Chapter 19 (Emi)

It's Christmas Eve.

We went for our run this morning at the vacant track at Hisao's old high school, and we're headed back to his parents' now. They have the next two days off, so we will be spending lots of time with them.

Today is a busy one. We're going shopping at a Christmas market in the city.

Then, tonight we will be going out to dinner and see an illumination of one of the train stations.

Tomorrow will be a lazier day that we spend mostly at the house exchanging gifts and eating. I'm most looking forward to that.

I shower first when we get back to the house. Now I am alone downstairs with Hisao's parents while he showers. We eat breakfast and make pleasant small talk.

Eventually Mrs. Nakai looks at me with some concern and asks "There will be quite a lot of walking today, is that okay?"

I don't understand her question at first, but Mr. Nakai chimes in after popping the newspaper he's reading, "Dear, she just came back from a run, I don't think we need to worry about her walking."

Mrs. Nakai looks embarrassed that she asked and looks away from him.

I feel more than a little uncomfortable, but I think she wants to know more about me, and is trying to get there by understanding my disability. It isn't something I normally open up about, but these are important people, and I think she just wants to understand me better. It's nice that they want to know what it's like to be me, I guess. It also helps knowing that they had a daughter-in-law who had issues with mobility.

I smile at her and put my hand on hers, "Thanks for thinking of me, but with these on I have pretty much the same mobility as you. So you don't need to worry about that kind of thing."

She looks relieved, "That's good to know." She pauses for a moment, "Pretty amazing that that's the case. That's very impressive."

I smile "The prosthetics do most of the work, but I did have to learn how to use them."

"And with them you have no limitations?"

"Well, that's not quite true. Basically real legs are capable of broader tasks that mine. I sort of have to switch them out to do different stuff. I can't really run or jump in this kind of prosthetic. I can only walk in them. I had on special running blades earlier. There are also a couple of nice places to go that are unfortunately really hard for me."

I notice Mr. Nakai is also listening closely now.

"I can't really get these wet, or get sand in them, so the beach isn't somewhere where I can walk, basically" I laugh softly, "Hisao and I went to the beach once, and I pretty much have to go legless there, which was a little frustrating. I also can't really do things like hike on tough terrain without a special prosthetic that is quite expensive."

I laugh, "There are also some fashion things that I can't do. High heels are kind of out of the question. I could learn to get used to them, but I'm not entirely sure I would be wearing them very often even if I could. So, I'm a little limited in some specific situations, but when it comes to everyday life, I don't really notice."

Mr. Nakai chimes in, "They don't hurt you at all?"

"Mostly, no, as long as I put them on correctly. Just like your feet can get tired, sometimes that's how I feel, only further up on my leg. When I was younger I had some phantom limb pain that could really be awful, but luckily it doesn't happen any more."

I notice they both look a bit confused, "That's…um, when you can feel the limb that you used to have even though it isn't there. Sometimes I just felt some strange sensations. Other times it was quite painful."

They both nod, looking a little sad.

"If I really overdo it, especially on my running blades, I can have some problems. If I don't take really good care of the part of my legs that they are attached to, I can end up having to be in a wheelchair from time to time. But, I manage it pretty well these days and that doesn't usually happen."

Mr. Nakai smiles at me, "You can say that the prosthetics do most of the work, but it sounds to me like you've worked very hard and been through a lot to make yourself so mobile. So, please allow us to be impressed with you" he says with a wink. "Afterall, we still have the legs we were born with and we have never been as active as you are." All three of us laugh.

I smile at him. He really does have Hisao's sense of humor and many of his facial expressions. It makes him easy to talk to. "Okay, I guess I will allow it. But only because you asked so nicely."

Hisao comes down just as the conversation is ending and looks curious. "What are you guys talking about? And why did you stop right when I came down here?"

His dad chortles, "We weren't talking about you son, we do talk about other things you know! We were just getting to know your lovely girlfriend a little better."

I blush a little. Hisao doesn't look like he believes his dad and looks to me for confirmation.

"We really weren't talking about you, honest. Do you think I would cover it up if I had just learned an embarrassing story about you? Do you think I'd be capable of not teasing you about it?"

