“Seems like he’s got his hands full.”
“Still, it seems like he’s having fun,” Kana said knowingly, in contrast to my expression of sympathy.
“Having fun?”
“He was cursing like he usually does, but all in all, I think he’s enjoying himself. Since he’s been chosen as a class representative, he has a legitimate excuse to be alone with Saki.”
“Oh...”
Yeah, I remember talking about something like that. Kana said before that Ura and Ibusuki were getting along well. The two of them—actually, the three of them, when you count her little brother—went to the summer festival together as well. I’m curious about how they’re getting on, but I couldn’t confirm anything with Ura. If I were to ask him, his personality would definitely keep him from saying his true feelings.
“For Saki-chan to do something like nominate Ura as her partner, she must have feelings for him. Whether those are feelings of love or friendship, I don’t know yet... Ha ha. It looks like this school festival is going to be fun.”
“...I hope so.”
“So, make sure you enjoy yourself too, Momo,” Kana said. Then he looked directly into my eyes and said, “I understand you have a much older girlfriend, are struggling with really special circumstances, and have to push yourself and become an adult. However, it would be sad if you ignored your school life just because of that.”
“...”
“An adult romance with Orihara-san is nice, but it’d also be nice if you cherished your childish youth with us.”
“Kana...”
My heart ached at his words that stung like nails. It’s just as he says. Since I’ve been prioritizing Orihara-san lately, I’ve probably been ignoring everything else.
After all, I had been seriously considering the option of dropping out of school and working to get out of my current situation... I thought that, even if I couldn’t do anything about being a minor, I could do something about my position as a student. If I were to drop out of school, I could become a working adult. Of course, after some consideration, I ended up rejecting that option. I was sure that no one would want me to quit high school: not Orihara-san nor my friends and family would want that. It probably wouldn’t have made anyone happy if I had completely given up on being a child.
Everyone wants me to enjoy my youth as a child. I’m sure I’d be happy that way, and I’m sure there wouldn’t be any greater blessing. I know that. I know that... But still...
“...I understand. Even I want to enjoy my youth as a student,” I said, like I was telling myself. I know. I get it. Right now, I should be a kid. I should enjoy my youth as a child, in a privileged environment and under the protection of adults. “But the thing is... I can’t imagine my youth without Orihara-san anymore.”
No matter how much I thought about it, that was the one thing that never changed. Her being there gave meaning to my youth for the first time in my life; I felt that way from the bottom of my heart. I probably felt that way because love was making me blind, but even still, I wanted to embrace that blindness.
“...I thought you’d say that,” Kana said, laughing as if he was exasperated.
♡
It was nighttime after school had ended, and I had just come home. My sister wasn’t here today because she had a university drinking party, so it was just my father and I eating together. The meal for the evening was ready-made meals I randomly bought at the convenience store. It wasn’t like my father or I couldn’t cook, but our family usually just bought ready-made meals when the three of us weren’t together.
“Kaoru, do you have a minute?” When I was about halfway through my barbecue-style meal, my father looked at me strangely and started talking to me. “Actually, it’s about Kisaki-san.”
“Oh, okay...”
“She’s going to come over and cook for us this weekend.”
“...”
“And she’ll probably go ahead and stay the night...”
“...” I was at a loss for words, and I probably had a really negative look on my face. After all the friction between Kisaki-san and I, it would be awkward facing her now. Just having a meal with her was hard enough, but having her stay over? Just how am I supposed to spend the night with her? Since dad doesn’t know what’s going on, he’s probably thinking something like his adolescent son is just showing opposition toward the new mother that he brought home.
“O-Of course, I’ll turn her down if you two don’t want her to do that. You don’t have to force yourself. I want you and Kaede to be my first priority. If there’s something on your mind, don’t hold back and please tell me,” my dad added a little nervously.
“No, it’s fine. I was just a little surprised,” I said. It was the only thing I could say. The things on my mind, the things I was hiding...there was no way I could say them.
“Really? That’s a relief.” My father exhaled like he was utterly relieved. “I want Kisaki-san to get used to this house little by little. With what’s to come, it’d be best if it happened as quickly as—”
“Dad. Are you...planning on getting remarried to Kisaki-san?” I asked to confirm my understanding.
“...Yeah.” With an expression that was part embarrassed and part serious, my dad nodded. Then, with difficulty, he said, “I’ve already told Kaede, but the truth is... Um, how should I put this... Kisaki-san is already pregnant with my child...”
“O-Oh, really? That’s great,” I said, trying to react like it was my first time hearing it. The truth is I already know, though. What’s more, I heard it from Kisaki-san herself.
“Also, I just want to say... I’m not marrying her because she got pregnant, okay? Kisaki-san and I are in a serious relationship, and after giving proper thought to each other’s future, we decided to have a child. I’m telling you this a little late, but it’s not because we did things out of order. Nothing was ever in the wrong order.”
“I-I see.” Oh man... He’s lying. My dad is totally lying so he looks good in front of his son. The truth is that on the day he met her, Kisaki-san said it was a safe day, she went at him no holds barred, and he succumbed to her temptation. This is hard to hear... I wish I could just be fooled and not realize that this is a lie.
“The child is about three months along. It’ll be a little while until it’s born, but...until then, I want to make life with Kisaki-san stable.”
“That’s right... It’d be hard if things got hectic after the baby was born. So that means... Kisaki-san is going to eventually live here, after all?”
“That’s what I want.” My father nodded.
I suppose it was inevitable. If you’re planning to get married and you’re gonna have a kid together, it’s only natural for you to live together too.
“Kisaki-san is also for living here. Right now, she lives at home and only works part-time at a restaurant. She said she’d be willing to quit her job and move in here when it’s okay with us.”
“Restaurant”? Doesn’t Kisaki-san work at a snack pub in her hometown?
Oh... This is another one of those adult lies. Either Kisaki-san is lying and telling my dad that she works part-time at a restaurant, or my dad knows the truth and is hiding it from me. Wow... I kind of hate this. Since I know the behind-the-scenes details, I see through the lies and deceit. I wish I didn’t know anything and could just fall for it...
“This weekend she’ll just be staying the night, but by next month—or, at the latest, the month after that—I’d like for her to be able to live here.”
Next month or the month after that, huh? It’s sooner than I thought, but if you consider that a child is going to be born around seven months from now, it’s probably on the late side. She’ll likely go back to her hometown before and after the birth, but after that, she’ll probably raise the child in this house.
Kisaki-san said that she didn’t have a child with her ex-husband, so for her this should be her first time giving birth to and raising a child. It’s bad enough that she probably has a lot of worries and anxiety, but there’s no telling what kind of effect significantly changing the living environment would have on the mother and child. I think it would be best for Kisaki-san if she got used to this house as soon as possible. This house is completely foreign to her right now, after all.
I understand my dad’s desire to make it feel like home as soon as possible so well that it hurts...and my sister probably feels the same way. I should probably make Kisaki-san the focus when I think about everything.
However, right now there’s another woman I have to take care of. She’s someone who I have to care for on a different level from my new mother and my new little brother or sister. Before I start living together with Kisaki-san a month or two from now, I better do something about Orihara-san and me. It’d be too awkward if we lived together in a difficult situation like this. More importantly, it would be bad for Kisaki-san’s health during her pregnancy. I feel like we’re totally a source of stress for her, so I’d like to fix that as soon as I can—