Chapter 6

I lay there, in the living room couch, wondering why I said those things to her. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much of a jerk I was. Why didn't I just follow my first instinct to give her the benefit of the doubt? Things could've been different; I would've asked where she went nicely; she could've responded happily and could've told me all about it in detail; we would've slept together in the same bed; she could've had her arms around me right this very moment. And then I could've told her then that I waited for her all night, and she could've apologized and gave me a sweet kiss on the lips. Everything could've been sweeter, happier, if it weren't for my volcano-is-about-to-erupt temper!

I sighed. There's nothing I could do about it now. She's probably crying herself to sleep. Not getting the privilege to comfort her made me feel even worse.

How did dad deal with a situation like this? Did he ever get into a serious fight with mom? Heck, did he even get into a fight with mom in the first place? No, I thought, That's impossible. They were the perfect couple. No fights. No arguments. No indifference.

Just love.

At least, that's how dad made me see it. What is it that dad did that made his relationship so flawless?

"They first met at the hour of 10, when the Clock Tower at the Palace of Westminster chimed..." I told myself, remembering how my dad would've said it. I closed my eyes, trying to remember every detail that he told me about them.

It was one stormy night at London, and the people all around him had umbrellas. He, however, didn't have one. The man, probably in his early twenty's, looked up at the sky, hoping the storm would soon cease. But as time passed, he sighed, knowing full well that the storm had other ideas. He glanced up at the Clock Tower. 9:50. It was getting late, and he had to go back to his hotel soon. He waited a few more minutes for the storm to at least calm down. He promised himself that he would be willing to make a run for it when the Clock Tower chimed in 10 minutes. The minutes passed slowly, and the man was getting impatient. He stared at the Clock Tower, intently waiting for the next chime, as if it was an official "go" signal.

At last, the Clock Tower granted him his wish and played its on-the-hour chime. The clock now had its short hand pointing to 10, and its long hand pointing at 12. As the 16-note sequence played, the man ran as fast as he could, hoping to at least get closer to his hotel. But as he continued running, the raindrops decided to play a trick on him and land on his glasses, blurring his vision. This inevitably resulted to an unexpected meeting; the man had bumped into someone. Due to inertia, he fell forward to the ground with a splash in a puddle.

"Oh my gosh!" a woman's voice exclaimed, "I'm so sorry, sir!"

The man felt cold hands touch his arm, and he realized someone was helping him to get up. "Are you hurt? I'm sorry! I'm very sorry!" she cried.

The man took off his glasses and saw a blurred vision of a woman, holding up an umbrella. "I can't see you," he said, "but thanks for helping me up… and for not laughing at me. That was embarrassing!"

The blurry woman giggled. "Sorry… here. Let me wipe those glasses for you, my clothes are dry."

The man handed his glasses to her, not knowing why he would hand over the item that he depended on for seeing to a complete stranger. When the woman gave him back his glasses, he put it back on- and saw the most beautiful person he had ever seen. He felt himself blush. He fell in a puddle in front of someone like her? Not knowing what else to do, he gave her a sheepish smile and said, "Hi!"

The girl smiled at him. "Hi!"

The man suddenly had the urge to scratch the back of his neck. "Um, I… uh, need someone with an umbrella to walk me to Berners Street. And… well, it's getting late, and… and…"

"Sure, I can walk you there," she said, "It's not that far from here."

"Great!" he said, still feeling a little awkward. "Uh, thanks…"

"No problem." She said, ushering him to come closer. "My umbrella's not that big, so you'll have to stay close to me."

The man felt himself turn redder and redder by the minute. He was thankful that the street lights weren't that bright in London. The two walked silently, not knowing what else to say to each other.

"I'm Akira." The man began. He looked away almost instantly when he saw the girl look at him. The girl smiled, amused by the man's actions. "I'm Asako."

Akira smiled to himself, happy that he finally knew the woman's name. "It's… nice to meet you, Asako."

She giggled. "It's nice to meet you too."

The pair eventually arrived at Berners Street. Asako faced him. "Well, I guess I'll see you around." She said confidently. "Goodbye."

