Sixth Month: Of Surprises And Complications
"Even if I cry out your name you won't come to find me. Even if I rip out my heart and give it to you, you won't give me yours. It doesn't matter how much I long for you, you won't turn back. It doesn't matter how much I mourn for you, you won't come back. For you are no longer in the world of the living, taken away by the hands of Death."
Tomoyo closed the book and cried.
The somewhat muffled sound of an MP3-capable device brought her out of the tragic musings and in her haste to answer the call, the offending book fell to the floor with a thump that was completely unheard of.
"Hello?" Came out from the speakers and into Eriol's ear. He could tell that she was distraught over something.
"Is something wrong Tomoyo-san?" His voice always had a soothing effect on her. Thank God for small favors.
"No, everything's fine. I just read a book with an unexpected ending." He felt instantly relieved.
"Do you have plans for the evening? I want to take you out somewhere." This brought a smile to her lips and her mood changed.
"I'm free. Where to?" He felt lighter.
"That, my dear, is a surprise." She pouted.
"Okay, just give me a couple of hours. I look like a train wreck right now." He laughed.
"Somehow I can't picture that." She frowned.
"Well, that's the truth. Is there a dress code?" He thought it over.
"Something between casual and elegant." Her mind began to work mixing, matching and discarding many a choice of apparel.
"Okay, see you then." Taking off the chopsticks keeping her hair in place.
"Take care." And pressed the off-button in his black, cordless phone.
After hanging up her end of the line, Tomoyo headed to her walk-in closet and began to watch everything with a measuring eye until she found something that lived up to its purpose for the night. Taking the hangers with her and carefully placing them on bed, she walked to the extensive bathroom.
As settled, Eriol came for her exactly two hours later and she found him sitting, as had became custom, in the white sofa with a china-cup of green tea. He stood up as soon as she entered his sight and words of compliment poured out from his lips as fluidly as one serving a glass of water; while the inner receses of his mind mused that if she kept looking that gorgeous everytime he saw her, then he would have to learn more words to flatter her without being repetitive.
The ride was quiet with the music of a famous pop-station coming from the speakers that had Tomoyo swaying from side-to-side mindful of her hair-style and Eriol sneaking many a glance at her. She certainly did not look like the woman who appeared to be crying heartbrokenly some hours prior.
The British lad gave the keys to the valet while the passenger door of his car was opened by another to help the lady out. Eriol offered her his arm and lead the way to the Maitre d'. There was a queue, but as soon as the eyes of the Maitre d', a middle aged woman with a condescending demeanor; spotted him, she gave the couple the best table. Eriol had called the day before to place his reservation; but even if he had not, he had dinned there before and his exceptional restaurant etiquette had made a great impresion on the seasoned woman and staff, who unanimously refered to him among themselves as their favorite patron.
They were shown the way to a lovely table with a breathtaking view of the garden through the big paneled window draped in gauzy silk and thick velvet by an amiable waiter following the carefully placed instruction of the hostess. A couple who did not see a day older than thirty-something and had a high resemblance to Eriol was already there. The woman, who had been engaged in conversation with the man, looked up and saw a boy who looked as if he were a brother.
"Eriol darling!" She said in a subdued cry of exhuberance, making her partner look up also and stand up.
"Evening son, young lady. I am Hiiragizawa Hiroshi, such an honor to meet you." Said the man with a charming smile and sincere eyes before taking Tomoyo's unoccupied hand and kissing it.
Hiroshi was tall and well-built for what could be seen through the dress jacket he wore. He had a fair complexion and dark-blue eyes that seemed to shift hues with the light and were brought to attention by fashionably thick-rimmed D&C glasses. His hair was short and straight, styled in a modern spike-hairstyle with some aqua-gel; it was the rare color of petroleum blue.
"I'm Daidouji Tomoyo and the pleasure is all mine."
The elder woman in the group of four rose at that time and extended her hand with a motherly smile to that who was pregnant. "I'm Hiiragizawa Tamara, Eriol's mother. Pleased to meet you honey."
