I thought the world would feel different from yesterday when I woke up this morning, but nothing changed. I had the same morning routine, left for work at roughly the same time, almost ran the same stoplight, and parked in the same parking spot at the strip mall. However, it started to feel slightly altered when I went into the KawaiiYuki for a muffin and Misty smiled at me. I knew then that what happened yesterday wasn't a dream, it was reality. It felt good.
I walk into MizuNezumi and Tiko is standing behind the counter to greet me. It was going to be another typical day at work, unfortunately.
"Sleep well?"
"Yes, Tiko, like a rock."
"Well, you already have a delivery to make," Tiko says, holding up a slip of paper.
"What? It's not even eleven o'clock yet? Who wants Chinese this early?" I ask exasperated.
"April Fool!" Tiko laughs, holding his gut with one hand and pointing at me with the other.
"Tiko," I sigh. "It's the last week of July. You're late."
"Eh?" Tiko straightens up. "I have to go change my calendar in the kitchen then."
Tiko pushes his way through the swing door and vanishes. Yup, it was going to be another typical day at work, unfortunately.
The orders start coming in at around quarter to noon, and right on cue, they began. The lovely smell of soy sauce mixed with oil and browning meat wafted into the lobby from the kitchen, making my stomach grumble. I had to punch it a few times just to muffle the groans. After five or more orders had accumulated, I put them in plastic bags and went out to my car for delivery.
This program went on until quarter to one, when the hour of power slowly but surely died down. I plop down on the stool behind the counter and heave a great sigh. Only four hours and forty-five minutes to go. I was about ready to drift off when the bell over the door sounded. It was Misty, walking in rather timidly as if it were her first time in the restaurant.
I flash her a wide, fake smile.
She laughs. "You look bored."
"Jigoku toshite," I roll my eyes.
"I don't blame you. I'd be too."
"So, what brings you around my neck of the woods?" I ask.
"Lunch break," She smiles. "Usually Hatsu does it, but since he's not working today and Touru says he doesn't know what he wants, it's my job today. So, I'm going to get him a mystery meal."
"May I recommend the tanmen?"
"Bleh!" Misty sticks out her tongue. "You must be joking."
"I was,"
"Good. However, I'd like to order gomoku wantan for me, and he can live with…"
"Raisu?"
She tries not to smile. "Shuumai."
"And that it shall be," I ring the bell sitting on the counter. "Two orders, Tiko! Gomoku wantan and shuumai! So, how late are you working today?"
"Five," She replies. "The manager always hires more people around August, so there are more people to take the shifts. Meaning, I don't have to work as often or as long."
"Eh, lucky," I say. "I'm out a five-thirty. Are you doing anything after work?"
She almost looked flustered. "No."
"Want to go do something afterwards then? I know I'm not the best entertainment, but,"
"No, I want to go!" Misty leans up against the counter, eyes bright.
"Great," I smile.
"I'll wait for you," Misty nods. "I don't care if I stay an extra half hour at work. Hatsu is coming in later anyway. I can just chat with him until then."
"Alright, it's a date."
Misty nods again and reveals a beautiful smile.
"So, um,…" I couldn't find my words. The comfortable feeling was slowly fading and some foreign pressure was building in my throat as if I needed to burp.
"It's getting pretty hot out, isn't it?" Misty says instead.
"Yeah," I nod. "Having black hair doesn't help me much."
"Does your house have air conditioning?"
"Yes, thankfully. Yours?"
"No, actually," Misty replies. "But it's still comfy. Daisy makes the best egg pudding in the summer time. It helps cool you down, since she freezes it."
"Freezes it?"
"It sounds weird, I know, but it makes it more like an ice cream," Misty says.
"I see," I nod.
"You should stop by and have some."
"Sure."
We stand there, nodding at each other as if a couple of demonic bobble-head toys. I was the first one to crack and end up putting my head down on the counter to hide my laughter. Misty laughs as well. It had been a while since I heard her laugh. We were acting like a couple of elementary kids. Gossiping and giggling. I usually would be ashamed of acting half my age, but with Misty, I felt no remorse. It didn't matter to me how silly I might look, or how stupid I sound. Everything was okay.
