Chapter 15 – Always Had a Vision
Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt, if I did the series would never have ended and Mai and Naru would have little paranormal grandbabies for Martin and Luella running around by now.
Author's Note: I have had a couple of people ask me privately if I condone underage marriage, and in general no, I definitely do not. In fact, as someone who has a Master's Degree in Legal Research and is currently studying for admission to law school in order to be an advocate for victims of all types, I am actually a bit uncomfortable at times myself with writing the subject. In this story though, the main characters have the emotional and mental maturity of their counterparts that are several years older and in a loving, committed relationship and the chronologically younger Naru is having a hard time reconciling the two in his mind – we all know that he can be single-minded and rigid in how he views things (often black and white, with no shades of grey). He has fully embraced the mentality he grew into during his future and for him that includes his wife, who he is unable to call his wife until he fixes that issue. To him and to Mai this is just one in a series of projects they need to tackle to get their lives together back to the point that they left it in the AVE. In their minds it is just a legal formality, and not something they plan to actively flaunt, even with Masako, unless pushed. Some insight into Naru's POV on this subject is discussed with Martin in this chapter, and I hope between my words and his that this explains his motives a bit more clearly.
Still even more feels, the fluff and the angst to help flesh out the characters before they go of on their soon to be adventure. Seems boring to me, but I hope that everyone else finds something of value in it! But now I need to come up with a satisfying case, and that is going to be the real test isn't it?
Not yet edited.
The next morning at the Davis manor found everyone up early, refreshed, and ready to get started on a list of projects they each had in mind. Since it was a Sunday though, there were some errands that would need to wait until the next day to start, like enrolling Mai for University, but in the meantime they could at least pre-sort all of her paperwork and application. So, Martin, Oliver and Mai absconded to his study for the entire morning and began the tiresome process that would prepare everything needed to enroll Mai in the accelerated program that Oliver completed already.
Luella and Madoka spent a good portion of the morning finalizing arrangements for Gene's memorial service and interment in the family mausoleum afterwards on Wednesday afternoon. Luella completed contacting all family and friends, while Madoka took care of all professional colleagues and arranged for the offices at BSPR to be closed for the entire day in preparation. Lin was also busy, he made contact with the Japan branch of SPR and followed up on any case requests with Takigawa, and the progress that John made at his parish with the Kenji case. For everyone in the manor it was a very productive morning, and Madoka and Luella decided that meant it was time for the two of them to engage that afternoon in a little girl bonding with Mai and that they were going to take her shopping. This made Mai groan, because it was only a few days ago she had the same experience with Ayako, but she relented, knowing that it would make Luella and Madoka happy.
After Luella and Madoka squabbled over which shopping center to visit, at Mai's suggestion they decided on the Arcade once she mentioned she remembered enjoying shopping at one of the stores there in future. What followed was an exercise in patience as Mai basically stood in for a mannequin while the two older women purchased more clothes for her than she could ever imagine needing. At the first shop Mai pulled her credit card out to pay for her purchases and was physically restrained by Madoka until after Luella could pay, after that she didn't even try to stop the other two women's antics.
Several hours into the trip they all paused at a cute little café in the shopping center to observe to teatime, and Mai finally got a chance to speak. "You really don't need to do all of this, I just went shopping before we left Japan, and Ayako, our shrine maiden friend, bought out Shibuya to outfit me for our trip. You three will get along famously, I swear you all look at me like I am a doll to dress up!" She huffed out while waiting for their refreshments to arrive at the table, and then continued, "Mum, you could at least let me pay. I have this shiny new credit card Naru got me, and even though he hasn't mentioned how much I spent Friday, I'm sure if I went on a spree here too, I'd get a reaction and a lecture on wasting money," she giggled as she looked at the other two women.
