We went around the meat and vegetable sections again, and Ayase grabbed chicken breast and various vegetables and tossed them in the cart. After that, she began moving toward the register, then pulled up short.
“That’s a pretty good discount,” she said, looking at a display.
“Hmm? What discount…? Oh, those pumpkins?”
“Yeah. They’re cheap, so I was thinking of buying one.”
A mountain of pumpkins was set in a display near the cash register, with a sign advertising a special rate. Maybe it was an attempt to sell pumpkins for Halloween. But as you might expect, they were Japanese pumpkins with green skin, completely unlike the ones everyone associated with the holiday.
“A whole pumpkin would be too much,” said Ayase, “but we could probably eat one of these halves… Can you carry it?”
I picked up half a pumpkin from the shelf. It wasn’t all that heavy, but it wasn’t light, either.
“It’s fine. I can put it in my bike’s basket,” I said.
We got in line at the register, made sure to get points in the supermarket’s app, then paid for our items.
By the time we left, it was quite late. As we passed through Shibuya’s Center Gai on our way home, we saw a group of people in costume.
It was still two days before Halloween, so they were a little early. I didn’t mind that per se, but they were taking up the whole street, and I almost ran into them. What a nuisance.
I had heavy groceries in my bike’s basket; I didn’t need any extra hassle.
It was past nine when we got home.
“I’ve already prepared dinner, so I just need to heat it up,” said Ayase.
“Thanks, but you should let me do that. You haven’t had much time to study.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m using the little breaks between kitchen tasks to study,” she said, pulling a small English vocabulary notepad out of her pocket with a little grin.
The expression was almost too subtle to call a smile, but it was unusually childlike. It was so different from her normal mannerisms I nearly laughed.
I didn’t want to insult her, so I hid behind the refrigerator door as I put away our purchases.
As Ayase heated our food in the microwave, the aroma tickled my nose.
“That smells good,” I said. “What is it?”
“Chicken teriyaki. It’ll only take a few more moments.”
Ayase wouldn’t let me help with the vegetables or with reheating the miso soup, so I decided to wash the dishes in the sink.
Dad and Ayase must have had dinner earlier when they were at home together. I put some detergent on their dishes and began wiping.
Suddenly, Ayase said, “Oh!”
“Hmm? What’s the matter?”
She was staring at my hands, which were covered with suds.
“I would have done that. You should have left it.”
“I can’t let you do everything. I don’t have a lot of ways to repay you, so let me handle this.”
“Not a lot of ways to repay me…? You’ve got that all wrong.”
“No, I don’t.”
“You do. Did you think I hadn’t noticed? You’re working so hard so you can help support the family, aren’t you?”
“Huh?” My poker face was abysmal. I’d make a terrible gambler.
“You couldn’t find me a high-paying part-time job, so you’re taking more classes at your prep school, investing in yourself so you can support me and the family. You intend to make back the school fees and then some, right?”
“Wow… You can see right through me, can’t you?”
“Well, when I considered the timing, it made sense. And besides…” She ladled a bit of miso soup into a bowl, tasted it, then nodded to herself. “…I think about you, so I notice these things.”
“…!”
I suddenly began to sweat. Were the stove and microwave producing that much heat?
I was washing the dishes in cold water, but my hands weren’t cold at all. I tried to focus as I rinsed away the suds.
I stole a glance at Ayase and saw that she, too, had looked away. I couldn’t begin to guess what she was thinking.
The next moment, I heard our parents’ bedroom door open, and I straightened up.
Dad walked in, yawning. After a quick look around the kitchen, he snatched a piece of the reheated chicken and disappeared into the bathroom.
The smell from the kitchen must have been so tempting that he had to have some even if it meant he needed to re-brush his teeth. He grinned and said it was delicious.
I tensed, wondering if he’d notice the strange mood in the room, and missed the chance to tease him.
I was the only one eating since I’d gotten home late. The menu was chicken teriyaki with miso soup and rice. Large lettuce leaves were set on a plate separate from the salad bowl, which I assumed were for wrapping up the pieces of chicken.
After eating, it was time to relax. I drank tea to settle my stomach and talked to Ayase, who sat across from me.
We chatted about the group in costume we’d run across on our way home. If people were getting into the Halloween mood this early, I wondered how things would be on the thirty-first. Ayase and I both regretted agreeing to work that day.
“I wasn’t worried about it since I’d never been in town for Halloween before,” said Ayase.
I nodded. “It’ll be really crowded. It was already pretty bad today.”
“Maybe some people will walk into the store in their costumes.”
“Either way, our work will be the same. Though if someone comes in made up like a zombie, it might startle me… How about you, Ayase. Are you okay with scares?”
“…Not really,” she said, then added, “But I think I’ll be all right if you’re with me.”
In that case, I was glad we were on the same shift.