Chapter 29 – An Ordinary Conversation and Everyday Life Between Mother and Son

The parent-teacher conferences finished, and we arrived home. Right now, I’m standing in the kitchen with Mom, right in the middle of helping her prep dinner.

As we crushed oranges over a glass with our bare hands to make orange juice, Mom stopped squeezing and looked at me.

“Come to think of it… Why did you let her hit you on purpose? You could have dodged that, right, Takuma?”

“Hmm? Ah, that. It’s because leaving her with the physical sensation of striking me makes an impact. That way, if we ever cross paths somewhere down the line, she’ll hesitate, right? I talked so fast earlier that she didn’t have the mental bandwidth to argue back. It’s insurance.”

Besides, a little open-handed slap like that is nothing to me.

“W-What a sly, petty, and cunning thing to do…”

“That’s why I said I take after you, Mom, right?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, you know? If I’m going to do something, resorting to physical force fits my nature better.”

“Is that what happened with Nomura’s dad, by any chance?”

“Hmm? Ah, yeah. That guy, back when I was a student, he was causing trouble around here, see? He even tried to lay his hands on my underage friend, so I beat the crap out of him.”

“I figured.”

Even so, Mom and I start stories the same way. It’s been eight years since she became my mother, but to think we’d end up this similar.

“Alright, this should be good. Next, let’s make the hamburger steak mixture.”

“Roger that.”

We placed the glasses filled with 100% freshly squeezed orange juice on the table, threw away the thoroughly crushed, hollowed-out oranges, and readied the onions, ground meat, and other ingredients for the hamburger steaks and their sides.

When I peeled an onion and tossed it to Mom, she moved the kitchen knife with blinding speed. Looking down at the bowl, there was perfectly minced onion inside.

“Hey, I’ve always wondered this, but how exactly do you do that? No matter how you look at it, your hands aren’t moving enough to mince it that finely, right?”

“…………It can’t be helped. You’re already sixteen, Takuma. I suppose the time has come to teach you this secret…”

W-What could it be? Does she actually have some kind of secret technique? She did teach me some light self-defense, but…

Gulp…!

“The secret to this mincing. You see? It’s the magic of ‘And here is some I prepared in advance.'”

“…………What do you mean?”

“I finely chopped an onion in the food processor beforehand and put it in the bowl. While your attention was drawn to throwing the onion and watching the knife, I swapped the bowls. I just couldn’t forget the way your eyes sparkled when you were little and saw it for the first time… I haven’t been able to tell you the secret ever since… Ugh!”

No, no. Why are you acting so frustrated about it?

“I see. Then where did the onion I threw disappear to?”

“Ah, that gets sliced up and turned into a salad the next day. It would be a waste otherwise.”

Ah! So that’s why! That’s why whenever we have hamburger steak or something else that requires finely chopped onions, we get a mountain of onion salad the next day! So that was the reason she always gave off that aura of “Eat it” without taking no for an answer!

“To think I’ve been deceived for years…”

“Sorry, sorry! Look, I’ll even put mandarin oranges in today’s potato salad as a side dish for you. Okay?”

“…………Fine.”

“Yay! Then let’s crush these lightly boiled potatoes, let’s crush ’em.”

Saying that, Mom took the potatoes out of the pot, and the two of us began crushing them with the palms of our hands.

Just then —

“Hmm? Takuma, isn’t your phone ringing?”

“Ah, you’re right. I’ll go check it real quick.”

My phone kept ringing the whole time I was washing my hands. I dried my hands and looked at the screen — the caller was Watase-san.

I wonder what’s wrong? Did her mother say something to her?

“Hello.”

“Ah… um, well… Takuma?”

“Yeah? I mean, you called me, so obviously I’m the only one who’d answer, right?”

“R-Right! Yeah. You’re right…”

“What’s wrong?”

“…………”

“Watase-san?”

“…………I love you.”

“Eh?”

Beep.

The call disconnected.

Chapter 30 – Even Though I Haven’t Told Anyone Where I Live

“What was that phone call about?”

After Watase-san abruptly hung up on me, I placed my smartphone back on the table and returned to Mom, who asked me that. If anything, I’m the one who wants to ask.

“Who knows? She mumbled something and then hung up.”

“A girl?”

“I guess.”

“Heh~, ho~, hmm~.”

Grinning to herself, Mom began placing the hamburger patties into the frying pan.

What’s with that face?

“What?”

“Nothin’, nothin’ at a~ll? Oh, but… hey, Takuma, what was the name of your homeroom teacher again?”

