35 Millimeters III: Fisheye Lens
By Lady Aishiteru
Chapter Four: Gods, Are You There? It's Me, Rei
Jadeite arrived early that Saturday afternoon dressed to the nines. He was wearing a slate blue Armani suit with a powder blue tie and a navy blue vest. "Geez, you didn't have to dress up that much," I admonished him as he stepped out of the car.
He responded with that quirky, lopsided grin of his and jerked his head back slightly. "Come on, is that any way to greet your fiancé, especially when he's going to meet your grandpa? I even got my car waxed for the occasion."
"He's not really that into things like that," I said, gesturing with my hands. "Besides, things would go better if you wore this." I held up a large robe with a white top and flowing red, pleated bottom.
He raised his eyebrows at me. "What on Earth is that?"
"This, which you should know about by now, would be a Shinto priest's robe. Everyone wears them at the shrine. Besides...I kinda told Grandpa that you're proficient in our religion," I said, chewing my lip nervously. "What religion are you, anyway?"
"Me? I'm not particularly religious...in fact, I'm an agnostic," he said, letting the hated "a" word fall to the pavement like the ton of bricks that it was.
"Great. Just frickin' great. I'm taking my fiancé to meet my deeply religious forbear and he's one step up from atheism? Spirits, why do you hate me so?" I moaned to the cloudless skies, clenching my fists. Well, was it my fault that Jadeite was such a heathen?
"Relax. It can't be all that bad. I'll put on the robes and wave some funny papers around. How hard could it be?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders.
I smacked my forehead. This was going to be a long day. I shoved my robe and Jadeite's into his arms, and then flounced angrily into the front seat of his car. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," I mumbled tersely, crossing my arms under my chest and staring out the window.
"Well, you said we're going to have to see your grandfather...you know, to ease his mind and all," he said, opening the back door. He took the abused robes and laid them gently onto the back seat, then climbed into the driver's seat and shut the door softly.
"We're going to have to act...you know...couple-y," I said, blushing slightly.
I could see Jadeite raising his eyebrow as he turned the key in the ignition. "Couple-y?"
"You know," I said, attempting eye contact and staring at his chin instead, "like a couple."
"Well, we are engaged," he said, grinning.
"In his eyes, yeah...anyways, just hold my hand and stuff."
"That's it?" he asked, shifting the car into drive. Did I hear a slight hint of disappointment in his voice? Nah. I had to be imagining things.
"Well, yeah. What were you expecting?" I said, feeling my face flush an even deeper shade of red. I turned my head so I was facing the window, not wanting him to see how embarrassed I was.
"Oh, I see." he asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Knock it off, you jackass," I snapped, unfolding then refolding my arms.
"All of this verbal abuse. I'm not even married to you and I'm already getting henpecked! Man!" He tried to act like he was frustrated, but I could see that smile. He must be a terrible poker player.
After a few more minutes of coaching, Jadeite pulled into the Cherry Hill Shrine. "Well, this is it," I said.
"Remember what I told you," I said as he helped me out the passenger side door.
"Smile and nod?" he joked feebly, scratching his head with the arm that wasn't holding onto the robes.
I smacked my forehead again. "I have to stop doing that. I might start to like it," I thought to myself, smiling slightly.
"This is the tori," I said to Jadeite as we passed through a large, ornamental wooden gate that towered above us. "It represents the gateway to the gods, the pathway between the finite world that we live in and the realm of the divine."
"Which god, or gods, is this shrine dedicated to?" asked Jadeite. I smiled slightly; at least he was trying.
"This is more of a culture center, actually. We don't aim to convert anyone to Shintoism, but we do wish to educate those who are willing. We believe here that a greater connection to and awareness of the natural world can do much to foster anyone's sense of peace. If this shrine is dedicated to anyone, it's my great-grandpa, who built it. "
"He did an excellent job. This really is a beautiful place," said Jadeite. We stood alone in the midst of a large courtyard that was loosely paved with the cobblestones of the land. Cherry trees in various heights and sizes framed the pavement, and in the midst of all this stood a modest bathhouse that held a bath and a washbasin, and an ornate temple. I took a deep breath and inhaled the fragrance; the cherry trees were blooming especially well this year. Bits of blue sky peeked in from in between the trees, completing the illusory isolation from the day-to-day life of downtown Tokyo.
"We'll have to check in at the bathhouse before seeing Grandpa," I said matter-of-factly.
"Why, to change?" asked Jadeite.
"It's ritualistic," I explained. "One of the Four Affirmations of our religion is good hygiene. When my great-grandpa built shrine, we used to make people take baths in there before entering the temple. Now we just make people wash their hands and gargle with mouthwash."
"Ah," said Jadeite, grinning a bit.
"What?" I asked, gripping the robes a bit tighter.
"Here I thought I'd have the opportunity to strip. Another time, perhaps," he said, smirking evilly.
I smacked him upside the head for that remark. "Hey, I thought your faith was benevolent!"
"This isn't a fertility temple, you creep!" I yelled, scaring several birds out of their perches in the nearby cherry trees.
"Sorry," he said, even though it was obvious that he wasn't. "So, should I get changed first?" Jadeite asked, rubbing the spot on his cheek where my hand had found its mark.
"That would be a good start," I said, relaxing a little as I handed him his robe. "I'll get changed after you." He was about to open the sliding screen door when I called out, "You might want to clean your mouth out while you're in there."
"Why's that?" he yelled back. "I know you're into dental hygiene, but I brushed my teeth before I left my apartment."
"To clean out your dirty mouth!" I snapped back.
In response, he turned around and beamed a toothy grin before sliding the door shut. I waited for what seemed like ages, and after he exited, I shut the door behind myself to change.
