori said from his desk.
She hummed in agreeance, although she seriously doubted it.
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"It's alright, people have bad days." Her therapist said.
Erin looked across at her and shrugged. "Yeah, but you don't understand."
"Well why don't you explain it to me so I do understand?"
Erin chewed on her words for a moment before shrugging. "It's just… I don't want to make any more trouble for everyone. I've caused enough as it is."
"So you're afraid people will get upset with you if you have a bad day?" She asked.
Erin stared at the floor and nodded slightly. "I guess that's it. I don't know, I just want to be better… I'm so close… but I keep messing up."
"You say that a lot." She said.
Erin looked up at her questioningly. "What do you mean?"
"I mean you always say that. 'I want to be better.' Well how do you go about defining better? Or good and bad days? You have this better version of yourself in your head that you always try to work towards. While it's good to have a goal like that, you're setting the bar so high no person would ever be able to achieve it." She said placing down her notepad.
"You need to stop thinking like that. Stop thinking of the person you think you should be, and focus on who you are right now. There is no better Erin. You're just you. You've come very far. Be proud of yourself, and also learn to accept yourself even with your flaws. Learn from the bad days and enjoy the good ones. That's what life is about." She said plainly.
Erin blinked as she thought of her words. She never really thought of it that way.
She sighed. "I guess you're right."
After the session was over Erin walked down the stairs and out of the office.
She squinted as she looked up at the hot summer sun.
Stop thinking of the person you think you should be and focus on who you are right now.
She made a face. It seemed easier said than done.
However, she knew she was right. Maybe she just needed to try to relax a bit. She could just stop thinking she was a burden on everyone and just accept herself.
She sighed. Another thing much easier said than done.
"Erin." A familiar voice called.
She looked over to see Hatori waiting by his car.
Upon seeing him she felt all her stress and worry melt away. She smiled wide and ran up to him excitedly.
"Well if it isn't my amazing fiancé." She said with a smile.
Hatori's cheeks warmed as butterflies rushed through him. "In the flesh." He said, returning the smile.
She laughed and gave him a hug.
He kissed the top of her head. "Everything go well?" He asked.
She nodded. "Yeah… I got some good advice." She said plainly, looking up at him.
He smiled. "I'm glad. Ready to go home?"
She nodded and he opened the car door for her.
As they drove home Erin stretched. "Ugh, I'm tired. Why is therapy so exhausting? So glad I only have to deal with it once a week."
"Is your therapist still okay with you going once a week?" He asked, looking over at her in the passenger seat.
She looked at him questioningly. "Yeah? Why do you ask?"
He shrugged. "Just making sure we're doing what she thinks is best."
Erin nodded, her gaze shifting out the window.
"I don't think your therapist likes me very much." Hatori said plainly.
Erin laughed. "What makes you say that?"
Hatori thought back to the conversation her therapist and him had when she started going back.
"I just get that feeling." He said.
"I don't know why she would, I tell her so many good things about you." Erin said, leaning her head back.
"You talk about me?" He asked, a teasing smile on his face.
She sat up and her face warmed. "I-I didn't mean it like that! I mean of course I talk about you a lot… But that's just because you're like perfect and amazing. Ah! But you don't need to know that." She babbled nervously.
Perfect and amazing? God he was the farthest thing from that. After everything he had done in his life he wasn't amazing. Within his time living in the dark Sohma cage it seemed all he had ever done was hurt people. It seemed to be all he was good at.
How many lives did he ruin?
He thought of a very small Yuki crying and begging him to spare his friends' memories. He felt a pang in his chest, and he suddenly craved a cigarette.
Hatori shook the thoughts from his head. "If anyone here is amazing it's you. Look at how much you've grown over the past two years."
She frowned thinking about her bad day yesterday. "I guess…"
Once they got home they ate dinner, and then Erin plopped into bed.
She let out a long sigh as she rolled her necklace between her fingers.
"Learn from the bad and enjoy the good." She repeated her therapist's words quietly.
She shouldn't beat herself up so much from one bad day. She would still achieve her wish. She would still get there. Even if she had a couple of shit days. Right?
"Something on your mind?" Hatori asked, undoing his tie.
She shrugged. "My therapist said I should learn from my bad days and enjoy the good ones."
"Well she's right." He said, sitting next to her.
"I know, but why is it so hard? I always feel so guilty for having bad days." She said, rolling onto her back.
"You don't have to. Everyone has bad days." He said.
She reached up to touch his face. "But I do. I want to be the person you deserve. I don't want to be a burden."
He held her hand to his cheek, dropping her gaze. "Don't say things like that Erin.You are already so much more than I deserve. Trust me."
Erin rolled her eyes. "Yeah okay."
He inwardly sighed. There was still so much Erin didn't know about him. Things he never wanted to tell her. If he told her all of the things he had done… Well she would think he was some kind of monster.
She'd probably be scared of him. He couldn't have that. He needed to be her safety. He remembered the way she looked at him when he came back after leaving her. He remembered how she didn't trust him. Didn't believe his promises. He couldn't go back to that. He couldn't.
"Well bad days or good days, I'll love you no matter what." He said leaning down and kissing her forehead.
She smiled. "I'm lucky you have low standards."
He rolled his eyes and got up. "Oh stop."
"Hey um.." She started to ask but trailed off.
He looked back at her. "Yes?"