Akira nodded. "Yeah… um, thanks again."

Asako arched an eyebrow. "You're kind of shy, aren't you?"

Akira immediately looked down on his feet and started blushing even more. "Well, um, I'm not usually like this," he stuttered.

The girl laughed. "It's okay, Akira. I happen to like shy."

At that moment, Akira felt as if nothing else existed but them. He looked at her, and finally, through staring directly in her eyes, was able to feel calmer. "Great…" He said, "Um, would you want to meet up tomorrow for- uh, a cup of coffee? I mean, if you like tea, like the rest of the people here, it would be okay too… it doesn't really matter to me. I like them both, but- um, I don't know what you like, and, well, you know what you like, so I'm asking you, coz I don't know what you like, and you know what you like, and, well, if it doesn't matter to you, because they're both hot drinks, then, that's fine, because I like you- I mean, them- I mean, coffee. I like coffee… and tea. Both of them."

"Coffee sounds nice," Asako said with a smile. She found Akira's actions so adorable.

"Cool, so we're dating- I mean, meeting. We're meeting tomorrow."

"Yes."

"Alright." He said. Then, finally, he sighed. "You know what? I'm going to leave now before I say anything else."

She laughed. "Alright. So I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

"Bye."

"Bye."

I smiled at the thought of dad desperately trying to find the right words to tell mom. I remember him telling me that he was such a dork when he first met her. I smirked. Now that I really thought about it, I couldn't have agreed more. He also told me that he saw a lot of my mother in me. I guess that explains why I was confident towards Asuka- or any other girl for that matter. I imagined what it was like during their first "meeting", when dad invited her for coffee (or tea). I remember dad telling me that something significant happened during that day.

"So," Asako began, "tell me something about yourself. What do you do?"

The pair decided to have coffee at Starbucks the next day after they first met.

"Well," Akira said, taking a sip off his coffee, "I design Duel Monster cards for Industrial Illusions."

"Ooh, a card designer. That's awesome. And Industrial Illusions… that's a big time company." Asako complimented, "You must have a really broad imagination. I mean, you're one of those people who make up all those cool drawings and complicated card effects."

Akira chuckled. "Yup, that's me." He agreed. "What about you? What do you do?"

"Oh, I'm a fashion designer for Prada." She said simply.

"Wow." Akira said, amazed. "Now that's a big time company. No wonder you look so beautiful. You're one of those people who make up all those cool clothes and complicated designs." He purposely mimicked Asako's previous comment.

Asako giggled, riding along. "Yup, that's me." She said.

"I really mean it, you know." Akira hinted, "You're very attractive."

"Oh, stop it. You're making me blush." She said coyly.

They both looked at each other, almost drawn towards each other's gaze. Suddenly, Asako recognized the piano introduction of the song that had just started playing. "Oh! I love this song!" she chimed. "I just watched Rent two days ago." She began to sing along, singing almost as if she was a child happily enjoying a simple catchy tune.

"Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,

Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear,

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,

How do you measure, measure a year?"

Akira smiled, recognizing the song as well. He decided to join in:

"In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights in cups of coffee…"

Pretty soon, both of them were singing the song together:

"In inches, in miles in laughter and strife.

In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,

How do you measure a year in the life?"

They both laughed after that, realizing that everyone started staring at them once they sang louder and louder. Akira could see Asako visibly blushing. "I really like you, Akira." She said.

The song continued, but it was barely audible to Akira's ears:

How about love? How about love? How about love?

Measure in Love, Seasons of Love! Seasons of love...

At this, he realized that she was going to change his life forever. "I really like you too." He replied. Akira saw Asako's hand resting on the table, so he placed his hand on top of it. She smiled. He smiled back. Slowly, he was unconsciously leaning forward. And, as if a magnetic force was drawing them together, she was unconsciously leaning forward as well. When Akira was close enough, he stopped to take a good look at Asako's face. She was a goddess; a beautiful, lovely, enchanting goddess.

For a moment, he wondered if he was worthy enough to be with her, but when her eyes slowly closed, and her hands touched his face, he decided to just give in and deliver their first official kiss.