"Order up!" Tiko comes out from the back room with a paper sack in his grip.
Misty takes the bag from him. "Arigatou gozaimasu."
"Iie, Arigatou!" Tiko bellows in his large voice.
Misty bows slightly and begins to leave the MizuNezumi. "I'll see you at five-thirty, right, Ash?"
"Yup, five-thirty," I wave.
She exits.
"Cute girl, almost too innocent," Tiko says.
I eye him in disbelief. "Innocent? Well, she's no gang leader, but she's not one-hundred percent pure either."
"That's what makes it fun," Tiko winks.
"You need to get out of this restaurant, Tiko," I say. "You've inhaled too many fumes."
"That may be," Tiko nods in agreement, "but I still have some experience under this big belt of mine."
"Was this 'experience' ever used?" I ask and snicker.
Tiko punches my shoulder. "Get back to work, boy."
"What work is there?" I yell back to him as he returns to the kitchen.
"Find some!" Tiko replies through the wall.
I sigh and place my head on the counter.
"Are you tired?"
Lifting my head, I see Kanako. "No, I just want it to be five-thirty."
"I can't do that for you," Kanako says.
"I didn't expect you to."
"What's so important at five-thirty?" Kanako asks.
"One, getting out of work. Two, a date with Misty. I'm taking her over to my place," I give a short thumbs-up.
"Your place, huh?" Kanako raises an eyebrow. "That's sort of a big step. Is it clean?"
"Uh…"
"That's what I thought. Now you're going to have to ask her to sit in the car for ten minutes while you run inside and toss all your dirty laundry into the hamper and clean the gunk off the counter known as 'Breakfast: Two days ago'," Kanako says.
"You really know how to damper one's spirits," I rest my chin in the palm of my hand.
"Don't worry about it, Ash," Kanako puts her hands on her hips. "I don't think Misty will care one bit if your place is a messy pig sty. I mean, you've been living by yourself for a while, haven't you?"
"Yes."
"Then you have your excuse! Men can't live alone and have a clean house. It goes against all laws of nature."
"Okay, Kanako, you need to go back to whatever you were doing," I point off into some unknown direction.
"I was cleaning the tables, but I'm done now. So I can sit here doing nothing, like you," Kanako takes the second stool behind the counter.
"Kono kaisha aruiha hisan dearu?" I mumble.
"Kaisha," Kanako smiles.
"Taigaire!" I stretch out each syllable.
The rest of the afternoon went by incredibly slow. Kanako and I sat behind the counter playing Shiritori. A few orders interrupted our game, but that didn't change the results. I still lost. My brain simply isn't quick enough. I couldn't help but notice that Kanako would stare me down whenever it was my turn. Her big, dark blue eyes on my flesh. She looked almost evil, but her eyes were always quite pretty.
Sitting on that stupid stool, I watch the clock as it slowly clicks from five-fifteen to five-sixteen. I have never seen the MizuNezumi so dead. I'm usually out in my car for most of the day making deliveries. You'd think summer time would be busy with people who'd be out and about instead of cooped up in their warm houses. Maybe Chinese food isn't the best summertime meal.
A hand rests on my shoulder. "Get out of here, I'm sick of seeing the back of your head."
"You sure, Tiko?" I ask.
"I should have let you out a half an hour ago. This place is a empty, there's no reason why you should stay and kill your butt on that stool," Tiko says. "Plus, it's five-twenty. What's ten minutes going to hurt?"
"Okay," I stand up. "I'll see you later then."
"See you around, boy," Tiko replies. "Remember, innocence can be fun!"
"Shut up, old man."
I leave the restaurant without looking back, hoping not to see it again until I absolutely had to. My only destination now was the KawaiiYuki.
Opening the door, I see the front room empty. I stand around for a while, thinking she must be busy. When Hatsu comes strolling through the door, I was forced to think otherwise.
"Okureru, okureru," He sings to himself.
"Did you just get here?" I ask.
"Yeah, sort of fell asleep in the shower. Figure that one out," Hatsu laughs. "Hope the new kid wasn't too lonely by himself, since Misty left at five."
"She said she was going to stay until I got out from work," I reply.
"Oh, really? Then where is she?" Hatsu asks.
"I don't know. In back?" I guess.
