Haruo and River

Generation One

Chapter Seven - Haruo and River

Chikamori Side of the Duplex

Well, no one ever said mornings were dull at the Chikamori/McIrish residence. In fact mornings were exceedingly early as the Chikamori family and their friends who lived at the same address went to sleep early and got up very early in the morning. Which was why Molly was in the Chikamori’s kitchen looking to make cinnamon rolls at 12:35 in the morning. Despite the fact that the appliances looked new, they were second-hand thanks to Mayumi cutting corners on the purchase giving orders to the contractors that they were to look for the cheapest possible price on the appliances. So thus half the appliances worked and the other half were just for show. Mornings generally were calm however things got heated when Molly, needing to use some good appliances to cook breakfast came over clad in her nightie which made Mayumi see red; not just at the interruption, but at Molly's presumptuous disregard for proper etiquette, dress and deportment around the oh so high and mighty Mayumi Chikamori; educator extraordinaire and highly regarded as being beyond the capacity of mere mortals such as the rest of her plebeian family and those whom they associated with. To her her family's friends didn't even register on the human scale let alone uneducated peon scale.

Hearing noises in the kitchen in the middle of the night or early in the morning; take your pick, Mayumi had gone downstairs to see what the noise was all about. Exiting the elevator she looked left.

Mayumi couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her appliances, her bowls, her mixing spoon...all of which was being touched by the little plebeian hands of that little tart next door. What exactly in the Sam Hills was this?

Mayumi saw Molly using her oven and went ballistic: stark-raving, bug-eyed, frothing at the mouth insane. "ARE YOU A TRAMP?!"she screeched at the top of her lungs while waving her hands in the air.

Molly looked at her as if Mayumi was psycho.

"Excuse me, I addressed you!" If Mayumi's voice was any shriller and louder, she could out-scream a fire engine. "The least you could do is answer, or are you as dimwitted as you are a tramp?!" Yes, Mayumi was making friends and influencing people. When the only response Mayumi got out of Molly was a raised eyebrow and a curled lip punctuating a sneer, Mayumi exploded, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?! You Botoxed street-walking whore!"

"Just what...did you say to me?" ...luckily, Molly hadn't turned the stove-top on to make pancakes yet and she dropped the spatula on the frying pan. She looked at Mayumi with a disdainful look. "I dare you to say that again."

"Oh, I dare, you miserable bitch, first you walk into my house dressed like you got out of someone's bed ." Mayumi snapped. "Then you prance around in my kitchen nearly stark ass naked. You are nothing more than a worthless whore!" Mayumi screeched. "I think you'd drop trou for every-".

That was all Mayumi could get out before a resounding smack was heard as Molly's fist connected with Mayumi's face. The cat fight was on and Molly got in several good stomps on Mayumi's fingers which caused Mayumi to shriek in pain which brought down the rest of the family including Yasunobu and Satoshi who tried to figure out if he should cheer on Molly whom he had a major crush on. Satoshi nearly cheered Molly when she gave Mayumi a good solid uppercut, the crack of clenched fist meeting jaw pretty much made Mayumi see stars. Satoshi thought it was a pity that bag didn't get a concussion. Then Molly slapped the ever-lovin' crap out of Mayumi which seemed to be the right idea since Mayumi deserved a good slapping.

Mayumi was enraged and was in the midst of a tirade against Molly when Fiona came over from the McIrish side of the triplex trying to figure out just exactly what the ruckus was about that had awoken her. Mayumi screeched, "You people best remember that this is MY house..." Fiona decided not to interject herself into this argument and stood to the side listening and waiting for an opening but far enough away that she wouldn't get hurt if things got heated.

"Excuse me...you witch, this is YOUR THIRD of the house...not the whole house...Fiona paid for one-third of this home and the Harts have the other third!" Molly interjected heatedly as she got in Mayumi's face and threatened to make her into a pretzel.

"But it was MY Husband's good credit that got us that mortgage! So I'd shut your yap if I were you..." Mayumi hissed venomously as she got in a mean scowl. "Because we can take it all back if you aren't careful and I wouldn't care if you seven became homeless. It would serve you tramps right." Mayumi huffed and wiped her shoulder at Molly as if she was some disgusting bit of garbage that had been deposited on her neck.

That did it for Molly: the insults that she endured from Mayumi; the condescension and worst of all, the simple fact that this pathetic excuse for a human being would just as soon cast her son, her husband, her cousin and his son, and the rest of them out including her and her daughter, Molly had enough; seeing red, she pounced on Mayumi for the second time that morning. Mayumi, despite her evil and mean-spirited traits got the worst of it. Bruised and battered, Mayumi screeched, "You haven't heard the end of this, you skank."

"Takes one to know one, you insufferable bitch!" Molly snarled clenching her fists ready and willing to make good on trouncing Mayumi and beating the ever-lovin' shit out of her. And she'd deserve every bit of that beating; that sanctimonious flea-ridden hag.

