Chapter Thirty-Two: Sundays are for Relaxing, Right?

I stood in the middle of a huge, snowy field. Everywhere I looked was snow. Snow, snow, snow. Off in the distance I could see tall mountains, reaching up to the sky as though they could touch the clouds that constantly released their frozen crystals to the ground.

As my eyes adjusted to the intensity of the light I noticed that, here and there, pieces of debris of various sizes appeared to have been strewn around. I didn't see any kind of civilization or even a city or town around, which left me wondering where the debris had come from. Perhaps an airliner had crashed?

It was then that I noticed that two of the pieces of junk weren't junk at all, and I hurried over to find a girl half-buried in the snow next to what appeared to be a small robot. Had there been a crash and she was the only survivor? Then where were the other passengers? "Hey, are you okay?" I asked as I brushed the snow from her still form. As I worked I was shocked to find that she was wearing little more that what appeared to be a white summer dress. What was more shocking was that she looked very much like my daughter. "Ushio…?"

Her eyes flickered open and she gave what appeared to be a smile of recognition when she looked up at me. "Ah…"

"What's going on?" I asked. "Are you okay? Where is everyone?"

She didn't answer my question but looked over to the robot, whose hand she held; something about it reminded me of a toy robot I had purchased for Ushio so many years ago. She gave the hand a squeeze, and I jumped back as the robot's head turned her way.

"It's okay," the girl said. "It'll be over soon."

"What will?" I asked before it hit me; of course she'd be suffering from hypothermia. Who wouldn't, in this weather? I quickly started to shrug out of my coat. "Here, sweetie; put this on," I said as I scooted toward her again; I was worried about what the robot might do, but I figured that it at least wouldn't hurt Ushio. "I don't want you to freeze to death."

Still prone on the ground, Ushio looked up at me with a smile that I thought would melt the snow around us. "I'm glad to see you well, Daddy. But I'm not your Ushio."

"What…?"

She somehow started to glow and fade at the same time, along with the robot. "My Daddy can't be happy without Mommy and me. But you…" she reached up with a glowing hand, and I reflexively took it in my own. "…you, Daddy, can have happiness… With me and…"

I watched, speechless, as the girl and the robot each dissolved into spheres of pure light which then streaked up into the sky, leaving me alone in the snowy plain, which itself then started to glow with an unearthly beauty…

"USHIO!" I woke up sitting up in my bed, and I reached up to wipe the sweat from my forehead. "Ugh, that was different," I grunted, resting my other hand on my forehead.

A moment later there was a knock at my bedroom door. "Daddy?" I heard Ushio call from the other side. "Are you okay?"

I scrambled to my feet and bolted for the door, slamming it open to grab up my surprised daughter in a hug, and I felt her wrap her arms around me. "I'm sorry," I said when I had more of my wits about me. "I just had a really weird and sad dream, and you were in it."

"It's okay, Daddy," she muffled into my nightshirt. "I'm right here, I'm okay."

I held her for a minute longer – just to be sure – before releasing her to wipe at my eyes. "It was so weird… Of course it was just a dream, but it seemed so real." She didn't reply, so I removed my hand from my eyes to see her watching me with a small smile. "I'm sorry," I chuckled awkwardly. "Go ahead and go back to whatever you were doing and I'll work on pulling myself together."

"Okay," she replied before hopping onto her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek. "I hope your day turns out better than it started. I love you, Daddy." With that she turned and hurried back down the hall.

In spite of my sleepiness I smiled as I headed into the washroom to clean myself up for the day. As I rubbed warm water into my face I thought about the dream. Something about it seemed so familiar, like it reminded me of a dream that I'd had a long time ago. "I guess that's one more thing to talk to Pastor Jeff about." I gave my face one more splash with cold water before finally stepping out of the bathroom to head back to my room with the intent to change into my day clothes; even though it was Sunday and I really wanted to lay around, I figured I should at least make myself presentable, to my daughter if no one else. As I slid open the door to my room, I could hear my cell phone ringing and I scrambled to pick it up, missing the caller ID in my haste. "Hello? This is Okazaki."

"Tomoya-san?" came a familiar, concerned voice. "This is Pastor Jeff Ashton from Glory to God church."

"Good morning, Pastor. What's up?"

"Well, I'm calling to see how you're doing. Yesterday was pretty intense, so I wanted to check on you. So I am."

"Thanks," I chuckled. "Honestly, I've felt a little out-of-it since the session. I think you were right, though; it was awkward, but I think I'm a lot better because of it. I feel better, at least."

