Volume 20 - Grand Finale, Chapter 148 - Reunion

Yuisu stood in the train station parking lot, next to her little red pickup truck. Her top was a loose cream-colored sweater off one shoulder, revealing the white shirt beneath, and she wore dark blue jeans that were tucked into her fuzz-topped boots. Her hair was done up in a half bun and she had on a little more makeup than normal, smoothing her skin tone and drawing out her eyes.

She'd seen the train arrive on time, so the person she was waiting for should have been coming down the ramp any minute. The waiting was giving her more time with her thoughts, but she wasn't sure she liked that.

"Yuisu! Hello!"

Yuisu pulled herself out of her thoughts and turned to face the visitor. "Hi, mom. It's nice to see you."

Kazumi continued her approach, pulling a thoroughly stuffed rolling suitcase behind her. "Sorry for the wait. This unwieldy thing took me a while to get off the train."

She was wearing a lightweight black jacket and a long dark red skirt, slightly underdressed for high altitude on the first of December, even if the weather was nice that day. Her straight black hair was parted to the left and pinned back over her ears in a youthful style.

Yuisu raised an eyebrow at the luggage. "Why'd you pack so much? You're only gonna be here two nights."

When Kazumi reached Yuisu's side, she tipped her suitcase upright and let it go, then pulled Yuisu into a tight hug. She answered, "I brought heavy winter clothes in case I wanted to visit that ski resort you mentioned."

Yuisu looked over Kazumi's shoulder at the massive suitcase. It was much larger than necessary for some winter clothes. She thought her mom wasn't telling her everything, but she didn't press the issue. "Ah, alright."

"So, are you hungry?" Kazumi asked as she stepped back from the hug. It was nearly noon, and the train ride had been over two hours long. "You pick the place, and I'll buy."

Yuisu grabbed the suitcase, bent at the legs to safely lift the heavy thing, and set it in the back of the pickup truck. "Yeah, I could eat, and I know a good cafe for brunch."

Yuisu opened the passenger door for her mother, then walked around the front of the truck to get in the driver's side. As she climbed in, she thought about how awkward things still were between her and her mom. Their reunion just a few months before had made tremendous progress towards mending their relationship, but things weren't perfect.

They made small talk during the short drive, about the weather and Kazumi's long train ride, but they both seemed to be avoiding delicate subjects. An outside observer might not even be able to tell they were mother and daughter, if it wasn't for Yuisu saying 'mom' from time to time.

"This is the place," Yuisu said as the truck came to a stop in front of a small European-style cafe. It had two tables outside, lit by the late morning sun, and another handful inside. "Want to sit outside, or is it too chilly?"

Kazumi smiled. "Outside sounds nice. Just let me grab a coat from my suitcase. It's in the outside pocket, so it should be quick."

While Kazumi did that, Yuisu went inside the cafe and told a waiter that they would be sitting outside. Yuisu stepped back out and claimed a table just in time for Kazumi to arrive, pulling a long grey coat over her light jacket.

"The waiter said he'd be right with us," Yuisu mentioned as she sat down..

They sat in silence for a brief moment until Kazumi said, "So how'd you manage to get away from work today?"

"The maids are covering for me. We usually only need two people on staff, one to mind the desk and phones and one to tend to rooms and guests, so when Sya is working, I can take time off. She's only part time but it's enough for me."

Yuisu briefly considered asking the same question of her mother, but the answer would almost certainly be 'paid time off'. Working for a big corporation had some benefits, for sure.

The waiter arrived and took their orders, an egg and bacon breakfast sandwich for Yuisu and a spinach quiche for Kazumi. Yuisu added a cafe au lait for herself, but her mom only wanted water to drink.

As the waiter left, Yuisu said, "I expected you to order something heartier. Are you dieting?" It felt like the kind of question a mother would ask her daughter, rather than the other way around.

"Just trying to eat better. Being a receptionist involves a lot of sitting, so I need to be careful with calories."

Yuisu thought there may have been other motivations, but she wanted to approach the topic carefully. When her coffee arrived, she took a sip, then asked, "Speaking of your job, have you met anyone interesting lately?"

Kazumi raised an eyebrow at the obvious segue. "Not since my breakup with Mitsuhiro, no."

"Ah, okay. And sorry for going there," Yuisu said, feeling embarrassed. Her attempt to be subtle had failed spectacularly.

"Don't worry about it. You're curious about your dear mom's love life, and that's fine."