Satoshi wished Molly would knock his evil sister-in-law out. Because she seriously deserved nothing less than utter abject humiliation; forced to bend knee to those who were kinder and gentler human beings.. But the likelihood of that narcissistic witch even thinking of doing that in her wildest fever dreams was a complete fantasy. Satoshi knew that his brother had practically walked eyes open into a literal nightmare of a relationship. He had seen the woman when Yasunobu had first started dating Mayumi but no matter how sweet she played it, there was something vicious, cunning and evil about that woman. And Satoshi knew that his brother was making the right choice in cutting that malicious virago (in the worst possible definition of the word) loose to fend for herself, perhaps she would come to know that she would not be able to treat others in that fashion without consequences or maybe her karmic retribution would catch up to her. She couldn't be doing herself any favours with her current behaviour.

Yasunobu rolled his eyes as he realized finally the effect that Mayumi's temper-tantrum was having on the rest of the family and he thanked his lucky stars for having the guts to snap at her yesterday. She finally had trodden on Yasunobu's last nerve and he'd had enough of her bullshit. And he was finally rid of the cantankerous old bat; maybe in his declining years he would find someone who would take care of him and be kind, gentle and sweet.

"AND how about you put some clothes on, you painted floozy!" screeched Haruo's mother at Molly who turned around and slapped Mayumi for the second time that morning...HARD.

“You really have no respect for anyone other than yourself, do you?” Fiona interrupted Mayumi’s continuing tirade putting a halt to the squabble between Molly and Mayumi. They both turned to look at her with questioning glances; like two different M&Ms: one being made chocolate; the other was nuts.

“Respect is earned; not given.” Mayumi snarked back at Fiona; her tone haughty and pedantic as though she was trying to explain a concept to a small and stupid child.

“Well, that certainly doesn’t surprise me, Mayumi...out of the likes of you;” Fiona shot back, “...considering you’ve done nothing to deserve the level of respect due a deity...of which you’re not.”

“You better watch your tone, Ms. Paparazzi hack, I have a Bachelor of Arts in History and Education; I was tops in my class and I was a Rhodes Scholar, so I have done a lot more with my life than you ever will...” Mayumi was incensed. “As a matter of fact, my mother and father taught me to never have a child out of wedlock, so I’m up on you on there...as...”

Fiona yawned, "Are you done your current volley of objurgation? Mayumi?" putting up a hand in the air and flapping it. "You're causing a breeze."

Mayumi hadn’t stopped bloviating, “...and I deserve every bit of respect that is owed to me...after all...I didn’t under go four years of intensive studying to obtain degrees in the Library Sciences as well as in Arts...to have you come in with your Certificate of Journalism by learning on the job. So who did you have to stir to get a job that you didn’t have the qualifications to do?”

Mayumi snorted derisively, "...maybe that begat your wretched spawn...who appears to be tied to mine." she snapped, "No matter...at least it gets rid of a useless kid that didn't meet up with expectation."

“How dare you insinuate that Ms. McIrish has done something untoward!!!” Haruo stormed in, incensed, before River or Torao could stop him. Despite his inadequacy in mathematics and the sciences, his marks in English were impeccable and he had a commanding grasp of the English language which stunned most of his teachers. “You have no business telling her what you did...that she did something morally reprehensible in order to get a job. You have some nerve.”

“This is between that tart’s mother and myself. You don’t need to involve yourself.” Mayumi’s high and mighty tone enraged Haruo further, causing him to grit his teeth and clench his fists.

“It becomes my problem when you refer to my girlfriend as a tart and her mother as unwholesome. Mother dearest.” the dripping sarcasm from his tone of voice on the vocative noun was quite apparent that he was making an equivalence to the matriarch actress of the Crawford clan.

Mayumi huffed, “I’m only telling the truth and you’d better watch your tone with me; young man...even if you hate my guts, I’m still your mother.”

The bitterness in Haruo’s tone was quite evident as he snarled, “Unfortunately...”

The sound of palm meeting face was sharp and loud. “How dare you...I gave birth to you, you ungrateful little snot.” The vicious words were more hurtful than the physical slap. “I went through sixteen hours of intense physical pain to birth you and this is the thanks I get?”

Fiona stepped forward; sheer anger and protectiveness over her daughter’s boyfriend suffused her features in an incandescent sheen of outrage. “This is the last time you will ever hit your son because he no longer lives here. By rights, I should report you to the Ministry of Children and Families.” she stepped forward, “But I have no wish to see my daughter’s boyfriend go into foster-care. I’m taking him into refuge. Contest me and I will report you and file for custody, terminating your rights to see him ever again.”

“What makes you think that a painted tart like you would ever get custody?” Mayumi scoffed, dusting off her shoulder, "What makes you think that the courts will believe you over me? You have got to be kidding me. You are nothing; a zero..."

“Live and learn, Mayumi, I have six eye-witnesses who saw the whole slapping-a-minor incident take place right in front of their eyes. Not to mention, the victim; as well. Would you care to keep digging a hole?” Fiona’s look was pure evil aimed at Mayumi, “And who knows what other garbage a nosy paparazzi investigative reporter can dig up on you. I’m sure with 51 years under your belt, there’s probably a lot of dirt there...that can be useful.”

She stepped forward, “Let’s see how you like it when you get a taste of your own medicine.”

Fiona’s right hand flicked out in a nice wide arc defined by the circumference of her arm length and made vicious impact with Mayumi’s left cheek, snapping her head sideways. “Perhaps you shouldn’t hit your child or someone bigger may come along and hit you.” Fiona snarled.

