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August 25: Meddling

Bacon and eggs were on the menu for breakfast with a side of butter toast and a green salad, all made by Torahiko himself. According to him, the bacon was something special and didn’t taste like the stuff normally sold in supermarkets. It was something his had had gotten from a friend who ran a farm in a faraway town as a gift. Smoky, savory with a touch of honey, and really light on the salt, the bacon went perfect with the sunny-side-up egg on toast. Ah! If only I could have this every day without emptying everything in my wallet. But my arteries wouldn’t forgive me if I did.

The weather report made no mention of rain, but did note that temperatures were gradually getting lower and predicted that come end of August, people should start wearing thicker clothing for the weather. Well, at least the summer weather in August felt better than in July. Dear God, there was never a July where I didn’t apply aloe vera lotion on my nape after basking in the sun for too long. And that was when I was already in the city. I did remember that the heat in July was a little more bearable back when I was still here. Either it was the geography, or we as kids were miraculous creatures made to withstand the hottest of suns for the sake of fun.

Torahiko was already done with his food and was absentmindedly swirling his glass of juice around while his eyes were fixated on the TV. I waved at him and asked if there was something on his mind to which he shook his head at, proceeding to scritch me below the cheek, just above the neck. For all the times I talked about him being a tiger, I ended up being the one acting like a spoiled kitten, rubbing the side of my cheek on his furry padded palm. Definitely one of the perks of being a couple that I would never get enough of.

Then in came Torahiko’s mom and dad, just finished from their trip to town. For the sake of everyone’s convenience, and because I was too stupid to not do this the first time, I would like to refer to them from hereon with their given names: Suzuna-san for Tora’s mom, and Yahiko-san for Tora’s dad.

Going back, Suzuna-san carried a bag of groceries which I assumed was for lunch, while Yahiko-san set on the table a brown ceramic knick-knack of sorts, its shape I couldn’t make head or tail of. With glee, he told of how he got it for a bargain, being the last one on display and noting how it was something he’d had his eye on for a while now. But then she tapped him on the shoulder and said that they should get to the matter of things, sitting down next to her husband.

“Right.” He coughed. “Hiroyuki. So um, you’re dating my son now, right?”

“Didn't we make that clear last night Dad?” Torahiko said.

“Torahiko, hush,” his mom said.

“Anyway. Putting what we said last night aside, we support you guys one hundred percent.” Yahiko-san gave two V-signs, swaying them left and right. “We were just surprised it took you guys this long. I mean, We and your parents were already rooting for you two. ”

“I, er, thank you.” I said. “That means a lot. But you said my parents made a bet?.”

He smirked. “Sure as hell they did. Ooh I can already feel that money coming...”

Suzuna-san hit him on the back. “Honey, focus.”

“Right, right.” Yahiko-san put on a stern look. “Getting to the point. Hiroyuki, what are your plans after high school?”

I blanked out for a second. “Excuse me sorry, what was that?”

“We get that you and Torahiko are dating. And we don’t have any objections to that. But of course we wanna know what you plan to do with yourself and your relationship with our son after high school. Torahiko’s the next one to own the inn, that I’m sure. But what about you? Do you have plans of coming back here to Minasato?”

“Geez, umm...” I took a sip of my drink. “Whew, it’s getting hot in here huh? I’m drenched like a wet sponge here.”

He frowned. “Hiroyuki...”

“Uh I, I think, It’s that...”

I gripped my teacup hard. Nothing entered my mind that I could use as an answer. My eyes darted all over the room trying to avoid eye contact and I could feel my palms sweat. I turned to Torahiko  who could only display a dejected look on his face. My breath became shallow and felt like a criminal locked in an interrogation room, only accompanied by the inspector with his cold accusative gaze and the buzzing fluorescent light. An exaggeration, yes. And obviously it wasn’t like my life was on the line.

What helped me calm down? Suzuna-san rubbing my back while holding my hand with the gentlest of touch only mothers could give.

“Calm down Hiroyuki,” she said. “Take deep breaths.”

As she instructed, I took deep breaths to relax.“I’m a little better now. Sorry about that.”

“There’s no right or wrong answer here. Just tell us what’s on your mind and if you’re not sure about something, we’ll do our best to help.”

And thus after one more deep breath, I gathered my thoughts together as she moved back next to her husband.

“The thing is, I’m not exactly sure about it yet.” I set down my cup. “I mean, chances are my parents would want me to go to university and maybe get into a good company that hopefully pays well. But that’s what they want. Or at least, what I think they want since all I hear from them was about their friends’ kids planning to go into these good universities and stuff.”

All three gave a single nod.

“But honestly, the last thing I want is to become some corporate slave that could be easily replaced once they’re wrung me out of what they can get from me. I don’t wanna end up like one of those people in the papers who jumped off because their bosses were unreasonable.” I knocked thrice on the table. “That’s just an exaggeration, and I’m hoping that that doesn’t happen.”

“No one does,” Yahiko-san said.