"That's good to hear. Listen… Do you still hate your dad?" he asked, and I could hear the hesitation in his tone. "If it's too soon to ask, then let me know; I don't want to push."

"No, it's fine." I took a deep breath, and felt the last of my fatigue disappear with my sigh. "I'd have to think about it more to be sure, but right now I don't think I ever really hated him. I was angry, sure, but I don't think I hated him."

"That's good."

"I actually feel more sorry for him now," I said, still mildly surprised by that fact. "He lost Mom and tried to raise me on his own. It was probably pretty hard on him when we started fighting; I mean, I was his last connection to Mom, right?"

"An astute observation."

"So I guess I'd say that I don't like him right now, but that could just be because I'm so used to feeling angry toward him."

"'Time heals all wounds' as the saying goes, and you're still feeling the momentum, so to speak?"

"Yeah," I chuckled awkwardly. "If nothing else, I guess I can relate to him since we both lost our wives and had to raise kids on our own."

"That's true." A brief pause. "Sorry for bringing that up so early in the morning, and so soon; I wasn't planning on trying to talk to you about that just yet. I guess I'm being a little selfish because I've been really worried about the two of you."

"Thanks," I replied, genuinely touched. "Listen… I, uh, haven't had breakfast yet, so my day really hasn't started…"

"Understood. Have a great breakfast and take it easy today, all right?"

"Will do."

"God bless."

"Yeah, uh…you, too." I ended the call and pocketed my phone before heading down the hall, following a delicious smell into the kitchen. "Hey, that smells great."

"Thank you," Ushio replied meekly as she pushed scrambled eggs around a pan. "Would you take the bowls out to the table, please?"

"Sure." I made my way to the cupboards and retrieved a set of bowls. When I saw the dragonflies racing around the border I thought of Mika; was she doing okay after the events around my session?

"Daddy? I'm sorry, but could you please move?"

I blinked to discover that I'd been staring off into space. "Oh, sorry." I quickly grabbed up two sets of chopsticks and carried them along with the bowls out to the table. "Do you need any more help?" I asked after I had set them in their proper places.

"No, thank you," her voice echoed from the kitchen. "Go ahead and get settled."

I smiled as I started to settle into my spot before quickly reversing course to open the curtain. I then settled in to watch the morning clouds drift by.

Ushio came out a few minutes later with some cookware balanced on her arms, and I smiled to myself as it reminded me of the time when Pops and I had visited the restaurant where Nagisa worked; I never did find out why he was 'checking out' his own daughter, though. The memory had me glancing over at the framed photo of Nagisa and I, taken so many years ago. I still missed her, but I blinked in surprise as I realized that the pain of the memories wasn't anywhere near as strong as it used to be. "Huh…"

"Daddy?" I blinked again and turned my gaze to my daughter, who appeared to be studying me. "Are you okay?"

I chuckled lightly. "After yesterday, I really don't know. I think so. We can start breakfast though, if that's what you're asking."

"Okay."

We thanked someone for the food and dug in. "Do you have any plans for today?" I asked as we ate.

"I'd…like to just take it easy this morning, if that's okay," she said. "Yesterday was pretty exciting, with your thing at church and the lunch afterward."

"Hey, that's right," I said, gesturing to her with the hand that had the rice bowl in it. "I didn't go to lunch with all of you, so I'm curious; how'd things go? Did you have a good time?"

"It was…different," she replied with an expression I didn't immediately recognize. "First of all, Ichinose-senpai, Fuuko-san, and the ambassador didn't show up until later, which I thought was weird since they left with us. Well, until they got there and told us that they'd walked you home."

"Yeah…" I said, wondering if they'd told her anything else about their visit. "You know that Mika was with me as well."

"I noticed, but I didn't think that was weird," she said with an impish grin. "What would've been weird to me would've been if she actually came to the restaurant with us."

"Good point," I chuckled lightly.

She giggled, but her face fell pretty quickly. "I feel bad for Sunohara-san, though. Isn't he your age?"

"That's right. Why?"

She ducked her head meekly, and I had a feeling about what she was going to bring up. "Well, I don't know how to say this, but… He looked about the same age as you, but seemed…I dunno, younger, almost like he was my age. Does that make sense?"

"He was like that in high school," I explained. "Almost always talking about girls, and…" I trailed off, realizing that a fuller explanation might have been in order. "See, he and I were both considered delinquents. You know my story, but he was really good at soccer, but he had a pretty…his ego…" I fumbled for the words. "…He had an ego that could be bruised too easily, so he ended up in a bunch of fights, the last one during a game in his first year of high-school, if I remember correctly. He got booted from the team, and pretty much lost his motivation to do anything useful." My eyes lost focus as I looked back into history. "I really think he could've gone far, but his own stupid ego got in his way."