Yasunobu shook his head and stepped forward to confront Mayumi, "Kanryō shimai...(We are done); Anata ga boku no kodomo ni te o ageru ga modoru koto wa nai. (When you raise a hand to our child, there's no going back). Rikon ga kakutei suru made taizai ni sho. Shikashi, anata wa watashitachi no musuko no chikazuite ikenai. Anata kinshi sareru. (You can stay until the divorce is finalized; but you will not go near our son. It is forbidden)

"Kare mo boku no musuko... (He's my son also...)"

Yasunobu growled, "Anata ga kare o nagutta toki, Anata wa kare o hahaoya ni suru subete no kenri o hōkashita. (The second you raised your hand to hit him, you lost your right to mother him.)"

Bebe stepped forward towards Mayumi, no longer a teen but a young adult, equally as tall as Mayumi, responsible, holding down an occupation she planned to pursue to the very pinnacle. And this was something she had to do, and step forward she did; a seething look of anger; her eyes shards of green ice. She turned to Yasunobu, “I’m so sorry, Mr. Chikamori. Forgive me but this has to be said,” and turned back to Mayumi, “For most of his life, I’ve seen how he’s come to school, barely a shell of himself. I went to school with him, I saw him withdrawn and quiet on those days that you went off on him. I saw River comfort him; stand by his side. Mrs. Chikamori, you were the cause of that pain; you shredded his self-respect, his ability to have confidence in himself and his self-worth and the only reason why he's still here today instead of being a statistic for child-suicide is his circle of school-friends and his father, cousin and uncle. Nothing I see here tells me that you were a mother to him in the way that a mother is supposed to be.” she pointed a finger at him, “An abuser, maybe, but a mother? No. What you were was his tormenter.”

Mayumi tried to say something but Bebe cut her off at the pass with an emphatic wave-off.

"Whatever pathetic excuses you have, Mayumi, I'm not in the mood to hear them. In fact, when Ms. McIrish goes after custody of Haruo, I'll be happy to be a character witness." Bebe stated, her voice brittle and cold, "You have no valid excuses; in fact, you're a sorry excuse of a human being. In fact, if I were a biological researcher, I’d start questioning your links as a human being and whether you were an outlier or a change-child, because there is no question that you have a lack of humanity."

River stalked forward; eyes narrowed, teeth gritted. “You are a real piece of work, aren’t you?” she hissed. “I remember the first time that I knew that something was wrong. It was the day that you decided that you were going to give Haruo extra homework because you figured that he talked back to you.” she stared at Mayumi, ice-cold green eyes impaling Mayumi...with sheer hatred. “You were just looking to heap stuff on him to do just because...you wanted to get the point across to him that you were bigger than him and as such, you had control over his life; just for your own amusement.” River’s voice was seething with pent-up rage. “I knew that there was something wrong. I was too young to know just what it was...but that one time that he and I were toddlers playing, you took away his lollipop and made him cry, then just because he wouldn’t be quiet when you wanted, you took him and you put him in his crib. He was screaming his head off...and you ignored him...and all the while you had this smirk on your face as if you were getting enjoyment from his misery. Well, mark my words, Mayumi, I’m not going to let you hurt him any more. If you think you’re going to hurt him again, you have another thing coming.” River balled up her fists and glared at Mayumi.

Mayumi tried to step forward, and River snarled in a low growling voice, “I wouldn’t make that mistake a second time; because the next time, Hank will have you in cuffs and you’ll be cooling your heels at the local lockup.”

“He deserves better than a little trollop like you.” Mayumi sneered at her.

“Since when did you have his best interests in mind, you witch.” River’s sneer was equally ferocious. “If you didn’t care about him for the past eighteen years...don’t try to fool anyone that you care now.”

“How dare you...” sputtered Mayumi, “You are nothing but an insignificant...”

“An insignificant speck?” River asked? “Well, you’re talking to an insignificant speck...that has your son’s heart. And hates you. What makes you think that you’ll see your grandchildren if you speak about their potential mother in that manner.”

“You...are a harlot.” Mayumi seethed, “You have no right to take my son from me...”

“Oh...really. I took your son away from you. You make it seem as if he didn’t have any choice himself in matters of his own heart. You would control him that much.” River snarled. “And I’m going to say this...Mayumi, your shadow had better not darken our doorstep because you are not welcome...whereever he and I live from now on.”

"...because I will have you arrested if you come nosing around our house. And I'll be laughing when you are clapped in handcuffs...and dragged off kicking and screaming. You belong in a nuthouse and you should have been stuffed inside their rubber-room where you could pontificate to your heart's content without rational people having to subject themselves to torturous misery listening to your misguded ranting..."

"...Let me say it slowly so that it sinks in to your thick head considering it doesn’t seem possible, despite your post-secondary education that you have any cognition of what it means to be a rational, social human being; YOU are not welcome at our house...so don’t bother coming and knocking on our door. “

Yasunobu looked stricken but River turned to him and said, “Dad...on the other hand is welcome at anytime.” embracing Yasunobu and telling him that only his wife was subject to the ban.