She scratched her hand lightly before stopping herself. "I know you've been busy lately, but I wanted to know if you wanted to… Um if maybe we could go to the beach soon. We haven't been yet and… I want to go… You know before school starts back up." She asked timidly
He smiled at the sight of her pink cheeks. Why did she get so nervous to ask such simple questions? Like he could ever say no to something like that.
"Sure if that's what you would like. I'd like to go as well." He said smiling at the thought of watching her have fun on the beach. With how busy he had been lately, a relaxing beach day sounded nice.
Her face lit up. "Yay! Hey! Maybe we can ask Jirou and Kazu along too! It would be fun!" She said, clapping her hands together.
"Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of relaxing?" Hatori said with a smile, thinking of the inevitability of Kazu teasing him.
"Pleaseeeeeee." Erin asked, batting her lashes.
He laughed. "I'll ask Kazu if he'd like to go, you can handle Jirou."
A huge smile went across her face. "Okay!" She said happily.
He smiled and shook his head before going into the closet to change.
He changed into his sleepwear and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't even have to wonder what Kazu's answer would be. Of course he would say yes. Jirou would undoubtedly say yes too.
What he told her yesterday was true. They couldn't ever tell Erin no. They all had their different reasons, but the main one was just Erin herself. There was just something about her. She had a certain goodness and innocence surrounding her.
Which is why Hatori worried about her so much. He had been trying his hardest to not dote on her as much. Let her make her own decisions and try not to parent her. Erin wasn't the same scared girl he met almost three years ago. He needed to let go of his worries.
However, this was easier said than done. He just couldn't help it. It was his job to take care of her, but he knew he had to let her grow on her own. He had to trust her.
He knew Jirou was trying to do the same thing as well.
However, luckily for them she had grown so much. Sure she still had a few bad days, but that was to be expected.
If only she didn't beat herself up so much from bad days. She was only human. She was going to have bad days.
He took a breath, before walking back into their room.
He looked at the bed and stopped at what he saw.
Erin was asleep.
She looked completely relaxed. However, that wasn't what surprised him.
What surprised him was the fact that she only had one blanket over her.
He had never seen her sleep at night without a multitude of blankets. She had always been too scared to. She used to panic and cry if she didn't have them. She used to be so filled with fear at night. Sometimes just getting her into bed was a challenge in and of itself. Then if she did sleep, she would wake often from bad dreams.
He thought back to the way she used to pace before bed. The way she would watch the sun set with dread.
There were so many nights she cried and cried over the simple act of going to bed. All because she had been so conditioned to fear it because of… He clenched his fist from the thought, before relaxing once more.
He looked at her now. She was sleeping so peacefully all on her own.
He learned against the frame of the closet. Tears rolled down his face before he could stop them. He inwardly laughed at himself, wiping them away.
He shouldn't cry. However, he was so relieved, so happy. Knowing how long she suffered, she could finally find peace when she closed her eyes.
He walked up to the bed and arranged the other blankets by her feet. She might wake up and want them.
He kneeled besides her and smiled at her sleeping face.
Yes, she had so many good days ahead of her.
And he couldn't wait to experience them all by her side.
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AH! Sorry this is so late haha, I completely forgot to post this today lol.
Anyway we made it to Chapter 3! I really like this chapter. We are starting to move into Hatori's feelings about his past. So I have the books kind of like this. The first one was the two of them getting together and the curse. The second one focuses on Erin and her backstory and then the third is gonna be Hatori and his life. That's my loose organization anyway haha. So buckle up!
(Edit) And yes I completly forgot to put this in here this chapter so I'm going back and putting it in. The character analysis!
Erin's Gram
She's her Mother's mom, and has 2 children.
She's lived in New York her entire life. It's actually funny when I wrote the first few chapters of My Winter I said she lived in a brownstone. Mostly because I knew if I said that everyone would know what I was talking about. However my little sister read it (She's my proof reader lol) And she was like "Oh, Erin's Gram got money." I then looked it up and it turns out brownstones in New York are an exuberant amount of money. So yeah I guess Erin's Gram does live pretty comfortably. I mean too late to change it now hahaha.
Erin and her Gram were really close when she was younger and was with her often. After her parents died it was really hard for her Gram to see Erin leave. However, she thought it was for the best considering her husband was sick at the time.
She loves baseball, and her favorite team is the Yankees. She was the one who got Jirou into baseball.
She doesn't speak much Japanese. Only knowing a few phrases. Jirou tries his best to teach her some, but sees her pretty much as a lost cause. The kids use this to their advantage. When they want to say something not allowed or they tease each other, they'll say it in Japanese. She has caught on to this though, and will say something.
She loves Hatori. She thinks he's very handsome and such a good fit for Erin. (Like I said before, Hatori is like the perfect man to bring home to meet your family.) She still to this day uses him as a walking medical book and still calls from time to time to ask him questions. He obviously doesn't mind though.
She has designated rooms for the kids at her house. It originally was supposed to be Suki and Erin in one room and Jirou in the other. However, when they were little Suki was scared to sleep in a room without Jirou. So he said Erin could take his room, and it just stayed like that. (If anyone was wondering why in the Christmas chapter they were in the same room haha.)
I imagine she's been through a lot. She did in a sense lose both her children. However, I feel she is able to keep smiling because she has Jirou, Suki, and Erin.
I'll see you in the next one for Chapter 4: Family!