Mimi picked her head up when she heard her phone ringing. Digging her glove into her coat she took a glance at the Caller ID as Michael's before shutting it off— the last person she would want to explain things to now was her fiancee. Sighing, Mimi rang the doorbell to apartment C14.
"Tachikawa?"
"Hi," Mimi held her hand up. "Miyako, is it alright if I stay here tonight?"
A little baffled, Miyako quickly took her friend's load and ushered her in.
"Talk about a rough day," Miyako exclaimed as Mimi accepted the warm cup of coffee that was handed to her. Mimi simply nodded and curled herself on the couch. Together the both of them sighed and shared in the settling silence. Bringing her cup close enough so that steam brought warmth to her face, Mimi tried bringing to mind every soar, every tired muscle in her body that could make her fall asleep—anything beats recalling what had happened that day.
"And so after you were reunited with Shoji, you just walked away?" Mimi nodded and quickly rubbed her eye. "Why, I would like to give her a piece of rnrnn…" her vulgar intentions trailed off.
"I was scared," she replied, scratching her forehead. "I just, how was I to react? I couldn't face them! I can't. I don't know what more of a shock was, finding out that Matt had been alive all these years, or that all those years Shoji had been with him."
"Sounds like a good soap-opera to me."
Mimi stifled a smile and tucked her hair behind her ears, "What do you think I should do now? And Michael is probably so frustrated with me for running away, again. Oh, no, I forgot about Michael…" Miyako reached out and gave Mimi's hand a reassuring squeeze.
The moment Michael saw Mimi walking in he rushed towards her but Mimi held the papers she carried up to serve as a wall between them, meeting his pained look with her uncompromising voice.
"Michael," she closed her eyes, "I know what you're going to say but I ask, please, I don't want to talk about it. Not right now, I have some work to do."
Michael opened his mouth to protest but was called immediately by an assistant, he reached for Mimi's arm, "Alright, but we will talk, there's something going on with you…the man I told you about, who's going to be working with you, he's down in the lounge waiting. I think it would be good if you go out today; I made reservations for you both at a nearby café." Mimi nodded and heaved a huge sigh as Michael slid pass her before she continued walking when she was also met by Miyako.
"What?" Mimi asked when she saw her expression.
"Nothing," Miyako nodded in understanding and turned to leave, but also gave Mimi a wink and a huge grin. "I saw that gentleman in the lounge for you—you should definitely not keep him waiting, and who knows, he might help get your mind off you-know-who."
Mimi continued down a hallway until she came to the glass door with its black painted letters reading 'Main Lounge'. She pushed the door open, "Sir, I'm truly sorry if I have kept you waiting!"
"Don't worry, I was almost late coming in myself," Recognizing that voice Mimi's wide eyes looked up from her papers to see Matt sitting in the chair in front of her. He smiled and stood up with his arm reached out, "Tachikawa Mimi, am I right? I've heard a lot of great things about you. I'm—"
"Yamato Ishida," she finished for him. Taking short breathes, she subconsciously shook his hand, unable to close her mouth and stop from staring.
Matt tilted his head, "Yamato? Oh, I knew you seemed familiar!" Mimi then smiled widely thinking he finally remembered her. "You were that woman who called after me yesterday, am I right?"
Feeling her heart sink back down, Mimi chose not to fight it and nodded, "Yes that was me — ah, look, why don't we get out of here? There's this coffee house down by the corner and we could chat about the sketches for the fashion line there."
"That sounds terrific!"
Mimi nervously stole glances at Matt as he ordered coffee from the waitress. This is all too strange, in a way it feels like I'm having coffee with the dead, she made a gurgling noise that managed to catch Matt's attention, and he asked her if she was alright.
"Oh, no, I'm fine," she waved her hand in defense. "You were saying something to me earlier, Yamato—I mean, Matt?"
Matt gave her a quizzical look but dismissed it just as quick, "Alright, well, I thought we'd get started by me showing you some of the terms my company would want to see next spring—if that was alright with you," Mimi nodded strongly and he continued by taking out a few documents for her to look over. After a while the awkwardness for Mimi went away as they got more involved in their work and planning, they were swapping ideas non-stop as if they've long been business partners and the past was merely left as it were, up until the conversation began to get more personal.
Mimi let out a laugh, Matt nodded and drank his third cup of coffee, "And they didn't argue with you when you told them about your career plans?"
"Not at all," Matt shook his head, rubbing his thumb on the side of his cup. "My parents said they knew I would be doing great things, they had full confidence in letting me go out in the world right after college."
"That's amazing. My parents…I almost had to bribe them into letting me move in Japan. I mean, yes, they also had full confidence in me but they thought I was still a bit unstable after… oh! I'm sorry, my mind escaped me."
"Go on," Matt insisted with a curious look, "after what?"
Looking up from the table, Mimi's eyebrows were knitted together and her face appeared very hesitant. How am I to tell him of what happened after his accident? After I thought he was dead, he already might think I was a bit strange after yesterday. Still, if Shoji hadn't told him anything, I could work around it so he'd remember. "Well, you see, I had lost this really good friend of mine during High school; he got into a car accident."