...while Mayumi could only stand there and fume in impotent rage.

Pinochle Pond

It was remarkable to see how much Mayumi could vent; she just went on and on as if it was her that was being persecuted and not the other way around. As it was, their day was half over...before River and Haruo managed to escape the house. Pinochle Pond was a trudge up through rolling hills and eventually they came across a clearing where they could see a nice pond or more aptly described a small lake.When they finally found a place. River hung back a moment to see her boyfriend stand there looking out at the lake; his body tense; a dark shape in the spreading gloom of the late afternoon. He was silent. She hoped that he hadn't taken offence at the venom that she'd spewed at his mother. After all, Mayumi had deserved every bit of that vitriol directed at her. In fact, River had been surprised at just how much everyone else had vented at her which had provided the catalyst for her own venting. The silence just seemed oppressive and she had to fill the void with something.

River looked over at Haruo with a soft smile. "This has always been our place, hasn't it?" It was more a comment than a question.

"It has...", Haruo replied...causing River to sigh in relief. He wasn't giving her the silent treatment. They hadn’t discussed anything in the taxi on the way over to the pond. She wasn't sure just how Haruo would react when she'd unloaded on his mother all the vitriolic feelings that she’d been carrying around inside her at the way that Haruo was being treated by Mayumi. After a long moment, Haruo answered her, "We've been here a lot. And it seems so much more peaceful to me when we are here than at home." He looked out towards the lake, the air was still, not even a breeze to interrupt this moment as they stood contemplating the vista before them.

"I wish we could have this kind of feeling forever." River sighed wistfully.

"What you said today...to my mother..." Haruo said quietly; he didn't turn around. "You meant all of it." River wasn’t sure if the tone of his voice was flat, emotionless; all she could sense was a lot of pain coming from him. She wasn’t sure how to react to the statement. There was another long silence; a tense one as he stood there in the looming darkness, a silent figure in the gloom. She wondered if what she had said was too much but she felt that she’d needed to get it off her chest.

“Unless something happens to her...” he said all of a sudden startling River as it seemed that he had gone completely silent; a stone figure. “She’s always going to be around, sticking her fingers into everything that we do; trying to create havoc out of what little peace that we have. Do you really want to live like that?”

He turned to her and asked earnestly trying to convey the depth of his anguish at even getting River involved in the situation, "Can you think what your life would be if she decided to focus her anger out on you. She's tried to destroy me; and I can't sit by and watch her do that to you."

"If she wants to do that, she's going to have to do a lot better than just taking verbal pot-shots at me. Because if she does try to come at me..." River left the rest unsaid...she wouldn't think twice about making sure that Mayumi couldn't do it to anyone else, “The best that she can throw at me, is that I’m a harlot that I’m sitting here taking your innocence...and that doesn’t bother me in the slightest.” River assured him as she narrowed her eyes, thinking just how she could make Mayumi pay for that comment. But she couldn’t think as evilly as Mayumi could. Her good nature prevented her from it.

"So...you're saying you wouldn't run?" Haruo asked her. The fact that Mayumi had conditioned Haruo to the point that he was skeptical of everything so that he’d question if River would stand by him in his fight against being controlled, incensed River to depths of fury she didn’t know she had against Mayumi.

"Hell, no." River spat, "Why would I... Why would I abandon someone I love to her tender mercies just because she's a controlling bitch who can't understand the limitations that most civilized people live under...who doesn't know where proper boundaries are and shouldn't have been let out of the insane asylum? Why should I foresake the man that I love just because of some little bullshit like that?" River's emphasis on the word tender was absolute dripping sarcasm. "I'm no weak wall-flower, Haruo. If she wants a fight, she's got one on her hands..."

Haruo looked absolutely flabbergasted with a small hint of a smile playing about his lips; the lips that River wanted to kiss at that very moment, "Well, gee, um, River...why don't you tell me how you really feel?" he asked. They both snorted with laughter.

"Thanks for sticking up for me, after she hit me..." Haruo acknowledged River's role in the whole "dump on Mayumi" day that they'd had... "in answer to your statement earlier..." he did a deep dive back to the first statement that she'd made after they got there. I wish we could have this kind of feeling forever making River have to think hard to remember what had been said, "Me...too..." he whispered, his warm breath on her lashes, as River and he stepped into each other’s arms in a tender embrace, “I love you, River, sweetheart...”.

"I love you too..." River said looking up at him. "...oh so much...". Their lips met in a tender kiss that seemed to make time stop for the both of them. River had her fingers running through Haruo's hair as they tightened their embrace. Their kiss deepened into a much more passionate one as River pressed her body into Haruo's as they hungered for each other's caress.

...and upon release ended up scratching her arm...

"Dammit...no-seeums." she muttered, "This is what happens after dark, the mosquitos and bugs eat you alive.” she swatted away a few more flying insects from a cloud of them. But a much more serious conversation ensued as their discussion turned towards the future. Their plans in the immediate future was to travel and see new places, but what sort of travels that the two of them planned and where they might go.

"I've always wanted to further my kung fu and eventually get my black belt." Haruo stated. "So I guess Shang Simla is also on the list." He grinned.