"Likewise." Tomoyo found that the British woman had a gentle handshake and smiled openly.
Tamara was almost as tall as her husband and had a gracefully slender build that most women were right to envy. She was very fair, with bright blue-gray eyes and curly hair that was exceptionally well taken care of so the shoulder-lenght curls were magnificently defined and looked astonishing moisturized without being wet.
They sat down at the table and ordered a round of apetizers to accompany the conversation. It all came as a surprise for Tomoyo who did not know a thing about her friend's parents visiting Tokyo. She had heard a thing or two about them but nothing remarkably descriptive. Thankfully she was well acquainted with such kind of surprises thanks to her corporate training and experience so it was not as devastating as it would have been if she had been an inexpert girl dealing with her could-be in-laws; even though that was not entirely their situation for she only had a friendly relationship with the Hiiragizawa son.
During the main course she found out that Eriol had inherited his eye condition from his father's gene pool and that both males were blind as bats without the rimmed-glass contraptions. Hiiragizawa-san happened to be a Civil Engineer turned businessman and head of a famous and highly-profitable construction corporation in the European Community while his charming wife was a world-renown Architect.
It was also time for some embarrassing moments of photo-showing hosted by Mrs. Hiiragizawa herself who insisted on gracing Tomoyo's sight with absolutely endearing photos of a very naked Eriol cuddling with his fluffy dog when he was a toddler and they both were asleep. Or a kindergarden-aged Eriol donning the costume of a tropical green iguana for carnival. It was payback, Tomoyo mused, for bringing her here without so much as a warning.
Some time during dessert Tamara commented on her new lady acquaintance's flattering choice of apparel at what the later said that it belonged to a unpublished line of motherhood clothes that she had been designing on those rare spare times of her. She said that it was in her plans for the near future to open a boutique to sell her designs and gave some information on how she wanted it to look like. At this Tamara had been more than happy to offer her assistance in remodeling and decorating the space she choose to house it, or if she had not found any, she could give her help from the very start.
Weeks after found the sole Daidouji heiress returning home with a tired demeanor but happy expression on her face for she held the papers that gave her the ownership of a quaint corner in Tokyo's revered fashion district. She headed up directly to her haven, the bathroom, and began to set up everything for a relaxing bubble bath for her and the child.
Something was wrong.
In a rush she fished out the cellphone from her purse and got Eriol on the other line in almost no time thanks to speed-dial technology.
"I'm bleeding." She said with unveiled anguish, looking at her stained underwear.
"Lay down, otherwise don't move. I'm on my way."
Fifteen minutes later had him opening the door to his favorite patient's room without regard to any form of privacy, for clearly that was not the time. With him, in came some nurses of both sexes with a stretcher and helped her onto it with the clinic as destination.
Everyone involved got a phone call informing of the late news and they promptly found a place to sit in the specialty-establishment waiting room.
She was practiced an ultrasound to rule out any case of placenta previa and fortunately that was not the case. It happened to just be some hormonal bleeding and a mild case of high-blood pressure due to stress. However, there were some tests aimed to diagnose any case of hypertension preecclampsia that had yet to be taken.
Sonomi arranged for her darling daughter to take an early maternity leave from work and Sakura almost got her confined to her sleeping quarters. The raven haired woman did not argue much and for the first time agreed wholeheartedly to cease and desist in her shows of independence.
She spent most days in her room to which had been added some more amenities to prevent her from going up and down the stairs as much as it could be avoided and a nursemaid that was to be at her very beck and call without having her in her ojousama's room, thanks to an iLink service.
In such a situation, the poor woman had to draw up some happiness and contentment from the designs that she now had plenty of time to create and they also served her to kill some time.
Schedules for visits, meals and naps were set up and her friends tried to lighten up her mood with games and engaging conversation. Still, she wanted nothing more than to be up and about.
... Such were the sacrifices she made for others.