CHAPTER 15:
Breaking the Habit
For several moments Scott looked back and forth from the ring in Umi's outstretched hand to her face. He was so shocked that he could not fix on any one expression; it was as if he couldn't decide which emotion to use first. Should he laugh like it was a big joke, or should he rage in anger? When a tear quietly slid down her face, he knew that this was no joke at all.
Scott looked at Umi's hand like it was going to bite him. "I don't want it!" he said in a voice that was deathly calm.
"Please, Scott. Take it," she said as tears started falling down her face.
"No," he said to her, his voice still not rising above a whisper.
"Please," she begged with a trembling voice.
He shook his head and backed away from her like he would a rattlesnake.
"I can't marry you. I just can't!"
Her words made him stop in his tracks. "Yes, you can! I love you, Umi."
"I know you do. That's why this is so hard!" She withdrew her hand and the ring guiltily as she spoke.
"God forbid it should be easy to break up with the man who loves you," he said with the first hint of his anger.
She looked at him like she had been wounded, so he tried to placate her. "It's probably just nerves, Umi. The wedding is getting closer, and the plans are crazy. I know my mother," he tried to smile as if it was a joke. "Plus there are all the pressures with the end of another school year."
"I… uh… That's not it." Umi wrung her hands and started to pace the area of the barn where she was standing, a gesture that she usually did when she was extremely emotional.
She took a deep breath and then made herself stop moving around. Displaying her visible agitation made her only think more of Clef and the times he had talked to her in Cephiro. Shoring up her bravery, Umi looked back at Scott and plunged forward without allowing him to interrupt her explanation.
"When we found Harry after my birthday, he didn't know who he was, but he reminded me of someone I used to know. Someone I loved very much and haven't stopped loving, Scott. I thought I could just forget and put those feelings away because I didn't think I would never meet him again. Then Harry showed up not knowing who he was. It's been ten years, but I would know him anywhere..."
The dark-haired man blinked several times not sure which issue to tackle first. "So this whole time you knew you Harry was? Don't you think that it's past time you share that little piece information? After all, he still doesn't know who he is. Or does he? Maybe he was stalking you that night we met him on the road."
The look on Scott's face was suspicious, but Umi gave a mirthless laugh. "No, if he really is the man I think he is, he's not from anywhere around here. That's another reason why I've had trouble believing it could be him."
"But now you love him, don't you? You've fallen in love with him right under my nose!"
"I do like Harry, but I still very much love the man he might be. I don't know for certain that they actually are the same person. I haven't lied to you to keep his identity secret."
His eyes narrowed in accusation. "But you knew or at least suspected something, and that's a whole lot more than the rest of us. A lie of omission is still a lie!"
"You wouldn't have believed me!" she shouted.
"You'll never know, will you? It's not as if you trusted me enough to tell me before it came to this. I will not give up, Umi. I asked you to marry me, and that does mean for better or worse," he said as he wrinkled his nose in disgust at the current situation.
"I can't marry you," Umi said again. "My heart was never free to give to you, not like this. I thought I was free, but obviously I'm not."
"Why don't you love me?" he demanded with a sharp tone.
"I do love you," she said softly, looking at him with her ocean blue eyes, "but now I realize it's not enough."
He crossed his arms protectively over his chest and turned his back to her. "You know, I never did anything except treat you like a queen."
"I know that, too," she replied somberly.
A moment of silence filled the barn, and Scott tried one more plea. "Umi, don't throw us away!"
"That makes it sound like this decision was easy. It wasn't. Not at all," she said, giving him a sidelong glance.
"So what are you going to do now?" he said in an angry, hurtful tone. "Are you going to rush off to his arms and declare your undying love? We know how long that lasts," he added sarcastically.
"No, I'm not going to do that, either," Umi said as she stood up straighter. There was another decision she had made when she finally got the will go break her engagement with Scott. "I'm going back to Japan."
Scott turned his head as if he had not heard her right. "Japan?"
"It's the best thing to do," she said logically. "If I stay here, things will just be awkward between us. I need to go back to my family and the friends who have known me longer than any others."
Templeton closed his eyes. "When will you go?"
"I've given copies of my letter of resignation to your parents. I don't know if they've read it yet, but I'll stay until the end of the school year."
"I want to hate you. I want to hate you so much," he said bitterly as he started to walk past her. "I don't, but I really don't like you very much right now."
Wordlessly, Umi offered the ring to him. He took it with his finger tips, holding her hand for a brief moment, though he didn't look her in the eye. A tear slid down his cheek as he broke their touch and walked out of the barn.
Though she had once been the Magic Knight of water, Umi barely survived the next day. She had to explain to Richard and Patricia that she was severing all ties with them both personally and professionally. The guilt piled on her shoulders exponentially, but she bravely faced the consequences of her decision. At the end of the day, she scrambled home to her bungalow to avoid others at all costs.
Her wish was not granted when after supper someone came knocking on her door. Umi looked out to see that it was Joan Carter waiting impatiently on her doorstep. Then with great embarrassment, she realized that she had forgotten the plans they had made earlier to finish up the Under the Sea theme for the high school dance.
"I'm so sorry," she said with a flaming blush as soon as she opened the door to Joan.
"Steve, Jessie, Scott and Harry were there to help finish up. Do you care to tell me what's going on?" Joan asked. "Jessie and Harry now seem uncomfortable around each other. Scott is shooting daggers at Harry every time his back is turned, and you just weren't there. You're not the kind of person to forget or shirk your duties. The only one who doesn't seem to be in a snit is Steve."
"Have a seat," Umi said as she indicated the sofa. "Do you want some tea?"
