Temper Dread: Book Two of the TEMPER Saga

by Lila Mina

  A knock at her door made her wince. “Nope, go away, I’m not here,” Lana yelled, her nose on her screen.

  Gabriella’s soft laugh warned Lana she wouldn’t be scared off so easily. “Well, don’t be so mean with the person bringing your mail and dinner, please. I’ll give you your mail, but I’ll keep the food!”

  “Wait wait wait! Belay that, come here and feed the monster, I’d love food of any kind!”

  “Wow, what’s with this Batcave mood?” Gabriella turned on the ceiling light before sitting down. “Come on, call it a day. What will… err… everybody say when they see this pale and tired face of yours? You need to rest and feed yourself, feed the two of you!”

  Touched by her friend’s sincere care, Lana chuckled but Gabriella wasn’t impressed.

  “Lana, seriously, eat this and go home. And don’t forget this,” handing her a large yellow envelope. “It arrived by special delivery at the reception when I was there. I signed it for you. With the name of a law firm on it, I didn’t want anyone else to wonder.”

  A rush of trepidation made Lana straighten on her chair, but she repressed her burning need to rip the envelope open to read its contents. Instead, she focused on the food.

  “Thank you very much, you’re an angel.” She opened her dinner box and squealed. “Oh, a cheeseburger from Burger’s Plaza! My favorite!”

  Gabriella laughed at her friend’s obvious delight. “Well, I know your tastes and I am sure you don’t eat this back home.”

  “Nope indeed!”

  Gabriella’s glance filled with curiosity for the envelope was hard to miss. An awkward silence settled in when Lana proffered no explanation. This was something new for both of them. Although they had mended the painful rift that had appeared in September, neither pretended all was as it used to be.

  This letter… Another tough sell. But others have the right to know first.

  “Well, I’ve got big news to share!” Gabriella exclaimed with an upbeat tone.

  “Spit it!” Lana said with enthusiasm, happy to switch topics. “I hope it’s related to Yoshiro?”

  “Yes! Please finish chewing, I’d hate to see you choke on it.” Quirking an expectant eyebrow, Lana gulped down her mouthful. “Well, a year ago, you would have died out of sheer shock, but now, you’re the queen of soap opera, so you won’t bat an eye.”

  “Cara mia, spit it out! My poor diva heart can’t stand it anymore!” They shared an easy laugh, and everything felt good again.

  “We’re getting married!” Gabriella shrieked, jumping from her seat.

  “Oh, this is so beautiful! I’m so happy for you!” Lana had expected something like it for a long time now, but hearing her friend say the actual words made her heart burst with joy and emotion.

  She came around her desk and engulfed Gabriella in a tight and long hug that quickly turned into a weeping session.

  “Tell me everything! I thought his parents refused to even consider it! Are you doing this against them?”

  “No, that’s the best part! They finally agreed to have dinner, the four of us, yesterday. Girl, I can’t describe the nervous tension when we arrived at their place. I was a wreck, Yoshiro stiff like a plank, his father a clam, and his mother ready to kill me with fire.”

  “Oh my!” Lana laughed, a crystal-clear picture of the scene in her mind.

  “But then, Yoshiro showed how smart and good at manipulating others he can be! He began with small talk; at first I wanted to throttle him, ‘cause he was talking about sports and the weather. Anyway, after ten minutes of torture, he mentioned our road trip in August. His father’s eyes sparkled when he understood I was also into bikes, and that it was me who had bought the jewel of his shop. But the masterstroke was when Yoshiro explained how I fixed my engine troubles with only my Swiss army knife. I kid you not, cara mia, the old man stared at me, grabbed Yoshiro’s arm and stuttered, ‘Marry her. Marry this woman!’”

  “What?”

  “Yes! The look on his wife’s face! As if she had eaten a full bowl of umeboshi. It was hard not to snort, but I was so happy, I wanted to cry. Yoshiro simply bowed to the floor and said, ‘Of course, Father, if this is your wish, I will!’ Can you believe it? The smart ass!”

  “Your man is a genius,” Lana said, admirative.