Luella stared at Mai's admission and said, "Oliver put you on his credit card?" and the elegant blonde woman laughed merrily. "Noll has always been stingy when it comes to anyone else besides him spending money, and would never even let Gene use his account; you really are special to him. And don't worry, he never sees those bills, the accountant takes care of all of that. Not to mention that you might have noticed Noll only wears designed clothes himself, and no matter what he pretends, no I do not buy them for him, he does that himself. There is no way he would ever begrudge the love of his life having the best of everything too," she said to Mai who had been blushing furiously since Luella voiced the word special. Madoka giggled at Mai's expression and said, "If you think about what you might have seen in the future, did you ever notice Noll giving you extravagant gifts? Or remember him ever worrying about price enough to check the cost of anything?"
When Mai shook her head, both women smiled knowingly at her, and Luella confessed, "Oliver has had quite a bit of success and has a steady income from all of his published works, and other projects that he has interest in, not to mention that boy has an uncanny knack for investing. Then there is the trust fund we had set up for both boys when we adopted them, and the fact that Martin's family is the lesser branch of a very wealthy aristocratic family here in England. All of us could stop working now and still finance our lifestyle for several generations without worrying about prices," she said gently, taking Mai's hand in her own and continued, "Nolly has told me a little bit about your past, and that you have been struggling as an emancipated orphan for the past several years, but Mai you are part of our family now. Both of my sons love you in their own ways, and married yet or not, you are my daughter Mai. Not a daughter-in-law, but my daughter, and like with my sons I will buy you any damn thing I think you deserve for the rest of my life," Luella declared, her eyes flashing with determination and a nodding Madoka grabbed Mai's other free hand, squeezing it tightly in support.
Mai swallowed heavily and said, "It's true that I have been living on my own for a while; I'm not really comfortable spending a lot of money on myself but, I know you guys love me and are only using the gifts as a way to show me that. I do understand that, and yes I definitely know Naru likes his brand names, you should have seen his reaction the first time I bought discounted tea leaves for the office. He couldn't tell the difference, but he thinks he can," she said with a giggle and smiled at the memory.
Madoka laughed at the petite auburn-haired girl's recollection and cleared her throat to get Mai's attention before asking, "So, I've been meaning to ask, your English is flawless until you say Noll's name, I thought you were just using the Japanese pronunciation of Noll, which is Noru, but you're definitely saying Naru." She looked over at Luella who nodded and the other woman added, "Sometimes Gene would still call him Noru instead of Noll, especially when those two would natter on in Japanese, but the way you say it does sound a little different," and with both women asking her the same question Mai blushed again and began to tell them the origin story of his nickname in Japan and how it was initially used for over a year before any of the SPR crew there knew of his real identity.
By the time Mai finished her story, both women were crying from laughing so hard, and in between fits of the giggles Madoka asked, "So let me get this straight. You literally nicknamed him narcissist right after meeting him, and got everyone else you both knew, including my Lin, to call him that and he still fell in love with you?" When Mai nodded quietly, both Madoka and Luella erupted into another fit of laughter and Luella managed to say, "You will fit right in with us, if I didn't love you before I would now! Naru it is from now on… well when I remember, what do you think Madoka?" she asked her partner-in-crime and was rewarded with an vigorous nod as the other woman tried to catch her breath.
At this point, they were finished with their refreshments and decided Mai's respite from shopping was over and continued to drag her around the shopping center for several more hours. Mai once again decided she really needed to introduce Ayako to these two sooner rather than later, so they could bond over shopping and let her stay home for once. When Luella announced the next shop was one that specialized in lingerie and that she was going to start readying something called a "trousseau" for Mai that she zoned out and started wondering what the guys were up to, and hoped they were having a better time than she was.
Meanwhile at the Manor, Oliver transferred copies of most of the data they had added to the database he and Mai had created about their vision to his father's computer in the study. Oliver saw no need for his father to see some of the more personal information they had listed yet, if ever and had decided that the current information provided was more than enough for them to begin fleshing out a research project pertaining to the experience. Martin, engrossed in all of the information the two had cataloged would randomly toss out questions for Noll to answer while his son conducted his own search on marriage laws in the United Kingdom.