"Oh. I'm so sad for you…"
"Yes, well, it took a long time to recover from it," Mimi shrugged and looked down at her hands; he hadn't mentioned anything about his car accident. She proceeded to look at her hands. "I guess I was on a one way track, spiraling down, my parents were afraid that they'd lose me, too. So even though I started getting back up on my feet they still doubted my emotional stabilities. But you know, that's the dramas of high school for you," she mustered a chuckle. "But anyway, I would say moving to Japan was a change greatly needed."
"Where are you from originally?" Matt asked and when Mimi answered Hong Kong, a smile appeared on his face. "Ah, Hong Kong, I've heard amazing stuff about that place, I plan to visit someday."
"Oh, how do you know so much about it?" Mimi asked, leaning in with a smile.
And Matt, once again, caused a frown to make it on Mimi's face by replying, "My girlfriend, Shoji, she's from Hong Kong, too. Is something wrong? Miss Tachikawa?"
"Shoji…that woman from yesterday afternoon."
"Why, yes, that was her," Matt said and added. "Do you know her? You both seemed equally surprised to see each other, but when you ran off well, we were both pretty worried that we had done something wrong."
Upon hearing so, Mimi's face turned sour and she said coldly, "Oh, worried, was she?"
Catching her sudden mood swing, Matt was about to say something when their table began to vibrate some from his cell phone. "Oh, excuse me," he apologized and checked the Called ID. "I'm sorry, Miss Tachikawa, I'm afraid I must be going now. It was very nice talking one-on-one with you and I hope to see you tomorrow."
As he was beginning to pack his things, leaving the phone open and unattended, Mimi's eyes couldn't help but wander to see whose name had appeared. Shoji, she watched in disappointment as Matt got up to leave, giving her a smile she had returned, and was gone to meet Shoji. Mimi stayed and sat there for an hour or two, having had at least a week's salary worth of coffee exhaustion finally seeped into her body and forced her to go home.
"Girlfriend, she's his girlfriend," Mimi's lip quivered and frost blew out from her mouth as she spoke, nearing her street. The dry ground attracted her eyes and the snow kept her body busy, but Shoji occupied all of her mind. I still can't believe Shoji would hide him from me for so long when she knew how much Matt and I cared for each other, nothing can justify her stealing him away from me. Mimi grimaced, when her eyes fell upon some shattered glass on the ground and bounced off scattered fragments of light that illuminated from the store window beside her, but what made Mimi look up from the ground was the object it reflected. Her lips formed a tiny smile and Mimi walked closer and put her hands on the window, admiring the wedding dress she had seen the other day.
"Hu—oh," her eyes dilated and her head gave a sudden lift when she realized what she was beginning to daydream about: walking down the aisle with the very same dress, and Yamato Ishida waiting to receive her hand. Mimi quickly pushed back and shook her head, "This is wrong, I am already in love with someone I shouldn't be waiting for Matt anymore!" she bit her lip to quiet herself. I'm right, this isn't high school anymore, I am a grown woman who can and should learn to control her feelings. Although my feelings and Shoji's betrayal are two different things; it's her I need to confront.
The lights to the window suddenly went off and a blind was being pulled down before her eyes, Mimi had guessed that it was closing time considering the rest of the stores around her began to follow this one's example and the street lights were coming on. Sighing, Mimi retreated and followed the way the lamps' began.
The following day, Mimi had been sent out with a team for the day and so she had to swing by her work building late that night to pick up the rest of her work. She reached the elevator and got in, pressed the correct floor button and watched the door slowly slide close.
"Wait!" Before the doors completely closed a purse was interpolated; it was Shoji. "Ahh…" her mouth slanted and complemented the disgruntled look Shoji had on her face when she saw Mimi, who, while in the same state of shock, just watched Shoji step in with her. Awkward silence settled in.
"Matt tells me you are working together," Shoji said nonchalantly.
Mimi glanced at the floor numbers, "Mmhm." her fingers tightening their grip on her bag. Quietly, Mimi studied Shoji; the giddy schoolgirl she knew as Shoji was definitely not the same woman she was looking at now. Shoji looked fierce, and so cold, Mimi thought when she took note of the business suit Shoji wore, she's changed a lot. Another moment of silence passed before the elevator doors opened and Shoji stepped out in front of Mimi, but before she did she gave her a sharp look.
"Don't try anything foolish with him, Mimi, you'll only get disappointed."
"Excuse me?" Mimi stepped out to face her. "Shoji, how can you even say that when you have been the one lying and hiding him all these years? Did you even tell him what really happened to him?" so many questions were filling her head.
Tilting her head back, Shoji acted as if she were surprised of what Mimi had said, "Hiding him? Mimi, if you recall it was you who lied and hid what you were feeling. It was you who watched me humiliate myself in front of Yamato while you tried to take him behind my back! What kind of friend is that?"
"That is not fair, Shoji," Mimi defended. "I… I didn't plan anything; I never tricked anyone into liking me especially Matt! But you… how could you, Shoji? You knew what I was going through then, why didn't you ever tell me he was alive?" her voice was a bit unstable now and Mimi's eyes started to water.
