HER – THE DIFFICULTIES OF ADULTHOOD (II)

Much like the guys outside, the four women gathered on the other side of the house, in a small, but comfortable living room. The girls didn’t shy away from the drinks either, as each held beer in their hands, even Aya’s mom who was known as the least tolerant person to alcohol in the world. Every time the family dinner took place, the time allotted after it followed this principle. It just happened that there was one more guy this time around, is all.

Aya’s mom, Aya, Lina and Jasmine each sat wherever they felt comfortable; Aya sat onto the floor and Jasmine sat right next to her, while Aya’s mom sat on a sofa and Lina sat on the couch opposite of it. The four turned on the TV mainly for the background noise before clanking their glasses together and drinking some.

“…god, this beer is terrible,” Lina said, shuddering. “I really have to teach James what to buy.”

“… aren’t you ashamed of even saying that?” Jasmine said, chuckling; but she also had to admit that the beer was rather bad.

“What’s there to be shameful about?” Lina replied immediately. “If I’m gonna drink and pay for it, I’d rather not my hear my stomach cry immediately.”

“It’s really bad,” Aya also said. “How do you think guys are handling it?”

“…..” after a few moments of silence, everyone burst out in laughter. Naturally, they were aware that the guys probably couldn’t even tell one beer from another. It wasn’t wholly true, but the other side didn’t really mind the taste as much.

“Aah, thank you for finally introducing us to your hubby!!” Jasmine immediately exclaimed, causing Aya to almost spit out a mouthful of beer.

“Dude!!” Aya exclaimed as her cheeks suddenly flushed red.

“Ha ha, look at her go!! I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen her get so beet red!” Lina also said, chiming in with the laughter.

“You should have seen her before the two started dating,” Aya’s mind relentlessly added. “She was always like ‘No way I’d ever like that guy’ and ‘Humph, who’d ever like someone like him?’. I almost went out and searched for the poor guy myself and bribed him just to take her out!” MOM!!!

“Ha ha ha,” the group laughed for a moment before Jasmine continued. “So, where’s the ring?”

“…what ring?” Aya asked, furrowing her brows.

“…ring on your bean! What kind of a ring do you think?!” Jasmine exclaimed.

“…now I also want to know what do you mean by ‘ring on my bean’. Oh fuck!! You shameless bitch!” Aya exclaimed loudly as she finally understood what she meant, closing her legs almost instinctively.

“Tsk tsk,” Jasmine clicked her tongue. “You can’t be so close-minded.”

“… are you seriously encouraging my daughter to pierce herself downstairs in front of me?” Aya’s mom chimed in, but it was clear she was barely holding back the laughter.

“Alright, alright, let’s stop talking about Aya’s wooho, even I’m getting embarrassed here,” Lina stepped in. “Forget the ring for the time being. How are things?”

“…good.” Aya said, taking a gulp of her beer, hiding her face slightly.

“Damn, this girl really is head over heels for that guy!!” Jasmine exclaimed.

“Hm, hm,” Lina nodded approvingly. “No wonder you have to step on his toes every time the two of you talk. It’s the only way you can express yourself without dying from embarrassment.”

“One time, when she came back home,” Aya’s mom chimed in yet again with a story, causing Lina and Jasmine to immediately turn their attention at her. “She was in such a great mood I thought she won the lottery. Anyway, she wouldn’t tell me why, so, I snuck upstairs and just as I was about to surprise her and enter her room, I heard her humming ‘He said he loved me, he said he loved me, yaay~~’. My heart melted.”

“Awww!!!”

“Awww my ass!! Shut the hell up you three!!” Aya exclaimed, angrily drinking her beer. “Can’t we switch topics already? Yes, I love him! What’s wrong with that? Fuck off, like you don’t love your guys!”

“Awww~~”

“FUCK!!”

“Khm, she’s right though,” Lina said. “Let’s talk about something else before we close off the night with her again.”

“… you guys!” Aya almost cried out. Why is it that I was treated better by Ty’s family?!! Coincidentally, Tyson thought something similar: Why is that I’m not treated properly by any of the families?!! FUCK!!

“Kurt.” as Jasmine spoke his name, everyone’s expression suddenly turned serious, even Aya’s previously dispirited one.

“…poor guy.” Aya was the first one to speak.

“Terrible thing to suffer through…” Jasmine added.

“Aah, if only I was younger and we weren’t family… aah…” Lina added.

“Even I’m starting to feel bad…” Aya’s mom chimed in as well as the group fell into short silence.

“He won’t let us set him up. It’s his own fault.” Lina said.

“Yes! How the hell does he still have confidence after so many years? Does he think he’s Prince Charming so he’s refusing our help?” Jasmine chimed in.

“Plus, he works as a bartender…” Aya said.

“Somehow, he’s really undeserving of the job…” Aya’s mom added.

“Maybe Ty will be able to change his mind? Share his experiences?” Jasmine winked at Aya who simply sighed and shook her head. “Wow! Impressive!”

“…how is it impressive? He was twenty-two when we started dating…” Aya said.