Looking up from his laptop in triumph, Oliver exclaimed, "Scotland! That's perfect, in Scotland, you can get married without parental consent at the age of 16, but you need to have some proof of residency in the UK. Once we get Mai enrolled at Cambridge, we can use a student visa that shows this as her residence, and her emancipated status to legalize our status," he said to his father who looked surprised that his son had found a solution to that so quickly.
"Oliver, are sure you want to get married at your age? I was 19 and your mother was 18, and even that was difficult at times. People were so judgmental of our ages, and I don't want you to have to deal with that too if you don't have to. We will support you either way, but keep in mind how young you both are, and Mai won't be 16 until July anyway will she?" he asked his son, concern etched on his austere features.
With a serious expression on his face Oliver looked over at his father and began speaking quietly, but earnestly, "Even when I was this age the first time in my memories, I didn't feel like a normal 16 year old teenage boy, I don't know if it was the grief of losing Gene, or what we experienced earlier in life before being adopted, or even being professionally accomplished and educated at an early age… but I do not feel like a 16 year old. Mentally and emotionally, I feel in my mid 20's with distinct memories of having an established marriage with Mai since I was 21. This absence of legitimacy for our relationship troubles me Martin, and I don't know any other way to rectify my memories with reality other than to make them match." Oliver let out a long exhale of breath that he had been holding during his entire speech and gave his father a beseeching look.
"I know that this is a surprise to all of you, I understand that you have not seen what we have but think back to your marriage with Mother. You said you were 19 at the time and that many people doubted your motives, but can you honestly say that your feelings in that regard have not only deepened as the years passed?" Noll waited until Martin nodded his head before finishing his argument, "Then you know how I feel. I know you just want to help me talk the situation out logically and aren't trying to talk me out of it, but Dad… I need her. I saw who I was becoming in that vision, and it was Mai who not only stopped my descent into becoming a frigid arse but also opened my eyes to how much more my life could be than it was before. Without Mai as my anchor in this world without Gene, I don't know that I won't revert back into that husk lacking all warmth and humanity that I was in danger of becoming," Oliver looked up at his father, a wealth of emotions swirling in his usually impassive eyes and Martin acknowledged the fact that this was something his son was very serious about.
"Martin, the first time that we lived through this time, it was well over 18 months from now that we finally found Eugene. For most of that time I was still stuck in my head, determined to find him and pushing every person who came into my life away because in the end they weren't Gene. Mai… well Mai, wouldn't let me push her away, somehow even amidst my scowls and insults she saw beneath all of that pain and angst and recognized a soul that she came to treasure. And I threw it away. I told her that since she had met Gene in her visions that it had to be him that she loved, and I was just the substitute; the way I had seen myself for so long, as a lesser version of my older brother, and I nearly broke that kind, loving girl by wallowing in my own insecurities and grief," Oliver continued speaking to his father as is in a trance and baring more of his soul to the man who called him son than he had ever felt comfortable doing so before. "I came home with Gene, you know. But it was as if we were both only ghosts at that point. I was merely existing. I had no tether to hold me here and I know that you and Mother both saw me floundering, lost and alone even surrounded by the love and warmth of my family. You sent me back to Japan, because at least there you said, I seemed to have a purpose," at these words Noll paused again, nervously wetting his dry lips before continuing with a soft sigh. "I went back to the office at Shibuya and the first thing that greeted me was Mai with a steaming cup of tea. I had rejected her love for me, attempting to invalidate it by saying she could only possibly love the "better" twin, and yet there she was, waiting as if she knew I would be back in time to drink her tea."
Martin stared wide-eyed at the story he was hearing from his son; he knew some of the details from going over their database of experiences, but hearing his son speak so openly about it changed what he knew from cold, hard data into truth and he asked gently, "Nolly, son, what changed? You are not the man you are describing that you were, nor are you the same man that left England after your brother died. How did you become this man before me when what you are describing sounds so bleak?"