"That's a shame," Ushio said sympathetically. "To have all that skill but just let it go to waste… How sad."

"Yup," I agreed, my mood having officially turned heavy.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Daddy," she giggled. "I didn't mean to bring the mood down, really."

"It's fine," I said with a shake of my head. "I have to admit; I was surprised to see him act the way he did yesterday." I shrugged, nearly spilling some egg on the table. "Oops. Anyway, last I knew he was working as a taxi driver near where his parents lived, but that's, what, ten years ago? Fifteen? No, it had to be longer than that; I think the last time I saw him was before you were born."

"That's a long time," she mused. "To not talk to someone, I mean."

"Yeah," I murmured. "Maybe I should try to find his number and give him a call. Maybe try to be a…" What did Pastor Jeff call it? "…a positive influence in his life, if nothing else."

"Do you really want to talk to him, though?" she asked with a concerned expression. "I just ask because of the way he treated Mika-senpai and the way you…protected her."

I chuckled softly. "Good choice of words. Thank you." I sighed heavily. "Do I really want to talk with him?" I sighed again. "I'd have to say 'no'. From what I saw yesterday, I don't think it's be a good idea for me to be around him right now; he's not a good influence, and I'm in kind of a…" I trailed off again, trying to find the right words. "I'm not really solid in who I am right now, so I really need to be around people who'll encourage the right things, and Sunohara isn't one of those. Like you said; when it comes to women it sounds like he's still in high school."

"Am I a good influence?" she asked with an impish grin. "Can I keep living here?"

"For now," I said with a grin of my own. "You get the 'family exemption'."

She giggled again just as my phone rang, and I checked to see that it was Kotomi. "What's she calling so early for?"

"Who is it, Daddy?"

"It's Ko-…Ichinose-sensei," I replied. "I'll send her a text to let her know that I'll call her later. What would she be calling about today?"

"Maybe she's checking up on you," Ushio suggested. "You did have an exciting day yesterday."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," I replied. "Pastor Jeff called to check on me while I was getting ready to come to breakfast."

"Oh, that's who you were talking to?" she said, a light bulb lighting up over her head. "I thought you were talking to yourself."

"Nope, that was the pastor."

"That was nice of him. I feel like a bad daughter, now. How are you doing? You seem okay, but…" she trailed off as she shrugged and ducked her head at the same time.

"I'm fine, all things considered," I told her. "Like I told Pastor Jeff; it's going to take me a while to sort things out, but I can already tell that I feel a lot better, more…stable."

"That's good," she said carefully. "I'm…really happy for you, but I'll admit that I'm a little nervous about what kind of person you'll become after all this."

"Me too," I quipped. "Seriously, I don't think I'm going to change a whole lot; it'll be more like…an improvement of what's already there. More good, less bad I guess."

"That's good," she repeated carefully. "Well, do your best."

"Thanks, sweetie."

We finished breakfast, and after helping clear the table I excused myself to make a phone call. Back in the relative privacy of my room I pulled out my phone and called Kotomi.

"Tomoya-kun? Is that you?"

"Hello, Kotomi-chan," I greeted. "Sorry I couldn't take your call. I was having breakfast with my daughter."

"Oh! I am sorry! I did not mean to interrupt."

"Well, you have me now," I said, smiling in mild amusement. "What can I do for you?"

"A-Are…D-Do…"

I listened patiently while one of Japan's greatest minds tried to put together a coherent sentence.

"….Do you have any plans for Friday evening?"

"Friday evening?" In light of Mika's comment at the dance as well as my own observations I had a pretty good idea what my childhood friend had in mind. In the end I figured it was best to play along. "I don't think I have anything planned. Why?"

"I…would like to go on a date with you."

Even though it didn't surprise me, it still somehow took me by surprise. "A-A date. Well…I suppose… What did you have in mind?

"I… thought that I could show you where I work and then we could have dinner, and then… Oh, wait; that is supposed to be a surprise."

"I see," I said, feeling the need to say something. What she wanted to do didn't sound too romantic, which relieved me somewhat. "Well, that sounds good. Where do you want to meet and what time?"

"Where do you live?"

I blinked at her question. "Wh…Why do you ask?"

"I would like to come pick you up. It would be much quicker than utilizing public transportation."

"Wait… You have a car?"

"I do. May I pick you up from your place?"

"I…I suppose…."

"What is your address, please?"