River nodded then gave him a poke, "And you...have to teach me kung fu too."...along with a sweet smile with each punctuated soft poke on you, teach, kung-fu and too.

"Yes, Ma'am". Haruo stepped back and gave her a salute along with a straight face but a merry twinkle in his eyes while River laughed. But a cloud passed over his countenance as he looked away for a brief moment.

"What is it? Love...". River asked. "Is there something wrong?"

Haruo sighed and for a long moment he gazed at the lake. Then startling River, he asked, "what do you think of my mother? He looked at her.

River was taken aback by the question.

"Just tell me the honest truth." He said.

"You really want to hear my honest opinion on her?" River asked.

"Trust me," Haruo said, "Your opinion is probably not something you haven't heard me mutter under my breath about her myself." His gaze continued to look out towards the lake...not meeting her own.

River stood for a long minute trying to think of a diplomatic way to couch her opinion of that insane old bat that was Haruo's mother. She turned the problem of doing so around in her head in multiple directions: upside down, at various different angles and side ways...but ultimately she failed; a look of disgust on River's face told everything about in how much esteem she held Mayumi. Simple was best: "To tell you the god's honest truth, sweetheart, I think she's a total narcissistic self-important bitch who thinks that everyone in the entire world is at her beck and call." She paused for a moment. "I know that she doesn't think I'm good enough for you and frankly, she hates my guts." She said, a wry grin and a little bit of evil merriment in her eyes.

Haruo raised one eyebrow and nodded as if to tell her to continue.

"And frankly, as long as I can be a thorn in her side, by loving you, that'll give me absolute pleasure in putting one over on that hag." River stated, an malevolent smirk on her face as she just absolutely reveled in the idea. "Just watching her squirm, when I kiss you is the highlight of my day in pissing her off."

That elicited a laugh out of Haruo; and it was a cue for him. He turned to her and said, "Well, I'm sure she's going to get one hell of a coronary out of this...then."

Not expecting that response out of her frank disclosure of how much she hated Mayumi's guts, River looked at Haruo, jaw open. Haruo had dropped to one knee reaching into his pocket and said, "How would you like to go on pissing my mother off to no end for the rest of our lives?" He grinned up at her, a questioning look on his face, with an expectation of a reply.

"What?" River had a dawning realization of what was happening.

"River; you've been my friend; my best friend in the world for the past eighteen years. Through every stage of life we've been together. And I have had the most wonderful times in my whole life just being with you. You've made me more complete than I ever could have imagined." He said, reaching out to hold her right hand. We were friends all through high school, when I had tough times you were always there by my side. We found out that we cared about each other more than friends and that we wouldn't be complete without the other as we go into our lives as young adults trying to find our way and what our path in life is. We've confessed to each other that we love each other. Now, River Annette McIrish, will you do me the honor of joining your life with mine; to walk life's road together?" He lifted the box, opening it to expose the diamond engagement ring.

River held her hand to her mouth in shock; she hadn't expected this at all, at least not this quick. But in a split-second, she knew what all these years together meant and the future of her life was kneeling before her holding out what she had wanted in her life for all these years. Her companion of eighteen long years, her boyfriend and the love of her life had just asked her to marry him and to become his wife.

River rarely ever got emotional, but this was absolutely overwhelming. She knew that she loved Haruo and that he loved her but she wasn't expecting to find him moving from boyfriend/girlfriend status to engaged fiancé/ fiancée status that quickly. She was floored and happy and tearful at the same time; hell with happy; she was ecstatic.

Haruo was waiting and starting to worry when River enthusiastically started repeating, "Yes, yes...yes, I will...". Haruo then removed the ring from the box and slid it on the fourth finger of her left hand giving it a brief tender squeeze when he was done. "Oh, my God, is this really happening...?". River exclaimed as she looked down at the ring on her finger. "Am I...?"

"No...you're not dreaming this..." Haruo reassured her, "it's one hundred percent real."

River threw her arms around Haruo and gave him the most passionate kiss to date that she could have ever given him. And they held that kiss for as long as they possibly could; as snugly as possible, just drinking in each other's presence.

"Tell me I'm not dreaming this..." River said, still emotional, with happy tears running down her face, "I'm engaged, I really am engaged." She stared at her left hand hoping that the ring wouldn't disappear off her finger if she blinked. It didn't.

She clung to Haruo just basically babbling anything that came to mind as he whispered sweet "I love you" repeatedly in her ear and they lip-locked repeatedly to reassure each other that they had just taken the most significant step in their relationship that they would ever take at least until the marriage bed and having children.

Haruo couldn't look at River without wanting to kiss her. And well River was quite willing to accommodate that desire since it fed directly into her own desires. Of course she cursed the fact that they were reliant on oxygenation via their nostrils as she felt nothing more than to want to stay in Haruo's arms forever and kiss for as long as possible. Well love was an addiction, so they said and River and Haruo couldn't get enough of it. Especially now that River had said yes and they were betrothed.

How long had it taken to get to boyfriend/girlfriend and now with a herculean leap they just went from that to engaged to be married in the space of a few months but deep down, River knew that Haruo loved deeply and didn't want to let a chance like this get away. She was also overjoyed at the fact that they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. As much as she hated to admit it, she felt that she wasn't as pretty as some of the other girls in school and to have her best friend who'd been with her for so long fall in love head over heels with her was just the icing on the cake.