"Must be," Hatsu nods. "Misty! You there?"
Soon, Misty comes bursting out of the backdoor. Her face was quite pale, but her cheeks were pink. She quickly comes up to me and throws her arms around my waist. I was a bit surprised, but I hugged her back. Her body was cold. I look over at Hatsu and he shrugs his shoulders.
"Misty, Doushita no?" I ask.
The backdoor swings open again and Touru comes out.
Misty lets go and points at him. "Achi kaere!"
Hatsu began chuckling to himself.
"What's so funny?" Misty almost yells.
"I'm sorry, Misty," Hatsu apologizes. "I'm not laughing at you. It's that I have a hunch at what happened, and I'm laughing at the kid's stupidity."
Misty nods at Hatsu, then turns to Touru to stick out her tongue. She faces me and instantly smiles. "Shall we go?"
"Sure," I take Misty's hand and we start to walk out of KawaiiYuki.
"Ja'ne! Hatsu!" Misty waves.
Before the door closed, you could hear Hatsu talking with Touru. "You must have some nerve."
Misty and I get into my car. She was quiet.
"Would you like some music on? I have a couple dozen Cds," I point to the case sitting on the floor.
"Sure," Misty picks it up and starts to flip through the options. "Ah! I can't believe you have one of her Cds. She's my favorite."
"Who?"
"Chihiro Onitsuka," Misty points to a Cd. "Insomnia. Great album"
"Oh, that," I reply. "That's my mother's. I just never took it out."
"Aw, you should really listen to it sometime. Her lyrics are genius," Misty says.
"Put it in."
Misty slides the Cd into the deck and sits back, apparently enjoying herself.
"Misty, what happened in the back room?" I ask quietly, not wanting to upset her.
She folds her hands in her lap. "Well, I was getting a new gallon of chocolate ice cream out of the freezer when the door shut. I turn around and Touru is standing there. I asked him what was wrong, thinking that he needed help or something, being a new employee. He comes up to me, puts his hands on my shoulders, backs me into the corner, and starts to kiss me."
I felt my grip on the steering wheel tighten.
"I pushed him off of me, asked what in all hells was he doing," Misty continues. "He starts saying gibberish about how I'm too cutesy and rough at the same time. I guess it wasn't that big of a deal, I over reacted. I was just trying to save my," Misty pauses, "first kiss."
I look at her out of the corner of my eye. She was blushing. It was cute. "I, uh, understand." I try to put on a more manly voice. "I can go beat Touru up, if you want."
Misty giggles. "You don't have to do that."
"Okay," I sigh. "Because I suck at beating people up."
We reach my house and I pull the car into the garage. I was almost afraid to get out, due to the fact that my house was indeed messy. I sigh and turn the key and the engine slowly hums to silence. Misty unbuckles her seatbelt and gets out. I had to catch up. I open the front door for her, holding my breath. I follow her and turn on the light.
"Okairi nasai!!"
I almost fall over. My mother had jumped out from the hallway, holding her arms out wide. With her eyes closed, she walks blindly forward. I dodge out of the way, but Misty was standing still, eyes mildly wide. My mother ends up wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug.
"Oh, Ash, you've got to eat more! You're so skinny!"
"Ano, sumimasen," Misty says softly.
Mother lets go and finally opens her eyes. "Oh!" She puts both hands over her mouth. "I'm so sorry, dear!"
"Okaa-san," I grumble from behind her.
She spins around. "Ash! So good to see you. How you've grown!"
She hugs me.
Naze Watashi?
"You must introduce me to your friend," Mother says, letting go.
"This is Misty," I say.
"Oh, Misty! I heard about you from Ash already," Mother smiles. "You are really cute."
"Uh, Thank you, Ma'am," Misty replies.
"Are you two hungry? I can make some dinner, if I can find any clean pots or pans in this kitchen," Mom says.
"Uh," My mouth hangs slightly open.
"No thank you, I'm not hungry," Misty translates for me.
"In that case, I'm going to finish unpacking," Mom says and goes up the stairs.
"Sorry about that," I hang my head. "I didn't know she was coming home this early."
"That's okay, she's a nice woman," Misty replies.