  “I agree! Let me tell you, this made up for all those months of hesitation and fidgeting. You bet I showed him thoroughly how delighted I was later on. We didn’t even make it to my apartment, it was awfully shameless and way too risky. The best sex of the last ten years.” Gabriella turned thoughtful. “With a guy, that is.”

  “Way to go! And this reminds me, what time is it? It’s Yuki sama’s birthday, and I need to pick up a couple of cakes at the station’s bakery.”

  “It’s almost 9, let’s get out of here! I’ll walk with you to the station. You’re done for today, don’t make this transition too easy for them.”

  Lana shrugged in agreement. She put the big envelope in her bag, cleaned her desk, turned off the lights, and both friends were out.

  “Well, thankfully I was there to drag you out of your cage! How old is her ladyship now? Thirty-three?”

  “Forty-three and stop with this nickname…” Lana elbowed her friend’s ribs, and both giggled loudly.

  “Oh, come on, it’s a good one. I know what you call her and I’m sure you have even more respectful names for her when nobody is around. And given he’s pretty much the lord of his castle and definitely acts like one, it’s a perfect fit.”

  With an eye roll, Lana pouted. It was hard to protest; one of the closest translation of oku sama was indeed ‘lady of the house’.

  “Well, she isn’t snobbish, so…” she trailed off.

  “Don’t fret, you know what I think of her.” Both of them chuckled. “As for him, I’m sure he’s hiding something, and I wouldn’t be able to endure his uber controlling behavior and lack of humor like you do, but I will sort of trust your compromised judgement,” Gabriella snorted.

  Smiling, Lana wrapped an arm around her friend. “Don’t worry, I still don’t get the full picture either. But she is… she’s good with me. For me,” Lana added carefully. It was hard to express the amount of warm and fuzzy feelings Yuki rouse inside her. She rubbed her belly and took a quick peek at the brown envelope in her bag. Her trepidation returned, and her pulse raced.

  Gabriella shot her a piercing glare. “I can see that. And believe me, if she wasn’t in the picture, I would really worry about you, especially with the baby on the way. I’m not saying he isn’t good father material, but…”

  Lana’s raised hand interrupted her. “‘What if’ scenarios are a waste of time. She’s there, she’s not going anywhere, I’m doing very well with her and with him, and the three of us work; there is no competition or jealousy. It’s a bit miraculous.”

  After landing a kiss on Lana’s temple, Gabriella wrapped her own arm around her waist and the two lifelong friends strolled on the sidewalk.

  “Hear hear! Oh, I’ll miss you at the office! We’ll need to meet up more often, okay?”

  “Of course! Let’s try to do something every other weekend, and please bring Yoshiro with you when you come over for dinner. I had a great time with the two of you the other night, he’s such a funny guy! And now that you’re taking the big dive, I want to see him even more often. Also, don’t worry, I intend to have you on my team at Nakazawa Holdings…”

  Gabriella’s loud laugh of disbelief made some heads turn on the street. “Oh my, are you sure? The old man would die out of shock, he can’t handle two Italian women in his upper management!”

  “Well, I’ll have you know he’s open to the idea. You made a strong impression at the tournament. A bit too strong, I have to say. Obviously, all the members of the Nakazawa family are at your feet. But don’t worry, the three of us stepped up and drew a clear line, so he backed off… reluctantly. He swears he only wants you in his office for your great qualifications… and your impossible personality.
”

  “Oh wow! Thank you for saving me!” Gabriella exclaimed sarcastically. “I guess I’d still have to mind my six, though. These old pervert guys, nothing stops them, right? Joke aside, many thanks for the offer, I’d love to keep on working with you. Let me chew on it a bit and send me more details. Are you in a rush?”

  A chuckling Lana pointed at her belly. “Are you kidding? Of course not. But sure, I’ll email you my plans and what I have in mind. Let me warn you, it’s a make-or-break deal, so if you don’t want to take too big a risk, it might not be a good option.”