“…yeah, but Kurt is twenty-four.”

“Aah…” everyone sighed lamentingly in unison, as though they were paying respects to a great, fallen soldier.

“Right,” Aya said as she looked at her mom, almost avoid her eyes. “I’ve, uh, got… uhm… a favor…--“

“You need money?” Aya’s mom asked bluntly.

“…can you at least let me ease you into it?” Aya asked.

“Alright, go ahead.” Aya’s mom said.

“HEY!!”

“…relax, relax,” Aya’s mom laughed lightly. “How much do you need?”

“Honestly? I have no clue.” Aya said, sighing. “I just know that we won’t be able to pay heating bills for the winter. Ty said he’s also gonna ask his parents, so we can probably split the robbery---I mean borrowing… khm…”

“Ha ha ha, why would you call it robbery?” Aya’s mom laughed lightly. “Of course I’ll help you two. What else would I be using my money for? Castle of gold? I’ve already been loaning these two for months now.” as she finished saying the sentence, Jasmine and Lina cursed under breath as they looked around, pretending to admire the walls. Walls which hadn’t changed color in nearly twenty years.

“…these two have actual jobs!! Their husbands have actual jobs!!” Aya cried out, literally this time, as tears streamed down her cheeks. “I’ve been burning up in agony for weeks over whether to ask you or not, and look at this shit!!”

“Ha ha, why not just ask? It’s not like I know how much you guys earn.” Aya’s mom grinned lightly.

“…aah, there goes my emotional investment,” Aya said, sighing. “Whatever, it’s not like five less years of life will mean much in the long run…”

“Isn’t Ty a professor, though?” Lina asked. “How come you’re struggling to pay bills, let alone anything else?”

“Professor? Heh…” Aya chuckled bitterly as she looked at the beer in her hand. “He’s at best Assistant, if even that. Half of his pay goes back for paying his tuition. He’s already giving me the other half, and literally eating fucking sandwiches all day long at the university. Poor guy already looks like he came from Plagued London, and he’s still barely eating anything. Whenever I see him take a single, small chicken wing and split in half, eating one half for dinner, and saving the other half for the sandwich, I feel like blasting my brains off…”

“Aah, it really isn’t easy,” Lina said. “It won’t get much easier, anyway. So, at least you’ve got some early experience of the bitterness of life. Wait till you two have a kid. A half-chicken-wing sandwich will be a luxurious dinner.”

“… oi, how’d we suddenly get a kid?!” Aya exclaimed lightly. “Even though we haven’t talked about it much, we’re mostly on the same wavelength.”

“You two are lucky,” Jasmine said, smiling bitterly. “Nah, rather than lucky, you are smart. Ty’s pretty much got guaranteed position if he doesn’t screw up after graduating, and from what I hear your grades are almost better than his. If you just pace yourselves out for a few years, you should get a decent foothold. Aah, why the hell did I think that college was a waste of time? Working as a nurse in ER is a fucking nightmare…”

“James and I at least waited a while before getting a kid,” Lina said. “You and Eric just jumped in like idiots.”

“… true.” Aya’s mom said.

“Shut up. You’re the smart one here!” Jasmine exclaimed. “Leave us dumb ones to our own lament!”

“… my bad, may bad.”

“In all seriousness, though,” Lina said, turning to Aya. “Did you two talk about the future?”

“… a little bit,” Aya said, smiling lightly. “But, come on guys, we haven’t even been dating for a year. How much is there to talk about anyway?”

“Yup, she’s already imagined herself in a wedding dress.” Lina said lightly.

“I bet she’s even imagined where they’ll have their honeymoon.” Jasmine added.

“Oh!” Aya’s mom exclaimed. “So that’s why her browser was full of searches for the exotic places! I thought she was writing some sort of paper…”

“…..”

“MOM!!!” Aya cried out as the three other laughed out loud. “Fuck, you guys suck. So what if I did, huh? To hell with it!!”

“You really have changed,” Lina said, smiling warmly at her. “Before, even if we stabbed you with burning stakes, you’d at best just glare at us without raising your voice. Yet, look at you now.”

“Ty rubbed off on her real good,” Aya’s mom said. “The moment I saw how expressive she got after meeting him, I knew she hit a jackpot.”

“Well, it’s not like she’s the only one whose head is spinning in the clouds,” Jasmine said. “Throughout the entire dinner, Ty never glanced at my tits. Not even once!! Even if he’s your boyfriend, come on! What the hell did you do to the guy?”

“… pft, ha ha ha,” Aya suddenly burst out in laughter. “What did I do to him? Who knows? I only know what he did to me…”

“Eww…” three women muttered in unison.

“FUCK!! I meant emotionally you perverted bastards!!”

“Awww~~”

“FUCK!!!”

And thus, the curses echoed out from both sides of the house. If someone were to pass by and listen in, they’d think there was a double massacre currently transpiring inside this small house. Yet, amidst those curses and shouts, laughter rang out like bells deep into the night, until cold, chilly snow had covered the world in its shimmering, white hue.