Lupin could not stop the smile that pulled on his lips, fondly looking at her. He definitely would take her wherever she wanted to go, and it seemed that suggestion of the symphony had worked well. "Yes. We have to go. I have the perfect idea for a dress for you if you wouldn't mind me creating one." He stated, leaning forward so that he could perch his head on his folded hands. "I am pretty sure we had been invited to a concert of the ost from our old drama after it released. However, I don't think either of us paid it any attention." At that point, their young romance had been budding. He knew she was all he could look at then.
His mothers had loved Alice just as he had, and so, he knew his mothers would be sad to know she did not remember them, though it was clearly not her fault. "Don't worry. You have on multiple occasions. When I ended the engagement, I thought umma was going to beat me up, and okasan was not much better either. It might one of the most upset moments I ever saw them." He stated with a weak chuckle. It was funny now. Back then, it was not. It had taken enough explanation to get to a reasonable ground. There was so much about their end that he regretted. "I told her we have re-met. I don't think I can get off the phone without hearing questions about you. They do not know of your memory loss."
He nodded his head in approval at her wine order, and once the waiter walked away with their menus, he relaxed again. A hand reached out over the table to grab one of her hands into his. Her question made him chuckle, a small knowing smile rested on his lips. "You actually did not take that long, though I have suspicions after knowing you so long that you had reviewed the menu before we even got there." He jested with good amusement. A thumb gently rubbed the back of her hand.
As the waiters brought their wines, it was a simple thanks before his attention was back to her. "I remember I spent a lot of effort trying to look my best for our date, and it ended up raining on us. But, it was a good night. The best night."
“Who am I to reject designer Lupin? He wants to make another bespoke dress for me, I must be insane to say no to such an offer, right?” Alice replied jokingly. She mirrored Lupin’s gesture, leaning toward him and perching her head on her folded hands, her eyes gleamed under the restaurant’s atmospheric lights. “Was anyone upset because of our lack of attention? I hope there was none, but if there was, I hope neither of us cared about that.”
Her witty smile, her dramatic intonation, and the cocky arch of her eyebrows uncannily resembled the manner of her most well-known character, the one she co-starred with Lupin. Alice now could not know, but Lupin might still remember, that after being showered with compliments and acknowledgement for that iconic role, she had struggled for a long while to escape its wide-spread shadow. It was not a bright time for her and their relationship, when Alice grew restless and started seeking “inspiration” through alcohol, substances, parties, and fishy companions. She did not sink too deep nor too long, but there were so many things she had not told Lupin before their breakup, and then her missing happened. She owed him an apology, that was for sure.
Alice was back to her focus mode as Lupin resumed talking about his umma and okasan, easily recognizing the meanings of the words and what they implied. When he recalled their reactions toward their breakup news, Alice nodded her head slightly in understanding, her smile wore a tint of sadness. “It must have been a hard time, I may understand why your umma and okasan reacted the way they did. But like you once said, the decision was to protect me, you just tried to do what you believed was best for us, so I still don’t think you were the one at fault.”
She blinked, eyes widened in nice surprise as Lupin revealed that his mothers had learned about their reunion on the island. There was a loving smile she could not hide as she imagined their conversation on the phone. “Oh dear, they are so sweet, I really want to meet and talk to them!” but she was quick to add, regretfully, “but you’re right, it makes sense not to let them know about my memory loss for now. But I guess it’s safe for you to pass my words to them? I just want to say hello, and that I’m grateful for their care for me, and I wish them all the best.”
Alice was not aware that she was getting emotional until the soothing warmth of Lupin’s palm covered hers. She smiled rather sheepishly at the sight of their linked hands, tilting her head while yet another piece of their shared past was being given back to her. “Studying menus before the first date sounds like something I would have done,” a witty chuckle escaped her as she then revealed, “I must confess, I did check out this restaurant’s menu, and those of all restaurants on this island last night. I’m just not that good at making decisions, you see.”
She chimed a thank to the waiter before shifting her gaze back to Lupin. His description of their very first date, despite being brief, was enough to elicit an amused chuckle from her. “I bet the old me loved the sight of you in the rain, she must have thought you were dashing, even in a soaking wet suit.” That was the truth. Alice did assure Lupin more than once that night that he looked immaculate, that she did not mind the rain one bit, and even proved her statement with a kiss on his lips.
Soon after that, the food was served. As their table was quickly filled with mouth-watering dishes, Alice watched with undisguised excitement. “Let’s eat!” She exclaimed, picked up a fork to take a piece of garlic bread, and let out a hum in satisfaction at the crunchiness.
Alice tended to be quiet when eating her food, and so for a while, there were just occasional exclamations about the food’s good tastes coming from her. When she was about to move to her second squid pizza piece, a catchy intro came up from the stage, and the singer burst into a beautiful song that made Alice stop on her track.
“Wise man say, only fools rush in…”
Deliberately, she put down the utensils, turned around to look at the singer, and did not turn to look back at her date until the first verse of the song had passed. When their eyes met again, Alice’s face was already covered in bewilderment and frustration, as if she was about to remember something related to the song, but it kept running away from her mind.
“I think I’ve heard this song before,” she explained in a low voice, her gaze cast down to look aimlessly at the dishes on the table, striving to search into the mysterious hole that was her memory. “I keep feeling like it’s something important, I just…can’t remember what it is.”
That was a classic love song, it was more than just that. It was the song that played on that one date they had, the one when he asked her if she would like to be his wife, and she said yes.
