Chapter 9 - Tears in the Rain

The next day Bulma was surprised because the person who came to pick her up was Goku, accompanied by Chichi in his Volkswagen bug.

"What are you doing here?" she joked, "I thought you were on your honeymoon!"

They both laughed, and Goku said:

"We still need to plan for this. It was all very sudden... I arranged with Krillin to come to pick you up so I can get my credit card back."

"He lies!" said Chichi."We wanted to thank you personally, so we asked to take you to work today!"

Bulma smiled as she handled Goku his card and kissed Chichi on the cheek, who said:

"You..."she smiled and blushed, "You were amazing."

"But Goku was more. He finally dared to tell you what you needed to know. He was afraid to approach you and have you reject him."

"And I was afraid to tell him we had a son." she smiled and took his hand.

"But when we met, Gohan and I..." Goku smiled "it was love at first sight."

"I always told him that his father was great and one day he would meet him, "said Chichi, "but I was ashamed that I kept that from Goku. I knew Goku was a good man in my inner heart and would love to know his son... but how do we say to someone you kept this secret? It was a relief when I discovered he knew all this time about Gohan... and more, how he took care of us..." she said, smiling at Goku.

"What matters is that now we are together and happy, "said Goku, "and this time you will not escape, Ms. Ox King, you'll finally marry me."

"I've already accepted, "she said, laughing."Bulma, we don't have a date yet, because we need to schedule everything, but we want you to be our godmother! You along with Vegeta!"

"O... Vegeta?" she said hesitantly "m-but... he never leaves the house."

The three of them suddenly realized this, and Goku said:

"Well, it'll be at least a few months before Chichi and I can schedule to go on vacation together for a honeymoon... by then, we'll figure out how to deal with Vegeta's condition. In the last case, we'll party at his place and put him to fix the mess after the party," he said, and Bulma replied:

"No, his unstoppable clean staff will do this. Nothing stays out of place in that apartment!"

Goku stopped the Beetle in front of Vegeta's building, and the two jumped out. He said goodbye because he needed to go to the company. But he promised to come back later because Vegeta said he wanted a meeting. They entered the building, and Bulma said, excitedly:

"How cute you two together!

"It wasn't as easy as it sounds," said Chichi, smiling, "there were a lot of screams and tears before... before we got along."

"Is that so? "asked Bulma, curious, "Did you fight?

"Well," Chichi sighed, "he asked me if I wanted to talk at my place or his... I chose to go to his place because I didn't want my father or Gohan to hear us. When we got there, he told me why he never went back to college," she laughed, "and I gave him a ten year late scolding for it."

Bulma laughed. Chichi was really bossy.

"Then he asked me to forgive him for his reaction when I called, back then, and I finally did something I had never done before: I put myself in Goku's shoes."she lowered her head, "I told him off so many times, so many times I said he wasn't important to me, not as important as my career...but that wasn't true. So much so that in every guy I went out with afterward, even Tarble, Vegeta's brother, I was looking for something of him. The outgoing way, that naivety that never went away... and I realized that I made a mistake when I turned my back and said that I didn't need him and that I would raise my son alone... Gohan was a happy child, but he would have been even happier with his father around. He asked many times who was his father... and he was the only person I gave my sincere opinion about Goku, saying he was a good man. For the rest of the world, I showed hate I never had for him... the man I never stopped to love."

"And he told me everything he gave up to save my restaurant, asking Vegeta to cover for him...how could I ever again leave someone who did so much for our son and me without expecting anything in return? Goku finally confessed to me that he took all this time to reveal himself because he feared I would never go back to him..." she stared at Bulma and smiled, "so I kissed him, and he shut up. We forgave each other...and Gohan loved his father."

They entered the apartment with Bulma feeling immensely happy to have been a part of it. Chichi went to the kitchen to get ready to start her day, and Bulma went to get ready. But she bumped into Vegeta hiding in the mezzanine, peering up half worried.

"What are you doing there, Vegeta?"

"Is the shrew mad at me?"

"She didn't even mention you, but I don't think so."

"Then I can go down and talk to her before breakfast."

"I think she's getting changed."

"No problem."

He went downstairs, and an instant later, Bulma listened:

"So you really think you'll escape my scolding? "she heard Chichi yelling at Vegeta in the kitchen and went to hide in the nursing room.

In the end, Chichi's scolding of Vegeta was more of a joke than anything else. The chef understood that he was helping his two friends but was afraid to interfere. And in the end, he was called to be the best man at the wedding, together with Bulma.