"Hm…I guess not."

Mrs. Nakai jumps in, "We will be saving those for later Hichan, when you are in the room and we can watch you get embarrassed." The three of us laugh while Hisao rolls his eyes and then smiles at me.

"Well, I am glad to see you three getting along so well, even if it is at my expense."

—-

We rode the train to the city center, and now we're at a sprawling holiday market. I was a little stressed about the crowds, but now that I'm here I can't help but be swept up in the festive atmosphere. There are decorated trees and lots of shops and food stalls.

We're here to shop for gifts for Hisao's parents. Apparently they are planning on giving a gift to each of us, so we are going to get a gift for each of them. Hisao and I also already got gifts for each other, but we're going to give them to each other when we get home.

Hisao and I split up from his parents so we can shop for them, and one of the first places we go is a jewelry store. Most of the jewelry is winter-themed. I'm trying to figure out what kind of jewelry Mrs. Nakai might like. I'm not that big into jewelry myself, but I noticed she wore earrings. Both pairs that I've seen have looked like sterling silver.

"Hisao, what kind of earrings do you think your mom would like?" He looks at me like I asked him in English. "Um…I don't really know."

I stick my tongue out at him, "Some help you are. You've been her son for more than a third of a century and you don't know what she likes?"

He looks a little embarrassed, "I'm just teasing you. I'm sure lots of guys don't pay attention to their mom's jewelry. Heck, I might not have paid attention if I wasn't trying to figure out what gifts to get her." I grab a pair of sterling silver snowflake earrings that I had been eying. They aren't too over-the-top. Certainly less over-the-top than the earrings shaped like Christmas trees or presents. They sparkle but aren't too eye-catching either. They are the kind of thing she can wear all winter, and not just for Christmas.

I hold them up to Hisao. "What do you think of these? Too festive? I noticed she wears silver earrings."

He thinks for a moment. "I think she'd like those. They're pretty."

I don't know why I thought I would get some more detailed analysis out of him, but I guess that's good enough for me. Maybe.

I look down at them again, nervous about this decision. What if she doesn't like them? I start feeling pressure similar to when I was cooking dinner last night.

Hisao notices my waffling, "Don't worry too much about it, okay? I think she'll like them, but guess what, even if she didn't, it isn't like she's going to throw you out of the house and tell you to stay away from me." He laughs. "She'll probably appreciate your effort, pretend she likes them, then never wear them. That's the absolute worst-case scenario."

He's right, I'm imagining small things having a big impact on our relationship again. I squeeze his hand and smile up at him, "You're right. Thanks. We'll get them. You might not be good at figuring out what your mom would be like, but you just did a very good job of comforting your nervous girlfriend, so I think it evens out."

As we leave the shop and start walking down the path, trying to decide where to go next, I see Hisao's father waving to us from about 50 meters away. I quickly throw the gift into my bag to conceal it and we head over to him.

"We were just about to take a break and have some hot cocoa from this food stand, would you two like to join us?"

"That sounds really good, to me. I love hot cocoa. Well, all sweets really." I say with a laugh.

Hisao nods in agreement, and we all sit down at a table together with our warm drinks.

"How are you liking the holiday market? Have you been to one like this before?," Mrs. Nakai asks.

"I haven't, actually. They don't do anything quite this massive in Sendai and that's where I've been for…pretty much every winter. So this is new, and it's really nice. It definitely makes me feel festive."

"I'm glad to hear that dear." She puts her hand on my shoulder, "There is an ice rink over there that looks like fun, you know if you two have the time you should consider going ice skat-..." She stops herself mid sentence, and her smile shifts to a horrified expression as she looks away from me. Her husband looks horrified too. Hisao has more of a bemused look on his face, because he knows this isn't some major affront to me, and he's probably just curious how I'm going to handle it.

I pat her on the shoulder and give her a warm smile, "Don't worry about it. You're not going to hurt my feelings at all saying things like that. You're still getting used to me after all."

Her face relaxes some. "Thank you dear, but I really shouldn't have said something like that, especially after everything you were nice enough to tell us about this morning."

