Chapter 9: Chapter 7
13th of June (Saturday)
The dining table was covered with a white cloth. The morning sunlight shining in front the windows drew circles beneath the plates. On top of the plates were full-moon shaped fried eggs, offering shares for my old man, Ayase-san, and…
"Careful with your hand."
Hearing Ayase-san's words, I removed the hand who was busy wiping the table.
"This is your share, Asamura-kun." She said, and put down a plate in front of me.
This blue plate had rolled omelettes on it. When I poked at one with my chopsticks, the omelette rolled to the side, making it easier to eat.
"Is this…Japanese-style rolled omelette?"
"You seemed like you enjoyed it. Since it's Saturday, I could take my time as well. Don't expect anything though." Ayase-san, seeming slightly flustered.
"I'm happy, thanks."
"Saki-chan's homemade food. How nice. Hey, Yuuta~ Give me some, okay~" My old man said, but Ayase-san interrupted him.
"It's not that good for you to be jealous about it, really."
"No no no, it looks great, so come on, Yuuta~"
Since he was looking at his step-daughter's cooking so eagerly, I pushed some of my omelettes on his plate. Isn't the omelette in front of him the exact same food?
"Yawn…Oh, everyone's so fast."
Picking up a sleepy voice I hadn't heard before, I turned around. Akiko-san wore a gown above her nightwear, rubbing her sleepy eyes. She apparently hadn't gotten around to making her hair yet, as some hair strands were still curled. This gave Akiko-san a more relaxed feeling to her, and I would even go so far as to call it lenient.
"What time is…it." She turned towards the clock inside the dining room, only for her eyes to shoot open. "Eh, no way…"
Since it was Saturday today, we had breakfast later than usual. My old man didn't have to leave early for work, and there was no school for Ayase-san and me. Of course, this was also in consideration towards Akiko-san, who would always come home late in the morning, severely lacking some sleep.
"You can sleep some more, Akiko-san. You got home late yesterday, right?"
"Taichi-kun…Ah, Saki-chan, I'm sorry to let you do it all on your own."
"It's fine. More importantly, Mom…your looks right now, it's a bit too stimulating for Asamura-kun, and consider step-father's feelings."
"Eh…" Her gaze dropped down to her own appearance, only for her to let out a shriek.
Immediately after, she ran off to the bedroom again.
"A-Akiko-san! Wait a second, I need to talk about something!" My old man chased after her.
"For crying out loud, that old man."
"Huh. Seems like she finally dropped that mask."
"Really?"
"Then again, she deserves praise for keeping it up that long."
Can I really just agree with a nonchalant 'Right'?
"Just so that she doesn't lose her honor right here, she only gets this careless right after getting up."
I see. Well, I'm not the best at getting up in the morning .
"Maybe it's thanks to the shading curtains."
"Probably."
Yesterday, we finally got the shading curtains from the delivery. They're not only good against the sunlight shining in, but they also block off outside sounds, it seems, and they had insulation capabilities on top of that. That makes the summer cool and the winter warm. Thanks to that, Akiko-san should be able to get some more sleep. My old man was at the forefront of getting them, saying 'If it protects Akiko-san's health, then nothing is too expensive'.
Ker-chunk, two slices of toast shot out of the oven toaster, as Ayase-san turned towards it, and put them on a plate.
"Tell me if you want more."
"No, this is more than enough." I declined.
Seems like we'll be having toast instead of rice today. Ayase-san put two more slices inside, which should be perfectly done by the time my old man comes back.
"Having rolled omelette and toast is a weird combination."
"It's not weird at all, Ayase-san."
Add some more salad on a deep plate and consommé soup, and you have the perfect breakfast. Although it's a shame that there's no miso soup. But, I guess she put that into the Japanese-style rolled omelette.
"Ohh, delicious."
"Exaggerating again."
"I really ain't. Akiko-san's was really delicious, but yours isn't losing at all."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I guess I'll make it again then."
"Whenever you have the time."
"Whenever I have the time."
Our words practically overlapped, leaving us both in an awkward silence. We continued our breakfast for a while. That old man sure is late, we'll be done by the time he's back.
"I guess it's already been one week."
"Hm?"
"You said it before, right? Since you came on Sunday, tomorrow will be the first full week you spent with us here."
"So what? Celebrate because of one week?"
"Honestly…doesn't sound half bad."
"Seriously?"
Since Ayase-san looked at me with a 'What are you talking about?' expression, I burst out laughing.
"Once that old man catches on, he'll definitely bring it up anyway."
"I guess…so?"
"He always liked that sort of stuff. But, we might be better off leaving the two alone for that."
Since they both got married once before, according to their logic, they didn't plan on any ceremony, or honeymoon.
"Ah, that sounds good."
"Right?"
"What might you two be discussing here, Saki-chan, Yuuta?"
Right that moment, the two people in question came back.
"Nothing at all, don't mind us."
I'll just tell him to take out Akiko-san for dinner later. With that timing, Ayase-san put the two slices of toast on the plate, and put this in front of my old man.
"Saki, I'm—"
"One slice, I know." Ayase-san told Akiko-san.
She put another two slices of toast into the toaster. I guess that the final slice must be for her then. With give & take, her give share would always be bigger, and she would always get everything last. I see, even with these small details…
"Only one slice for you as well, Ayase-san?"
"Can't eat that much in the morning."
"I'll try to remember that."
"Thanks."
Adjusting to each other is important after all.
"You two sure get along now."
"They're like real siblings."
"I'm happy to see that~"
Akiko-san and my old man both narrowed their eyes. I'm happy to hear that it looks that way. Everything was about to break down last night after all.
Once we finished our late breakfast, the sun shone brightly outside the window. White clouds passed through the blue sky, telling you yet again that summer was around the corner. The temperature was going up as well, although not enough to put on the A/C, so I opened up a window.
These few clear days were in the middle of the rainy season. The wind coming from the open window carried a comfortable breeze through the four of us, filling the room with a natural scent.