"I can't believe the nerve of that creep! How dare he make those insinuations!" I thought to myself. "I mean, we're not really engaged! He's almost acting as if he's attracted to me or something." Just as I was about to step into the robe, I paused in mid-motion. "Yeah. Almost." I shakily concluded, tying the red sash snugly across my body, securing the robe.
After rinsing out my mouth, I shut the door behind me and walked over to Jadeite slowly, my face carefully expressionless. "What?" he asked me.
"Nothing. I'm just a bit nervous, that's all," I said honestly, though I had mixed opinions on what exactly I was nervous about. Smiling at my small admission, Jadeite squeezed my hand.
Bracing myself for the worst, I walked slowly up the steps, Jadeite matching my pace behind me. I was completely unprepared for what I saw when I pushed open the screen door. Expecting calm and tranquility, I heard "Hey Mickey" blasting at top volume - from Yuiichirou's playlist, no doubt - and felt the worn, wooden floor vibrate with each stomp that came from the center of the room, where a short, elderly man wearing a blue leotard, pastel yellow leg warmers, matching wristbands and a kerchief was doing jumping jacks. "GRANDPA?" I yelled above the noise. "What are you doing?"
He raised his bushy, white eyebrows and wiped the sweat off his bald head. After turning the music down to a more bearable level, well, as bearable as the works of Toni Basil can be anyways, he strode confidently to where Jadeite and I stood dumbfounded. I expected peace, quiet, and to see my ailing grandfather resting silently on his bed. How and why was he blasting his stupid 80's noise and doing aerobics?
"Ah, hello," he said, thrusting his hand in Jadeite's direction, who mutely shook it. "So this is your young man?
"Don't avoid my question!" I said, arms akimbo. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"
"Well, a guy has to keep in shape, you know, eh?" He elbowed Jadeite, who merely chuckled in response.
"Of course, Grandpa," he said.
"Besides, I feel fine," he said, sticking his chest out for effect. Grandpa is such a drama king. "So who is this young fellow?"
"This is Jadeite, my fiancé," I said, adding emphasis on the last word.
"Fiancé, eh? Good luck then, son," Grandpa replied, reaching up to pat Jadeite on the shoulder in fake consolation.
My face instantly turned three shades of red as my posture stiffened. "You are instantly the most irritating individual I have ever met!" I shouted, stamping my feet.
"I love you too, Rei," he said, planting a kiss on my tomato red cheek. "So, how long have you been dating?"
I elbowed Jadeite, forcing him to reply. "About a month."
"Don't you think you're taking it pretty fast?" he said, wrinkling his eyebrows together in concern.
"Well, I took one look at her and I knew she was the one. She's...she's really something," he finished, giving me a strange look I hadn't expected.
"And you're not so bad yourself," I said, winking.
Jadeite said nothing, but swept his glance from my eyes to my mouth, and then back again. His fingers brushed my own. My first impulse was to smack him in the face, but I knew I had to make this look authentic. My face flushed a deep red, but whether it was out of anger or attraction I couldn't guess. I grasped his hand and gave it a squeeze.
"So tell me more about this temple. When was it built?" asked Jadeite.
I smiled, thankful that at the very least, Jadeite was being respectful, and even inquisitive. All I could do was to nod periodically and pretend I was listening, and look at everything in the room except Jadeite's eyes, anything but that scorching expression that somehow drew me in. I was relieved that my part of the conversation had ended, because my powers of speech were all but gone. Grandpa rattled on and on about great-grandpa's anecdotes about building the shrine, what process and materials they used and things of that sort, but I wasn't listening; I had heard that story a thousand times already. It didn't matter anyways. My thoughts were a million miles away.
"Can I see you to your door?" Jadeite asked, putting the car into park on the curbside closest to my apartment.
"Why ask that? You've seen it enough times," I snapped without thinking. Feeling repentant, I held out my arm, and Jadeite took it; then for a reason I couldn't explain, my stiff muscles instantly relaxed. My heart rate didn't, however; at this point, I didn't know what to expect.
Finally, we stopped at the door. "Well, this is it, Jadeite. End of the line." Seeking to narrow the odds, I slipped my arm from his and turned my key in the lock. It only got three quarters of the way before I felt a hand running through my hair, stopping me in my tracks.
"And where do you think you're going, young lady?" Jadeite murmured into my ear. He posed the question in an almost teasing manner, but there was a serious undercurrent that stated that he meant business. The thought of that sent an involuntary shiver down my spine. Was it cold outside? I hadn't noticed.
"Inside, to bed" I responded, and I added, lest there be any doubts, "Alone."
"Sleeping alone, eh? Well, this will give you something to dream about." Without any further warning, he teased my lower lip with his own, gently pulling them open.
"Jadeite, what do you think you're doing?" I demanded. "What if people see us?"
"Just this," he responded. He turned me around like a swing dancer would twirl his partner so I was facing him. He placed a butterfly kiss on each corner of my lip as if testing me, teasing me. I wanted to duck away and then run off screaming into the night like some kind of crazed banshee, but my legs seemed have a will of their own to remain firmly planted on the ground, not moving an inch. "Rei Hino, how do you get yourself into these things?" I wondered, and that was my last coherent thought before his lips formed a loose, elastic seal over my own. Then I did the unthinkable; I actually kissed him back. I actually had no idea what I was doing, but it seemed about right somehow.
After what seemed like an eternity and a split second at the same time, Jadeite drew back, breaking the kiss. "Goodnight, Rei," he said, a hint of a smile on his lips.
"Goodnight, Jadeite," I mumbled. I entered my apartment, then slid down from the door in shock. "Maybe," I thought, licking my lips, "maybe we aren't pretending anymore."