Oliver winced as his father used his mother's preferred nickname for him, sighing again before deciding that since he had already revealed this much that he might as well continue, then said, "It was Mai. To some extent my rejection of her confession by projecting it onto Gene's memory really had broken her spirit, but this was the girl who had lost her entire family and found a way to thrive on her own without losing her boundless empathy and innate kindness. Broken or not, she decided to fight for what she held dear, and in this case, that was me. She understood me so much better than I understood myself, and she saw what I did, she saw my fear and my insecurity. The girl who literally named me, 'Naru the Narcissist' the day after we met, knew all of my self-assurance and perceived egoism was merely a front to keep the rest of the world from knowing the real me. And she stayed by my side, even though I treated her poorly, when I wasn't teasing her so I could get a rise out of her, because seeing her face flush with anger or annoyance, or any other strong emotion actually made me feel like I was alive too," he paused once more, as if carefully thinking about his next words before going on, "Then there came a case that should have killed one or both of us. I almost lost Mai, and in reflecting that just the thought of losing her pained me just as much as losing Gene still did, I knew I couldn't keep hiding from myself. I knew if I had lost Mai at that time, Oliver would have simply ceased to exist and whether physically alive or not the rest of me would be gone and hollowed out. I could not allow that to happen, so when she woke up after several weeks in the hospital where I never once left her side I asked her again, 'Me, or Gene?" and do you know what she said?" He looked over again at his father who was listening spellbound at the recounting of his memories and when Martin Davis shook his head, Oliver continued, "She called me an idiot scientist because it would never be anyone else but me, and it would certainly never be her onii-san, Gene. She told me again, that she loved me tea-addicted jerk that I was and told me that if I would allow it she would never leave my side, even if I couldn't feel what she felt. Father, she was willing to stay with me thinking that I was incapable of loving her the way she did me! I have never deserved her," Oliver lamented.
Martin Davis reached out to his son, intending to hug him, even though he initially feared being rebuffed, but was pleasantly surprised to find that Oliver, not only accepted his hug, but returned it, squeezing him back tightly before letting him go. Martin, slightly shocked at this son's willingness to be touched said, "Of course you deserve her, you deserve anything that makes you happy son. You have experienced more pain in your life by the age of 16 than most people will in a lifetime, and if that doesn't give you leave to experience your own share of happiness then I say take it anyway and damn anyone who disagrees," the professor gruffly replied as Oliver looked at him questioningly.
"Dad, that is easier to say than do most of the time, but that is what I intend to do. Now, that you know what I experienced in the future, and what the variables were that helped me to heal and become the man you see before you now… imagine waking up and finding out that it was all just a vision that had not yet, and possibly may not ever happen. What if you were to snap out of your reality right now, to discover that you and Mother never fell in love with each other, were never married and that Gene and I were never your sons? What would you do to rectify that? That is my life every day right now. My entire future was ripped out from under me, and I am just lucky enough that Mai, who was the catalyst for so much change experienced it just the same as I did. So, I will repeat. I will not lose her. I need her. I am asking you as your youngest son; please help me to regain what I can of my future. Please Dad, help me retain some of what I have come to regard as the baseline for normalcy in my life."
Martin barely suppressed a grin at his son's unexpected sincerity that revealed a vulnerable side that he was unaware existed within Oliver and said, "No, I have not been trying to change your mind, and yes, I was just talking the process out with you for the sake of logic, but I never honestly expected that your arguments would be so heartbreaking. We will support you in this, and welcome Mai into our family the same as we did with you and Eugene as boys. I'll get your mother to work on any arrangements needed to expedite a ceremony now if you will allow her to plan a full-scale wedding for a later time that we can invite everyone we know to. Agreed?" Martin asked and when Oliver gave his permission, he clapped his son on the back jovially stating, "Come on now, answer a few more of my questions here and then we will go get ready to meet the women for dinner in town."
A few hours later, they all met for dinner that evening at a small Italian restaurant that the Davis family frequented often, in the past and in the future. Everyone took the opportunity to relate what progress they had all made during the day, and to make definite plans for the next day. The only real surprising addition to dinner, was the change of Luella and Madoka both referring to Oliver as Naru while dissolving into yet another giggle fit, much to his annoyance. After dinner, Madoka left with Lin to return to their own apartment in town, and everyone else headed back to the manor to retire for the night.
