CG 29: Dinner Party (Kou & Tobi)
I was informed that I had passed the quarterfinals a while after all the performances had ended. Tears threatened to burst forth when I heard that the judges evaluated my performance as having great expression and a mastery of the technical work.
Sadia Francesca gave me an A- according to the interpreter. “Your performance would have been perfect if you played with more love.”
Love, huh? Maestro Noboru often told me the same thing. I thought I played with love. I wonder what’s missing.
I mulled over that question the entire time I was getting ready to leave and even after I exited the waiting room. Lost in my thoughts, I skidded to a halt when I spotted Kou and Kon. They were both standing in the main hall outside of the waiting rooms.
“Ah,” I uttered stupidly.
“Don’t ‘ah’ me. You were trying to walk by us just now, weren’t you?” Kou was scowling, arms folded. That expression, that pose, they were all I ever wanted to see. They tickled me pink.
“Sorry… I was lost in my thoughts. Thanks for coming today!”
“My pleasure! Your performance was breathtakingly good, Mashiro. You’ve improved again.” Kon squinted at me as if I was glowing. Kou seemed to have pulled himself back together as his expression reverted to normal.
“Ayumi wanted to see if we could all have dinner together. Your family came too, right? She already invited them.”
“Oh? Is it okay for us to join you?”
“Yeah. I was waiting for you here because I wanted to tell you that. Everyone has already gone ahead to the parking garage. We should head over there too.”
“If I’d known about this I would’ve worn a dress instead of my school uniform,” I mumbled.
Kou flashed me a smile. “You look just as cute in your uniform, Mashiro.”
Oh, darn. He’s reverted back to host Kou.
Kon burst out laughing when she saw the disappointment on my face.
✦ ✦ ✦
♪♪♪
MISS Ayumi had made reservations for us at a quiet, unconventional French restaurant thirty minutes from the Arts Center by car. My jaw dropped at the sudden appearance of lush greenery in the middle of a residential area. Surrounded by hedges, the section ahead was totally blocked from view. It was a forest, a freaking forest! Was there really a restaurant in there?
Mom, Dad, and Hanaka were also staring with eyes rounder than saucers. A chic wrought-iron gate was situated in a gap between the hedges. Birds, vines, and roses decorated the lovely design.
“Ayumi, I’m amazed you secured a reservation.”
“I was lucky. Come along. Let’s head in.” Happily nodding along to Kou’s comment, Miss Ayumi confidently pushed open the gate and stepped inside.
Kon and Kou calmly followed Miss Ayumi like they’d been here before. Worried we’d be left behind, we quickly chased after them.
Can we just walk inside?
Past the hedges and wrought-iron gate was a garden straight from Burnett’s The Secret Garden. A brick promenade overflowing with rustic beauty wound its way from the gate through the garden. Meticulous care was paid to pruning the vines and rose thorns closest to the promenade to prevent possible injury. Evenly spaced garden lights led the way like footlights at the theater. The sky overhead was dyed in gradations of purple. Before me was a green garden covered in roses from all four seasons.
Yup, I’ve walked into another world.
“Mashiro, Hanaka, take a look over there!” Dad directed in a hushed voiced, looking over his shoulder at us. I squinted in the direction he pointed and saw a reddish-brown bird perched in a grove of trees.
“Wow! Cute!”
“Is that a sparrow?”
Extremely fond of all things cute, Hanaka and Mom both gushed over the bird. Surprised by their voices, the small bird took flight in a flurry of flapping wings. Dad looked disappointed.
“It was a long-tailed rose finch. I would have brought my camera from the car if I had known we were coming to a place like this.”
“You can’t take pictures without permission,” I promptly chided. Dad restlessly swept his eyes around the area as if he couldn’t give up on the prospect.
We eventually arrived at a small, white, cube-shaped building while we were sight-seeing. Taking views of the garden into consideration, the building had gigantic windows on three sides. Inside, comfortable armchairs were positioned around a large, white table. From outside I also spotted napkins for several people decorating the top of the table. The strange thing was...nobody was seated inside.
I ran up to Kon and Kou and whispered, “Are they not open today?”