He was silent about their relationship for so long over the years that she was afraid that she had been relegated to friend status only. Their heart to heart had really cemented their feelings for one another and opened up the both of them to this relationship and its possibilities and now the budding flowers had bloomed. River sighed as she snuggled into Haruo's embrace, 'Together, forever'; she thought. 'It would be everything' she dreamed of, '...and more'.

They spent several hours just drinking in the ambiance of Pinochle Pond and just enjoying each other's company; most of it being spent in each other's arms; nuzzling and just being as close to each other as long as possible

River smiled a knowing smile as she brushed him lightly, her hand caressing his chest through the t-shirt, her voice a soft growl, "Oh, you don't know just how bad I want you right now...".

Haruo's eyebrows nearly met his hairline while his lips curled up in a wicked smile thinking of all the plays on those words that his erstwhile chaste mind, after having taken a rather direct path straight into the gutter, could come up with, no pun intended.

After a while, Haruo asked River, “Y’know...I was wondering...” he paused for a moment while, the pregnant pause causing River to raise an eyebrow in expectation of the continuation of his statement, “well...um...if you were hungry...”

“Are you?” River asked tossing the ball right back in his court.

“Uh...kind of...”

“Well, then don’t you think we should make our way back down and try and find something to eat?” River suggested, an impish look on her face.

Haruo smirked at her, “Yeah...maybe...we should, don’tcha think?”

River grinned back at him, “Yeah, I think we should...” she took his arm and they walked back down the trail to the road where they hailed a taxi which had parked there to wait for fares that were at the local watering hole.

Considering they hadn’t eaten since late morning, their stomachs were growling, eagerly demanding to be fed. All through the taxi-ride, it was embarrassing as one stomach growled and the other one growled in sympathetic response. Thankfully, the taxi-driver made no comment as they got out of the cab at Hogan’s.

When they got out, it appeared as though the food odours had attracted the local wildlife, since two raccoons were prowling the parking lot; whether they were looking for food the customers had dropped or not it wasn’t certain, but River and Haruo gave the raccoons a wide berth as they could be carrying diseases such as rabies, parvovirus and t. gondii otherwise known as toxoplasmosis. Although cute, these little ring-tailed ruffians were a royal pain as they would come around at night and knock over garbage cans; luckily the trash bins were a bit too high for them to get into.

“Awwww, honey, look...raccoons.” River gushed at seeing the little masked pests.

Haruo grumbled, “They’re walking petri dishes for parvoviralenteritis; sweetheart, I wouldn’t go near them if I were you.” he cautioned.

“How do you know all that? I thought biology wasn’t your best subject.” River, startled, looked over at him.

“I do read, y’know...” he grinned at her. “If Canadians were allowed to be on Jeopardy, I’d be a shoe-in...with all the useless facts my head is crammed with.”

River smirked at him, “So...Tom Clancy isn’t the only author you read...?” as they walked towards the restaurant doors. “Ever since you got the book Hunt for Red October...that’s all I’ve seen you carry around...”

“Hey... I read Red Storm Rising and Patriot Games.” Haruo said indignantly. “And Red Pheonix...that’s by Larry Bond, y’know...”

“I rest my case...” River had a triumphant grin on her face and nudged him shoulder-to-shoulder with an affectionate side-step towards him. Haruo put his arm around her waist and that was how they walked towards the Hogan’s Diner entrance. Though they may have had to split apart to get through the single opening door; the other was locked, they managed to go in and get seated.

Chikamori Residence – the next morning

Fiona had come downstairs to find Dorie at the door, “Dorie...what is it?”

“I just needed to tell you something, even though it’s kind of a shock...” Dorie looked over at Fiona, a look of concern etched on her face. She paused for a long moment, reluctant to continue, but finally, “It’s that...Bebe’s all grown up...and we feel that she needs her space. She’s making good money at work and well, we figured that it was finally time to let her be by herself. Y’know, gain some independence and spread her wings? Gus and I were planning to move out...and find ourselves another place.” Dorie didn’t say it, but she knew that Bebe was sweet on Torao and that eventually their only child would be a member of the most wealthy family in Sunset Valley. Despite Dorie’s reputation as absent-minded; she was observant, especially when it came to her only child.

“I understand, Dorie...” Fiona smiled at her friend, knowing that she was making a hard decision. A parent wants the best for their children, though sometimes the path of the child differs from what the parent wants and that is where the parent has to realize that when their child is old enough, it is their life to do with and the parent has to lay down the reins and watch from a distance as their child negotiates the trials of life. “It is hard to let go, isn’t it?”

“Oh, definitely...” Dorie had the hint of tears in her eyes and a catch in her voice. “They’re young for only a short amount of time and then you have to let them go. It’s hard, but necessary...” she sniffled a bit, “But it doesn’t make the decision any easier, for us at least.”

“Same here, Dorie, It’s the fact that we see our children as small tiny babies and then they grow up and don’t need us any more.” Fiona nodded acknowledging the pain and heart-ache that Dorie was going through. “I’m going to go through the same with River.” she said. “But at least I know that who she’s with is who she has been with for eighteen years.”

