Chapter 20

Abby and Pauline sat at a table together at Pasty's. Kuki had just brought their orders, and they offered her some of their fries. "Don't mind if I do," she said with the sweetest smile as she picked one fry after another. "Ok, if I go on, the other customers will think that we've got bad manners and service here," she said as she dipped one more fry in ketchup and got back to work.

"So, you said you're going to meet the parents, huh?" Abby asked as she bit into her juicy burger.

Pauline's eyes grew wide as she replied, "Yeah, I'm so nervous about it. I've never really done 'meet the parents' before. And now, just thinking about meeting Kev's…" she shuddered, "…freaking. out."

"Nah, you'll be ok. They'll love ya. You're…you," Abby encouraged.

The African gave a nervous chuckle. "Man, I hope so," she said as she sipped her soda. "I really hope so."

Abby smiled at her friend as she tilted her head and furrowed her brow. "You really love this guy, huh?"

"Yeah, it's ridiculous, right? Considering how I couldn't stand him in the beginning." Pauline clicked her tongue. "It's a mad mad world. Anyway, like I said, I'm freaked out about the parents. He doesn't talk about his family much, but I know he talks to his mom on the phone every other day. So they must be close. And so she is gonna watch my every action like a hawk."

"Hey, don't complain to me about his lack of openness. You chose him. By yourself. You were under no duress whatsoever to go out with him. And after all your dates, you did realize he wasn't much of a talker." Abby added with a roll of the eyes, "We all realized he's not much of a talker." She said that as she recalled the time her friend had introduced Kev to the rest of the gang. He made small talk, but was quiet most of the time. It wasn't an uncomfortable sort of silence though. And he'd occasionally say something really funny. It would be even funnier because of how he said it; it lacked any kind of amusement in his voice, as though he wasn't trying to be funny at all.

Abby, however, couldn't deny the obvious. She could see how smitten he was over her friend by the way he looked at Pauline, they way he smiled and held her discreetly. The two are such a contrast of the other, she thought, but I guess it's how they work. The contrast is their compliment.

"Hey," Abby said to her friend who looked exceptionally worried, "it will be ok. Kev loves you. His family must love him. So they'll at least try to give you a chance, you know."

Pauline gave a tight smile, hoping that Abby would be right. Just then she looked out the window. "Ooh, look at that," she said with some excitement.

Abby turned in the direction that her friend was looking. She saw a guy standing across the road. His back was to them and he pressed his arm against what she assumed was his car as he leaned against it. He brought a cigarette to his mouth using his free hand. He wore a red jacket whose collar was up, covering the back of his neck. As she looked at his hands, Abby noticed that he was very light skinned, but his short curly hair wasn't typical Caucasian. She raised her right brow questioningly as her gaze shifted to her friend, eyes squinting slightly, "Uh, what exactly am I supposed to be looking at?"

"The guy; he's hooooot," she said. "Too bad he turned before you could see his face. He is so cute." Then she smiled naughtily. "Though he doesn't look too bad from the back either," she said as she admired his physique.

"Um, excuse me, we are in a relationship, aren't we?" Abby asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, but, you know, he ain't got nothing on my man. I'm just…comparing, that's all," she said sheepishly. "Ahh," she squeaked as she looked at her watch, "gotta get to work, sweetie." She looked at Abby apologetically, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to leave you alone. I thought Hoagie would be here by now."

Abby waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. And I'm sure Hoagie's almost here. Must have got delayed at the garage."

"Ok," Pauline said as she stood up, adjusting her handbag strap on her shoulder. "I'll see you later?"

Abby nodded as her friend smiled at her and left. She sat by herself for two minutes as she sucked on her soda straw. As it emptied the cup the liquid made a slurp, and her cheeks flushed as two people turned to look at her. She smiled shyly and pushed the cup away from her. She then removed a novel from her backpack. As she read the first paragraph of Nelson Demille's 'The Lion's Game' from where she had left off, someone came and stood beside her table. Abby looked up.

"May I take a seat?"

She looked around the diner. There were other unoccupied tables. She turned back to the guy next to her. Abby recognized him as the guy Pauline had been checking out. Her friend was right. This was one very attractive man. "Do I…know you?" she asked hesitantly.