Yuisu blushed. "I wouldn't say it quite like that, but yeah…"

"Well, if you must know, I am back on the market, and that's part of why I'm watching my figure. You can't see it through this bulky coat, but I'm the fittest I've been since you were little." She leaned forward and smiled. "It turns out caring for a particularly hyperactive child was good exercise."

Yuisu returned the smile. "I wasn't that hyperactive. I mostly just hung out with my friends or read manga in my room."

Kazumi shook her head. "Nuh-uh, that was when you were a teenager. Before that, you were always running around the neighborhood, getting into trouble or bringing small animals home." She went silent for a moment, then candidly said, "I still preferred that to the drama when you were older."

"Sorry about that. I was a terrible brat, and I never recognized how much you sacrificed for me."

Kazumi smiled and waved a hand. "That's water under the bridge. Let's keep this visit happy and focus on the future, alright?"

"Sure, mom." Yuisu liked the sentiment, but it would be hard to keep her thoughts from dwelling on bad memories.

To Yuisu's relief, the waiter returned with their food and it smelled delicious, particularly the bacon. Yuisu hadn't always been big on bacon, but Haru loved the stuff and Yuisu had to admit that it went well in a lot of different meals.

Yuisu took a big bite of her breakfast sandwich, trying not to make a mess on her nice sweater. Her mouth was still full when her mom suddenly dropped a bombshell on her.

"I'm thinking of having another kid. I thought you deserved to know," Kazumi said, her voice far too casual for the monumental statement.

Yuisu nearly choked on her food. Her mother was 40 years old, unusually late to try for a child, but that wasn't even the biggest issue. Yuisu chewed frantically until she could swallow, then said, "Don't you need to be in a relationship before you can do that?"

Kazumi simply smiled. "Yes, but at my age, whether you're looking to have kids is very important to mention early in the relationship. And I needed to decide what I want, so I could put it in my online profile."

Yuisu blinked slowly, her eyebrows raised. "Online dating? Really?"

"Wanting a kid narrows my market. I need to open it up other ways." She said it like online dating was no big deal, like it was just the way things were nowadays. Maybe it was.

"So why do you want a kid?" Yuisu was trying to steady her breath, with mixed success.

Kazumi paused, clearly searching for the words. Then she said, "I need more meaning to my life than just being a receptionist. I don't want to be held back by the past anymore. I want to experience the joy of raising a kid again, and I want to do a better job this time."

With every word Kazumi said, Yuisu's arms grew weaker and her jaw tighter. She set her sandwich on her plate, then dropped her arms to the table in defeat. At barely more than a whisper, she said, "You want a better kid than me…"

Kazumi's face fell and she instantly grabbed Yuisu's hand. "No! Never! You are wonderful, amazing, and perfect, Yuisu. Our relationship was a mess because of me. I drew a stupid line in the sand, I refused to adapt, and then I let things stay bad after you left. It was my fault, not yours."

Yuisu lifted her head and gave a small smile. "That's not fair to you. It was partially my fault. You have to admit, I was pretty terrible to you."

Kazumi gave Yuisu's hand a gentle squeeze. "Let's just agree we were both awful so we can move on and be better in the future."

"Sure," Yuisu said, already lost in thoughts of how strange it would be to have a younger sibling.

After brunch, they went for a walk in a nearby park for about an hour, enjoying the fleeting good weather, then Yuisu drove her mother up the mountain to the Mountain Lily Inn. They lugged Kazumi's heavy suitcase to her cabin, then moved into the main house's living room for tea by the fireplace.

The days were at their shortest, with sunset at just 4:30 in the afternoon. The temperature outside would drop quickly once the sun went down, so Yuisu was in the habit of lighting the fireplace around dinnertime. Today, she decided to light it earlier, for the atmosphere and a bit of background noise.

"I was always a little envious of this house, you know?" Kazumi said as she peered around the room, with its high ceiling, wooden rafters, and deep shag carpet.

"Yeah?" Yuisu said between sips of green tea. She was sitting on the couch, one cushion away from her mother.

Kazumi pulled a small photo out of her purse. She held it with both hands. There was enough family resemblance to tell that it was her brother. "Ichiro loved this place and he loved getting away from the chaos of the city, but I had to stay in the city, in an apartment I wasn't particularly attached to."

"Why'd you have to stay in the city?" Yuisu pulled her feet up onto the couch and tucked them under a throw pillow. The fire was pretty good at warming the room above it, but the air near the floor was still chilly even through socks.

"I had you to worry about. I needed to live somewhere urban so I could pick up extra work whenever money got tight."

"Ah, of course."

Kazumi glanced around the room again. "Is Haru treating you well?" she asked. "And where's she at, anyway?"

