Ugh... I went through the chapter again and made a number of corrections. That'll teach me for posting hastily.

Chapter 10: Day Three

WHEN you are old and gray and full of sleep

And nodding by the fire, take down this book,

And slowly read, and dream of the soft look

Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,

And loved your beauty with love false or true;

But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,

And loved the sorrows of your changing face.

And bending down beside the glowing bars,

Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled

And paced upon the mountains overhead,

And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

(William Butler Yeats)

I

Away from his wife, Justin Lee did not feel the same amount of confidence that he had led her to believe he possessed. The dragon lady was not someone he took lightly and now that he had, as it were, taken her daughter from under her nose, well, there was definitely going to be hell to pay. Provocateur though he was, he was no fool. Eloping had been one of his more radical ideas and one that now had him pitted against a formidable foe. In many ways, he was an oriental boy at heart… and he hated the thought that his mother-in-law did not exactly approve of him or his ideas of marriage.

Despite appearances to the contrary, Justin Lee was a man who had his fair share of insecurities. There were still some unanswered questions lingering in his mind regarding Rui's interest in Chiaki. But he pushed those aside to meet a much more pressing matter… how was one to appease the dragon lady's wrath.

He was known to be a man of ideas… and yet now, when he needed inspiration urgently, he felt himself fumbling desperately in the dark.

In the mean time, the dragon lady was temporarily tucked safely away in her unnecessarily large suite at the Hyatt. She was in danger of wearing out the carpet… pacing up and down in her room, twisting the straps on her handbag in an agitated manner. Matters had certainly spiraled out of control and out of her hands. And for the first time in her life, Mei Wang Son felt hapless.

Rui had always been such compliant and sensible child her entire life. It was hard to believe she had allow herself to be complicit in an elopement and with that underachieving Justin Lee to boot. She hadn't minded Rui's persistent infatuation with Chiaki… He at least had potential and would go far but that firebrand from Taiwan was nothing and would go no where… and as a concerned parent, she thought that her daughter deserved better. Much better.

She had only always wanted the best for her beloved Rui… at least she convinced herself of it. What parent didn't? Since Rui turned professional at the age of 10, they had seen one success after another. Many would say that she had done right by her daughter nurturing her talent and committing herself to her long-term success.

Now to be rewarded with this ultimate act of ingratitude… betrayal… was a stab to the heart. How sharper than a serpent's tooth… Mother and daughter had shared much more than success together… both had made sacrifices for Rui's craft. The daughter, impressionable, accepted that she had a special gift from heaven, gave up normality at a young age… an isolated yet public life away from her peers. In exchange, she would see the world and rub shoulders with the greats of the classical music world. Her mother set aside her own ambitions, instead pouring her heart and soul into moulding her prodigious daughter. In exchange, the world would see her as the mother of a great musical talent. She told herself, over and over again that to be able to stand alongside her only daughter, overflowing with maternal pride was her greatest reward. It seemed like an unbreakable bond… an unspoken promise to stay together forever as a seemingly unbreakable team. And now an upstart had come between them in this impetuous manner was more than the mother could bear.

It was, of course, easier to blame the conducting upstart… for Mei Rui to believe that her daughter was responsible for her own choices was too devastating… and heartbreaking. All of which spelt abandonment.

II

The irony of marriage for Chiaki and Nodame was that while he expected nothing would change between them, she was adamant that change would be an inevitable consequence of a rite of passage. He had expected that things would go on the way it had always. He had been prepared to continue being the dutiful, caretaking husband… a role that he had carved for himself all those years ago and had settled into with complete equanimity. He married the hentai knowing full well what he was in for but he was past caring about her strangeness. Picking up after her, feeding her and being embarrassed by her idiosyncrasies were part of the deal. To his mind, they were a small price to pay to hear her play… to have her by his side for as long as he could. He didn't need much from her… her companionship was more than enough for him. Years later, it had finally penetrated his music addled skull that he wasn't exactly an easy person to live with and she somehow managed to see past his perfectionist streak and not be intimidated by it. There were times he was surprised that she understood him as well as she did… amazed on the odd occasion that she knew him better than he knew himself.