“Not like someone just off the street, right?” Dorie asked. “You at least know who his character is as a man.”

“And...he’ll be good for her...” Fiona replied, then contemplated the situation at hand that Dorie needed to have solved, “I think we’ll have to talk to Yasunobu about how we’re going to do the hand-over of the third interest...or is Bebe taking over your third of the mortgage?

“We managed to get a mortgage on a house just down the way. I guess the fact that we’ve been paying our third of the mortgage has affected our credit rating in a positive way. So what I think we’ll do is make sure that Bebe has enough to cover the mortgage for this month and next and we’ll cover our own mortgage; Gus has been a little more responsible with his work...the and he’s managed to get a raise so we’ll be fine and the two months of mortgage payments to help Bebe get a financial leg up, won’t harm us.” Dorie said... “The tough part is dealing with her leaving the nest.” she paused for a moment, “The only thing that I worry about is her being there in our suite completely alone.”

“Is Bebe seeing Torao?” Fiona asked. Dorie nodded. “Oh, so why not let Bebe and Torao room together and then that way, they have their own little space; at least until they figure out what they’re going to do with their own accommodations. If you’re planning it that way, perhaps, when she does find her own place, she can use that third interest of the triplex as a mortgage helper.”

Dorie smiled, “Y’know, Fiona, that’s a great idea. Then she and Torao can get a good leg up on life with a solid income helper...and the mortgage is only about §500.00 a month. And rents are skyrocketing here with the immigration and all that and all the people looking for a place to live.” Dorie paused for a moment and asked, “So what are you going to do with an empty nest?”

“Oh...Japanese families from what Yasunobu tells me is that they take care of their parents from the onset of elder status to the grave; it’s the Japanese way of taking care of their elders.” Fiona looked at her, “I don’t want to be a burden to Haruo and River, but at least I know that they’ll help if I run into financial issues. Right now I have this job and I have no desire to retire until I reach a pinnacle in my occupation.”

“Doesn’t that sound a bit onerous on the kids, though?” Dorie shook her head, “I wouldn’t want to make them feel like they had to take care of me...”

“I think it is, but Haruo feels differently. I guess...it’s the way that he was raised, that it’s expected.” Fiona explained, “It’s a family obligation to take care of family...no matter how we non-Japanese elders may feel about it. To me, a Westerner, it just reeks of entitlement to what I consider, sponging off our kids, but to each their own, I guess.”

“Heavens be to the Watcher, if he has to take care of that insufferable old bat of a mother...I feel so sorry for him.” Dorie commiserated, “I swear that last screaming match...yesterday took the cake.” she muttered, “I hate to say it, but it cemented our decision to move out though it puts Yasunobu in a bad spot. I hope he can forgive us, but I don’t think we can take any more of Mayumi’s ranting, it’s starting to affect our sleep...and in turn we don’t want to have it affect our jobs.”

“I understand, and I think Yasunobu will understand too.” Fiona countered letting Dorie know that it was going to be positive, “And I think you’re making a good decision to get away from all this. Mayumi’s ranting wasn’t something you signed up for to be part and parcel of the family dysfunction.”

“Well, if Bebe goes with Torao...and River goes with Haruo, then we’ll all be family dysfunction together.” Dorie laughed and Fiona joined in.

Yasunobu came in from harvesting the trees, raising his eyebrows when he saw Fiona and Dorie conversing in animated gestures and laughing, “Oh...hello, Dorie... How you, ne?”

“Oh, I’m good, Yasunobu...Gus and I needed let you know that we were intending on transferring our interest in the house to Bebe, now that she has a job. We were approved for a mortgage and we put in an offer on a house just down the road from you.” Yasunobu raised his right eyebrow even further, “The offer was accepted and we’re now the owners of the house at the end of the block...the one facing the street we’re currently on.” Dorie informed him.

“Oh...good. Nice house...lots more room than this. Good.” he nodded. “Bebe take over mortgage?”

“We’ll be paying her next two months then after that she gets to carry it.” Dorie stated, explaining what she and Gus were planning on doing. , “She’ll need some time to get her financial footing under her and well, Gus is doing well...and my political career seems to be going on an up-swing. So we can carry our own mortgage now. I just hate leaving you in a tough spot.”

“No...no...that’s ok... my son...he become writer or...try find job collecting. He show me gemstone he, Franz collect...don’t tell ex-wife.” he winked, “I sure he do good.” Yasunobu was the supportive father, Dorie thought, unlike his miserable shrew of an, what was it, ex-wife now. “I talk to lawyer, she no touch his money...mine...too...lawyer say he draw up paper...I go pick up tomorrow. So we be OK.”

“Well, that’s good to hear, Yasunobu, I just didn’t want us to end up leaving you in dire financial straits which it appears like this won’t. I’m glad to hear it.” Dorie stated. “I hope you and Haruo manage to get through this; meaning you and Mayumi separating.”

“Thank you.” Yasunobu nodded his head. “Good luck to you...neh...new house...”

Bebe’s Room; Hart’s Suite

“Boy, oh boy...is this tight quarters...” Bebe turned to see her dad standing there.

