Can I brag about my very devoted wife to you?

“I want you to know everything about me.”

It was the night of July 6th. As I was video chatting with Riko’s parents, the topic of Riko’s childhood came up in the conversation.

She was a returnee who lived in the United States until she was five years old. Maybe that’s why she had trouble adjusting to kindergarten in Japan. “Yes, that’s right. Every day, she would write in her kindergarten notebook that she was playing by herself again today. We had been very worried for a while. I can’t tell you how relieved we were back then when she told us that she had made a friend.”

The present Riko was always surrounded by her classmates at school, so I never imagined that there was a time when she was such a loner.

“Do you remember, Riko?”

I looked next to her as I asked. Sitting side by side on the living room sofa, Riko’s eyebrows were slightly lowered and she was biting her lower lip slightly. Her large eyes were shaking slightly, as if she was wandering between anxiety and anticipation.

… Eh? What kind of reaction is this…?

I’ve never seen Riko like this before in my life.

“Riko?”

Riko, who noticed my gaze a moment later, gasped.

“Ah. Uhm! Yes, I do remember those days. — But my mother and father suddenly started talking about my childhood memories. I somewhat feel embarrassed, so don’t want to talk about this topic anymore.”

Riko was so embarrassed that she declared to make more tea and headed for the kitchen to escape.

On the iPad on the low table, Riko’s parents were looking at each other with smiles on their faces. They must be very attached to their daughter Riko. I understand that feeling very well. After all, the thought that occupied my mind at all times was: “Riko is cute”.

“You know, Minato-kun. Let me send you a picture of Riko when she was in kindergarten.”

“Eh! Seriously!?”

When my father-in-law suggested this, I couldn’t help but take the bait with great vigor.

Because it’s a picture of Riko as a child! Of course I want to see that.

◇◇◇

Even after the video chat with Riko’s parents was over, my mind was still filled with thoughts of Riko as a child. The information Riko’s parents gave me wasn’t enough, and I wanted to know more about her.

I’ve never been so interested in someone before. Is this how it is when you want to know everything about the person you love?

Ah, but Riko had just told me that we’re done talking about her memories….

Just as my shoulders slumped, Riko giggled in a cute voice.

“Minato-kun, there’s something you want to ask me, isn’t there?”

“Eh? How did you know that?”

“Hehe. Minato-kun, it’s easy to tell what you think, since it’s showing on your face.”

“…! I see. I didn’t even realize I was doing it. I mean, that’s pretty embarrassing…”

“I like that about you, Minato-kun, you know?”

“…”

This girl says she likes me so easily again…!

“So, what is it that you want to ask me?”

“Ah, err, Riko doesn’t seem to want to talk about the past anymore.”

Riko’s big, cute, rabbit-like eyes fluttered, and she blinked twice.

“So, Minato-kun, you wanted to know about me when I was a child?”

“Y-yeah.”

“I’m glad. You know? I, I want Minato-kun to know everything about me, if he wants to, you know?”

My heartbeat jumped up as she stareed at me with feverish eyes. I knew she didn’t mean it in a weird way, but when she said, “I want you to know everything about me,” it made me feel strange. I hurriedly shook my head and desperately tried to get rid of the evil thoughts. Well, it’s not going to be easy…

“Well, can I ask you something then? I’m not forcing you, I’m just hoping you can tell me a lot about Riko as a child from her mouth.”

Riko smiled and sat back down, turning her body towards me. I followed Riko’s lead and changed my sitting position. The distance between us was much closer than when we were just sitting side by side, and our knees are almost touching each other. But instead of stepping back, Riko leaned forward and started talking.

I felt as if she was proving her desire to get to know me by her attitude, which made me quite happy inside.

“I was born in New York and lived there until I was five. I used to speak Japanese at home, but my intonation and pronunciation always seemed to have a foreign accent. When I came to Japan, on the day I started kindergarten, I was teased by someone who said, ‘Your speech is so strange, Riko-chan!’… I was afraid to speak up, partly because I had always been rather shy.”

Even though it was an exchange between two small children, it must have certainly been a traumatic event.

“After that, I couldn’t say a word in front of anyone but my family…. That’s why I never made any friends, of course.”

“I see…”

“Ah, but! … Because of that, I’ve met the man of my dreams.”

“Of your dreams?”

“Yes… I was all alone and I met a very special boy…. He saved me with his very kind words…. You see, that boy is my first love.”

Riko’s first love. I know it was in kindergarten, but it still hurt my heart.

But if I don’t manage to mend my ways and say something back, she’ll think I’m suspicious.

“I-I guess my first love was also as early as in kindergarten!”

I made a desperately bland comment, and for some reason, Riko stared at me.

W-what…!?

When Riko stared at me silently like this, I didn’t know what to do.

Half in a panic, I darted my gaze from one side to the other anxiously. Because of this, I didn’t notice Riko’s eyes fall down as if she was disappointed.

“… I knew you wouldn’t remember me…”

“…? I don’t remember…?”

— And then… I suddenly heard the sound of an incoming message from the phone beside me. The beep, beep, beep sound continued without pause.

What is it?

I had to interrupt the conversation with her, so I said “sorry” to Riko and opened the message app. There were several photos from her father-in-law.

Oh, right. That picture of Riko as a child we were talking about earlier! He sent that to me.

“Riko, actually, just now, when Riko was absent–”

Just as I was about to say that much, a picture that had arrived in the mail jumped into my view.

… Eh?

My eyes widened in front of the unbelievable sight.

Because it’s not… how…?

In the photo, a girl and a boy in kindergarten uniforms were playing. They were sitting in the sandbox, looking so happy that they didn’t even notice that the camera was pointed at them. I guessed that the girl was Riko from her face. Her hair was longer than it was now and she had twin tails, and of course she was very young, but she was already an incredibly pretty girl at that time.

But I still didn’t have enough time to take a good look at this figure.

The problem lied with the boy who was playing with Riko in the picture.

With just a glance, I knew who the boy was. No matter how many years had passed, there was no way I could be mistaken.

Because the boy in the picture was me.

Translator & Editor: Riciel