Seeing this only got Shoji frustrated and so she exclaimed, "Oh, grow up, Mimi! You haven't changed; you are still stuck into thinking the world bends itself to make only you happy. You think I hid Yamato from you? That day when I called you to meet me, I was going to tell you that Yamato survived, but it was your own fault for choosing to lock yourself in pity."
"You're a liar!"
"Liar! If anyone is the liar here it's you, Mimi Tachikawa," Shoji pointed. "It's your fault you are where you are but Yamato is with me now and you can't change that. Do everyone a favor, grow up and move on!" and with those parting words, Shoji stormed away leaving Mimi rendered speechless.
As time passed, the weather surely did, also. But Mimi could barely wait to escape the troubles of winter and into the loving hands of spring; the break from work to spend Thanksgiving with Michael, Miyako and the family was something Mimi was definitely felt thankful for.
It was still very cold and Mimi could see her breath every time she sighed. Thankful for her gloves, she picked up her steaming cup and gazed out the window.
"Mimi?" Looking up, Mimi was surprised to see Matt. He chuckled, "This certainly is a surprise, I have not seen you in a while. How was your Thanksgiving?"
"Matt! It was wonderful," Mimi smiled before she realized how dingy she must've appeared in her knitted sweater and ruffled hair hidden beneath a hat. She expected to just blend in with the crowd today and chose to huddle herself against the isolated corner. "So, uhm, do you come here often?"
Matt nodded and took the seat opposite of her, "I wasn't much of a coffee person but I've discovered it's crucial if I expect to keep my job and sanity in Tokyo." Mimi laughed. "So, how are things with you and the wedding plans?"
Mimi's face lit up, "Oh, it's been so wonderful! I kind of wish the wedding date wasn't so early so I would have more time to organize though. But what can I say? This is what a girl waits and dreams about her whole life, and Michael, well he's…" she flashed him a tiny smile and averted her eyes. She was feeling torn again. "I swear, I sometimes wonder how he can stand me when we can be so different."
"What do you mean?"
A short, silly laugh escaped Mimi and she met Matt's eyes, "Well, for instance, I'm not sure if you've noticed but I can be a bit of a work-a-holic sometimes—"
"Sometimes?" He chuckled when Mimi scowled at him. "Hey, I'm just making observations here."
"Yes, well… I love my work and I love fashion. But Michael, he's almost the exact opposite," Mimi sighed. "He can be so carefree—one of the good ones, you know. It seems like nothing ever shakes him up."
"Except you," Mimi quickly met his eyes. Matt smiled at her. "That's love, Mimi. The whole cliché of how opposites attract, it's just two people realizing their love is more important than the petty differences. People who are willingly to work at it so they can keep on loving each other."
Mimi smiled, "You know, that's absolutely right." They held each other's gazes for a moment that it almost seemed like a crime. A small chuckle escaped both their lips and when Mimi thought it was the perfect time to tell him the truth something happened in Matt's eyes and he immediately directed his eyes towards something else, as if trying to dismiss something.
"Do you need a refill? How about a bagel?" Matt began to get up.
"No, um, it's alright," she followed and he sat back down. Matt let out a stifled cough as the awkward moment sank in. Mimi couldn't tell herself that she wasn't enjoying this; something in Matt's eyes earlier gave her a reassuring hope about their future. She cleared her throat, "Have you ever read from Hitoshi Matsumoto?"
The question seemed to have knocked him out of a trance, "Huh—what?"
Mimi gestured and smiled, "Hitoshi Matsumoto. He's supposed to be this really well-known comedian and author in Japan. Miyako keeps raving about how funny he is and how I should read his books."
"Oh, yes, I've heard of him. He's great, you should check him out sometime," Matt replied nonchalantly and Mimi agreed quietly before turning her head towards the window. At the corner of her eye though, she enjoyed watching him take a hold of his coffee and do the same. This is kind of nice, she said to herself, us talking and being friends like we did long ago.
Matt cleared his throat and put out his hand, "Mimi, do you ever think—"he was cut off and both their heads turned to look up at Michael standing beside their table.
"Oh, hello, Michael," Mimi exclaimed and exchanged smiles with her fiancé.
Michael leaned down and kissed her before glancing at Matt, "Matt Ishida," he smiled. "It's nice to see you!"
"It's nice to see you, too, Mr. Sugai," Matt replied when he stood up to shake the man's hand. He passed a quick glance to Mimi. "Well, I better be heading home now."
"Oh, don't leave on my behalf," Michael put in and gestured for him to sit. "Please join us, Matt."
Matt grinned sheepishly and shook his head, "Thank you but I really should be getting home now. Miss Mimi, it's been a pleasure, as always," he smiled her way.
Mimi could tell her cheeks grew faint red and nodded quickly. Michael patted Matt on the back, "Well, maybe another time then. I enjoy getting to know the people I work with, maybe you can join me and some co-workers in a game of tennis sometime."
"Yes, sir, that would be great," Matt replied, he gave both a quick nod and left.
Taking Matt's old seat, Michael smiled at Mimi, "A nice guy, that Matt, a respectable worker, too. So, what is new with you this morning?"
Mimi shrugged, "Oh, nothing."