"The women in her thirties are more energetic than men in their thirties," Rie smirks at her crab. "Do you think that I won"t last long? I am going to eat you until you pa.s.s out this time."
"Hah!" The crab laughs. "I doubt it. You don"t know the extent of my feelings for you. I kept this body physically fit for the possibility that you might come back to me."
She nods her head approvingly. "I want to see how fit it is."
"Forget about it." The crab crosses his two arms. "What do I know? For the first time, you were gone for two years. Then, you were gone for five years. If I give my third leg to you this time, who knows how long you will leave me for? Next time, I might be a middle-aged man."
Rie feels a bit sorry for him. She pats his upper arm. "I won"t leave you this time unless I am dead."
"Don"t say ominous things." Kiyohira pulls her in his embrace. "I just got you, idiot woman. You must grow old and see our great-grandchildren with me."
"I don"t think that Yuta would get married early to give us grandchildren so soon. Great-grandchildren are far fetched," She says with a smile.
"We should have another one." He raises her chin. "I have a promise to keep."
"A daughter won"t be bad." Rie already wants another child. "Before having Yuta, I was worried whether I can be a mother or not. When I held him for the first time, it came to me as natural as breathing. I loved him before I even saw him. He made me realize that I could also love someone else. Kiyohira, I am sorry that you couldn"t see his earlier moments."
"It"s okay." He presses her face to his chest. "I have both of you now. I don"t want to think about the past. Yuta will have me and you in his life from now on. We will do everything to protect him. This time, I will protect you."
She coils her arms around his chest, sinking into his warmth. She listens to his beating heart. The eyes and the heart cannot lie. "Kiyohira, I love you."
She"s admitting it after a long time. She doesn"t want to bother about how or when it happened. They are together now. That"s all matters.
Kiyohira smiles. Tears slowly slide down. This time, she didn"t lie to him. She means it. She loves him. There was a time when it seemed impossible. But they are here now, holding each other and whispering these words. "I love you too, Rie."
"Too quiet," Yuta murmurs to himself and frowns. "What are they doing?"
He slightly opens the door and peeks. He still can"t hear anything. Curious and worried at the same time, he walks on his toes to the living room. He sees his mother hugging Kiyohira who has his arms around her shoulders with his eyes shut. Yuta realizes that they are asleep in that position.
"Forgot me?" Yuta rolls his eyes. "I will forgive since you met after a long time. Someone will get sore arms in the morning. I am talking from experience."
He turns around to go back to the bedroom.
"I hope that you tell me someday where you got that experience from." Kiyohira"s soft voice freezes Yuta on his toes. "Son."
"I got it from hugging her to sleep." Yuta grins at him. "Father, are you going to sleep there?"
He eyes his son solemnly. "Yuta, if you have something to say to me, I will always be there. It doesn"t do well to keep too many secrets in a young body."
Kiyohira carries Rie to the bedroom. Yuta stays behind, staring ahead with a shocked expression. It shouldn"t be a surprise that Kiyohira has noticed that he is different. He didn"t expect his father to be so chill.
"Yuta." Kiyohira comes out of the bedroom. "Don"t want to sleep? We will leave by the earliest flight tomorrow morning. She won"t like if I am flying the jet."
"I have something that I need to do." Yuta doesn"t hide his true self from his father. "Father, sleep with mother."
Kiyohira bends his knees and lowers down to Yuta"s eye level. "Will you ever tell me?"
"After you give me a sister." Yuta grins at him. "Fulfill your promises and I will tell you why my heart is heavy."
"I will wait for that day." Kiyohira rubs his son"s head before he picks him up in his arms. "Tonight, you are sleeping with us. Rie will get angry if you don"t sleep."
"But Father --"
"I am also scared of your mother"s wrath. Don"t make it difficult for me. I have to make a sister with her for you."
"Father, you don"t have to say it that way." Yuta huffs. "Alright, I will just sleep."
Kiyohira chuckles. "Good boy."
Kiyohira places his son beside Rie and keeps a watch until Yuta falls asleep for real.
At Kiyohira"s mansion, Ren is was.h.i.+ng his face with cold water. When it doesn"t work, he tries placing his head inside the freezer.
"Why do I know people like you?" Takes.h.i.+ shakes his head at him. "My brother and sister-in-law are enough. Then, there is you who barges into someone else"s home and does funny things in their kitchen."
"Takes.h.i.+, let me off today," Ren tells him with a weak voice. He can"t forget that sensation. It"s like he kissed a living volcano and liked it. His lips are enflamed. He didn"t feel like this when Rie kissed him.
That woman is scary. He will avoid her at all costs.
"Can you--" Takes.h.i.+ closes his mouth when Ren digs his face deeper into the freezer. "Never mind."
He walks away. He has a lot of work to do. Sister-in-law and his nephew are certainly coming back. The house needs to be ready to welcome them.