“You mean Wano-sensei?”

“Right, right, Wano-sensei. Wouldn’t she be a good catch? That woman has completely fallen for you, Takuma. I’m certain of it.”

…Huh? Fallen… eh? I thought Sensei just liked younger guys and was aiming for my body? Isn’t that why she says stuff like “wuv you~”? Isn’t this the pattern where she sleeps with me once and throws me away, leaving me to cry, “She was only after my body… sob“? It’s one thing for a shy older lady to suddenly turn into a carnivore and press herself against me with a blushing face the moment we’re alone, but having her come onto me this aggressively right from the start is a little…

“W-What grounds do you have for saying that?”

“Her gaze when she looked at you. The way she stared. Her tone of voice. And my woman’s intuition. That type… she’s the type who becomes totally submissive to a man. She might be a little annoying at first, but if you handle her right, she’ll do whatever you say. She looks like she has money, too. And big boobs.”

“That does sound pretty… wait, that’s not the issue here, right? Besides, Sensei is already twenty-seven, you know? She’s eleven years older than me.”

“Eh? She’s two years younger than me!? I thought she was around twenty-four~. She’s got a real baby face, huh~.”

Good grief. I really wish she wouldn’t say weird things. What am I supposed to do if I hesitate to run away next time we’re alone and end up getting deliciously devoured? I need to change the subject.

“Come to think of it, when are Nii-chan and the others getting married? Have you heard anything, Mom?”

“Kazuma? Hmm~ I haven’t heard anything in particular. He and his girlfriend, Yukari-chan, are close in age and get along great, so I wouldn’t mind if they got married whenever, but still.”

Ah, right, Hidaka-san mentioned she and Mom really hit it off talking, too. I guess there won’t be any mother-in-law/daughter-in-law problems, then.

“But it seems like things are pretty hectic for them right now. I’ll leave that stuff up to them. I already told them I’m always here for advice if they need it.”

“I see.”

Huh? Wait a second. If Nii-chan and Yukari-san get married, what’s going to happen to Nao-chan? Is she going to live in that huge apartment all by herself? She’ll be like a celebrity.

Grumble.

Ah, my stomach just growled.

“Look, Mom, it looks like the hamburger steaks are done. Let’s eat already.”

“Yes, yes. Here, carry these to the table.”

“Okay.”

Lined up on the table were hamburger steaks and potato salad. Along with the orange juice. And, for some reason, cake. Why is there cake?

“Alright then, a toast to the discovery of Takuma’s immense popularity and to our new family member! Chee~rs!”

“Chee… eh? What do you mean?”

“Actually, I’ve finally been blessed with darling’s child~♪ You could say it was a direct hit right after he came back from his last fishing trip? Isn’t that great, Takuma? You’re going to get a little brother or sister.”

Please don’t say “direct hit” in front of your kid. But… we’re getting a new family member… I see. Ah, so the cake is to celebrate that.

“Mom, congratulations.”

“Yeah! Thanks! It’s been nine years since we got married. It’s been so long… I wanted one so badly, but it just wouldn’t happen… I’m so… I’m really… sniffle…”

“I’m really happy for you, Mom.”

“Yeah. Yeah! I’m so happyyyy…”

She must be so happy. She’s got me tearing up, too.

◇◇◇

The next morning, after making sure my eyes weren’t red, I stepped out of the house — only to find Fujimiya-san standing there for some reason.

So, I closed the door.

“Whhhy!?”

I’m the one who wants to ask why. Why do you know where my house is when I never told you? Scary, scary, scary.

“T-Takuma-kun! It’s not like I followed you or anything, okay!? I just came here with Nao-chan!”

With Nao-chan?

I slowly opened the door again, and Nao-chan was standing next to Fujimiya-san. I see. Nao-chan knows where I live, so that explanation makes sense.

But why are they together?

“Why did you come to my house this early in the morning?”

“Well, you see? I’ve always admired the idea of picking up my boyfriend and heading to school together. And then, you know? Nao-chan said she knew where you lived, Takuma-kun, so we came together… wait a second. Hey, Takuma-kun. Why does Nao-chan know where you live? Hey? …Hey!”

Scary, scary, scary! That has nothing to do with you, Fujimiya-san! And why did Nao-chan have to tell her! Hey, Nao-chan!?

I stared at Nao-chan with a slight glare, meaning to protest.

“…! Nnh! Haaahn…”

At that, Nao-chan looked startled for a moment before the corners of her eyes dropped, her expression melting into something utterly euphoric as her breathing turned heavy.

…This is terrible.