At lunchtime, Goku showed up, and Vegeta told the two that he needed to talk about their future, saying that he had been waiting for that conversation for years. Then said quietly that when Goku had rescued Chichi using his name, he had the idea to separate some money and invest it in a fund to really do justice to the partnership he had proposed to her, and he thought now was the time:

"But, unfortunately, I think you'll need to stop cooking just for me...because it must be complicated to open a branch of a restaurant.

Chichi brought both hands to his mouth, she had always wanted to open a new section, now that Mai was managing the other restaurant, but she had postponed her plans because she had no money to invest.

"And since I'm Gohan's godfather, I think you should know that I'm always putting money in a fund in his name for when he goes to college!

Vegeta later complained for hours about Goku's hug, but Bulma knew that deep down, he felt very happy to be able to help his best friend.

Time flew by until autumn. Chichi, busy with the restaurant, and Goku, developing a new game and taking care of a big virtual reality project for Vegeta's company, scheduled their wedding for Valentine's Day, three months ahead. Bulma went on taking care of Vegeta and feeling her relationship with Yamcha getting colder every day. She didn't know what to do. One day she looked sad, and Vegeta asked:

"What's the matter? Can I help you, Bulma?"

"It's nothing. It's a personal issue," she said, and he let out a sigh.

"I know... this guy..."

"You don't understand..."

"I understand that you're lonely in this relationship, between your boyfriend's shifts and a job that might be demotivating and..."

"Vegeta, you want to send me away, is that it?"

"No. Where did you get that from? I just want to know if taking care of only me is not boring or demotivating for you. I know I'm a grumpy, difficult guy. I want to know if I am the part of your life that bores you."

"No, Vegeta, you're not, "she said, smiling "you're intriguing, sometimes difficult and bossy. Proud, a little boring..."

"Boring?"

"Boring, yes, when you nag me because I forgot to pin up my hair or button a button on my uniform..."

He gave a faint smirk.

"But I like working here, and I like taking care of you, even if you are a little unpalatable sometimes."

He laughed. She then took the opportunity to ask something:

"Vegeta, on Thursday, you're having a medical association dinner, and I'm going with Yamcha. I know that the earliest days to leave are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but could I leave at 4:00 that day?"

He looked at her annoyed and said:

"Okay, but I'll take it out of your salary."

"Thank you," she said neutrally. It was the first time Vegeta had ever said he would take anything off her salary. She didn't get to thinking about jealousy. She just thought he didn't like the idea of her leaving early to get ready for a party.

Thursday, the day of the dinner, Vegeta had been irritated and upset since early in the morning. They didn't talk when she gave him the massage, and at lunch, he didn't even joke or laugh. Chichi no longer cooked for him, and the new chef, Yurin, got tears in her eyes when he complained that the main dish was tasteless.

Bulma felt sorry for her and went into the kitchen to talk to the girl. Yurin must have been at most 20 years old and was a little insecure. When she saw Bulma, she tried to disguise her crying and said:

"Was he rude like that to Miss Chichi?"

"Well, sometimes, but she would respond to him in the same tone. Chichi is not the kind of person to take any unpleasantness home with him. You have to take it easy. He'll get used to it yet. And he has a habit of taking it out on others when something upsets him."

The girl dried her tears, and Bulma smiled at her, saying that everything would be fine. Suddenly, Yurin said:

"I wonder if you could introduce me to that cute bald guy from physical therapy? I thought he was so cute..."

"Um..." Bulma almost laughed. Yurin was a girl, after all, like any other "I don't think his girlfriend would approve of that..."

"Awn..." said the girl, and the subject died.

Bulma went upstairs, intending to retreat to the little nursing room and watch a little TV until his medicine time when she heard him yelling in the office.

"I don't care about cost. I want the fucking deadline met, Kakarotto. And you can warn me that the WHOLE team is going to be punished if there's a MINUTE delay on this shit, you hear me?"

She heard Goku reply as a mumble, but she didn't understand his answer, and Vegeta replied, shouting:

"Fuck, Kakarotto, fuck!"

Another noise of overturned things followed, and she ran and entered the room, remembering his panic attack. Vegeta turned around. He was in his chair and had thrown a paperweight against the wall, making an ugly dent in the painting. When he saw it, he said, harshly:

"What do you want? I don't need you right now, woman!"

"Sorry. I heard you shouting and..."

"Now you've decided to spy on me, have you? I run a company. Yelling is what I do most. It's one of the shitty things about running a multinational fucking corporation stuck in a wheelchair, with a fucked up back and raw nerves: getting pissed off and not being able to punch anyone in the face. And I didn't call you here. I don't need you to babysit me. Go back to your seat, nurse. That's what I pay you for!"

She stared at him, furious, and said:

"Just because you pay me a salary doesn't give you the right to treat me like rubbish. In fact, you act as if everyone around you doesn't matter. You always say, 'I want to be alone. I like to be alone.' But it's easy to want to be alone when you have an army of people to clean up the mess you leave behind!"

