Chapter 4
Next day Rukawa went to Sakura Lane Bistro again. He wanted to see the workings of the place as much as possible. He definitely wanted to see what kind of business they did on Sundays and what kind of customers they attracted. This time Rukawa wasn't surprised when Akio ran into the office ahead of his father. He was acting a little differently than before though. He came up to Rukawa and stared hard at him.
"OK," he said and let out a big breath as if he was relieved for some reason.
Rukawa turned from Akio to Sendoh, looking for an explanation.
"I told you uncle Rukawa was fine. That was a long time ago," Sendoh said to his son before he addressed Rukawa. "Sakuragi told him about the crash-landing of your plane, so he got worried."
"About me?" Rukawa asked.
"You're very important to Kio as an object of curiosity," Sendoh told him with a grin. "He just needed to see for himself that you were OK. This morning he was anxious that you might not be here." Smiling down at him, Sendoh ruffled his son's hair then smoothed it down again.
"But uncle are here," Akio said to Rukawa. "Good for uncle. But uncle shouldn't fly any more planes until uncle learn how," Akio told him. Sendoh cracked up behind him.
Rukawa thought Akio might be finished with him, but that wasn't the end of it. While Akio drew at his father's desk, every now and then he would come up with an urgent question for Rukawa about what he liked to eat, what kind of car he had, whether Rukawa had a dog.
"No."
"Me either," Akio said with a sigh that came from the depths of his soul.
"I told you it's not fair to leave a dog alone all day," Sendoh told him defensively.
"I know," Akio said with a pout.
"Now give it a rest with all the questions," his father told him.
"But..."
Sendoh said what he had already told Akio many times already, "Don't bother people when they're working."
"But Dad..."
"And that includes me," Sendoh said as Akio squirmed in his chair.
It seemed to take superhuman effort for Akio to hold back everything he had to ask. He pressed his lips together and looked like he would explode if he kept his curiousity bottled up. It didn't take him long to sneak over to Rukawa's desk.
"Akio!" Sendoh said seeing Akio looking over Rukawa's shoulder as he worked.
Akio jumped. "Dad, not my long name," he whined.
"What did I tell you about bothering uncle Rukawa?"
"I was helping uncle," Akio claimed.
Sendoh looked at him in disbelief. "Sure. Go sit where you're supposed to."
"He isn't that much trouble," Rukawa said, seeing Akio trudge over to his father's desk unhappily.
"Are you sure you want to encourage him?" Sendoh asked.
Rukawa wouldn't go that far, but he hated to see Akio scolded on his behalf.
A little later, when Rukawa went to check out the efficiency of the work in the kitchen, Sendoh came along.
"Every time we hire someone, Kio has to know everything about them. That doesn't mean you have to indulge him. I'll try and keep him out of your hair," Sendoh said to him.
As Sendoh while leaning next to him, Rukawa noticed a difference in Sendoh's attitude from the day before. He seemed more solicitous, almost sympathetic about Rukawa's reaction to his son. At the same time, Sendoh was trying to act casual, something that came naturally to him until now. The fact that he had spoken to Sakuragi the day before, and the look Sendoh gave him as he turned away, made Rukawa realize that he knew about Gia.
"What did Sakuragi tell you?"
Sendoh turned to face him and took Rukawa's angry look without flinching. "I'm sorry."
"I don't want your pity," Rukawa snapped though he hadn't meant to. He wanted to stay cool and dismiss the subject without further discussion.
"Look, I'm a father..." Sendoh started to say, but Rukawa cut him off.
"That doesn't mean you understand anything about this."
"OK, but Sakuragi wanted to try to make me understand you better. That's why he told me. And with both you and Akio here, it was something I needed to know. So for once, Sakuragi did the right thing," Sendoh said decisively.
"That's why you've been putting more effort into keeping Kio away from me."
"I have to do that anyway. He never stops. He is a question machine. Plus he has taken a strong interest in you. Maybe he's taking his cue from me."
The apologetic grin Sendoh gave him was almost enough to disarm Rukawa. But he had felt Sendoh's interest already, and while it made his heart beat faster, it scared him too. He felt like he needed to push Sendoh back, not share intimate details of his life with him. For now he just walked away from him.