I shrug, "I'm sure it's still kind of hard to keep in mind all the time, especially when you see me walking around and stuff, so please don't worry about it at all. You know, I think I actually read somewhere that because my prosthetics are below the knee, I could ice skate, I think it would just take me a lot longer than a regular person to learn to do it."

She's now back to a smile. "You really are quite understanding. Thank you."

Hisao chimes in, "That's what I keep telling her."

"I was just thinking she would have to be to put up with you, Hichan." This prompts a laugh from everyone but Hisao, who rolls his eyes.

Mr. Nakai stands up. "Well, I suppose it's time we all get back to business. Shall we meet up around 5 to go to our next destination?"

"That sounds good, dad. See you both then!"

As we walk down the path between stalls, Hisao stops, takes my hand and gives me a quick kiss and then smiles at me before we continue walking, holding each other's hand. "You're doing a really good job with all of this, are you sure this is the first time you've met a boyfriend's parents?"

I giggle, "Thanks. But I think if you hadn't stopped me from being overly polite yesterday I would be in pretty bad shape."

He laughs, "That's probably true. So, what should we get my dad? Do you think a tie is too much of a cliche?"

"You get him a tie every single year, don't you."

He smiles sheepishly. "Maybe."

I shrug, "Well, if you know he likes them and wears them, I don't see a reason to do something different. Unless you're wanting to change things up."

"Do you have an idea for how to change things up?"

"Well, I noticed he isn't wearing a warm hat right now. He could probably use one in the colder months ahead. Plus, I think that would be easier to find here than a tie. Unless you want to get him a tie with Christmas trees on it or something."

Hisao looks at me, "You're pretty good at getting gifts for people. I'm a little intimidated. I hope your gift for me isn't better than the one I got for you."

I laugh, "Well, don't worry about being intimidated until we see if your parents actually like the gifts we get them. Here, I think this store has some winter clothing."

We look for a little while, before I pick one out that looks like a good fit for him. I don't imagine he is a man who wants one that will really make him stick out. The one I choose is black, and it has ear pieces that can come down if he unbuttons them. It has a lining inside that should keep it nice and warm. Let's see if Hisao has any useful input this time.

"What do you think, Hisao?"

"That does look like something he'd wear."

I laugh. "Okay, at least you are more confident when it comes to your dad."

Once the present is wrapped we realize we will need to meet his parents soon and head for the train station.

—-

I'm with Hisao and his parents at a sushi restaurant they apparently frequent. We're going to eat here, and then head back to the train station after it gets dark, at which point it will apparently be brilliantly illuminated for the holidays. I'm starving, so I'm pretty excited to eat.

"What do you all like to get here?"

Mr. Nakai responds first, "We usually order a whole bunch of different things and then share it, if that's okay with you. Is there anything you don't like?"

Hisao laughs loudly.

"I think Hisao's laugh was his way of saying 'she'll eat anything, and a lot of it,' and he is pretty much right. I love food. I don't know if I would have fallen for Hisao if he couldn't cook. The way to my heart is definitely through my stomach." I playfully elbow him in the side and his parents laugh.

"So yes, I will be happy with whatever you order."

"You certainly don't look like a woman who eats a lot. You're so tiny," Mrs. Nakai muses.

I laugh. "I get that a lot. All the running helps, and I do eat relatively healthy, but even with that I must also have a really good metabolism."

Mr. Nakai orders the food, and before long our bounty is spread out before us. There are several different kinds of nigiri, uramaki, sashimi, and temaki and they all look amazing.

We all start selecting the ones we want and putting them on our plates. I'm especially enjoying the tuna temaki, but everything tastes pretty incredible.

Before long, I notice that Hisao and his parents are all looking at me with an amused look on their faces.

Why are they looking at me?

Oh...no. I was too hungry to make myself eat differently than I usually do, like I have been so far on this trip. I've just been devouring everything in sight without considering what I look like. I swallow what's in my mouth and look away, ashamed.

I want to run away. Far far away. If I had my blades on I would probably already be gone.

