(She was so overcome by this sudden re-union she could hardly contain herself. Pressing her hands to her cheeks she looked him up and down, he truly hadn’t change a day since she last saw him. How remarkable.)
I just can’t believe it! Sweet Buddha, I can’t. (She wanted to tear up.) Big Brother….(Took a breath before running up to link her arm with him.)
Well you’re staying for dinner. There’s absolutely NO question about that. Botan! (She called for her son, taking the bag of groceries from Jack and tossing them off to her small son who about buckled under the weight of them.) Here. Take these in for Mama, please baby. Thank you. (She kept her smile on Jack, leading him up the stairs of her tree bungalow.)
(The inside was very stylist of the young girl he had left behind. Her own spin in the interior of the traditional Japanese home. From her pink floor pillows, peach oriental tapestries to her vast potted plants that decorated the living room where the sun shown in, everything seemed to match a chaotic and eccentric scheme that was Miss Oita Nariko also known as Nikki. She had talked her ear off from the second they both took foot on the first step on the stairs. She told him the exact second after they separated and planned on leading up to this point. Starting with, of course, the origin of her son. She sat the Samurai down in a flash at the island overlook into her small cluttered kitchen.)
So I was positive he was going to be a boy because, I don’t know if you remember, but I LOVE fish, especially tuna, but when I was pregnant I could not even STAND The smell of fish and my Grandmother always told me “Boys are fishy, girls are squishy” Because if it’s a girl that means your skin would be extra so but my was really dry. So much that I had to start using oil on my hands and my hair too.
(As she spoke she poured him a glass of tea in a small pink glass tea cup. The aroma smelled the peaches as she handed it to him. But some how in those brief few seconds her story transitioned from Botan to something else.)
….And honestly I don’t really know why I stay at the job. I’m the best meat cutter they have and I told them that this Miyagi character can’t tell a sirloin from a cooked duck and further more EVERYONE prefers me cutting their meat for them anyway. (She was moving and talking a mile a minute. Pots boiling as she spoke, she placed a bowl over her hand and leaned in to reach for the top of the pot. She pulled out a few hot egg dumplings that she placed on Jack’s plate. She leaned against the counter talking without end.)
And thennnn I couldn’t decide if I wanted to live in the city or outside. I figure I wanted a big garden like I did back home in Taiyo, but I also wanted Botan to see life outside the Asian Districts since he’s taught to read and write in that bizarre english language with the even more bizarre horizontal writing they do. I’m thinking about taking him out and letting him stay in school here so he doesn’t need to travel so far- oh. (She looks over to see Botan standing in the door way, eyes almost crazed in confusion. Nikki looked at him, tapping her wooden spoon on the side.)
Baby it’s rude to stare, speak up. (She folded her arms. He blinked a few times before blurting.)
HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS MAN?(He yelled, pointing at Jack. Nikki scoffed in both humor and shock.)
BoBo I’ve TOLD YOU about the Samurai a thousands times. I was only a few years older than you when I met him. How he brought me here. Boy, you don’t listen.
I THOUGHT THAT JACK WAS A MONKEY?!!!
(Nikki rolled her eyes, knowing that her son knew it wasn’t her pet she was talking about at the time. She waved her hand in a smile, walking over to where Jack was and pulled him up, her cup of tea in her other hand as she shuffled with him over to the living room to the floor pillows. She sat him and and plopped right next to him, a bright warm small on her face.)
So how are you? How are things? (She asked taking a quick sip of tea.) Are you married? Any kids? When can I meet them?
(Botan blinked a few times, eyes still wide in confusion, looking up at Jack to see if he had any answers.)
He did not object to the wild woman nearly dragging him to her house, but he could not help but throw an apologetically concerned glance at her son as the heavy burden was thrown back at him.
“I would be delighted to stay and eat. Thank you.” He replied with a small laugh quirking an amused eyebrow at her forwardness.
He looked around at the house’s interior decor as he was led inside. It impressed him in many more ways than one. The simple look of a traditional Japanese home was welcoming, and it still amazed him that aesthetic tastes like this still survived despite the time disparity between his era and theirs. Yet, it was unorderly and all over the place, as if his hostess did not care to put in the time and effort to arrange the items in an organized manner. If he had not known her ten years prior, then this visual alone would have told him of her chaotic personality.
The samurai seated himself comfortably in the spot she picked out for him. He watched her intently as she rambled on, thanking her quietly so as to not interrupt her unending flow of stories. He took a sip from the tea and found that it had the pleasant taste of peaches within it. A rather unconventional flavor for tea in his experience, but it was still good!
Before he could dig into the dumplings, he noticed that the woman’s never-ending narrative had come to an abrupt halt. He followed her gaze to find a very confused Botan standing at the front door. And seeing that Nariko’s answer did not satisfy the boy, Jack cleared his throat and spoke.
“What she says is true. Ten years ago, your mother wanted a new start in a better place. One that would accept her for who she is. So, she stole my sword to make me escort her to Tsuki.” He took another sip from the small, pink tea cup, closing his eyes. “Which I thought was very unnecessary. I would have taken you there anyway if you simply asked.”
Finishing the cup of tea, he set it gently in the table and regarded his hostess with an amused smile.
“I am well, thank you,” he said, chuckling, “Still on my quest, not married, and I am afraid that you will never be able to see my children, as I do not have any.”
“Have you stayed out of trouble lately? I hope you did not drag your son into one of your crazy adventures in my stead.”
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