Companionship, it seemed to him was a rather banal word to describe what they had. Nevertheless, it was a simpler word than the other one. Despite everything that happened in Rome, Chiaki was still painfully uncomfortable with the "L" word… He knew that he did "love" her but it was uncommonly hard for him to utter it in a manner that was befitting an affectionate husband.

Affectionate. An adjective that did not sit well with Chiaki's personality. Fortunately for the both of them, she seemed not to be bothered by it. But still, he had his moments. Moments in which he would shed his stoicism and let loose something of that hidden ardour.

Ardour. No one would know looking at him that he was capable of it outside of music. Whatever he had to offer, it was hers and hers alone to bask in. He gave her one last lingering look before heading off. He had so wanted to ply her with kisses but was loathe to wake her. I should let her sleep longer… she had such a long day yesterday and it won't be that much better today.

Chiaki wrestled with the contradictions that battled inside him. That woman whose companionship he valued above all else was once again pushing him in a different direction. As things stood between them, she was insistent, angry and lovable. But most of all, she was now his wife. It was a thought that both terrified and cheered him as he reluctantly walked out of that room door.

"Chekhov, is everything alright?" Chiaki saw the glum look on the Russian conductor's face and was quick to show concern. The two men were engaged in personable conversation while waiting for the day's proceedings to begin. It was gradually becoming more obvious to Chiaki that until the recent crisis, he knew very little about any of the other conductors that he was supposed to be representing. Was the guild (as claimed by its detractors) really just an irrelevant institution, a glorified gentlemen's club with charitable pretentions?

"As well as can be expected." Chekhov commented as he sank into the seat beside Chiaki. "They've had to confine her to the bed and she has been strenuously resisting every attempt to keep her there."

"It can't be too easy for you, being over here, waiting for updates and wondering how she is."

"You know what's really hard, Chiaki? It's not that I have to care for her 24/7. That I would gladly do for the rest of my life. No, it isn't that. It's watching a beautiful, vital woman turn into a shell of her former self… watching her slide gradually into oblivion."

"I can't imagine what that's like."

"Nothing prepares you for it. All the things she loved… books, music, her kitchenware are now just empty tokens of what was once a lively mind and caring spirit. Things we shared in our married life are just a jumbled puzzle with numerous missing pieces strewn in the recesses of her degenerating brain."

Chiaki remained silent. There was nothing to say. Here he was, newly married and yet struggling to keep it together in his first week. Something like Alzheimer's was not in their league.

Nonetheless, Chekhov seemed eager to talk, perhaps grateful for a sympathetic ear. "Still, I have no regrets, we had a good thirty years together. I suppose I'm greedy to have wanted more. One never ever thinks about it coming to an end so soon. She was my greatest support throughout my career… Perhaps I could have done it without her but it wouldn't have been half as rich or as fun."

"I hope I can say the same when the time comes."

"I envy you, Chiaki. You're just beginning your journey with the woman you love. It's an exciting time. I wish I could re-live it all again."

"Exciting?" Chiaki thought about the previous evening and allowed a trace of a smile to pass his lips. "I suppose it is."

"You don't seem convinced." Chekhov looked faintly amused.

"It's just that… life with Nodame is always exciting." Chiaki confessed with a tinge of irony. Too exciting… one never knows with her what's turning those wheels in her brain.

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

"Not always. But after all these years of us being together, there are still aspects of her I have not unraveled. In that regard, I find her unpredictable."

"But obviously you are not a man who avoids unpredictability."

"Why do you say that?"

"To have given yourself over to such a woman, you must find unpredictability something of an attractive quality."

"I must confess, I have never thought about it that way."

"Haven't you?" Chekhov flashed him a broad grin. "And here am I thinking that you're an intelligent man."

"You don't know Nodame… She is capable of confounding Einstein himself."

"Now, why doesn't that surprise me…"

Chiaki found himself entranced by Chekhov. Never had he known the man so talkative and on this occasion he was very fluent.

"The truth is we tumble into marriage without knowing what the future holds. That unknown factor is both the biggest attraction and the most unnerving aspect of the entire game."

"A game? You perceive marriage as a game?"

"Not generally." Chekhov's smile broadened yet again. "But you have to admit… it's something of a gamble at times. The odds could turn against you at any time."

"So it's down to luck, then?"

"There is an element of that."

"So all that pious wisdom that the experts say about marriage being about hard work is a lie then?"