Hoping that Sendoh had gotten the message, Rukawa left for a meeting. He drove yet another rented car, letting the GPS guide him to his destination. For a second he thought about what it would be like to know these streets, to have a favorite place to eat and shop. Instead of going to a hotel room, at the end of the day he would go home. He stopped himself right before he imagined who might be waiting there for him. With a tight grip on the wheel, he steeled himself against those kinds of longings. He had chosen this life for a reason. He didn't want to get to know a place or the people, and he didn't want to get attached to any of them.
When it was close to Sendoh's quitting time, Rukawa came back just in time for Akio to latch onto him again. He could have easily waited to return after they left, but then Sendoh might think he was avoiding him and his son. Sendoh might already have that impression. Rukawa's earlier meeting might have looked like an escape to him. Now Rukawa deliberately gave Akio his attention.
"Dad is making dinner. We only had a little at family meal because we have chicken legs and chicken wings at home. Those are the best parts. But chicken nuggets are good too. Which kind of chicken do uncle like?" Akio asked.
"Legs are good," Rukawa said noncommittally.
"Yey! Uncle can help us eat them," Akio said then he turned to his father. "Uncle can help us eat them. We have lots." Akio peered at Rukawa waiting for an answer.
"Maybe uncle's busy," Sendoh said to help out Rukawa, who found himself at a loss as to how to refuse such an eager child's invitation.
"Even if uncle's busy, uncle still has to eat dinner," Akio said reasonably. "Look how skinny uncle is."
"Uncle isn't that skinny," Sendoh said but he couldn't keep a straight face.
"No, uncle's skinny," Akio insisted to his father before turning to Rukawa. "Uncle aren't going to try to skip dinner again, yes?" Akio asked and frowned at him sternly.
"I'll make sure to eat something," Rukawa promised him.
"You know this is a restaurant, right?" Sendoh said to Akio, but that didn't stop him.
"I know, but uncle should come home with us. We have lots of chicken legs and chicken wings, and mashed potatoes from a box."
"I'm sure uncle Rukawa is dying to have mashed potatoes from a box," Sendoh said with an ironic smile.
Akio nodded, taking his words at face value. "They are good. So uncle will come?" Akio said like he was fully expecting a yes.
"Kio," Sendoh said to him, putting a note of warning into his voice that Rukawa didn't like.
At this tone, both Akio and Rukawa turned to him.
"I'll be happy to join you," Rukawa said, surprising Sendoh and making Akio jump with joy.
As he looked at Rukawa, Sendoh was obviously wondering why he said yes. Rukawa wondered the same thing himself.
Sendoh and Akio had already left- Sendoh with a questioning look in his eyes, Akio with a big smile. Rukawa had directions to their house and planned to join them later.
By saying yes, it was almost like he had responded to some kind of unspoken dare. In a way he had. He just couldn't bear to have Sendoh look at him with pity. To top it off, Sendoh assumed Rukawa was such a snob that he would turn up his nose at instant mashed potatoes.
All day Sendoh had tried to protect him from Akio. It was as if Sendoh thought Rukawa was some fragile, emotional wreck who needed to be shielded from a six-year-old. Of course saying yes just to prove him wrong was weak-minded and impulsive on Rukawa's part, so he wasn't sure what he was proving exactly.
Stupidly determined to prove to Sendoh that being around him and his son had no effect on him, Rukawa was now on his way to their house for dinner. What an idiot. Of course being around Akio and Sendoh affected him. He was a fool to deny it to himself and to try to prove something to Sendoh, a man he barely knew and wouldn't know for more than a few weeks.
Rukawa made it a point never to stay anywhere for long. His investments were scattered all over the country and abroad, and that's how he liked it. He wanted to keep on the move. It wasn't the healthiest way to deal with things, but he didn't care. He might not be able to outrun the pain of losing Gia, but it couldn't settle inside of him either when he had to jungle travel, hotels, cars, and the various businesses he was overseeing.
And now look at him driving into the suburbs with a wine bottle on the passenger seat. He was going to sit at the dinner table with a little boy bubbling over with questions and opinions, and his dad, a man who pitied Rukawa but more often looked at him like he wanted to see him naked and on his knees.
TBC