I felt a little numb as I gave her the address to my apartment. It made sense that Kotomi would own a car since she was a world-renowned scientist, but the idea of it was still a little overwhelming.

After I finished giving her the address, she read it back to me to make sure she copied it correctly. "I apologize for the inconvenience," she said afterward. "Your address was not included in your contact information, so I do not have it on my phone. May I record it there?"

"On your phone? Um, I suppose," I said lamely, feeling a little out of my league. "Just don't share it with anyone else, okay?"

"Of course." There was a longish pause, then: "So…would six-o-clock in the evening be acceptable?"

"That…should be fine," I replied, feeling more and more uncomfortable with the idea; after all, that was about the time that Mika would show up to make dinner, and… "I'll…be ready."

"Wonderful! I look forward to seeing you again!" She sounded so excited that I felt a little bad for my discomfort. "So, Friday at six-o-clock in the evening at your apartment?"

"Sounds good," I said while ignoring a rock in the pit of my stomach.

"Wonderful! I look forward to seeing you again!"

"You said that already, but thanks," I said, tying to stifle a chuckle.

"I did? Oh! I guess I did! Well, have a good day, Tomoya-kun."

"You, too." I ended the call with the heaviest sigh I'd ever had and pocketed the phone as I headed back to the living room. "So, I have a 'date' with Ichinose-sensei this Friday night," I told Ushio, who was reading at the kotatsu.

"Really? That's wonderful!" she gushed as she hopped to her feet. "What will you be doing?"

"Seeing where she works, then going to dinner, then going to some kind of surprise."

"How exciting…" she breathed as she clasped her hands together. "A date with a childhood friend who's now a famous scientist…"

"I thought you wanted me to m-marry Mika or something like that," I tried reminding her.

"I do, but it's nice to be able to catch up with old friends, isn't it?" she said. "Where are you meeting?"

"Here," I said. "Apparently, she'll be picking me up in her car."

"She has a car? Wow…" Ushio seemed to be in heaven. "I'd love to see that!"

"Maybe she should take you out instead," I chuckled. "You sound more excited about it than I am."

"Maybe I am," she giggled. "I wonder what the surprise will be."

"Probably something tame," I replied. "She's pretty straight-laced, so it'll probably be the library or something like that."

"I could see that," she giggled. "We did end up going to the school library during the dance, after all."

"At least the school library'll be closed," I mused. "Though she has a key, so she could probably-"

The rest of my thought was cut off by the ringing of my phone. "You're popular today, Daddy," Ushio observed, giggling again.

"Sorry, let me get this out of the way," I said as I headed back down the hall, connecting the call as I entered my room. "Hello, this is Okazaki."

"Okazaki," greeted a new yet familiar voice. "This is Sakagami."

What a coincidence; first Kotomi, then the ambassador. "Good morning, Sakagami-san. What can I do for you?"

"I'm going to be back in Hikarizaka on Saturday, and I was hoping that we could spend a couple of hours together. Will you be free between, say, one and three?"

I hadn't even been able to plan for Saturday, so my schedule was open. I'd been hoping to be able to spend the day relaxing at home, but… "One and three, you said?"

"That's what I said! So, you free? Lunch at a nice restaurant, and we can catch up."

I figured that, like Kotomi, she was asking me on a date. But I liked the idea of catching up, especially after seeing Sunohara's immaturity yesterday, so… "Sure, that sounds good. Where do you want me to meet you?"

"Your place. Would that be okay?"

"You have a…? Oh, I guess you would, huh?" I said, impressed by my lack of insight; of course she'd have a car. "How about we meet at the train station instead?"

"Nah, I want to see where you live."

"I-" How was I supposed to respond to that? I really didn't want everyone to know where I lived, especially women like Kotomi and Tomoyo, who were much more well-to-do than I was. I cursed my spinelessness as I gave in and gave her my address. "Do I need to keep anything in mind for this? You know, since you are the ambassador for Japan?"

"Just dress nice; I know you can do that."

"Eh-heh. Thanks." Great; a date on Friday night, followed by a date on Saturday afternoon. My weekend was sure filling up quickly. "I'll do my best."

"See you on Saturday then, handsome."

"Y-Yeah; see you Saturday." I quickly ended the call and hurried from my room, resisting the urge to leave the phone behind. "That was Ambassador Sakagami," I told Ushio as I returned to the living room. "Apparently she's going to be in town on Saturday and would like to spend a couple of hours catching up, from one to three. Would that be a problem?"

"I don't think so," she replied with a shake of her head. "Wow, Daddy; your weekend's sure filling up quickly."