Monday morning Luella headed off the Davis family solicitor's office to begin making arrangements for Mai and Oliver to legally marry in Scotland once they were both above the age of 16. The night before at dinner everyone had agreed, that the two could go through with the marriage for their own peace of mind, but that they would not advertise the fact and only reveal it when necessary. The public story would be that the two were engaged, and Luella, Madoka, and Ayako (Mai said she would ask for her help later) would help to plan an actual wedding to take place on their second anniversary once both Mai and Naru were 18 and less likely to deal with public censure or doubts about the veracity of their relationship. This meant that Luella and Madoka had an appointment the next day with a wedding planner so that they could go tour venues, and both women were absolutely giddy at the prospect.
Madoka and Lin went to the BSPR offices that Monday morning to arrange for a proper tour for Mai the next day when Martin and Oliver would be there to conduct it. They also needed to check Oliver's office and make sure it was stocked with enough tea, and clean enough after several weeks in Japan that he would not complain about lax housekeeping while he was gone. Lin was also planning to review all case requests for anything that might interest Noll and leave them on his desk for his and Mai's perusal the next day. Oliver was hopeful that there would be a case that they could tackle while in England that would give the professionals at BSPR a taste of the skills Mai brought to his team. The intention being that they would not haze her for being new or accuse her appointment as nepotism once word got around that she was Oliver's fiancé. Luckily, Madoka and Lin were able to find several prospective cases that might pique Oliver's interest and leave them on his desk, each taking a bet on which they thought he would favor.
While these events were taking place with the rest of the family, Martin, Oliver, and Mai were having an interesting discussion with the admissions department at Cambridge. Considering that Martin Davis was a tenured professor of parapsychology, and Oliver Davis often participated as an adjunct professor in the parapsychology department as well as himself being a graduate of the accelerated program that they were proposing Mai Taniyama admission into, that if anyone was aware of who might be qualified for the program in question, it was those two.
The part of the application that admissions found questionable would be that Ms. Taniyama was only released from her high school the Friday before her current application. Then there was the information that Miss Taniyama is engaged to wed the junior Dr. Davis, and they wondered if denying the application was feasible considering her close relationship with the Davis'. In the end, any objections by the admissions department were moot; in response to the email the admissions sent to the University's Chancellor about the special circumstances regarding this applicant, the instructions were clear. Admittance accepted.
The admissions counselor then spoke up, "It seems that the Chancellor received a communication from Ms. Taniyama's high school principal regarding his own experiences with her. The principal spoke glowingly of the lovely young woman that he finds Ms. Taniyama to be, and how saddened he was that she decided to pursue a higher education at the expense of leaving her school. With that recommendation as well as the urging from two of our own staff and alumni, we have decided to admit Ms. Taniyama, and she will be allowed to complete testing to see if there are any classes that she feels she has enough knowledge in to bypass the class immediately. There is the caveat that if Ms. Taniyama does not perform adequately on any of the testing materials for a class that she has decided to skip, that she will need to complete that class in its entirety before being allowed another chance to test out of it. Now, we may discuss majors and the logistics of how you would like to complete the majority of classes, whether on campus or through distance learning procedures to be started at the beginning of the Easter term."
Once the admissions counselor finished their speech on what was required of her Mai spoke, "I will be happy to begin testing as soon as you can set up a distance learning program for me. Before we set out a curriculum for my first term I would like to see how many of my required classes that I can bypass. I would like to complete an undergraduate degree in psychology and theology as I am already well versed in those subjects, possibly a minor in folklore if possible as well, but I have a new interest I would also like to discuss the feasibility of studying," Mai then turned to Oliver and said, "I believe if one or both of us took some physics classes that might be helpful for our propose research project regarding our shared interest."
Oliver, quirked his head at Mai's suggestion and then said, "You mean the project we are anticipating based on those databases we built?" When Mai nodded, Oliver turned thoughtful, and then nodded at her asking, "Which fields of physics are you suggesting for further study?"