“Yup...it’s pretty cramped in here. Just enough for my easel; maybe we should go downstairs where there’s more room.”

“Right.” Gus said as he turned to exit Bebe’s room and head for the stairs leading to the main floor of their suite. As they came down the stairs, they could see that Dorie was quite upset. Dorie and Bebe were quite close and as a parent, Dorie knew that this was Bebe’s time to leave the family nest; or more aptly, the family nest was removing her and heading elsewhere. But it didn’t make it any easier for the separation to take place. But what Dorie and Gus could see was that Bebe was sprouting into a young woman; one with a burgeoning career path in Education and that would be her calling for the rest of her life, unless some other interest came along.

“It’s come too soon...” sniffled Dorie as she could barely get the words out around a tight throat. “My baby girl is now a young woman.”

Bebe comforted her, “Oh...mom...I’ll be OK.”

Dorie said to her, “I know you will be, it’s just the mothering part of me that doesn’t want to let you go, but I know it has to be done. It’s your walk from here...y’know...walking the road of life. And my baby girl has taken the first steps...with a good occupation.”

There were a lot of tears and hugs; as packing had to be done so that Dorie and Gus could make the move to the new place where they would live. And Bebe promised that she would visit them whenever she had the time to.

Gus could barely contain himself; he had tears in his eyes when he told his daughter that, “You’ll always be my baby-girl...Bebe...”

“I love you, Daddy...Mom...” Bebe said as she hugged them both. “I’ll do you proud...Mom, Dad...we’ll make it.” she said, meaning her and Torao.

...and that was that. Dorie and Gus moved with stars in their eyes and a hope that they would be able to hold down their respective jobs and make a home for themselves in a housing market that was poised to skyrocket in land value. Meanwhile, Bebe was hitching her wagon to Torao’s and together they would make a life for themselves though what Torao planned to do for an occupation, yet he didn’t know. The younger three would have to finish school first and then they would have to figure out what to do for the rest of their lives.

That evening – Chikamori House

It was a full setting at the kitchen table that evening where a birthday cake sat on the table. Because Haruo...had taken his sweet time from the time that his mother let out that pained scream in the birthing room, It was 11:58 at night when he finally made his appearance. So it was fitting that on the celebration of his day of birth, he was sitting in front of a baked chocolate cake; specially baked for him by Molly. Mayumi, sulking upstairs didn’t bother coming down to help him celebrate; it was no big loss at any rate. None of the family members liked her, least of all the one that she gave birth to. After all the verbal abuse and mental twisting that Mayumi had inflicted on Haruo, he sure as hell didn’t want his mother to be at the celebration of his turning from a teenager to a young adult. That would just ruin his whole day.

As the family members who were important to him were there, Haruo grinned and said, “Well, I guess it’s finally here...” eliciting a few laughs. River stood beside him and slightly to the back. “I guess I’m supposed to blow out this cake, right?”

River smirked at him, “That’s the general idea...hon.”

Amidst the sound of noise-makers; Haruo leaned forward and blew out the candle; which would mark his moment in transition from teenager to young adult. “I don’t feel any different” he said, scant moments before the transformation hit. There were no words to describe the sensation of feeling like he was out of his body, then slammed right back into it. It was a dizzying feeling. He felt stronger; and there were physical changes as in height and body mass. And it appeared as though others noticed it too, particularly the other young adult in the room, Bebe.

“You look good...” Bebe said softly.

River raised an eyebrow, “Hey, get your own boyfriend...” She smiled at Bebe...”This one’s mine...permanently...” she said flashing the diamond on her left hand ring finger.

“Wait...what?” Bebe grinned at her, “He...” her question trailed off as she examined River’s engagement ring.

“Yup... last night...”

Bebe threw her arms around River in a hug, “That’s great news, girlfriend...so he’s now yours...locked up tight.” She looked over at Haruo appreciatively, “Well, he’s certainly filled out in all the right places...” she nudged her friend’s shoulder.

After the blowing out of the candles and the customary thanks for being here acknowledgements from Haruo, everyone got down to having a piece of cake. Yasunobu had expertly cut the cake into enough pieces for everyone and each person afterwards lined up in order to get a piece of that cake. The birthday boy, first; and then secondly, now that the cat was out of the bag, his fiancee got to take the second piece; then after that it was down the lineup in terms of getting a piece.

River tried to keep her eyes from wandering from her fork to Haruo. My goodness, her fiance had filled out into a man’s frame and that would only serve to set her ardour to flame; wishing that she, herself, was a young adult. But she would have to wait one more day as the labour contractions that had started in the morning of the 12th did not culminate in her birth until 12:02 of the following morning of June 13, 1970. Four minutes apart, but with his birth at 11:58PM of June 12, 1970; they were separated by the calendar falling on either side of the dates. Which meant that they would be sleeping in separate beds that night to not fall afoul of the law. Age of consent didn’t mean a thing when it came to rule of law and the Canadian Criminal Code.

Since home-schooling didn’t take a break on that day; River had to go with Torao to the City Hall to get their assignments so that pretty much put a halt to them staying for any further celebrations and Haruo, on the other hand, after dropping by city hall to sign some papers regarding a secondary occupation, he had in mind had a book to write, so life went on.