“She bought sea bream and soaked it in salted kouji. She prepared some side dishes too. I didn’t do anything but watch her from the side.”
As Emiko told her about how her daughter had tried hard at cooking, Mayumi crouched down on the ground, head lowered. Telling her to get changed, Emiko left the room to go call for Mizuki.
It seemed she’d already gotten over the incident earlier, because she came right down to the kitchen when called, pulling the sea bream that she’d had resting out of the fridge. While it cooked on the fish grill, she got out the salad, boiled greens, and cutlery, going back and forth between the kitchen and the living room.
Once Mayumi came out, Mizuki told her to just sit down and wait. She didn’t need to help today.
“Grandma, c’mere.”
Emiko walked into the kitchen when called, and Mizuki was poking at the fish with the long chopsticks, asking if it was cooked yet while looking it up on her phone. Kids these days were so strong, with their knowledge on how to utilize handy things.
When everything was done, Mizuki sat down at the table. Once they were all there, she repeated the fact that the three of them hadn’t eaten all together in a while, even on the days they were all off. The three put their hands together and started their meal.
Mizuki was usually the first to dig in, but she was watching them. Noticing that, Mayumi, who usually started with the salad, broke the sea bream into little pieces. It was cooked all the way through, and the piece of white meat she picked up was steaming.
“This is good,” Mayumi said. “The meat is so plump. How did you do this?”
“Huh? I just soaked it in salted kouji. It was easy,” Mizuki said, looking away. When Emiko looked closer, she noticed that, despite the fact that her granddaughter hadn’t started eating yet, her fish was already in tatters. She had used her own meal as a test subject, stabbing into it and ripping off the skin as she worried about its doneness.
“Salted kouji, huh? I don’t think I’ve ever done that,” Mayumi said.
Then, Mizuki told her with a strong voice that she’d bought a cookbook while she was in Tokyo. Mayumi looked up in shock, before saying, “I see,” and starting to eat again.
“But the recipe called for yellowtail, not sea bream, didn’t it?” Emiko asked. The supermarket had both fish, but Mizuki had gone right for the sea bream from the get-go.
“Hey, Mom? Do you know what ‘ke no hi’ means?”
“Ke no hi?” Mayumi repeated, tilting her head in confusion at Mizuki’s sudden question.
“You know how people say that certain days are ‘hare no hi,’ special days, right? ‘Ke no hi’ is the opposite, ordinary days like today, where nothing happens,” Mizuki explained, fearlessly bringing up the topic that had started their fight. “Everyone celebrates the special days, but I think the everyday is more important. We should really be celebrating the everyday.”
“If we go along with Mizuki’s logic, then it’s wonderful how every day would be celebrated,” Emiko said, voice as bright as she could make it.
“Quit it. We’ll go broke if we eat sea bream every day,” Mayumi shot back in her usual tone.
Mizuki huffed out a breath. “Today is a special day, though, since Grandma’s become Ke no Hi’s shelf owner. But the everyday is what’s more important. That’s why we’re having sea bream.”
“Wait, I’m getting all mixed up, here. Special days, the everyday…” Emiko fretted, putting a hand to her chin in thought. Mayumi and Mizuki looked at each other and laughed. But that only lasted a moment before silence fell over the table. The two were giving each other searching looks.
“Mizuki, I’m sorry about before,” Mayumi said, bowing her head first.
“It’s fine. I was in the wrong. I know you need to work for my sake, and that you’ve had to make opportunities to study on your own personal time.”
Mayumi laughed listlessly. “No. I don’t feel like working for my family’s sake is an obligation like that. I do it because I want to. It’s more important to me than my hobbies. But we can’t go on like this, can we?”
“Why don’t you read a book, Mom?” Mizuki suggested. “You know, sometimes I get worked up before tests and stuff, but when that happens, I read just one short story instead of a long one. Sometimes, reading a book calms you down more than just wallowing in thought. Sometimes you find a hint to whatever you’re worrying about too.”
“It’s not like I don’t read. I occasionally buy e-books.”
“What? You never mentioned that!”
“If I told you I read too, then I couldn’t get at you for doing nothing but reading. From my point of view, you get so into them that I worry.”
“That’s ’cause I’m not just into the books. After this, I’ll have you read my fave’s impressions.”
“Your fave’s impressions?” Mayumi asked, confused.
“Later,” Mizuki replied, then turned to Emiko. “You’ve gotta eat it before it gets cold, Grandma!” urging Emiko on.
Emiko broke up the salt-kouji-soaked sea bream with her chopsticks. It had only been soaked for an hour, but the meat had become so soft, bringing out its sweetness.
She really can do it on her own.
As she chewed her fish, Emiko’s eyes started to sting, and she sniffled.
“Oh no, Mom, what’s wrong?” Mayumi stood from the table, grabbing a box of tissue.
“Why are you crying, Grandma? Did us celebrating you move you to tears?”
Contrasting her fretting daughter, her granddaughter just laughed joyfully.