The rice was cooked, and miso soup was ready. Takuya hoped that a traditional breakfast was the right choice. He expertly flipped the rolled omelet, placing it onto the cutting board so that it could cool.
He was almost finished with preparing breakfast when Sayla’s grandmother came down the stairs, wearing pink pajamas and a puzzled expression.
“I hope you don’t mind. I made myself at home, as you offered. I’m not sure what you usually eat for breakfast, so I just made something with what I found in the refrigerator. Please, sit down. Would you like some coffee?”
She sat down, clearly trying to grasp what was going on, and why there was a strange man in her kitchen. The evening before, Takuya had carried Sayla back to her grandparent’s house, where Mr. Takeda had introduced his wife. Since they had a guest room, they insisted he spend the night there.
“Don’t worry if she comes off a bit… intense. I’m the pushover, my wife is the real power in the family. I was just a people manager. My job was to help people and make their lives easier. She’s a lawyer. She scares people for a living,” that was the warning the old man had given him as they walked back to the family home.
Despite the warning, Mrs. Takeda had been just as warm and gracious as her husband, though Takuya could sense there was a lot going on behind the kind eyes that had greeted him the night before.
Doing his best service impression, Takuya carried a tray loaded with bowls of rice and soup, along with small dishes of pickled vegetables, rolled omelet, and a large piece of grilled salted salmon.
“Wow!” The woman explained when she saw the food. “Did you really make all this?”
“Well, I just warmed up the salmon. When I found it, I felt that you might prefer a traditional breakfast. I’m making some pancakes for Sayla, if you would prefer something else.”
“No, no. This is wonderful. You really are a chef. This is delicious.”
He turned to see that she was already drinking the soup he had made. He put the cup of coffee he had finished brewing onto the serving tray, then delivered it to her, carefully placing it alongside her breakfast.
“Very impressive, Mr. Miyabayashi. I can see why my family is so taken with you.”
She gave him a warm smile and continued to eat. Mr. Takeda came down the stairs, and his face lit up when he smelled the food and saw the meal in front of his wife.
“Wow! That looks amazing! How does it taste, Wife?”
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“It’s better than a hotel breakfast, Husband. This was certainly a pleasant surprise, first thing in the morning.”
After he had served Mr. Takeda, they insisted he join them, so Takuya made himself a cup of coffee and joined them at the dining table.
“My husband explained the deal the two of you made to me last night. I wish he had asked for my thoughts, but I see no problem with it, so long as you are amenable.”
Nodding, Takuya expressed his gratitude.
“It is really very generous.”
“Nonsense, you are helping us with a problem caused by our own poor planning. We are very grateful you are willing to assist us. Please don’t hesitate to ask if there is anything we can do to help you, not just with the restaurant, but personally as well.”
Takuya nodded weakly, starting to understand what the warning the old man had given him the previous night meant.
“Do you have a cellphone? I understand you just came back from living abroad for a while?”
“Um, yes, I mean, no… Ummm I… No, I do not have a cellphone anymore, and yes, I just got back a few weeks ago.”
“Well then, I’ll ask Sayla’s godfather to help you out with that. That man always seems to have phones sticking out of every pocket. I’m sure he’ll be able to get that sorted quickly. I hope you don’t mind. It will just make things much easier to coordinate things for the apartment and the restaurant. Husband, can you ask Ah-Kun to take care of all that… no, never mind. I better do it. If you need anything, just ask Ah-kun. He should be able to get you anything you need. He works for Sayla’s godfather and is practically family. If you have any problems with your residency, however, just contact me directly. You don’t need to worry about anything. That is if you are planning to stay for a while. Just taking care of the restaurant is a huge help, so we can take care of anything else you might need. Is that okay with you, Mr. Miyabayashi?”
Somewhat cowed by the enthusiasm of Sayla’s grandmother, Takuya simply nodded. Thankfully, Sayla came into the kitchen and jumped up to sit on her grandfather’s lap.
“Wow! So much food! Good job, Uncle Takkun!” She said with a giggle.
“Wait just a minute, I have your breakfast too. Do you like pancakes?”
“Yay! Pancakes!” She exclaimed while laughing.
Takuya went back into the kitchen to prepare Sayla’s breakfast. As he put the plate of pancakes on the serving tray, he marveled at how his life had changed so much in a single day.
He wasn’t sure what would happen going forward. For now, he wasn’t sure about putting his trust in a group of total strangers, but something about it felt right. He would stay until Sayla went back to school, then decide what to do next after that.
One thing was clear. Last night, he had slept better than he had in a long time. Sure, it might be because he had taken a hot bath, and slept in a bed with a nice, clean mattress, but he also felt a peace in his mind that had eluded him for a while. Perhaps it was Chizuru and Ayari letting him know he was on the right path.
“Pancakes!” Sayla chirped approvingly when the plate was set in front of her.
“Uncle Takkun?”
“Yes?”
“You are going to cook in the restaurant again today, right?”
“Yes, If that is okay.”
“Great! You can tell me another story, okay?”
Chuckling, he nodded with a smile.
“Of course, I’d be happy to.”
“Good! I want a happy one. One with a castle and a princess, maybe.”
Takuya smiled and pondered what he should cook, and what story he could tell the little girl.
“As you wish.”
The End.
“Every one of us is losing something precious to us. Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back again. That’s part of what it means to be alive.”
-Haruki Murakami
Thanks for reading to the end! This was a little project in the back of my head for a while. This is not quite a sequel, but more like a side-story to a novel I wrote last year. The world is the same, but the time frame is set in summer of 2024, more than ten years after the end of the other story. Still, while no characters are shared, the stories are certainly related. If you are interested to read more, here is a link to that novel.
Thanks again for taking the time to read, and I hope to publish more stories like this in the future.
-TN
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