He stared at her in surprise. No one had ever spoken to him like that before.

"I came in here because I was worried, just like I was last time. But since you don't need me, I'll just stay in my corner. When you have another panic attack, use your pager because I'm never coming in here again.

She turned to leave and saw a single thing that caught her attention. One of the many monitors in the room was the only one with nothing of the company, nothing of what she usually saw but a project. In her anger, she didn't stop long, but the crossed lines on the white background in a strange perspective caught her attention. Even though she was curious about it, she walked out, slamming the door, leaving Vegeta stunned behind her.

She looked at her watch. She still had two hours before she left and medicine to give Vegeta. And she was willing to do it without saying a single word to him.

And that's what she did. When the alarm woke up, almost half an hour later, she took the pill and a glass of water on a tray and knocked on the door. Vegeta opened it silently. The two did not face each other. She just handed him the medicine and water, and before he closed the door, she said:

"I'm leaving soon. I hope Maron does your massage right."

He didn't answer.

Later, Bulma took a shower and went out, soon arriving at the hairdresser's, who gave her a brush and then a nice hairdo, finishing with makeup that made her look really beautiful. She took a taxi to her apartment and slipped into her beautiful turquoise dress, which matched her eyes and hair. Yamcha came by at seven-thirty to take her to dinner. She had to be careful getting into the car because there was a cold autumn rain, fine, steady, and insistent, and she was grateful to have a nice overcoat that matched her dress.

Bulma liked parties, but Yamcha explained to her that dinner was formal, not a party with dancing and music as she liked it and that her behavior should be formal and polite, not to appear too spontaneous. It was her position as a doctor that was at stake. And for all intents and purposes, she would be introduced as his fiancée.

The party was in the lavish ballroom of the West City Municipal Pavilion, which hosted only important, lavish, and exclusive events downtown, and despite the rain, the huge doors were open, and the ballroom lit up, with raincoat-clad security guards welcoming people arriving for dinner.

When they entered the ballroom, where cocktails were being served, many doctors looked furtively at the couple, especially at her. She hardly knew any of Yamcha's colleagues, who, however, knew all his friends. He led her to the hospital group, and she recognized a doctor among them:

"Doctor Whis!" she greeted a tall man with short platinum hair, pale skin, and incredibly blue eyes.

"Bulma..." he said, "how are you?"

"Great! I didn't know you worked at the same hospital as my fiancé."

"Ah, yes," he smiled."I am in the psychiatric ward, but I only go there once a week to see some patients. My sister, Doctor Vados, insists because she knows that I am much more of an office doctor than a clinic practitioner... but you have been very important for Vegeta's progress, do you know?"

"Have I?

"Yes, you have...he finally agreed to undergo intensive treatment and get rid of his panic syndrome after a conversation with you."

"Really?"

"Yes, dear... we have been since the end of the summer with three sessions a week... and he has never had an attack again, he is already confident enough to dismiss soon the night nurse, the one who just slept there, and the two-weekend ones started to stay only 12 hours, like you."

Bulma felt a thud. He hadn't said any of that to her...

"He said that you gave him back some of the trust he had... and we are very close to the moment of confrontation when he feels ready to try..."

"Hello, little brother... who is this beautiful girl?"

Bulma turned and saw a tall, beautiful woman, dressed in a black fabric that looked shiny and wet and molded perfectly to her body, with a deep neckline and a slit on each side that showed off her long, endless legs. She had hair as platinum as the psychiatrist's and the same pale blue eyes, but her face was not so friendly, and her lips were thin and cruel.

"This is my fiancée Bulma, Doctor Vados." Yamcha came out of the group where he was chatting and introduced the two. Bulma found Vados creepy, with the eyes of one who was judging people all the time, but Yamcha, dragging Bulmaher to the table of the two, said she was not a bad person at all.

Later, other doctors joined them. Bulma met some of Yamcha's colleagues, the hospital director, a fat, funny doctor named Champa, and some doctors from the hospital she had worked before and felt at ease, chatting happily with Doctor Whis, reassigned to their table.

When dessert was served, a show by a well-known romantic singer began. He sang love songs by himself and other singers and groups. Suddenly Yamcha's cell phone started ringing, and he said, low:

"I have to go out to answer it. It's one about an elderly patient with pneumonia. I'll be right back.

Bulma, as she was enjoying the show, just shook her head, smiling. She didn't notice the disapproving look on Whis' face, who was sitting right next to her. The show went on, and when three songs had passed, Bulma noticed that Yamcha was taking his time and said, worriedly:

"I wonder where he went?"

