Ken was silent, waiting for his grandfather to continue. The man fiddled with the chess pieces in front of him, his eyes showing sorrow.
"I started drinking after work and I was barely home. I pushed them both away, keeping them at arms distance. When your father was in elementary school, Yumi left me and returned to Japan, taking Chris with her…"
Ken was shocked. His father had never spoken of this before. The only thing that he knew was that Chris had gone to High School in the States before coming to Japan for University.
"I don't blame her, Ken." Mark said, seeing the expression of his grandson. "It was only after she left that I realized how much I had wronged her and your father. Of course I was far too stubborn to say this right away, something that I regret deeply."
"I threw myself into work and aimed to become the best coach that I could be. Before I knew it, my son was ready to start High School. He called me up and we had a good talk." Mark smiled, remembering it fondly.
"Your father… He has a way with words. You should have heard how he scolded me, the little devil." He said, chuckling.
Ken smiled. He could imagine his father laying into his grandfather and the thought improved his mood.
"He told me that Yumi was lonely and missed me dearly. She cried almost every night, and had not seen anyone new all these years, as if she was waiting for me to win her back."
"This was a wakeup call for me." He said, "So I booked the first plane to Japan and got the biggest bouquet of flowers I could find and went to her house. It was a small apartment, far too small for how much money I was sending her each month. The sight hurt my heart."
He paused briefly, "I knocked on the door and stood nervously holding the flowers. Once she opened the door and saw me, she rushed into my arms. Nothing else mattered at that point in time."
Ken felt his heart flutter. Seeing the usually stoic man in front of him so emotional felt surreal.
"I begged for her to take me back, and she agreed. We moved back to America and got a bigger house, and your father went to High School. He returned to Japan for University where he met your mother Yuki. We were thrilled."
"Once I found out I had a grandson, we rushed to Japan to meet you. I still remember the day you peed on Yumi when she tried to change you." He said, letting out a laugh, yet tears were at the corner of his eyes.
"Everything was well… Until Yumi started getting sick." Mark said, his expression dropping.
"At first they were migraines, but it just started getting progressively worse. Your Grandma was a tough woman, she never complained, not unless it was really bad." He said.
"We eventually went to the doctors who did an MRI scan on her brain…"
At this point, Ken reached forward and placed his hand upon his grandfather's. "It's okay Grandpa, you don't have to keep going." He could feel the man's sadness. Even after all these years it seemed that it still affected him greatly.
"No, it's fine…" He shook his head, wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes. "The tumor was too large to operate on, so we tried a few other methods. The radiation was the worst, it sapped her strength so quickly."
"One night, she asked me to play chess. She looked so tired… We played a few games and she asked me to take her to bed. We laid together for a while and talked, remembering all the great moments we had together."
"Yumi told me that she knew I would let her win at chess." He said, letting out a small laugh, by now the tears had started flowing down his face. "She told me that she loved me and shortly after, she slipped away in my arms with a smile on her face."
The old man began to sob, the old wounds had been reopened, exposing their vulnerabilities. Ken stood up almost immediately and went to comfort the old man. He couldn't imagine such a thing, it was a surprise that he was still functioning properly after such an event.
As he hugged his grandfather, he pat his back slowly and said some soothing words.
"Thank you for telling me about my grandmother… I would have loved to have met her when I was older." Ken said softly.
"Mmm… She would have loved that." He said, recovering slightly.
He pulled away from the hug and wiped the tears from his face. He cleared his throat and let out a self deprecating laugh, "Sorry, if Yumi saw me crying over her again I think she would scold me."
Ken shook his head, "You do not need to apologize to me grandpa. I feel closer to grandma thanks to your story."
Mark nodded, trying to compose himself. He reached for his tea on the coffee table and took a sip. "Ah, the tea is cold… I'll brew us another one." He said, grabbing Ken's and leaving towards the kitchen.
Ken sat back in his chair and let out a small sigh. He had not expected such an innocent question to end in such a way. It was obvious that his grandfather both loved and missed Yumi dearly.
It was now apparent why the man had not remarried, or at least entertained another woman after her departure from this world.
Ken felt the same about Ai. He had never loved another woman before, nor did he want to.
The story about his grandfather drinking and his vivid dream the other night seemed to overlap. It was odd. Ken had no idea if it was related, or a coincidence. Either way, he would not make the same mistakes as his grandfather.