"Not entirely." A look of mischief flashed in Chekhov's eyes which then turned somewhat serious. "Not at all… it is true but they don't tell you of course that it is quite often the women who work the hardest."

Chiaki was about to make a sceptical comment but thought better of it. Instead he tried a different tack.

"Weiss informed me last night that it's impossible to have a successful career and an equally successful marriage simultaneously. He seemed rather sure of it."

"Weiss suffers from more than just a little conjugal envy." Chekhov responded with a wry smile.

"He gave me the impression last night that he was content being single."

"I think generally he is reasonably content… but I'm sure he wonders like everyone else how the other side lives."

I don't want to. Chiaki thought to himself. "I get the feeling that there's a lot more to Weiss than most people give him credit for."

Chekhov nodded. "Almost everyone underestimates him. I know him better than most and even I suspect that there are things about him that he has kept carefully hidden. It doesn't bother me really. Everyone has their secrets… it doesn't, however, necessarily make them villains…"

"By the way, speaking of Weiss, where is he?"

"Didn't he tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"That he wasn't coming… a stomach bug or some such thing…"

"Really?" Chiaki was taken aback. "Strange. He didn't mention anything to me. Can't be anything he ate last night, can it? " Chiaki racked his brains trying to recall what was served the previous night.

"I don't know. He called to ask me how my wife was doing and then told me that he'd been making trips to the bathroom all night."

"I'm sure he didn't call this morning and I'm sure he didn't leave any messages either. Unbelievable." Chiaki shook his head. "This year's conference is turning into a farce."

"You don't think our president is playing truant, do you?" Chekhov asked pointedly.

"If he is, well… I can't say I blame him for trying." moaned a dejected looking Chiaki. "I only wish I had thought of it myself."

Her eyelashes flickered momentarily. Mrs Chiaki Shinichi opened her eyes and immediately noticed that her bedfellow was no where in sight. The only sign that he had been there were the clothes he had worn the night before, strewn all over the end of the bed. She wondered if he had left in haste or… perhaps in frustration or better still, reluctance. It gave her a perverse sense of pleasure to know that even after the wedding she was still capable of turning his well-ordered existence into disarray.

Nodame made some effort to glance at the timepiece beside her and made some noises affecting surprise. She had still managed to sleep in, in spite of turning in early the previous night. Allowing herself a brief moment to yawn and stretch, she jumped out of bed, raring for a bite of breakfast. Her priorities were clear… her stomach was yearning for food and Nodame was not one to shirk her obligations especially when duty was clamouring for her undivided attention.

In an instant, she undressed out of her bedclothes and into a turtle neck top and pleated skirt. As she swung her favourite tote over her shoulder, she determined before arriving at her destination, that on her third day at the conductor's conference that she would enjoy breakfast uninterrupted.

III

"Justin… is everything alright?"

The other newly weds in another part of the hotel were finishing their breakfast with their beverage of choice. They had said little to one another during the meal and Justin appeared to be preoccupied.

"Everything's fine. Why?" He looked up momentarily to give his wife a smile and then proceeded to adjust his tie nervously.

"You're very quiet."

"Am I?"

"Uh… huh… Too quiet." Justin's young wife shot him a penetrating stare. "It's about mum, isn't it?"

"What makes you think that?"

"It's that familiar nervous, edgy look that she seems to inspire in almost everyone."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, to me it is. Besides you talk in your sleep." Rui took hold of her husband's hand reassuringly. "You don't have to worry about her, you know. I'm old enough to make up my mind… and I'm not about to let her change my mind."

"I know. It's not that so much. I just didn't think about how difficult things would be for you… for us doing what we did. My timing seems to be off lately." Justin made a feeble attempt at a joke.

"It's one of those things I like about you, once you put your mind to something, you go for it."

"Some might call it impetuous." And they have.

"They might but they're probably just jealous that they don't have the guts to stand up for what they believe in."

"And I do?"

"In spades."

"And you think it's courage that is the method behind this recent madness?"

"Courage… yes… and I hope… well, er…" Rui suddenly looked shy. "Love… She said in a quieter tone of voice and gazed at him, her eyes shining.

"Love… is important. But without trust, love will wither away and die." Justin suddenly looked distant.

Rui gave him an incredulous look. "Are you turning philosopher or you don't trust me?"