Mai smiled brilliantly and responded, turning to include the elder professor and the admissions counselor in her answer, "Well a basis of physics in general including several classes on the workings of thermodynamics, and then theoretical physics, or rather theoretical cosmology, depending on which school of thought you follow here at Cambridge with an emphasis on string theory/multiverse theory. Considering what I think will be our most intriguing and controversial thesis hinges upon pre-cognitive visions that do in fact turn out to be factual, along with the ways we can alter that vision while continuing on the same timeline. If we add in another hard science to support reasons that might help explain the process I think this reasoning could not be detrimental but very helpful to our purpose. Even if you don't want to attend classes Oliver, I know that what I learn you will pick up anyway, so why not add another degree that proves your proficiency to any detractors." With a smile of apology to the admissions counselor, after she attained Oliver's agreement to take those classes with her, Mai added, "Please forgive my rudeness in discussing matters that you had no way of being informed of, but please can you tell me what my possibilities for studying those subjects would be?"
The counselor was taken aback at Ms. Taniyama's skillful handling of the younger Dr. Davis, who was well known throughout the faculty as being difficult to work with and they nodded furiously at the young woman in awe, "I believe we can begin testing for you at any time, since you will be with two professors already who can proctor your exams, I believe that it is safe to say you can, finish them at your leisure through our distance learning portal. For our accelerated program we do require the completion of electives, instead allowing the student to choose work-study, and would I be correct in assuming you will be completing this portion of your degree the same way Dr. Davis did at BSPR?" When Mai agreed with this statement the counselor went on to say, "Wonderful, now I can pull up a range of classes that you may complete at any time during your tenure as our student based on the requests you have made concerning your academic goals. You may complete any class in any order, and for our accelerated distance learning program we include previously recorded lectures for each class so that you can expedite learning on your own level, and of course we assume that as a student of Cambridge University that you will follow our rules even when off campus and that your approach to your scholastic endeavors will be above reproach. Now, are there any questions?"
Professor Martin Davis cleared his throat and asked, "When Oliver was admitted as a student, his tuition was taken care of as the child of a university employee, but Mai, while engaged to our son, is not married to him at this time so we need to know the procedures for funding her education. Do I need to arrange a line of credit with the Bursar's Office, and with each class Mai tests out of they remove the funds for the credits gained by that class? I believe that Mai will complete the majority of her degree shortly and before she officially becomes part of the Davis family, so in the meantime we would like to insure that we properly pay for her education, with no need for any special considerations."
The counselor was surprised at the elder Dr. Davis' offer to fund the education at this time, when if they simply waited a few years until the two could be married that she could receive free tuition the same as his sons did. She did seem intelligent though, and was able to convince the younger professor that her desire to study a different subject than was expected was not only valid but had him agree to study the subject with her, and replied, "I believe given the unique circumstances considering Ms. Taniyama's situation that this is not something that needs to be worried about at this time. The Chancellor was very clear that they expect this young woman to accomplish great things in the future, and that all consideration was to be given due to the probability that she would also join our faculty just as previous students from BSPR have. When we consider that we have Dr. Mori, Dr. Lin, and three Dr. Davises thus far, the possibility of adding a fourth in the future is something that the Chancellor will not pass up. Please be assured that all details will be taken care of on our end, I have written down your username and password, and the link to our online interface for classes. I will add the more basic classes for you to begin with, but as you complete them, other more advanced options will appear. By the end of the week, your entire undergraduate program will be linked to your username and interface to complete at will. Dr. Oliver, I will also add the requested classes in the Physics program to your previous distance learning curriculum, but you will also be able to access that using your faculty credentials as well. I believe that we have accomplished everything that you have need of me for today, and if I may be excused I have a prior meeting that I must attend shortly." With those parting words the harried head of the admissions department ushered their visitors out of the office, before retreating inside to hide away from the rest of the world for the remainder of their day.