"Uhm…I'm very very sorry. That was not a polite way to eat, especially at a restaurant. I was very hungry…"

Hisao squeezes my thigh under the table to get my attention and he gives me an encouraging smile.

Mr. Nakai laughs, "Don't worry, it wasn't that bad. A little surprising to see such a small person eat with so much…enthusiasm, but we aren't offended. We certainly believe you love to eat now."

Mrs. Nakai adds, " We are glad you are enjoying yourself so much. This does remind me of a rather embarrassing Hichan story, though, if you're interested."

They are so nice. Thank goodness they can look past this, and his mom even wants to change the subject to an embarrassing moment for Hisao. This makes me feel much better.

I smile, "Oh, I'm definitely interested."

"You know Emi, you're playing with fire here. I haven't heard too many embarrassing childhood stories from your mom, and I'm sure there are plenty of them she would tell me."

He's right, but I'll deal with that later.

I wave my hand dismissively at him and gesture for Mrs. Nakai to continue.

She smiles, "Well, when Hichan was about 7, he went to a friend's birthday party-"

"Really mom? That's the story you're going to tell?"

I laugh, "Well now I'm even more interested."

Mrs. Nakai looks at her son for a moment, and then continues, "Anyway, he was at a birthday party, and he just couldn't wait to eat the cake because he thought it looked really good. The next thing we know he has stuck his hand into the cake and is eating a handful of it right in front of everyone. This is within minutes of us arriving there, mind you. When we tried to tell him he shouldn't do that, he ran away and continued eating his cake in a closet."

Hisao looks mildly embarrassed but it really isn't that bad, I put my hand on his shoulder, "That is pretty funny. I bet little Hisao was cute with his cake. Don't be too embarrassed though, Hisao. I'm 35 and how I was eating just now is probably only a little better than what you did when you were 7. I was even thinking about running away with some of the sushi and hiding somewhere so I could eat it all alone."

Everyone laughs. I'm very relieved all this went as well as it did after I was so embarrassed.

Once we've finished eating, Mr. Nakai says "Well you two, your mother and I are quite tired from the busy day. I think we will head home." He pauses for a second to wink. "I think you two might enjoy the illumination a little better on your own anyway."

"Thank you for dinner Mr. and Mrs. Nakai. It was really great."

"No problem dear. We'll see you two later."

I've enjoyed spending time with them, but it would be nice to have Hisao to myself a bit. And this even sounds like it might be a little romantic.

They leave and Hisao and I head to the train station to see the illumination with our arms looped together. Once we get there, I'm pretty amazed by what I see. The station is completely surrounded by bright holiday lights, with each side of the train station featuring a different theme.

"Wow, this is really beautiful."

HIsao nods, "I've seen it before, but it looks like this year they really went all out. I don't remember there being this many lights. Which side should we look at first?"

I grab a flier from a nearby kiosk. "It says the south side is nature-themed, the north side is city-themed, and the west side is about both the city and nature. I think we should start in the nature-themed area."

"You're hoping there will be cute Christmas light animals aren't you."

I laugh, "Well, yeah! Come on."

I grab his hand and lead him where I want to go.

—-

After we have seen all there is to see, we find a quiet corner away from the train station, where we can still see how beautiful it is, but with a little more privacy. He leans his back against a wall, and we put our arms around one another and I rest my head on his chest.

"This has been a really nice day, Hisao. Everything has been really amazing. I like your parents, and so far they seem to like me. I'm glad they weren't too appalled by my unlady-like way of eating." I giggle.

He looks down at me with a smile, "They like you too. I can tell."

I squeeze him tight. "I hope so. Thanks for bringing me. It really means a lot that you did."

For a while we just stand there holding each other while we look at the beautiful sights around us. Eventually I look up at Hisao expectantly and he gets the hint. We share a few long, tender kisses while we hold each other. Being here has been nice, but I do find myself already missing the ability to be more intimate with him, so this is really nice. Eventually he breaks the kiss, and I do my best to muffle a disappointed squeak.

"Unfortunately, it's getting late and we need to catch the train, so we probably need to get going."

I nod, and we head back to the Nakai household.