She made mention of getting up, and Whis held her hand and asked, softly:

"Are you sure you want to go look for him, dear? He may already be coming back.

"But he's taking too long "she stood up and didn't see the sad look on What's face as she went off to look for Yamcha.

There weren't many places he could have gone. Bulma looked to the exit. The grand staircase was under the rain, now increased in intensity and falling heavily outside. She then saw a side corridor that led both to the toilets and to an inner courtyard, to which the main access was closed but which was circled by the building and by open corridors through which one could walk.

Bulma walked over there and saw no sign of Yamcha, but the gate leading to the corridor that circled the courtyard was suspiciously open. She entered and walked on. The place was dark, and few lights were on. She was about to give up when she heard a noise coming from the side. She watched and saw the light coming through a half-open door. It was a cleaning material warehouse, or something similar, from the sign on the door. She approached it and heard a female voice:

"No, you're not coming back until we're done here, hottie...that was the deal, remember?"

"I... she'll miss me... ugh..." Bulma froze. It was Yamcha's voice.

"That... deeper... your... little bride, does she do it like that? Does she do it better? Huh?"

"Ahhh, stop it... you know that..."

"I know I'm better? Yes, I know... um, I... I know..."

Bulma recognized the second voice, and it made her move to the door, furious. There was no lock or latch, it was the only door they had found open, and she opened it on the spur of the moment to find Yamcha and Vados joined at the hip. She had her dress hanging down and one of her long legs raised and propped up on a shelf in the narrow storage room, and he had his pants open and his tie slack.

"What's that?" Bulma asked, furious."No, Yamcha, it is not something you can simply explain to me because there is no possible explanation.

She still stood for a moment, looking at the couple. Vados had no single drop of sweat on her face or a strand of hair out of place, despite the situation. Yamcha pushed her gently, and Bulma closed her eyes because it was simply too bizarre to believe.

"Honey..." said Vados, "what we have here is a little arrangement... it is not easy being married to an almost 60-year-old, overweight hospital director. I give your fiancé something he doesn't have. In return, he gives me something I don't have. And we are all happy, even you."

Bulma looked at the woman and then at Yamcha. He was buttoning his pants, mute and embarrassed, with his head down. Bulma turned her back and left, and Yamcha followed her, terrified. He caught up with her almost at the door of the hall and said:

"Bulma... I..."

"Can you explain? Is that what you're going to say? Or are you going to ask me not to make a scene, a scandal? Is this all love, passion, or are you simply a naughty prick who can't fit his dick in his pants, Yamcha?"

"No," he lowered his head, "I haven't been fair to you, but it's not like I'm in love with her...this affair with Vados has granted me certain...privileges I didn't have before...and..."

"It will help you get ahead in your career. After all, your lover is Champa's wife. Is that right?"

"Well... that's pretty much it."

"Okay, and I have to believe it's just a little affair," she said low "even though she looks like a model, it's not like she's the love of your life, right? But it shouldn't be boring to take a shine to the boss's wife in exchange for privileges."

"I..." he didn't know what to say because there was nothing to be said.

"We'll finish up here, Yamcha. I'll call you later and tell you how to get your stuff back home."

She turned and went down the stairs, not caring whether the rain was wetting her pretty dress or ruining her makeup or hairdo. The only thing she knew was that the cold rain mixed with her tears of hate, sadness, and shame. She walked to a taxi and gave her address, weeping copiously.

She suddenly picked up her cell phone, thinking to ask Lunch, Chichi, Suno, or any of her friends for help, then saw two missed calls from Vegeta. She saw that he had called her, probably much earlier, when she was at the hairdresser's and had put her cell phone on mute. Maybe because she wanted to hear any friendly voices, maybe because so many times he had sounded suspicious when she talked about Yamcha, she ended up returning the call without thinking. Vegeta answered after the second ring and said:

"Bulma? I thought you had a party tonight.

"Vegeta, "her voice came out in a sob, "I need help..."

"What happened? An accident, something serious?"

"No..." she felt ashamed to say and almost choked, "Yamcha was cheating on me..."

A silence fell on the other side, and just then, Vegeta said:

"Come over here, girl."

"But..."

"You helped me and took care of me. I think it's time to give back. I'm not going to take advantage of you."

She swallowed dryly and said to the driver:

"Sir...I've changed my mind. Take me to Central Park Street. To the Sadala Tower."

Notes:

1. moment for everyone to scream in hatred of Yamcha. Be my guest.

2. Vegeta has already fallen in love with Bulma, and she hasn't realized it yet. Hence the jealousy.

3. What Yamcha did is obviously unforgivable. But how Bulma will react to the betrayal and Vegeta will help her is what matters from now on. Let's see how things unfold...