Perspectives II
Perspectives
II
MarshAngel
Chapter 2
Ikuko said goodbye to her
only son as she watched him get into the blue car in the driveway and leave
the house with his friends. At seventeen he was already close to six feet
tall. His brown hair had darkened to a deep mahogany contrasting beautifully
with his hazel eyes. His jaw line was now strong and defined and he had
the looks many girls wanted in a guy but unfortunately for his growing
female fan club, he only had eyes for his girlfriend Mika.
It was unusual for a boy Sammy's
age to be committed to the same girl for such a long time. They had gone
out for a while in junior high and then broke up only to find themselves
together again in the summer previous to their second year of high school.
They had been dating steadily for almost two years now. They had their
arguments like many couples but they always stuck together. Their commitment
reminded Ikuko of the recent new commitment she and her husband had made.
Sammy may have been the one
thing to keep her and her husband together after Serena left to be with
her real father. The secret of Serena's paternity that Ikuko had kept for
years had nearly ripped their family apart. When Kenji walked out of the
house that day, leaving Ikuko to see Serena off to the airport, it had
been well over a week until he returned and when he had he hadn't intended
to stay.
He had come to get his things
and walk out of her life for good but she had pleaded with him to listen
to her and consider the welfare of their twelve-year-old son. Things had
been rocky for weeks. He had barely spoken to her, never told her when
he was leaving or where he was going. Eventually she had broken down in
tears begging forgiveness for her deceit and impropriety. She pleaded for
him to remember that despite her biological origins Serena was his daughter.
He had raised her for sixteen years of her life.
It had taken quite sometime
but eventually their relationship was on the mend. There were no more secrets
between them. Even though there had been moments when she had thought things
wouldn't work out, they had, and a year later they had gone to California
to Serena's high school graduation together. They made a commitment to
stand by each other and keep their relationship strong.
The relationship between Serena
and Kenji however, would never be the same. They were a little more distant
from each other than they had been. Things had gotten very uncomfortable
with Richard at the graduation and the party afterwards but they had gotten
past the uncomfortable moments and enjoyed seeing their beautiful
daughter graduate. They had both been so proud, even Sammy. He and his
sister now enjoyed a different, less conflicting relationship, the distance
between them having eliminated their sibling rivalry.
After watching her son leave,
she picked up the mail. It contained the usual trash, one or two bills,
and a letter from the United States. She walked into the house and set
the rest of the mail on the table. She held the letter in her hands, knowing
it was Serena writing her usual letters. She was about to open it when
the phone rang. She put the letter down and went to answer the phone.
"Lita's temper was threatening
to blow. Luckily she wouldn't have to deal with much more of the general
annoyances of the life she now lead. Her greatest annoyance and the one
making her hair stand on end right now was Jacques Depardieu, the French
Chef from hell. The famous chef had been known to send many of his students
running in tears.
In Lita's case he simply inflamed
her temper. He criticized her French, her attitude, her height, and most
annoyingly her cooking ability, which to many of her peers were extraordinary.
The knowledge that he was simply jealous of her abilities at such a young
age did not make her like him anymore; nor did the fact that as head chef
and owner of one of the best restaurants in Paris he was the one signing
her pay checks. The man was even annoyed at the fact that she was too tall
for him to look over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't making any mistakes.
She couldn't wait to be out
of there. Granted, the jerkoff with his gigantic ego and superiority complex
had taught her a great deal, but it was time for her to leave and be on
her own. She wanted to own her own restaurant someday but for now she'd
settle for an offer from a great restaurant in New York called Blue Lagoon.
She was leaving in two weeks
and it wasn't soon enough. Tonight in front of all the other students he
had mocked the way she spoke French with her Japanese accent. To top it
off he had her remake the soufflés she had made because she had
added extra ingredients she thought would improve the flavor.
She stormed angrily down the
street towards her apartment. She heard footsteps running behind her. She
turned around to face the person, hoping it wasn't trouble. She could handle
trouble but she wasn't in the mood.
Most people who saw her on
the street didn't approach her. She was rather intimidating at almost six
feet, with an athletic body born of hours in the gym. She worked out, by
kickboxing these days, more out of a need to release aggression than any
real desire to stay in shape.
She missed being a sailor
scout. Not only had it provided a physical outlet for her anger and aggressive
tendencies, but also it had been what had drawn her to her friends.
She missed them so much. Every
day that she went to the gym she kicked and punched the large bags, angry
with herself for having ruined what had been the best years of her life.
Even the success she was achieving now did not create the fulfillment that
being with her friends had. She mentally cursed herself for having allowed
petty emotions to drive away the focus of her life, her duty to protect
her princess and her friend, Serena.
She still spoke to the other
scouts occasionally but there was a distance between them that had little
to do with the oceans and continents that separated them. Nightmares she
hadn't had since she'd become a scout now plagued her nights. The void
that had once been filled by her love and duty to Serena and the friendship
of the other girls was now once again open and the memories of the death
of her parents came rushing back.
Her body tensed up instinctively
as she turned to face the owner of the footsteps. Looking around she saw,
not a prospective enemy but the face and figure of a friend.
"Ah you heard me. I was just
about to call out to you to slow down. The way you were walking, it seemed
like you were upset."
"Oh hi Jeanette," Lita said
to the skinny brunette approaching her. The girl had beautiful blue eyes
and short brown hair that was blowing in the wind. She was about Lita's
height and her high cheekbones and full lips made her an excellent model.
They had met when they had
bumped into each other in a department store when Lita was looking around
to find a few things for her new apartment. Back then Lita had been in
her last year of culinary school. They had hit it off and had been friends
ever since.
"What are you doing out here?"
Lita asked her. "It's almost one a.m."
"I had dinner with a few other
models and I decided to walk home. What about you? You seem upset."
"I'm just getting back from
work. Monsieur Jackass Depardieu was being himself again. The man really
hates me and I can't figure out what I ever did to him."
"I wouldn't worry about it.
He probably has an entire tree up his ass. He's most likely just jealous
of you."
"Yeah but it doesn't make
working with him any easier," Lita said frowning. "Luckily I won't have
to work with him much longer. I'm leaving for New York in two weeks."
Jeanette was surprised. "You're
leaving Paris? I'm going to miss you so much." She made a silly pout that
made Lita smile. She would miss Lita but she was very happy for her. Finally
she would escape her annoying boss.
"Me too," Lita replied. "I
have some friends in the United States, we used to be close, but we grew
apart. I'm hoping to see them again, maybe renew what we once had. I'm
not sure though. I'm going to be working in New York and they live far
away so things might never be as they were."
"I hope everything works out
for you. I'm sure I'll be able to visit you when I go there for some of
the fashion shows."
"That'd be great. I'm so excited
about going. I've always wanted to visit New York."
"It's great, but it's very
hectic, but you're from Tokyo, an even bigger city so it shouldn't be too
bad."
"I certainly hope so."
They arrived in front of Lita's
apartment building and said goodbye to each other, giving each other a
hug in case they didn't see each other before Lita left for the U.S.
Questions? Comments? Email
me at watsonma@hotmail.com