"My thoughts exactly," I chuckled, "Oh, well; at least I'll have Sun-"

ring ring

We looked at each other and burst out laughing. "You think that's someone else, calling to ask you on a date next Sunday?" she giggled.

"I seriously hope not," I snorted, retrieving my phone from my pocket again as I headed down the hall to my room yet again. "Hello. This is Okazaki," I greeted once I was shut in my room again.

"O-Okazaki-san?"

"Yes, this is Okazaki," I replied, mentally double-checking my greeting. Yeah, I'd remembered to give my name. "Who is this, please?"

I heard a familiar voice in the background on the other end before the caller spoke again. "Th…This is Fuuko."

"Well hello, Fuuko," I greeted. "I thought I recognized your voice, but I've never heard you over the phone before so I wasn't sure."

"I-"

The way her voice cut out had me checking the charge on my phone; I thought I'd plugged it in before going to bed. "Fuuko-san?"

"PLEASEGOONADATEWITHME!" she suddenly shouted, and I had to hold the phone away from my ear for a moment.

"You want to get together?" I asked after my ear had stopped ringing.

There was a long silence, and I could imagine her at the other end, nodding at her phone. "Oh! Fuuko's supposed to speak!" At least that confirmed my suspicions. "Y-Yes, I would like to…for us to get together."

"When and where did you have in mind?" I asked; with the way things had been going, I had a pretty good idea of when.

"W-Well, I have to work on Saturday, so…what about Sunday? Could we meet in the afternoon for ice cream?"

I shook my head as I snorted quietly. "Ice cream on Sunday, huh? I could do that. Ushio and I could-"

"NO!" she shouted, and I had to hold the phone away from my ear again. "Just…us. You and Fuuko."

Oh, well; it was worth a shot. "All right. What time?"

"T-T-Two-thirty?"

"That should be fine."

"So…see you on Sunday." The line went dead and I chuckled, figuring that she'd forgotten to say 'goodbye' before hanging up.

I pocketed my phone as I headed back to the living room again. "So much for Sunday," I grumbled, though I couldn't stop a smile from appearing.

"What happened?" Ushio asked.

"That was Fuuko," I said while briefly showing her my phone. "She wants to get together with me on Sunday afternoon for ice cream, and-"

ring ring

Ushio and I looked at each other, then at my phone. "This is ridiculous," I complained as I spun my phone to check the caller ID. "Fuuko again? Why's she…? Oh. I think I know what this is about. This shouldn't take long," I told my daughter while giving her an apologetic look.

"Go ahead," she said, apparently enjoying my situation.

I sighed as I tapped the screen to take the call. "Hello? This is Okazaki."

"O-Okazaki-san?"

"Yes, this is Okazaki," I replied, hoping that it wouldn't be a repeat of our prior conversation.

"I'm sorry!" Fuuko sounded like she was in tears. "I didn't mean to hang up on you without saying 'goodbye' first! Fuuko was just nervous!"

"Don't worry about it," I said as I gave Ushio a knowing smile, which she returned. "You must have been pretty wound up, huh?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Well, thanks for calling back," I said. "See you on Sunday?"

"Y-Yeah."

"All right, then; have a good week."

"Y-Yeah. See you on Sunday. Bye-bye."

I sighed as I hung up the phone and looked to Ushio, who was grinning at me again. "Well, there goes my weekend."

"You don't sound too disappointed," she remarked.

"What do you mean?"

She ducked her head, almost looking like she was shrugging. "Well, you could have said 'no' to any of them, but you didn't. Maybe some small part of you wants to go on dates?"

"Maybe," I snorted, "but not likely. I just figure I'll look at it as catching up on old times, and they can look at them as dates if they want to. I'm not planning on encouraging them that way."

"You weren't planning on encouraging Mika-senpai either, but-" She cut herself off as though she caught herself saying something bad. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to be disrespectful."

"No, it's fine," I sighed, running my fingers through my hair; I was really due to a visit to the barbershop. "You've got a point, after all; I guess I've always had a blind spot when it comes to the feelings of women. At least, when those feelings are about me," I added with an awkward grin, causing her to giggle.

"Maybe that's what causes girls to fall for you; they have to work harder to get your attention, so they end up…" her face scrunched up cutely as she tried to finish her thought.

Fortunately, I had an idea what she was trying to say. "Are you saying that they end up more invested because of how long it takes to get it through my thick skull?"

"I wouldn't say you have a thick skull," she giggled, "but otherwise, yeah; I think that's what I'm trying to say."