He gave a small smile and made his bottom lip protrude slightly before retracting it as he shrugged. "Maybe. If you let me sit down, I might be able to jog your memory."

Abby looked at him, studying his face for a while. He was familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on where or when they could have met. Finally she said, "Ok, sit." Her curiosity was piqued. "So tell me, where have I seen you before?"

He sat and leaned back lazily in his chair. "You tell me. Might you have seen me in your dreams, perhaps? That would certainly make my day," he said, his face lit with amusement.

She scoffed. "That's definitely not it. I'd have at least remembered your smooth talk," she said with a roll of the eyes. She studied him again intently as he sat back and watched her, brow raised as he waited for any sign of recognition. "Ok, I'm clueless. Sorry."

He gave a quiet little laugh. He leaned forward, planting his elbows on the table and supporting his head in his hands. "Think back to when you were a little kid."

As Abby tried to remember, Kuki approached their table. She held a tray in which she was carrying all the plates and cutlery as she cleared tables. When she got to Abby's table she stopped dead in her tracks. "*Oniichan?" she said in a startled voice. She wasn't expecting to see him there, or anywhere for that matter.

"*Neesan," he said with a small smile as he nodded in greeting.

Abby immediately had a light bulb moment. "Kuki's cousin," she said as she snapped here fingers, a triumphant smile on her face. "Yeah," she added as it all came back to her, and her smile began to waver. She looked at Kensei in a new light, but for fear of staring, she turned to her friend. "Hey Kuk's," she said with uneasiness. She placed her plate on the pile in the tray. "Thanks."

"No, thank you," Kuki said appreciatively and quickly went to the kitchen. She put the tray on the counter and then leaned against it. She suddenly felt a little hot under the collar. She tried to fan herself with her hand in vain. She couldn't understand why, after so many years, she still couldn't be herself around her brother. "I'm such a wuss. "

"Are you alright, missy?" One of the cook's asked the Japanese girl, concern reflected in her voice.

Kuki nodded vigorously and turned her back to the cook. "No," she said quietly. "I'm bigger now. Nothing will happen."

xxx

Hoagie walked into the diner seven minutes later. He quickly spotted Abby, her long hair held in a ponytail. He walked towards her happily, approaching her from behind. "Hey babe, sorry I'm late," he said as he bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek. He then held out his hand and smiled. "Hi. I'm Hoagie," he said as he waited for Kensei to take his hand.

The man in his mid-twenties shook Hoagie's hand firmly. He did not smile as he introduced himself, but his face did not give off any hostility either. He watched as Hoagie sat beside Abby, and how she looked so content near him. It pissed him off. But he had a good poker face, so even then his irritation did not show.

"Kensei was just leaving, right?" Abby said as she looked deliberately at the man seated across from her.

He smiled tightly. "Of course." He got up and zipped up his jacket. "It was nice seeing you again," he said to Abby. "Bye."

Hoagie waited until Kensei was out of the building before turning his head to look directly into his girlfriend's dark brown eyes. "Ok, what the hell was that?" he asked in wonder. Abby had been so uneasy when that guy was around. To any other observer, Abby may have seemed fine. But he could read her, and he knew something was up.

Abby sighed and shook her head. She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her waist as he waited for her to speak. She bit her bottom lip as she went down memory lane; her eyes were distant. Hoagie looked down at her with worry. "Abby, are you ok?"

She nodded her head slightly. "It's just…I'm so embarrassed…ashamed…" She wrapped her arms around his torso and looked up at him. "I'm just glad you're here," she said shortly.

Hoagie brought his hand to her cheek. She looked really troubled. He kissed her gently on the lips. "D'you wanna go home?" She nodded again. "Come on," he said as he led her out of the diner.

xxx

As Kensei got into his car, he heard hurried footsteps behind him. "Wait!" he heard a familiar voice shout. He rolled down his window as Kuki approached him, looking flushed. Despite how she felt about him, she had to at least go and tell him this one thing, "Thank you," she said breathlessly, "for saving Wally." When he didn't seem to know what she was talking about, she added quickly, "My boyfriend."

"Aah," he said with a nod. He gave her a sad smile; she still looked at him with trepidation. "It's about time I did something right by you."

Author's note:

*Oniichan is '(big) brother/bro' and neesan is 'sister/sis' in Japanese.