"I take it this is going to be a long explanation," Joan said as she sat down. Then she nodded for the tea as Umi shuffled off to get the tea tray ready.
When the younger woman came back, they shared a Japanese tea that was usually heartily enjoyed by the both of them. That enjoyment was dampened as both waited for Umi's explanation.
At last, she set down her tea cup and said in a very soft voice, "Scott and I are not getting married. I gave him back the ring yesterday. I've given the Templetons my resignation, and I'll be going back to Japan in June."
Joan looked sadly at the cup in her hand. "I'll miss you," she finally said.
"I'll miss everyone here, especially Scott," Umi said.
"Well, I still need you as a chaperone for the dance, even if you won't be going with Scott as a date." The teacher tried to make a light joke of it.
"I'll be there," she assured. "If there is anything I do know how to do, it's look like a sea princess."
"It won't be the same as a wedding dress," Joan said as she stood up to leave, "but I'm sure you'll look beautiful."
"Thank you," she replied as she softly closed the door behind her friend.
They had to wait over a week to actually have the dance, which was on the Friday of the following week. Umi wasn't sure why the place had to be decorated so far in advance, but Steve had said they were going to practice dancing. He thought being in the right element would help the students learn and remember something instead of the uncoordinated twitching seen in and real teen dances that weren't in a choreographed teen movie.
Meanwhile, Umi was keeping her mind on her work and finishing up any business matters that might have come up with her plans to return to Japan. She didn't talk about breaking the engagement, but she no longer had an engagement ring to wear. If someone actually asked her, she said she and Scott weren't getting married, but she did not elaborate further.
She especially did not give any more details about the fact that Harry looked like Clef. Scott had said she didn't give them an opportunity to understand the situation and who Clef was, but to her, everything was a done deal now without the need to be talking.
Avoiding Harry was the easiest part. She learned to do that before she broke the engagement to Scott. Once or twice she found herself staring at him in the cafeteria while she was thinking about Clef, but she stopped quickly when she realized that was what she was doing.
When Friday came, Umi got ready in her bungalow. She had found a dress to make her look like a mermaid with secret walking space under the tail, which was attached to her right wrist by an invisible wrist band. Her hair was fixed on top of her head with cascading pearls, small shells and glitter to give the shimmering impression of scales. Her makeup looked soft and luminous to finish the appearance of being a true underwater princess.
Umi quietly walked alone to the dance. The idea of a sea theme had been charming to her when it was first suggested, so she tried to enjoy it for fitting her magical element. The actual effect of the room did look magical, and she was happy for the teens to have a great dance.
In her role as chaperone, she did not dance at first because she was busy making sure that the students were behaving. She also was trying give Scott a wide berth because she was still dealing with her guilt about hurting him.
While Umi was busy supervising the children, she was unaware of one man watching her. He knew the moment she came inside the building, and he watched her hungrily as she stood alone near the door surveying the room. He watched her avoid Scott, and though he heard the whisper of rumors, he didn't know for sure if the couple had called it quits. When watching them in the same room, it seemed to be so.
Finally, Harry got his courage and walked over to the beautiful vision in blue. Umi looked radiant, and she captured him like the sirens in the old sea legends had captured sailors.
"Umi, would you like to dance?" he asked
"Harry!" she answered him with a sudden surprised smile that was breathtaking. "I'm a chaperone."
"Just because you're a chaperone doesn't mean you can't dance. That's why there are more than one person watching the kids."
"Okay," she agreed. She had to facet he fact that no matter who he actually was, she did want to touch him, and he had given her an opportunity that wouldn't come easily again.
Harry had asked her without thinking that he still walked with a cane. He could walk without it, of course, but he was wobbly when he did. He had forgotten about it when he gave in to his impulse to ask her to dance. His face fell uncertainly when he realized how this might go.
He gestured at his cane, so Umi took it from his hand and left it near the refreshment table. Umi glided back to him across the floor and Harry felt like he was the luckiest man in the world. Ignoring the looks of Scott and they others, he just thought of the woman who was with him. The dance was over much too soon and he had to let her go.
It was Umi who surprised him by saying, "I'd like to talk to you about something outside."
Finding his cane, they both walked together off the dance floor and out of the building so Umi could say to him whatever it was on her mind.
"I just wanted to tell you myself so you don't hear it from someone else. I'm leaving soon. I'm going back to Japan in about six weeks. I've given Scott back the ring."
"I'm sorry," he said and meant it. "But what does that have to do with me exactly?"
"I sincerely hope you get your memory back and learn who you are. You remind me of the man love, and maybe you're him. Maybe you're not." Umi reached forward to hold his face in both her hands and looked at him sadly.
"You are so beautiful, but every time I look at you I see him. I'm sorry." She leaned her forehead against his and let out a shuddering sigh.
"You're really leaving me, aren't you?" he said in a small voice, and then he shook his head in derision. "What am I saying? You were never mine. Not really."
They stepped away from each other, and Umi put her fingertips on his lips as she looked at him with finality. With a sigh, she turned to walk away.
Catching her by the wrist, the man known as Harry jerked her hard to him so that Umi twirled flush against his body like a dancer in one of the old movies. He reached with one arm around her back to hold her closer still, and he put his other hand at the nape of her neck to give her the kiss he'd been aching to give her for weeks.
Taken completely by surprise, Umi gave in to the kiss, feeling his lips on hers and the way he suckled her reverently without daring use his tongue. A whimper of both pleasure and pain escaped her when he parted from her. He clasped both her hands together in his, but did not say anything at all as he looked at her.
Harry then bowed his head once and walked away from Umi before she could be the one to walk away from him.