"I hadn't thought of that before," I mused. "I mean, I've heard about it with other guys at work, but I never thought of it applying to me."

"It's…just a thought," she said, ducking her head again.

"No, it's a good one," I said, trying to encourage her. "Thanks; I'll keep that in mind next weekend."

"You don't want to end up with a harem, Daddy?" she asked in an obviously teasing tone.

"Watch your mouth, sweetie," I scolded gently. "Besides, that kind of thing only happens in video games and anime."

"I could see it happening with you, though," she said, looking around nervously. "After all, you're very handsome and kind and…" She grew quiet, looking down at her lap, and it occurred to me that she might have still been dealing some residual feelings from…before. "Anyway, if Mom and Ichinose-sensei and Sakagami-san and Fuuko-san…and Fujibayashi-sensei and Mika-senpai's mom all liked you at the same time, couldn't that say something about the kind of guy you were?"

"Ushio, I'm done talking about this," I said with a raised hand. Part of what bugged me was that she had a point; while I didn't know everyone's love life back in high school, if some guy had a bunch of girls after him then I was sure to hear about it, at least in the form of Sunohara's whining. "I love your mom – my wife – and that's all that matters right now."

"Yes, Daddy," she sulked appropriately.

"Do you have any plans for today?" I asked, trying to change the subject to something more…not the current subject.

"Well, some of my friends will be here this afternoon to work on our summer studies."

"They still do that, huh?" It seemed so long ago that I was blowing off my studies, summer or otherwise. "Wait, did you say 'this afternoon'?"

"Yeah, I did," she said, looking across the kotatsu at me with a puzzled expression. "Didn't I talk to you about that?"

"Not that I can recall," I said, even as I searched my memory.

"I'm sorry!" she cried with a look of horror. "Should I call everyone back and cancel?"

"Naw," I grunted. "It's for school, and I don't have anything planned here today, anyway; I'll figure out somewhere to go and amuse myself."

"If you say so…"

I shrugged with my right shoulder; it felt great. "If you want me to stick around for some reason, I guess I could hide in my room and read. I think that a group of high school…students…" I trailed off as I thought of the implications of having a group of teens of either sex in my home. "Right, I'll read in my room."

"Thanks, Daddy. Most of them are okay, but Marika-san and Seiko-san can be…"

"Unruly?"

"They like to talk about boys a lot," she said with an embarrassed smile. "It can be kind of distracting."

"I'll bet." I sighed with another shrug. "Well, I don't know how I'm supposed to keep them on-topic, but if you want me to stick around…"

"I do."

"Then you can count on me," I said, thumping my chest; the movement and resulting sensation brought back memories… "What time are they supposed to be here?"

"After lunch, about one-thirty." She gave me an affectionate smile. "Thank you, Daddy. I'm sorry if I've caused problems for you."

"Nothing I can't adjust to," I said, returning her smile. Then, I clapped my hands on my knees. "Well, maybe we should plan our lunch, then?"

"Sounds great," she said as we got to our feet and headed to the kitchen.

We planned our lunch, then spent the rest of the morning tidying up the apartment for our guests. After that, we had an uneventful yet tasty lunch and then waited for the first of Ushio's friends to arrive. "I'll hide in my room after the first one gets here," I told Ushio.

"Okay, but I'm sure they'd all want to thank you for letting us use your home."

"I appreciate that, but I think you're the one who pointed out that I have a particular…effect...on teenage girls," I reminded her, then nodded at the paling of her face. "Yeah. I'm gonna make myself scarce."

"U-Understood, Daddy."

It was about twenty-five minutes after one when the first girl arrived. "Okazaki-sama!" Kumiko squealed when I opened the door, and it looked like she had to stop herself from hugging me; fortunately, the covered bowl she held kept her from doing anything potentially embarrassing. "I-It's good to see you again."

"Thanks," I said, not sure what to think of her outburst. "Come on in; Ushio's been looking forward to this."

"Kumiko!" Ushio squealed as she carefully grabbed her friend by the arm to drag her into our home. I smiled as I saw the two of them chatting as they settled by the kotatsu; I could remember when my daughter had less-than-kind things to say about her friend.

It then fully registered that Kumiko had brought a bowl with her. "Hey, Ushio? Could I talk to you in the kitchen for a minute?"

"Sure, Daddy!" she chirped as she hopped up to follow me.

Once we were in the kitchen and hopefully out of earshot of our guest I asked, "Did you need food for this? I saw that Kumiko-san brought a bowl."

"The others are bringing snacks," she told me. "I bought some a few days ago and was about to get up to get them when you called me."

"Ah," I said, satisfied. "Go ahead then, and have fun."