Her husband did not respond immediately and got up from where they were seated and walked to the window facing the main road.

His countenance hidden from her, he asked, "Rui, why did you suddenly change your mind? About us, I mean…"

"Change my mind?" Rui looked at him confused.

"For three years, you kept me on a leash like some pet dog but then a couple of weeks ago, you suddenly changed your mind."

"It wasn't that sudden."

"Wasn't it?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"Your mother isn't the problem. She can be terrifying… sure… but if you had been adamant about us being together in the past, I think she would have given in to you eventually."

"Why are you saying all this, Justin?"

"I want us to be perfectly honest with each other… right from the start."

"Okay… but…"

"I spoke to Chiaki yesterday…"

"About what…"

"About you and him…"

"Him and me?"

"Yes… "

"But there's never been him and me…"

"No. He said that. But…"

"You didn't believe him."

"Oh, I believed him. As far as he's concerned, he's always been in love with that weird wife of his."

"You think, however, that I was in love with him."

"Were you?"

"Why bring this up now?"

"Because I have to know… I have to be sure that you are doing this for the best possible reasons."

"I love you Justin. I chose you. I married you. Isn't that enough?"

"It isn't that. The fact is, I don't want to be… an afterthought… A replacement called out from the reserves… I have no intention of playing second fiddle to Chiaki for the rest of our married life."

"An afterthought? Who told you that?"

"Nobody had to. I always suspected something but I didn't know it was Chiaki until recently."

A thick wall of silence rose between them. The atmosphere was thick with tension. For a while there, neither seemed ready to break it. The timepiece in the room could be heard ticking away in the background as if it felt needful of filling in the silence.

In the end it was Rui who ended it, knowing that she was at a crossroads and that honesty would be the best policy.

"I suppose there's no use denying that I had feelings for Chiaki." She said blandly. "It was a stupid, girlish crush. I knew he cared deeply for Nodame but at the back of my mind, I just kept hoping… somehow… I don't know what I was thinking really. I didn't have many friends, traveling as much as I did and he was the first person my age I got to know well enough and he made me feel comfortable about the way I played."

"He was kind to you."

"You could say that. I was lonely and frustrated. He was the ideal person to fill that gap in my life except that emotionally he had already given himself over to someone else."

"He was a fool to choose that crazy woman over you."

"You're sweet, Justin but you haven't heard her play, have you?"

"No… but…"

"She's mesmerizing. There's really no other word for it. She transports you to another place and conjures up pictures in your mind with her music. You feel the music because she feels the music and takes you on a journey with her."

"I'm sure you're generous for thinking that."

"I never used to see it but at the Tilburn comp, I was completely blown away by her rapport with the audience. I don't know how, but she captivates her audience from the moment she strikes the first note.

"I knew then that I hadn't a hope. Not because she's a better pianist than I but because the music she plays comes from somewhere in the soul that cannot be mimicked. Chiaki probably saw that from the first and was hooked. Her craziness, as you call it, probably contributes to the fascinating way in which she plays. Several years ago, I performed with him and while we played well together, I could sense that his heart and mind was not with me. All throughout the concerto, his thoughts were on something else… most probably her. Her music has such a big influence on him and he on her that no one has a hope of coming between them."

"So you gave up…"

Rui shook her head. "It was more the case that I realized how deluded I'd been. I'd been wallowing in some impossible perhaps even childish fantasy." She paused. "I think even Mum was aware of it."

"It wouldn't surprise me. Nothing much gets past her even if she is a little paranoid." Justin muttered darkly.

"Hey… don't talk about my mother that way even if she is a little paranoid." Rui protested playfully.

He threw his hands up in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. Consider me properly chastened. I yield. I'm no match for the Son mother-daughter combination. It's going to be a lifelong burden to bear, dealing with the pair of you."

She snuggled up to her husband, her eyes full of hope. "Justin… Does that mean you believe me? That I didn't choose you as an afterthought… you know that, don't you?… You were there for me all the time and you're the only man who hasn't minded my mother."

"I guess not… but I will continue not minding her if I get to have her daughter body and soul."

"She's all yours… mind, body and soul."

"Now we'll just have to convince your mother about that as well."

