A knock came, interrupting our conversation. I told whoever was on the other side of the door to come in. It was Megumi."My lord and my lady, the food is ready," she announced, her head was bowed and we both couldn"t see her face.
"Thank you, Megumi," I told her. "We"ll be there in a bit."
When she left, I looked for my backpack and took my cellphone and powerbank. These two gadgets used to never leave my side but since coming here and because I had no use for it, I almost forgot about owning them. With fingers crossed, I took the short cable of the powerbank and connected it to my phone. I squealed in delight as soon as I saw that it still had some juice in it.
"What are you doing?" Kaname asked behind me.
"Since we"re celebrating my birthday, I thought it would be nice to take pictures," I told him.
"Mmm," he nodded. "But before that, get changed. You"re sweaty."
I looked at him and was surprised to see that he was holding one of my kimonos for me. "Anata, what are you doing? Stop "serving" me!"
He furrowed his brows in confusion. "But isn"t this what you do in your time? You pamper the celebrant and throw them a party."
He said party in English, although it was almost flawless, it still sounded alien coming from him. I remembered that weeks ago, during one of his visits, I mentioned what it was like to celebrate occasions in the modern world. He remembered every detail! I was impressed. "That"s true but you"re taking this way too seriously!"
"I am?" he tilted his head to the side, looking even more confused.
I decided to just indulge him and go with the flow. I let him wipe the sweat from my body, which was awkward because he was so serious I almost wanted him to tease me just to lighten up the mood, he then dressed me. I called Ryuko-san and asked her to fetch me a robe for Kaname. He didn"t let me touch him and he deftly dressed himself, insisting that the "birthday girl should just wait."
~~~
The dinner table was filled with all sorts of food. There were shrimp and salt.w.a.ter eel tempura, deep-fried tofu, rice mixed with millet, several pickled vegetables, miso soup, grapes, and a cloudy, sweet-smelling alcoholic drink called Nigori.
I gathered everyone, placed my cellphone on top of another table, set the camera on timer with the flash on, and doc.u.mented my little party with several pictures. The flash startled everyone at first and I had to explain what it was to the best that I can. I invited the maids to join us for dinner but they respectfully declined and just waited at the sidelines, ready for our command. Halfway through dinner, Kaname motioned for Nanami to hand him my phone.
"We should take a photo of just the two of us," he said. I unlocked the phone with my fingerprint and gave it back to him. Pretty much like a modern man, he expertly swiped and tapped my phone"s screen, with the front camera facing us, he gathered me in his arms and took photos of us together.
The sudden display of affection startled me, I wanted to tell him to save it for later but he insisted on taking some photos now. Sensing my embarra.s.sment, the maids excused themselves, claiming that they had something to do and left us alone in the parlor.
I was about to chide him but Kaname caught my lips, what followed next was the sound of the shutter, and the flash of the camera. "Kaname!"
"You look so surprised in this photo," he was so engrossed that he didn"t notice my discomfort. "You didn"t even close your eyes when I kissed you. Let"s take another one."
"Let"s do this later, the food will get cold!"
"Now, we should do this now," he grabbed my waist and lowered his head to kiss me again. I had no choice but to give in. I lowered my lashes and met his lips. As soon as the photo was taken, he let go of me and started to compare the photo with the other one he took. "This is so much better! Your cheeks are flushed here, I love it! Although the apparent look of surprise on your face on the first one is also cute. Shall we take another one again? This time, I want you to hug me from behind and kiss my cheek."
"What the h.e.l.l, how did he know all these lovey dovey selfie poses!?" I looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and amus.e.m.e.nt.
"What are you waiting for?" he asked impatiently.
I got up and hugged him from behind. I rested my chin on his shoulder.
Click!
I closed my eyes and kissed his nearest cheek.
Click!
He turned his head to give me a kiss.
Click!
Once he was satisfied, he instructed me to return to the cushion and finish my food. His eyes were glued on my phone once again.
"What about you?" I was starting to get p.i.s.sed off. "Aren"t you finishing your food?"
"I will, just give me a minute," he even had the audacity to wave his hand at me dismissively!
"Kaname, hand me my cellphone."
"Hmm?" he wasn"t listening.
"My phone, give it back!"
"Eat, Hina," not once did he look up to acknowledge me. "I had the maids prepare the food especially for you."
"I"m not eating if you"re not joining me!"
"I"m at the table, aren"t I?" he finally looked up. He saw my disapproving glare and finally got the hint. "Fine, but I want more photos of us together later."
He placed the phone on the table, I s.n.a.t.c.hed it just in case he got tempted again. G.o.d, I finally have an idea what he"d be like if he was born in the same century as I was. I shuddered when I imagined how his social media accounts would be filled with selfies and possibly intimate photos of the two of us together.