Chapter Three: Loafing Around

I woke to another pounding headache and reached over to punish my alarm. I sat up and rubbed at my temples for several minutes, trying to ease the throbbing so I could start my day.

It had been several days since Pops' dea-…since visiting Pops in the hospital, and adjusting my schedule to head to Furukawa bakery early had been a challenge, especially with my whole body having felt like lead since Pops' dea-… since Pops' dea-…

"Since Pops' death, dammit!" I snapped at an empty bedroom. "It's okay to think it! He's gone, all right?!"

Surprisingly, my outburst seemed to help alleviate a bit of the pain in my head, and I was able to get to the washroom and clean my face. I then headed back to my room and dressed and grabbed my schoolbag before heading downstairs to eat.

I had to force breakfast down my throat, but I was used to it; I'd been having trouble eating ever since Pops' death, but I knew that I wouldn't be of any use to Sanae if I tried to work on an empty stomach. I smirked to myself as the thought occurred to me that if I went to the bakery hungry, I'd be more agreeable to try one of her awful concoctions. My smirk quickly faded, however, as I remembered the fact that she was now a widow. Making fun of her baking didn't seem so funny anymore.

A few minutes later I headed out the door and down the road toward the bakery. As I let my feet move on auto-pilot I thought about how much life had changed in the last month. First, Pops suddenly teaching me how to bake bread, then his death at the hospital, and finally, trying to comfort a pair of depressed women with all of my seventeen years of life experience. It was a wonder that I didn't end up depressed myself. My mouth then twitched as I realized that I probably was already depressed, just from reasons other than the death of someone I'd barely known but had come to like.

I arrived at Furukawa Bakery and pulled out the duplicate key that Sanae had given me and unlocked the front door as quietly as I could. I entered the shop and flicked on the lights before dropping my bag near the register. I then found and put on my apron and hair net before getting to work.

It was probably about half an hour later when Nagisa came out from the living area, still rubbing her eyes. "Good morning, Okazaki-san."

"G'morning, Furukawa," I greeted as I moved a batch of dough from the mixer to the baking sheet; I had felt bad about running such a noisy machine so early in the morning, and it took a lot of reassurances from both Sanae and Nagisa that it was fine, that the sound was normal for that time of their morning and they were used to it, so I was fine to run it. I knew it made sense, since the bread would have to be freshly-made by the time the bakery opened, but I still felt a twinge of guilt every time I fired up the stupid thing. "Sleep well?"

"Better than before, thank you," she replied before hiding a yawn behind a hand. "I don't think I'll have a normal sleep for a long time, but I'm getting better."

"That's good," I said while working the dough into the roughly cylindrical shape as Pops had taught me.

I felt more than saw her come alongside me. "You're getting a lot better at this," she remarked. "You must be a quick learner."

My chuckle unintentionally sounded like a scoff. "Not really. I guess…I just had a really good reason to learn."

"Yeah…" she replied, and it was hard to miss the sadness in her tone.

I paused in my pounding. "Sorry about that; I didn't mean to bring down the mood."

"You didn't," she said with a soft giggle. "I asked a question and you answered honestly; I appreciate that."

Technically, she hadn't asked me anything, but I understood what she meant. "I'm doing my best to help you two out, but I…" I sighed. "I want to help you out the best I can, but I've never been in a situation like this before." I gave the dough before me a light punch. "All I can do for now is make bread. And take care of the books."

I heard a giggle and looked over just in time for her to squeeze my arm. "Mom and I don't expect you to be able to…to…" Her nose wrinkled cutely as she looked for the right word. "…to comfort us that way; we understand. We're just grateful that you're willing to help out like this."

Her words warmed my heart, bringing with it a slight smile. "Thanks, Furukawa; I'm glad to hear that. I really am doing my best for you two." My thoughts turned more sober at the thought of Nagisa's mom. "Have… Have you checked on your mom? Do you know if she'll be out today?" For several days after Pops' death, Sanae had tried to run the bakery while Nagisa and I were at school, but it seemed like the effort had been taking its toll on her, and she'd been getting up later and later, causing me to worry about the future of their livelihood.

Her smile faded along with mine and her gaze averted downward. "She's been doing her best the last few days, but…" She looked back toward the entrance to the living area. "I'd feel kinda bad trying to wake her."

I turned my gaze to the lump of dough before me and sighed. "Then…just let her sleep. You go ahead, and I'll call the school and explain the situation."

"You can't!" she protested. "Haven't you missed too many days already? Aren't you in danger of being held back?"

I sighed again; it was true that I'd missed a lot of school due to my particular circumstances, and I was getting really close to being held back, but… "I can't leave your mom like this," I told her. "I promised Pops that I'd help out until she could manage on her own, and that's what I have to do."

"Then… Then I'll help!" she declared, dropping her bag at her feet as though for emphasis. "I'd feel bad going to school, knowing that you're here slaving away!"

"I'm not slaving-…good grief," I sighed, mildly exasperated as I grabbed the container of melted butter and started drizzling it over the top of the loaf. "I'm doing this of my own free will. Go to school."