"Once in a while, yeah," I agree. "Do you want to go sit down?"
Misty nods.
We go into my living room and have a seat on the couch. I put my arm around her shoulder and she heaves a sigh.
"Rough day?" I ask. "Besides the Touru thing?"
"Not really," Misty says. "This is just relaxing."
We sit in the silence. All that was heard was my mother's obnoxious shoes pounding on the floor above. The living room was the only area in the house that wasn't cluttered with unnecessary stuff. Sure, it had a few TV trays and there was a bowl sitting on the floor next to the recliner, but other than that, it was halfway decent. Sukunakutomo, yuudoku de nai…
It was sort of strange. I fell in love with Misty without even realizing it, and when I did, the same thing was happening to her with me. I don't want to use this word lightly, but it reminds me of destiny. It sounds so corny! In the world today, there's rarely a couple that was meant to be or that's completely perfect. But I feel perfect with Misty, like she has always been there.
"Relaxing, huh?"
Misty nods her head. "Totemo ureshii."
"Hontou?"
Misty nods again. She looks at me and grins.
I wanted to kiss her. I also didn't want to be rude, seeing that we've only been going out for a day or two. Though, her eyes were enchanting, drawing me in. I felt my head start to move closer, and she didn't move away. In fact, she was moving closer to me as well. For once, even when what I desired was so close to me, I stopped. Her lips so close to mine. Why?
"Is it…too soon for me to…?" I try to ask.
"No," Misty replies.
After that, neither of us moved. We were frozen, an inch from each other's faces. If you happen to recall, I hate waiting, and with anticipation this great building in my chest, waiting was that much worse. I'm an impatient guy. I place my lips on hers, not giving her any time to pull away, even if she wanted to.
Her lips were so soft; smooth as silk. The taste, indescribable. It almost felt as if her lips were trembling. Or were those mine?
It ended all too soon when we both pulled away. However, to my surprise, Misty came toward me again, almost knocking me off balance. I had to wrap my arms around her waist to keep from falling over. This was all too good. A Heaven on Earth.
"Ash, are you down here?"
I open one of my eyes to see my mother come strolling into the living room. I end up letting go of Misty and falling onto the floor.
"Okaa-san! Usero!" My voice cracks horribly.
Mother laughs. "I'm sorry, didn't mean to interrupt anything. You two can go back to whatever you were doing. Just pretend I'm not in the house."
She leaves, still chuckling under her breath.
I sigh heavily.
Misty giggles from behind me on the couch.
I shake my head. "Nice woman, my ass."
"Come on, Ash, she's your mother," Misty says. "Forgive her this one time?"
"Alright, alright," I say, climbing back onto the couch, swinging my arm around Misty's shoulders again.
I never wanted to leave her, and if anything came in my way, so help me, whatever it is will regret it.
Many tests and trials plagued me during the past couple months. However ugly they were, when it comes to what I got out of them, I wouldn't repeat a thing. Yes, I had a bumpy road at the beginning with Lily, but I was careless and based everything on how pretty she was. Now that I look back, Misty was the one who out-shown all of her sisters. It may not be in looks, but she has this special quality I can't explain.
I love her and she loves me. That's all that matters to me right now.
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Japanese Romanji Translations
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Jigoku toshite - Like Hell
Arigatou Gozaimasu - Thank you
Iie, Arigatou - No, thank you!
Kono kaisha aruiha hisan dearu - Is this company or misery?
Kaisha - Company
Taigaire - Wrong!
Shiritori - A Japanese word game in which players must come up with words starting with the same syllable that the last word ended with. (ex: Tori, Rinjisochihou, Ue, Egao, Okashii, etc.)
Okureru - [I'm] late/ falling behind schedule/ etc.
Doushita no - What's wrong/ What's the matter?
Achi kaere - Go away! (most blunt way of saying ' get out of my face'/ 'go far, far away')
Ja'ne - See you later
Okairi nasai - Welcome home
Ano, sumimasen - Um, excuse me
Naze Watashi - Why me?
Sukunakutomo, yuudoku de nai - At least, it's not poisonous/toxic
Totemo ureshii - [I'm] very happy
Hontou - Really? / Honestly?
Okaa-san, Usero! - Mom, beat it!