Chapter 2:
Coming Home Again
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The next morning, we took the first train ride of Chi's life. At first, I had been afraid that Chi would spend the trip worrying about how my parents would handle our engagement - I was a nervous wreck, myself - but once we got into the train station, Chi was having the time of her life. She looked around at everything - the high ceilings, the crowds of humans and persocoms, the dozens of shops crammed into the terminal. Luckily, we had some time between when we got our tickets to the time our train arrived, so we just spent a half-hour looking around.
I have to admit, when I first came to Tokyo, I had been more focused on finding my apartment than on the station itself. Chi, though, loves to explore and learn, so she had a wonderful time walking along, taking in the sights and asking questions. When I couldn't tell her all the details she was looking for - why the building was so big when only one floor of it was used, for instance - there was a small information kiosk with a persocom who was physically connected to the station's mainframe. I don't think she was used to answering so many questions from a single person, but after a while, she and Chi were chatting like old friends. I think I learned more about public transportation that day than in the four years I'd spent living in Tokyo.
Once we started the train ride, Chi was practically glued to the window, peeling herself away just long enough to ask, "Hideki, what is that?" every couple of seconds. I'm sure I must have been grinning like a fool; the way Chi can take something as simple as a tree or a picket fence and make it seem fresh, new and exciting has always been amazing to me. She may not have been programmed with a ton of information like most persocoms, but she's an incredibly fast learner, and whenever she discovers something new, she never takes it for granted. She's got the innocence and the inquisitive nature of a child, but she's also incredibly mature.
I guess that's part of the reason I fell in love with her.
After about an hour, we got off at our stop. I ran into the station to give my folks a call, then came back out and sat on the bench with Chi.
"Hideki's home-town is so ... empty," she said, looking around at the tiny cluster of shops and buildings that made up Main Street.
I shrugged. "Well, this isn't a big city like Tokyo, Chi. Most of the people around here live out on their farms, so the town itself is pretty small."
Chi moved closer and put her head on my shoulder. "Chi misses Chi and Hideki's home in Tokyo. Chi and Hideki's home has lots of people very close." She looked up at me. "Chi knows it will only be for a week, but Chi is starting to miss home."
I put an arm around her waist and gave Chi a kiss on the forehead. "I know, Chi," I said. "To be honest, I'm feeling pretty nervous, too. But I just wouldn't feel right if we got married without telling my parents first."
She smiled up at me. "Chi knows," she replied. "And Chi is glad Hideki loves Hideki's parents so much. That's why Chi wanted to come with Hideki."
I could feel tears coming. "Thanks, Chi," I said. I held her a bit tighter, and Chi snuggled up closer. "Chiii..." she sighed, and for one brief moment, we were both content.
Then I saw my parents' beat-up old pickup rolling up the street, and I had to let go of Chi and pick up our bags. Dad pulled up to the curb, dressed in his usual button-down shirt, overalls and workboots rather than a rented suit. "'Morning!" he called out. "You ready, Hideki?"
"Yeah, Dad! Just a sec." I struggled to carry our three suitcases over to the truck and tossed them into the back. Then, when I came around to the passenger seat, I realized that we had a problem. With my father on the right side, Chi on the other, and the gearshift in the middle, there was no room for me! "Er ... okay," I said, "I guess I'll ride in the back."
Dad gave a big, hearty laugh. "Nonsense!" he said. "We can just tie down your little computer here. It won't get broken from a little jostling, will it?"
I'm not sure I could have felt much more horrified if Dad had suggested that we strip myfiancee naked and drag her behind the truck. "No way!" I exclaimed. "I'm not doing that to Chi! Besides, it's not like I've never done it before."
Dad looked at me for a long couple of seconds, and I started to worry that I had just tipped my hand. Then he shrugged. "Suit yourself, " he said. "Just don't start whining when we get home about how your butt's aching."
I let out a big breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. "Thanks, Dad," I said, then climbed up into the truck bed. The ride home wasn't too bad, really; the main roads were paved, and it was only when we hit the long driveway leading up to the house that I started getting bumped around. Not that I had thought Chi would get physically damaged. I just know that she would have hated being tied down in the back like a piece of luggage. She works hard not to act upset when people mistake her for a machine, but Chi doesn't like being treated like one, either.
We finally got home, and I hopped down as Chi and my father got out of the truck. Trying not to look too uncomfortable from my sore back end, I walked over to Chi. "How was the ride?" I asked, trying to keep the worry out of my voice.
Chi's smile was beautiful. "Chi had a wonderful time!" she said, throwing her arms around me. "Hideki's papa was very nice and very, very funny!"
"Yeah," Dad commented as he came around the back of the truck, "Your persocom here was asking me about a thousand questions on the way down. I thought these things were supposed to be smar--?" He stopped in mid-sentence, and I realized what he must have been seeing: Me, with my arms around what he thought was a computer, and the computer hanging onto me and smiling.
I think he was about to say something when the front door opened, and Mom and Aki came out to meet us. "Welcome home, Hideki!" said Mom, giving me a big hug.
"Hey, you made it!" Aki said, and came over to welcome me, too. In typical Chi fashion, when she saw other people hugging me, Chi joined in and grabbed me around the waist.
"Ack! Can't ... breathe ... !" I croaked, and everyone let go, looking a little embarassed as I worked to refill my lungs. Then I smiled at them. "Thanks, guys," I said. "It's good to be home."
Mom smiled back. "Well, now that you're here, we have lunch ready. After spending all morning traveling, you must be starving."
As if on cue, my stomach gave a low rumble. "That sounds great!" I said. "Let me just unload our stuff, and I'll be right in. Chi, do you want to meet me inside?"
"Chi," she replied, and followed Mom and Aki into the house. Just before the door shut, I heard my little brother say, "So, you're Hideki's persocom, huh?"
"Chi is Chi!" she replied cheerfully, and I smiled. Yes, Chi is Chi, and I love her with all my heart.
As I started gathering up our suitcases, I felt a big hand on my shoulder. "Son?"
I felt myself break out in a cold sweat. "Uh, yeah, Dad?" I said as casually as I could.
"What was that back there? I saw you holding that computer like you were ... I don't know." He locked his eyes on mine, boring into me like a pair of laser beams. "You didn't go and order one of those love doll things, did you?"
I sighed with relief. "No, Dad, Chi's not like that. She ... well ... she doesn't have ... you know ... "
Dad raised an eyebrow. "Are you being honest with me?"
My gut started untying itself out of a knot. I knew I'd have to come out and tell him how I felt about Chi sooner than later, and there was no way I was going to lie to my own father, but for the moment, I could give Dad a truthful answer that he would accept. "Yeah, Dad. Actually, Chi's got ... well ... kind of a reset switch down there. If I even tried ... that ... with her, it would be really bad."
He seemed to relax a bit at that, but I could tell that he wasn't entirely convinced. "A reset switch, huh? Well ... I'll buy that for now, anyway." Then he leaned down and whispered, "Just don't let your mother catch you holding it like that, all right? She's still sore about how I used to pick up all those magazines for you at the drugstore, for crying out loud!"
I sighed. I hated the fact that Dad probably thought Chi was some kind of love doll, but I also knew that I wasn't ready to explain everything to him just yet. Heck, if I told him that I was going to marry Chi then, he'd probably throw even more of a fit than when I'd left for college. "Okay," was all I said.
"Whew!" Dad exclaimed, wiping his forehead. "Glad we got that settled." So saying, he picked up two of the bags, and we headed over to drop them off at the guest house.
Well, that was a lousy start, I thought. Now, how the heck do I tell him the whole truth?
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