  “Bah, it’s also nice to change now and then, and do something new. I’ll consider it, I promise. And it would allow me to continue keeping an eye on you, so that’s a bonus,” she joked before giving her friend a peck on the cheek. “All right, I’m going over there, my train is in five minutes. Have a great evening, see you tomorrow morning!”

  After another warm hug, Lana waved her friend goodbye. Her cheesecake and chocolate chiffon cake were waiting for her at the small bakery in her station. Her precious cargo in hand, she jogged up to her train platform just in time to catch the Super-Express of 9:00 pm.

  To her ankles’ satisfaction, her small maternity badge on her bag opened up the sea of commuters to give her a priority seat. Lana scanned the crowd around her to see if there was anyone or anything suspicious. To her relief, nothing stood out, but if they didn’t want to be seen, it was pointless to try to identify those invisible watchers that spied on her.

  She had almost made her peace with the situation, as it was not only hostile powers that hovered around her. That odd dog… the man on the platform who had steadied her… even Inoue shihan. Every time danger had loomed, help had come. Perhaps she was delusional, but it gave her hope she — they — weren’t alone in this struggle, for whatever unfathomable reason.

  Nevertheless, she remained on her guard, especially when in packed crowds where anything could happen with nobody noticing. She sighed and reclined her head on the window, her hand going on its own in her bag to grab the two small plastic balls she had never got to throw away. They fit perfectly well in her palm. Rolling them around was a great way to relax and take her mind off stress and anxiety.

  At her station, a taxi brought her home much earlier than expected.

  “Tadaima,” she called out after opening the sliding doors, announcing her presence.

  “Okaerinasai,” came Yuki’s traditional reply to welcome her home. “You are back early, how wonderful! But we just finished dinner. Let me fix you something to eat.”

  Her shoes and coat off, Lana waved her hand. “No, no, please, there is no need. I ate in my office, so I’m fine. However…” she added with a smile, showing her bag of sweets. “Here is something to celebrate. Once again, congratulations on your birthday, Yuki sama!”

  Her companion’s cheeks blushed with pleasure, making Lana’s heart flutter with joy.

  “Oh, thank you so much. You shouldn’t have. Come on then, we are in the garden room, this will go perfectly with a cup of tea.” Yuki went to the kitchen to fetch new plates.

  The envelope in hand, Lana went to the tatami room where they usually ate dinner together. Honda sat on the floor at one extremity of the low table, reading a newspaper. Low-key jazz music played from hidden speakers, and the mood was relaxed.

  “Good evening, goshujin sama,” Lana smiled. She carefully sat on the low chair they had set up for her and extended her swollen legs with a sigh of relief.

  Honda glanced up from his newspaper. “Okaerinasai, Lana san. You look exhausted.”

  “It’s not the kindest thing to say to a pregnant woman who knows she is bone tired yet hopes it doesn’t show too much,” she tutted with a half playful, half reproachful frown.

  With a grunt, he went back to the sports section. “Don’t count on me to play the flattering card. I will not sugarcoat my remarks to satisfy your vanity when my primary concern is the health of you and the little one.”

  Lana discreetly rolled her eyes. What else did you expect girl? “Hm… In any case, three more days and then I’m done for a while. I can’t say I’ll miss that.”

  An eyebrow shot up from behind the newspaper. “Your time at Nakazawa Holdings will not be a smooth holiday.”

  “Of course not, but I’ll be back to my old self by then.” Lana opened the envelope discreetly under the table. The cover letter confirmed what she expected and butterflies of excitement and sheer nervousness filled her mind and body.

  “What are you reading? You suddenly turned as red as a tomato,” Honda commented from behind his journal, showing he never missed a thing.

  “Something I have been waiting for two weeks now. I’ll wait for Yuki sama as it concerns her directly.” Lips pinched, he refrained from asking her to spill it out.

  “Here you go! Lana san, these sweets look so good, I thought I was full, but seeing them made me hungry again.” Yuki put on the table a plate decorated with many small slices of cake.

  Honda set aside his newspaper, eyes now comically wide. “This is from Le petit biscuit? By far, it’s one of the best cake shops in town.”

  “Yes! And we are lucky they have one small corner just at my station downtown. I had to order them, however, because they are always out of stock at this time of the day.”