"Thanks!" she chirped before skipping out of the kitchen and down the hallway.

I smiled to myself as I left the kitchen myself, and after exchanging a wave with Kumiko I headed down the hall to my room, where I settled into my reading corner with my latest obsession. I barely noticed the living room becoming noisier and noisier, and I assumed that more of my daughter's friends had arrived.

I was then surprised by a knock at my bedroom door. "Just a minute," I replied as I grunted to my feet to head over to my door and slide it partly open. "Hey, Sweetie; what'cha need?"

"Sorry to bother you, Daddy," she said as she shifted from foot to foot. "Sachi-senpai would like to say 'hi', if that's okay."

"Sachi-san?" I blinked. "Isn't she one of Mika's friends?"

"Yeah," she said with a nod.

"Then what's she doing here?"

"Helping us with our studies," Ushio replied. "Mika-senpai should be here in a bit, but Sachi-senpai got here first."

"I see," I said, caught off-guard by the revelation. "Well, it's good to have upperclassmen who are willing to help out. Anyway, sure; where is she?"

Ushio looked back down the hall and beckoned with her hand. "Down here, senpai!"

A moment later, Mika's blue-haired friend appeared before me. "Ushio-san? May I speak with your dad privately for a minute?"

My daughter glanced from one of us to the other before giving me a knowing smile. "Okay, but just a minute; he's my dad, after all."

"Of course," Sachi replied, though she looked as confused as I felt. Once Ushio was headed back to the living room she turned back to me. "I want to apologize for the way I acted at the dance," she said. "I…" She sighed in such a way that it blew her bangs upward. "This was so much easier in practice."

"Take your time," I said, using my best fatherly voice, though I had a pretty good idea what she was going to say. "I can see that whatever it is is really bothering you."

"No shit," she uttered, then clapped her hand over her mouth. "Sorry."

"Just take your time and say what you need to," I said reassuringly.

"Okay," she said, dropping her hand from her mouth to knot her fingers. "The thing is; I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since the dance."

I was about to ask 'Why?' but realized that it could end up making her more nervous than she already was, so I kept my mouth shut.

"I-It was your eyes," she continued while averting her own. "I saw that they were kind and intense and…" She bit her lip. "I think I understand at least part of what Mika sees in you."

"Thanks, I think," I dared to say.

She chuckled awkwardly. "Look, the only reason I'm telling you all this is because I needed to get it off my chest; to give disclosure while getting closure. I'm sorry if all this makes you uncomfortable."

"It does," I admitted. "But do you feel better now that you're telling me this?"

"I do," she nodded. "Listen, I know it's not my place to ask, but… If you end up wanting a wife, I'm asking you to consider Mika."

I blinked. "I'm surprised to hear you say that. I mean, the age difference and…" I gestured awkwardly toward her.

"Yeah," she croaked, looking down at the floor. "Well, I wouldn't feel right, trying to take you away from Mika… If that makes any sense."

"I think so."

"Good." She straightened, meeting my gaze. "Just for the sake of disclosure and closure; I like you, Okazaki-san, and would love to date you. That being said, I respect the age difference as well as your likely lingering attachment to your late wife. Further, to pursue you would put me at odds with one of my best friends, who basically found you first." She bowed somewhat stiffly. "Thank you for hearing my confession."

I blinked several times as I worked on my response. "That…has to be the most articulate confession I've ever heard," I finally said. "Thank you for telling me, and…I admire your courage in coming to me like this."

"Thank you," she said, then grinned impishly. "Do you get a lot of confessions, then? You can tell me; I wouldn't be surprised in the least."

"Lately, yes, sadly," I replied. "Most of them have been…" I trailed off as I realized that I was about to blab some very embarrassing and personal information.

"They've been teenagers, haven't they?" Sachi said with a sympathetic smile. Damn, that girl was perceptive. "Among other things, your pause gave it away."

I shook my head with a sigh. "Am I really that easy to read?"

"Not really," she said with a headshake of her own. "My dad's a detective, and I've picked up some of his knowledge."

"I see," I said, suddenly feeling nervous. "You're not going to tell him that I'm some kind of pedophile or anything, are you?"

"No way!" she laughed. "Wrong age category; pedophilia refers to a preference for prepubescent children. Besides, Mika and I were the ones to confess to you, right?"

"R-Right."

She seemed to gain confidence, her prior nervousness all but gone. "So we don't have any reliable means for determining your age preference, right?"

"R-" I caught myself realizing the gap in her knowledge. "Actually, we do."