There was something remotely familiar about the spectre that hovered over her. Nodame had not seen her for some time so it took her brain some moments to process the face, together with the cropped hairdo and the threatening eyes. Her first thought when she recognized the monster in front of her was to wonder what zoo the woman had escaped from. Standing in front of her was a terrifying ghoul looking ready to wreak havoc and unleash an unearthly horror.

"You're Chiaki's partner, aren't you?" Nodame could see that the narrow eyes were boring down on her throat.

Nodame nodded limply, staring regretfully at her half-eaten muffin and wondered why she had bothered with breakfast in the first place.

Mei Son went straight to the point. "Where's my daughter?"

"Huh?"

"My daughter… remember her?"

Nodame nodded again. "Somewhere…"

"Where?" The mother was determined to get a straight answer.

"Probably with her husband."

"That useless lovesick girl…" The older woman snapped, straightened her blouse and readied for action.

"Why do you say such things about your own daughter?"

"It's none of your business."

"Then why did you ask me where she was?" Nodame stared at the woman with complete innocence, apparently taking no offence at the older woman's obvious peevishness.

"I… I… Nobody tells me anything."

Nodame nodded sagely and gently patted the woman on the arm that was leaning dangerously on her table. "I know exactly how you feel."

"You do?" Mrs Son looked up from her handkerchief in disbelief.

"Sure. It's irritating that people always assume the worse about everything and everyone. They think they know best how people are going to react to something. They treat us like children, thinking we need to be protected from the truth when really, everyone would be better off facing up to the truth and dealing with it."

Mrs Son shot Nodame a curious look.

"What's your name, girl?"

"Call me Nodame, aunty."

"You know, Nodame, you're a lot smarter than you look."

"You should tell my husband that. He thinks I don't know anything at all. It's annoying that even now, he thinks that he has to protect me from the big bad world out there."

"Perhaps his intentions are good." The fiery banshee beside her was now a different creature… oddly calm and soothed.

"Of course they're good. But is it necessary? How long is he going to continue doing it? I'm not a baby anymore and I have had to work very hard on my own to get to where I am now."

"Maybe his being overprotective is his way of saying how much he wants to be a part of your life."

Nodame looked incredulous. "But we are married… he is a part of my life anyway. There's nothing more he needs to do to prove the point."

"But is he wrong… in wanting to protect you? Isn't that his job as the husband to do so?"

"It's not about wrong or right…" Nodame cast a sharp look at the woman beside her. "Sometime it's about timing. But then we're not just talking about me, are we?"

Mrs Son did not answer the question directly. Chiaki's partner, she had heard, was very odd but here she was being unexpectedly perceptive. "I'm a mother and I have only one daughter."

"She seems to really like this Justin."

"Hmph… he's a nobody."

"Really? I've heard that he's an interesting person… a bit of trouble maker in the guild. That would make him a somebody, wouldn't it?"

"But Chiaki is the secretary of the guild and he's not even thirty…"

"Anybody can be secretary, aunty but it takes a special kind of person to makes waves… someone with character and personality."

"You're not actually implying that your husband is lacking in personality, are you?" Mrs Son noted, with a hint of rare humour in her tone of voice.

"He's a musical genius no doubt but he doesn't need personality when he has me, right? I have enough of that for the two of us."

"I don't doubt that, young lady." Mrs Son grim features managed to twist themselves to produce a smile.

"You know, Mrs Son, you're not so frightening when you smile. You should do it more often."

"Perhaps it's because I don't meet enough people with personality."

"Maybe… you just need to get out more…"

"Maybe I do."

"The next phase of the plan will be carried out this afternoon."

"Good."

"I'm surprise that you still want to go through with it now that you've met her."

"It was always my intention to meet her."

"I thought you liked her…"

"I do… very much…"

"But why?"

"You shouldn't worry about things that don't concern you. Just do what you're told."

"You're the boss."

"At least someone knows that."

Author's Notes:

I daresay that this chapter feels a tad fillerish but I did introduce certain threads into the story which I feel deserves a lot more attention than what I've been giving them. I took some liberties giving Mrs Son a first name, trying to make life easier for myself. I don't recall her having a first name in canon but I'm happy to be corrected.

Thank you for your patience... I am hoping the next chapter will not take as long to complete as this one did. Many thanks for all the reviews. I apologize for not getting to everyone this time round. It's been rather mad the last few weeks.