The first question made her remember the night of roleplay, dominance, and submission she'd had with Haru a few days prior. After hours of withholding pleasure, of ordering Yuisu around and dominating her physically, Haru had taken great care to tend to every scratch she'd inflicted, most accidentally, and to massage every tense muscle in Yuisu's body. As she worked, Haru whispered gently about how much she loved Yuisu, to fully dispel the harsh words she'd said during the roleplay. Aftercare was important even in mild BDSM, and Haru had been committed to doing it right.

"Yeah, she treats me wonderfully," Yuisu said with a wide smile. "And she's intentionally giving us space today."

Kazumi turned to meet Yuisu's eyes. "She's family, I want to spend time with her too."

Yuisu shrugged. "She's not technically family, yet."

"Yet?" Kazumi said with a mischievous smile.

Yuisu broke eye contact, her face hot. "We're engaged. Since just before your last visit, actually."

"I figured," Kazumi admitted. Then her voice took on a sing-song tone. "So, can I get to know my future-daughter-in-law now?"

"Fine…" Yuisu said with fake annoyance. "I'll go fetch her."

Haru had been in the bedroom, reading manga with the radio on to avoid listening in on Yuisu's conversation with her mother. Having superhuman senses could be troublesome on occasion. She joined Kazumi and Yuisu on the couch, and wrapped Yuisu in the feathery blanket of her wings

Since Kazumi finally knew about their engagement, most of their conversation was on that topic. She asked a lot of questions, but Haru and Yuisu had frustratingly few answers to give.

"Got a date in mind?"

Yuisu shook her head. "Nope. We wanted to wait for gay marriage to be legal in Japan."

"What about a symbolic wedding?"

"I kind of represent the government, through my Exchange Program host role, so skirting the law could cause trouble. Same reason we aren't looking into getting married overseas."

Kazumi frowned. "Ah. I'm sorry it's so hard for you two."

Haru piped in. "It isn't your fault. And things are moving forward, slowly. We've got people in the government working hard for us. I have faith."

Yuisu smiled at that. Haru tended towards being combative when things weren't going her way. The fact that she was willing to be patient about this said a lot about the stability of their relationship.

Yuisu said, "I'm not too worried about the marriage thing. We already talked about it and we're staying together for good, whether the law recognizes it or not."

Kazumi hummed in thought, then asked, "What will you do when Haru graduates from the Exchange Program? That's coming up soon, right? And I remember you deflected the issue when I mentioned it on my last visit."

"I have a stable job and a good record with Program, so I'm sure I'll be able to get permission to stay in Japan, and hopefully citizenship too," Haru answered.

Kazumi looked at Yuisu and said, "Your previous homestays, they got citizenship, right?"

"Quess was a grandfathered-in citizen, since she came from a liminal land inside Japan, and then that helped streamlin Iormu's application." Yuisu patted Haru's wing. "But I'm not worried about Haru's case. Agent Will is fighting for us, and he's got better connections than you'd think."

"I could see that," Kazumi said. "Did I tell you two that I met him?"

"What? Really?" Yuisu blurted.

Kazumi smiled at that. "He visited my building last week. He claimed it was to visit one of the company offices inside, but I'm pretty sure he just wanted to meet me."

Haru shook her head. "What is his deal, meeting everyone's moms?!"

"Hmm?" Kazumi had an intrigued look on her face.

Yuisu jumped in immediately to put a stop to any thoughts that might have been forming in her mom's head. "Mom, he's taken," she said, "by Haru's mother." In her head, Yuisu added, And he can't have children anyway.

Kazumi's eyes went wide. "Oh really? That's exciting. I'd like to meet her too, but if she lives in another country, I suppose that will have to wait for the wedding."

Haru looked annoyed. "She technically lives in the Harpy Nation, but she keeps finding excuses to be wherever Agent Will is."

"Aww, that's nice. They must really be in love. I'm happy for them."

Haru had her fill of that awkward topic, so she changed the subject. "I heard you're staying two nights, Kazumi. What are your plans for tomorrow?"

Kazumi looked at Yuisu and said, "Tomorrow is Ichiro's birthday, so Yuisu and I are going to pay respects by doing some things he liked to do around town."

Haru tilted her head. "I heard that Korbin met Ichiro years ago. He might have a story or two about him, if you're looking to reminisce."

Yuisu nodded along. "That's a good idea. And you should meet Korbin, mom. He's the one that loaned me the money to make the Inn a reality."

"Sounds like a plan," Kazumi said with a smile. Then she held a hand out to Haru, palm up and inviting. "And you're welcome to join us, Haru. You're family too, after all."