"What do you mean?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

"My wife, Nagisa, was a year older than me," I said triumphantly, feeling good for being able to get at least one over on the bespectacled girl.

"Ooo, good point," she conceded, putting the side of her finger to her mouth. "But you were both teenagers at the time, right?"

"Right."

"Hmm. But that doesn't help determine your likely strike zone now," she mused.

"'Strike zone'? They still use that word?"

"Yeah," she replied, looking puzzled. "Why? Did they use it when you were in high school?"

"Yeah, we did," I said. "That's pretty neat; we use some of the same words."

"I guess some things age well," she said while giving me a sly smile. "You would know, right?"

"Anyway," I said, trying to get the attention away from that particular aspect of myself, "I don't qualify for a strike zone 'cause I'm not looking for a wife." I had the odd feeling that I was lying, but it was all I had.

The blue-haired teenager's expression told me that she likely saw right through my words. "Fair enough. Anyway, I've taken enough of your time. I apologize for the intrusion as well as any discomfort I've caused you."

"Don't worry about it," I said casually. "For what it's worth, it's good to see you again, and thanks for being willing to help my daughter and her friends with their studies."

"My pleasure." I felt more than saw her give me a once-over. "It's good to see you too, and…please consider giving Mika a chance."

"I'll…keep that in mind," I promised, though I didn't know how well I'd be able to keep that promise.

"Thank you. Enjoy your book, and I hope you have a great day." With that she bowed before heading back down the hallway to rejoin the others, so I headed back to my corner and slid to the floor with a grunt and retrieved my book again.

I'd read a dozen pages or so before there was another knock at my door. "Just a minute, please."

I opened the door to find Mika on the other side, holding a plate of food. "Good afternoon, Okazaki-sama," she greeted with a bow.

"Good afternoon," I said as I returned the gesture. "Thanks for helping Ushio and her friends with their studies."

"My pleasure!" she chirped, then held out the plate toward me. "I brought this for you."

"Thanks," I replied as I took it from her. "Is this okay, though? I'm not part of your study group."

"It's fine," she said in a reassuring tone. "All of us put this together for you to thank you for letting us use your home."

"Well, Ushio kinda surprised me with it, but I'm glad I could help."

"I heard," she replied with a giggle. Then she looked up at me with her cringe-inducing Smile of Adoration. "I…wanted to see you."

I half-snorted, half-chuckled. "You already see me every day, Mika. What's so special about right now?"

He shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I've…been worried about you since yesterday. You went through a lot of things I don't think I'll ever understand, and you had those girls – women, I mean – saying that they liked you, and…"

Ah, so that was it. "I'm fine, but thank you for thinking of me."

"Wh-When is your next shoulder appointment?"

"Huh?" I wasn't ready for the abrupt subject change, and it took me a moment to realize what she was talking about. "Oh! I have one the Saturday after next. If all goes well, it should be my last."

"Awesome…" she breathed, and I realized that I'd never heard her use that particular word before. "M-May I ac-company you?"

"You want to come with me?"

She said nothing, but nodded as a blush crept across her face.

I mulled over her request; I figured I knew the real reason why she wanted to go with me, but it made sense for her to go since she'd gone to the trouble to prepare a diet based on my shoulder situation. So… "Sure," I answered, scratching my head. "You make dinner for me, so it might be a good idea for you to be there."

"You're right!" she squealed, her eyes lighting up. "I could ask questions to help refine my menu!"

"S-Sure," I stammered, uncomfortable with the situation I'd put myself into.

"So, Saturday after next?" she asked, her eyes almost glowing.

"Y-Yeah…"

"What time?"

"T-Ten…"

"Great!" she chirped. "What time should I be here?"

"I usually leave around eight-thirty."

"Great!" she chirped again. "I'll check the train schedule and figure out what time to be at my station. Oh, and don't worry..." she said, giving me a sly look, "…I'll be able to find you on the train. I have before, right?"

"R-Right…"

"This is so exciting!" she squealed, reaching toward my hands before apparently catching herself. "It'll be like I'm your wife, supporting you through your recovery. Though I guess I've been doing that anyway, now that I think of it." She clasped her hands behind her back, accentuating her ample chest-GAH! as she bounced on the balls of her feet. "Thank you, Okazaki-sama this really means a lot to me. I love you."

"Y-You're welcome," I managed as I tried to ignore a twinge in my chest.

She bowed with a giggle before heading down the hall back to the living room. I slid the door shut and put a hand over my chest to try to make the twinge go away. I t wasn't painful or anything like that. It was like…

It was like my heart had just been filled, even if only a little.