Dinner that evening was an excited affair; Mai was literally bouncing in joy at her success at starting her college career. Mai went further into her explanation of why she felt that studying string theory, multiverse theory and thermodynamics would come in handy with explaining psychic phenomena. She did explain how in the past she studied psychology as guided by Luella, who is herself a Ph.D. in the subject, because she knew it would assist them in helping lost spirits to move on to the next world, and as a medium that knowledge was indeed paramount.
Now, they were dealing with a future that Naru and Mai and experienced, and then were thrust back into a timeline where it began. They could alter variables, change the future and see where it would take them. They could keep the parts of the future that they deemed irreplaceable, and use them as stepping stones to create a new future. They could compare and contrast the two to see if they and see if they could replicate the pre-cognitive vision experience from a different starting point. Using the actual laws and theories of physics should help to deter accusations that the 'vision experience" they had was a hallucination, flight of fancy, or just made up to propose a research study into such a controversial subject. And when Mai finished detailing her reasoning behind her request, Oliver shot her a gaze maxed with his own version of love and pride, and the other Davis family members were left speechless.
Naru chuckled when he saw the looks on his parents faces and he realized that they had yet to actually meet this version of Mai, the version that had an intellect that rivalled his own, and he said, "This is the Mai that became my research partner in the future, I am glad you both get to see the fascinating way her mind works," and he reached over to Mai and took her hand in his, raising her hand to his lips for a gentle kiss, he went on, "Her point about the physics connection is very valid, and I remember actually having a similar discussion with Gene at one point about using thermodynamics to explain why the spirit of a person, as their energy, cannot be created nor destroyed but only reallocated as a theory on why ghosts exists, and why reincarnation is possible. Until Mai brought this possibility up in our meeting this morning the idea had completely disappeared into the recesses of my mind. I believe that this could actually be a very unique and interesting premise to base our research of this topic on, and it is not a theory I could have developed on my own."
Mai blushed prettily at the compliments from her fiancé and added, "To be honest it was a fleeting thought I had while taking a basic physics class at Todai, but I never had any reason to look further into any of the theories that class covered until our vision happened. It was a spur of the moment question, that my instincts pushed me to ask, and I am glad that I did. Naru has always said that he trusts my instincts most of the time, because we have rarely found them to be wrong." Mai grinned sheepishly at her new family, her happiness at how the day turned out was infectious and soon everyone else at the table was smiling in return.
Martin coughed to gather everyone's attention and then said, "Tomorrow Luella and Madoka will be meeting with a very highly recommended wedding planner, and the two of you will be coming to BSPR with Lin and I for the day. Oliver, at your request I believe that Lin and Madoka have selected several cases for your review and if you two pick one we will make arrangements to complete some fieldwork on the weekend. Wednesday as you all know the Society will be closed to allow the staff to attend Eugene's service, and Oliver I do ask that you react civilly to those attending that you are not fond of."
Luella turned to Mai and asked, "Are you sure that you don't want to come with us tomorrow? You can go hang out at that stuffy Society any time, but you only get to plan your wedding once," Luella exclaimed and then when she realized that this would actually be Mai's second wedding to her son that the young girl would remember she blushed a vivid scarlet and Mai giggled saying, "Don't worry Mum, the two of you were instrumental in planning our original wedding, I trust you with all the details. I just hope to get Ayako into the loop, maybe we should call her after breakfast in the morning early since it will be early evening there then and she should be free? In the future Ayako was a very large influence on my life, and even treated me as if I were her own daughter even though there are only about 10 years between us. In the future the three of you became quite close as well, and left me to study or work with Naru while you guys went on your famous shopping binges. I believe that Ayako even consulted with you on a few of your patients in her role as a medical doctor during the times she and Bou-san would visit us here – Oh! She doesn't know that the monk we all work with ends up being her husband in a couple of years, so don't mention that when you talk. Right now they dislike each other immensely, but already squabble like an old married couple, it's totally inevitable." Mai said as she yawned, her eyes wide at her rudeness when Luella smiled and laughed saying, "Don't worry Mai, we're all worn out. We should just all head to bed," and with that permission given, everyone headed off to rest for the next day which was sure to be just as busy as the one they had just completed.