  “It’s been years since I had their chiffon cake,” Yuki confessed, gleeful. The trio happily dug into their desserts. They ate the savory desserts in reverent silence, and Lana enjoyed hers to the last bite with unabashed pleasure.

  When she was done, Yuki gave Lana’s hand a soft squeeze, a warm smile on her lips and eyes sparkling with joy.

  “Thank you very much, this was perfect.”

  “It’s my pleasure, really. But this…” Lana added after a deep breath, pushing her envelope toward Yuki. “This is something else. Please open it and read it. Let me say first that I’ve taken no step yet, I didn’t launch any process. I wanted to clarify everything first before discussing it with you.”

  The name of the sender on the envelope made Yuki frown. “This is from a law firm.”

  Lana stared at Yuki’s hands on the paper, unable to meet her eyes. “Yes, specialized in family law.”

  “Family law?”

  Lana’s throat was so tight, it was hard to speak. “Yes. Please read and then, I’ll explain.”

  27 Above and Beyond Duty

  Yuki threw a questioning look at Honda who shook his head, already aggravated.

  “I don’t know what the matter is, Yuki san. She didn’t tell me anything.”

  “Please, you will soon understand why. Will you… trust my judgement on this?”

  Yuki took out a large pile of documents and forms accompanied by a cover letter.

  “I asked them to write this letter in both English and Japanese, to make sure that nothing gets lost in translation for any of us,” Lana explained.

  After a first cursory glance at the letter, Yuki gasped. Her hands began to shake as she stared at Lana then went back to the document and read it again.

  “Lana san! What... Why? This… this—” She closed her eyes and tears rolled down her cheeks. She pushed the letter toward her husband wordlessly. “Please excuse me, I need a moment,” she muttered before turning her back.

  Honda stared at his wife as if he had never seen her. He grabbed the letter and let out a muted shout of surprise.

  “Adoption documents? You suggest that…”

  Lana couldn’t look at him in the eye; tears now flowed freely on her cheeks. “Yes, I wish… I wish Yuki sama to become the adoptive mother of our baby.” She cleared her throat, but it was hard to keep her voice steady. “With the ordinary adoption solution that exists in Japanese law, the lawyers confirmed I can keep full rights as the mother, and the baby its own rights toward me. But Yuki sama would also be recognized as the mother. Because… because the baby is yours, goshujin sama, we don’t need any court approval.”

  Lana’s voice broke and her body tr
embled while she attempted to keep herself in check. “I not only want this child to have a family but also a strong position within it. I don’t want it to suffer from my choice and our common decision to bring it into a challenging familial and social environment. I want both your families to fully recognize it. Let’s not give anyone any kind of weapon against it, or against either of you. My position within this household can hardly change. But thanks to this scheme, I think it can work. That is… if Yuki sama is willing… if she accepts…” Unable to continue, she trailed off and rubbed her eyes furiously.

  It was much harder than expected. There were of course other reasons, that only Honda and herself were privy of, which made sense to give Yuki legal guardianship to the baby whatever happened. Still, so many emotions whirled inside her —until now, it had only been an idea, but now that she had said it…

  Oh, what have I done?

  Lana looked up. Eyes moist, Honda stared at her, a mix of emotions flashing on his face much like the night when she had told him her story. With silent sobs, Yuki reached out and engulfed Lana in her arms.

  “Oh… Lana san, it’s not a gift, it’s a life debt that can never be repaid… I… of course I accept, but sweetling…” Yuki inhaled deeply and cupped Lana’s wet cheeks carefully.

  “I’ll sign nothing, not start any procedure before you get to know this child as your own. It can take six months, one year or more. I won’t rob you, even partially, of your rightful position out of a selfish desire to give a child to this family and even less because of external pressure against us, against you. If you still want to go ahead afterward, then yes! We’ll do it. And if this is actually too much for you, if it’s too big a jump, then we won’t, and I’ll care for and love this baby as my own. The law can say one thing, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. I’ll fight anyone who attempts to challenge this, whoever they might be.”