They laughed at me with the exact same tone that implied, “Aren’t you cute?” Annoying twins!
“This restaurant accepts one party a day by reservation only.”
“That’s why I told Ayumi I was amazed she’d secured the reservation.”
“I see. I thought that might be the case,” I nodded along in all seriousness, and Kou patted me on the head. Argh! When will he stop with that stuff!
A very petite woman was waiting for us when we entered the restaurant. “Welcome. Please come right this way.”
The woman wore a white shirt and black pants. She had her brown hair pulled back into a tight bun and her bangs pinned back. You couldn’t guess her age by looking at her. She looked like she was in her mid-teens and her mid-twenties. Eugen Cicero’s jazz music played casually in the background.
I was staring at the small flower decorating a cup on the table when Kou informed me, “That’s a star swertia.”
“It’s cute. I love this kind of flower,” I answered.
Kou’s expression sunk for some reason. “Sou said he loves that flower too.”
“He did? Cool.”
He’s sad because I reminded him of Sou. My mistake.
The restaurant felt more like a secret hideaway than a five-star luxury restaurant, which helped my family feel more at home.
“The last member of our party will arrive later,” Miss Ayumi explained to the woman, who I assumed was the waitress.
“Okay. Would you like to order first? Or would you rather wait?”
Miss Ayumi began placing orders with the waitress. There weren’t any menus around, so with nothing better to do, we looked around the restaurant and at the garden through the windows.
“Are you certain it was all right for me to order the courses at my discretion?” Miss Ayumi worriedly confirmed with Mom and Dad after the waitress disappeared into the back.
“Well, we’ve never come to a place like this before, so you are actually doing us a big favor by ordering.”
“No one in our family is a picky eater. We’re looking forward to eating new foods. Aren’t we?”
Miss Ayumi looked relieved by Dad and Mom’s answers and enthusiastic smiles. Dad and Miss Ayumi both drove here, so they weren’t going to order any wine.
“How does Perrier sound?” Miss Ayumi checked with Dad.
“Noncarbonated for me,” Dad responded and the waitress brought him normal mineral water.
She had arrived with such perfect timing it made me wonder if there were hidden cameras in the restaurant. The waitress was extremely professional.
Hanaka leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Hey, do you think there will be dessert too?”
Kou overheard from his seat on the opposite side of me and answered in my place. “This is a full course meal, so there should be. The desserts are delicious here. You can safely look forward to the dessert sucré.”
I flinched from the rich timbre of Kou’s baritone voice—his post-puberty voice.
I used to love the sound of this voice in the game. I love it even now. His looks too. Maybe I’ll join Kou’s fanclub if I get accepted into Seio.
Imagining Kou’s disgusted frown made me laugh out loud.
“What’s dessert sucré?”
“It means a sweet dessert in French,” I whispered to Hanaka.
“I had no idea! Oh gosh, that’s embarrassing!” Her cheeks turned red.
“Dessert sucré isn’t usually used after all. We normally just call it dessert.” I thought that Kou would laugh at my sister’s reaction, but he didn’t even crack a smile. “Your family is made up of great people, huh?” he quietly commented out of the blue.
“You think so too? Ehehe, thanks.”
Hearing my family complimented brought me instant joy. All the more so because Kou’s tone didn’t have a hint of sarcasm in it.
“They don’t have any ulterior motives. They’re honest and have this warmth about them. I can relax around them. …I’m not lying.”
The fact he felt the need to add that last part on was like a knife to the chest for me. I don’t think he’s a liar—nah, that’d make me the liar. I think he’s a big fat liar only when it comes to women.
“…Are you okay?” I asked him.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Aren’t you worn out? Don’t push yourself too far. You should take it easy now and then.”
“Right back at you—is what I want to say, but…you’re right. I’d do just that if it would actually change things.”
“And things will change if you leave them be?”
The smart and intuitive Kou immediately caught on to what I was talking about. Being surrounded by his fanclub all the time had to be like living on pins and needles for him.
“They’re satisfied with just a little superficial attention. Those girls aren’t serious about me either. It’s just that it’d be too late if their pent-up feelings exploded and they went after Kon.”
“Yeah…pretty scary.”