I felt hostility from her direction and, sure enough, when I looked she was glaring at me so I set aside the butter container and glared back, and it wasn't long before she relented. "Fine," she huffed cutely. "But just for that, I-…I'm going to tell everyone at school how great you are!" With that somewhat comical threat she grabbed up her bag and hurried out the door.

I snorted a chuckle. "Thanks, Furukawa."

After putting the dough in the oven to bake, I wiped my hands and headed over to the phone to make an important call.

"Thank you for your purchase, ma'am," I said to the kind, gray-haired lady as I handed her the bag. "Have a pleasant day."

"You too, honey," she rasped with a wrinkled smile before shuffling out the door.

As I finished sorting out the cash in the register, Sanae wandered out from the living area, dressed in a light brown dress with a nice floral pattern on it; I'd never seen her in a dress before so the change was surprising. "Good morning, Okazaki-san," she yawned as she scratched her head, and I couldn't help but notice that her hair was disheveled; at least, it wasn't her usual straight-with-antennae style from what I could tell. "Thank you for coming in."

"You're welcome," I replied. After glancing at the clock I hesitantly added, "It's not morning, though; it about-"

Before I could finish my answer, the bell rang as the door opened and Nagisa entered the bakery with a smile. "Hello, Okazaki-san!"

I was slightly taken aback; I was sure that she'd greet her own mom first. A glance over my shoulder suggested that I was probably blocking her view. "Hey," I greeted while deliberately taking a half-step to the side.

Nagisa's reaction wasn't what I was expecting, though. "Mom! Why are you out here in your nightgown?!"

Nightgown? I looked at Sanae again and realized that her dress was actually a-

"NO! Don't look, Okazaki-san!" Nagisa cried, and a moment later she appeared between her mother and me, waving her hands to obscure my view. She then quickly took her mom's hand and started tugging. "Mom, come on!"

"What's the matter, dear?" Sanae yawned as she allowed herself to be led back into the living area.

"I just got home from school…" Nagisa started, but the rest of their conversation was lost as they went further into their home.

I was working on preparing the bakery for the evening rush when Sanae came back out a few minutes later, dressed this time in her usual sweater-and-jeans outfit. She was also wearing quite the blush. "I'm so sorry, Okazaki-san!" she cried out with a bow. "I wasn't quite awake yet and didn't mean for you to see me like that!"

"Don't worry about it," I replied with a chuckle. "None of the customers saw you, and I didn't even know those weren't your day clothes."

"That's a relief."

I kept working on the displays, but I could feel her gaze on me, and a glance over my shoulder confirmed what I'd been feeling. "Did you need me for something?"

She knotted her fingers repeatedly before gesturing at me with a hand. "I'm so sorry that I didn't come out this morning; I didn't mean for you to miss school."

"It's fine," I grunted, remembering my earlier conversation with the younger Furukawa. "I made a choice, and it just didn't seem right, leaving you like that."

She smiled fondly as she walked up to me to pat my head; I had to dip my head to accommodate her. "You're such a good boy, Okazaki-san. Thank you so much for helping a worthless old woman like me."

"You're…dealing with a lot right now," I replied, though would have readily admitted that I had no idea what losing a spouse felt like. "And…I promised Pops that I'd help you out. I don't think you're worthless."

"Thank you, Okazaki-san," she replied with misty eyes.

"And… How do I say this…?" I continued while scratching at an imaginary itch on my head. "I don't think you're old, either." I chuckled self-deprecatingly. "To be honest, the first time I saw you I thought you were Furukawa's sister. Er, your daughter's sister." This wasn't coming out the way I intended, so I jabbed a finger toward the door to the living area. "Her sister. Am I making any sense?"

"You thought that I was Nagisa's sister?" she suggested helpfully with a twinkle in her still-misty eyes.

"Yeah, that," I grunted, embarrassed at my failure at giving her a compliment. "Sorry."

"That's quite all right," she replied with a giggle. "My, my; I never knew. Thank you very much; that's nice to hear."

"You're welcome," I muttered, still annoyed at my verbal fumble.

She studied me briefly before stepping forward to give me an equally-brief hug; I could smell some kind of pleasant fruity smell coming from her hair. "Would you like to stay for dinner? I understand that you usually go home to eat, but I'd like to provide dinner for you as an apology."

"That's…sure," I relented; I didn't like feeling like I owed anybody anything, but since she was offering it as an apology I realized that it would be rude to refuse. "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome," she replied with a warm smile, though even I could see that it was tinged with the darkness of grief; I'd seen similar in the mirror every morning, after all. "What would you like to eat?"

I briefly mulled over her question. "Honestly, anything would be great; I tend to eat convenience store food, so anything homemade would be really good right now."

"Then, 'anything' it is!" she exclaimed before hiding a giggle behind her hand, sounding more like her old self. "I'll help you close things up here, then I'll go start dinner."

"Not, I got this," I replied, holding up a hand as though to stop her. Realizing that I may have sounded bossy I quickly added, "Just…please…let me take care of this for you. Okay?"

She regarded me with an unreadable expression before she spoke. "Very well, Okazaki-san; since you asked so politely…" She gave me another smile, one with a twinkle in her eye, before heading back into the living area.

I studied the spot where she'd just been standing and wondered if there was any way I could help her and Nagisa smile happily again, the way they used to.