“And sure rural life isn’t as busy as the city’s. But as thrilling as the urban life sounds, I’d rather live in a suburban area like Kouya or go rural here in Minasato. It’s much calmer. Have I mentioned how expensive it was to live in the city? I still shudder every time I see the electric bill stuck on our refrigerator. And that doesn’t include the other bills.”

“I heard that prices are higher in major cities than the lesser ones,” Suzuna-san said. “I guess it’s true now.”

“As for moving back here, it’s not a bad thought,” Yahiko-san said. “A lot of the youngsters here have moved to the bigger cities to find better work, and we really appreciate those who stay. I’m sure your Grandma and Grandpa would love to have you move back in. Hell, we’ll be happy if you decide to move in with us!”

I smiled. “I’m tempted at the thought...”

“And you don’t necessarily have to work for the inn.” Suzuna-san gestured. “I’ve been hearing good things about you from Midoriya-san. They say you work hard and learn fast. Why not become a carpenter under them?”

“Yeah!” Ooshima-san set down his cup. “If you do, I don’t have to pay that drunk ass a cent when I want something done. And maybe Tappei-san would finally stop the sexual harassment...”

“Dear!”

Turning my eyes to Tora, I saw that he was smiling a bit, as if much calmer now.

“I think Tora wants to say something?” I said.

Yahiko-san laughed and pulled his son closer to him. “Of course! How could I forget my Little Tora?”

“Dammit! I’m not little anymore!” Tora retorted.

“I’m your dad. Even when the day comes that I get grandkids, you’ll always be my Little Tora.” He let go of his son. “So, what are you thinking?”

“What am I thinking?” He turned to his mom and outstretched his arm. “Mom, can I borrow your wedding ring for a sec?”

“Oh, sure.”

She took off the ring and as soon as Tora took it, He got up on one knee, bending lower as I remained seated, and held the ring in front as he held my hand. His parents’ eyes beamed with what they saw was about to happen and there I was, stunned by what was in front of me.

“I know this seems too fast, given what we talked about last night,” he said. “And it’s not exactly as grand as they show in the movies, not to mention this ring is borrowed. But because Mom and Dad are already cool with it,” he chuckled, “and face it, we don’t really have much of a choice at this point. Hiroyuki Nishimura, will you marry me?”

Both of his parents were squealing like high school girls who just saw their favorite love team get together. Technically that was what was happening, except Tora and I were the ones still in high school. And after a brief pause, I gave my response.

“Tora.” I took the ring and placed it on his palm. “I can’t accept this ring.”

“What?!” Suzuna-san and Yahiko-san shouted.

“You better have a good reason before I smack your face, boy,” Yahiko-san said, preparing to lunge towards me.

I turned to them. “Ooshima-san, please calm down. Let me explain.”

“Tell us then!” Tora said, shoulders slumped. “Why can’t you accept it?”

“Because, it’s your mother’s ring, obviously.”

“What,” all three said flatly in unison.

“It’s your mother’s ring, Torahiko. Ooshima-san gave that to her as a proof of their love. You can’t just borrow it and use it to propose to someone. Even if your mom did approve.”

Torahiko sighed. “You’re right.” He turned to Suzuna-san and handed the ring back over. “You can have this back, Mom.”

She took the ring and put it back on her right ring finger.

I put my hands on Tora’s cheeks. “Look, Tora. It’s not that I’m saying no to your proposal.”

“Then-”

“And I haven’t said yes yet either. But if you are gonna propose with a ring, make it special and use a ring you picked out yourself.”

He pouted. “You know we’re not that rich to afford diamond rings.”

“Oh God no! Don’t go for diamonds. That’s overrated nowadays.” I coughed. “Anyway, you don’t have to go expensive. Hell, don’t even bother buying anything with a rock on it. Just go for simple, and maybe have some engraving on it like our names, or maybe a good luck charm.”

Suzuna-san called our attention. “Not to butt in, but you know, getting interested in what ring Torahiko should give, you’re already giving away that you’ll be saying yes eventually.”

And just like that, both Torahiko and Yahiko-san had cheeky grins on their faces. Like father, like son indeed. The phone by the hallway rang to which Suzuna-san answered, and just a moment later I was called to answer.

It was Tatsu-nii who was on the other line, saying that he called the house only for Grandma to tell that I was here. Apparently it was still a holiday for the Midoriya group. And he, sounding gleeful and all, said that since it was a fine day, he wanted to go take the plane out on a test flight. Of course there were still some preparations to be done, but he added that if we left early, we could finish the prep work by noon.

Telling him that I’d be at their house in a bit, I hung up. I had to excuse myself from Torahiko’s parents for leaving too soon, as Tatsu-nii needed me for some urgent business. But Tora being Tora, insisted on escorting me along the way, briefly heating up some onigiri he prepared earlier while I was asleep, wrapped in cling film and stored in the fridge. “Just in case you might get hungry while working and stuff,” he said. Now I couldn’t just say no to that, could I?

So we gathered all our stuff and went on our way to the Midoriya house. Not many people were on the road around the time we were there, with business hours starting and all, although there was a juice hawker roaming in the morning heat that we bought two bottles from. On the way to the house with our near-icy bottles of juice, we playfully bumped and pushed each other.