Ean’s Rare Gift – Chapter 7

Ean

For fuck’s sake, what is my father doing here?

I give Karina a lot of credit for not immediately popping up to her feet like we’re some naughty teenagers caught making out. She was already leaning forward to watch the cats, so it’s not as if we were snuggled together like we had been five minutes previously. Still, this is embarrassing.

“Dad,” I respond, keeping my tone neutral.

Karina adjusts her hair and rises from the couch with the grace of a ballerina. She sips the last of her wine and sets the glass on the table. I withdraw my leg from where it had been behind her and sit up straight.

“Mr. Kimura,” Karina says, extending a hand, “I’m Karina Varoni. We’ve met once before when you came into my café, Café Mela.”

It takes a long time for Dad to snap out of his thoughts. He looks from the cats to the birds and then to me before extending a hand to Karina. They shake, and she smiles at him graciously.

“Hello,” he says.

“Nice to meet you again.” She sighs as she turns to the cats. “Come now, everyone.” She waves them away. “There will be no bird murders here today.”

“What’s going on here?” Dad asks as Karina approaches the armchair to grab our bags.

“What’s it look like? We’re on a date.” I try to remain respectable, but sometimes I have to talk to him as if he’s a child.

Karina laughs and winks at me behind Dad’s back. We were just getting started on this date, but now it looks like it’ll be cut short.

I ignore Dad and approach Karina. She hands me my bag and takes her own.

“Thanks for the wine and the time together,” she says, reaching around to my waist. She steps in close, her face tipped up to mine. “Shall we do it again soon?”

I’d give anything to kiss her right now. But I will not have my first kiss with her while my father watches over us both.

“As soon as possible,” I tell her, eliciting a smile. I love making her smile and laugh.

She leans in, bringing her lips close to my ear. “I was serious about the rotenburo.”

“I was counting on it,” I whisper back.

She inhales slowly, her breath tickling my neck before the tip of her nose drags across the top of my cheek as she pulls away.

“Mmmm, I like the no-shave look.” She returns her voice to a normal volume. “Shall I handle the bill on the way out?”

I love that she asked. “No. I’ve got it.”

“Okay. Have a good night.”

“See you tomorrow,” I reply, squeezing her upper arm before she walks away.

“Good night, Mr. Kimura,” she says on her way past him. He nods to her.

I pull my bag strap over my head and shoulder and watch her leave. Mmmm, those curves. I want to put my hands all over her.

Dad sighs. “I thought we discussed this. None of your sisters are on their way to marrying well, so I expect you to pick up their slack.”

Fire lights up in my chest, but I know better than to snap at him. My way is always to be firm, clear, and calm because he hates that.

“You spoke to me. We did not have a ‘discussion.’ And as you are always happy to point out, I’m a grown man who makes my own decisions. I don’t even live under your roof anymore, so we will not be discussing my love life now or at any time in the future.”

“Diana is —”

I cut him off. “Diana is a dear friend and always has been. We are not interested in each other romantically.” I clear my throat. “Why are you here?”

It’s nearing eleven and way past his usual bedtime. He really has no business being here.

“I’ve been trying to reach you for the past hour,” he says, turning to go. “I had a hard time tracking you down.”

“I keep my messages silenced when I’m handling personal matters.” I stop at the front desk. “Just a moment.” I pull out my mini-tablet, call up the bill for the evening, and pay it before leaving. Michael notices me from across the room, and we both wave to each other. I’m sure I’ll be here again.

Outside, the late summer night is warm and breezy, the air laden with moisture, bringing with it the smell of the ocean and a nearby brewery. The trees along this boulevard sway in the wind, their leaves rustling. Small animals scurry on the sidewalk and into the bushes, startled by the approaching humans, and the street lamps are dim, the night’s darkness a cloak of black. An assortment of people, young and old, couples and singles, go about living their lives, even this late into the evening.

“We have a situation I wanted you to know about before it’s too late.” He looks around and shuts up as more people enter the street and walk our way. “Can we go someplace private to talk? I don’t want anyone to overhear us.”

“Uh, sure. Do you want to come see the new office and my apartment?” He hasn’t acknowledged that I’ve moved, so I expect him to reject this offer.

But he surprises me by brightening. “Yes, I’d like that. It’s not far from here, right?”

“Four blocks that way. Let’s go.”

We’re silent all the way back to my place. I pass Café Mela’s street, where Karina lives over the business. A light shines from her window, so I can assume she made it home okay. Did we really go on an impromptu date? We did. It’s hard to believe when I wasn’t expecting it in the first place.

I palm the lock at my building and let Dad into the side hall that has an access door to the storefront and stairs up to my place.

“Want to see the office? We can peek in since it’s not set up yet.”

I open the door for him, and he sticks his head in. The lights turn on automatically and illuminate the large room. Right now, the office is vacant, and boxes are stacked up along the edge of the room, a mix of brown and beige. The furniture hasn’t arrived yet, and the back wall is a blank canvas waiting to be used. Windows line the front wall looking out on the street, and the door is painted a dark wood to contrast the white walls. It makes the office appear larger than it is. Once the space is set up, I hope to have a sitting area up front with information about what the foundation does. In the back, I’ll wall off some space for my office.

“It looks good,” Dad says, nodding. “It’s a decent size for the business.”

“Thank you. I was lucky to get it.” I don’t say “… with no help from you” because he actively fought against us getting anything for a long time. He didn’t want to be seen as giving favors. I had to battle for everything on my own, and that’s fine with me. It keeps him from meddling.

“We won’t be long here. Shall we go upstairs?”

Inside my apartment, I’m glad we left the place in good shape before I took my sisters out to dinner. There are only a few crates left to unpack. “Lights on, sixty percent,” I say to the room controls. The lights come up, and Dad gets a better view.

“This is… a lot nicer than I expected.”

If that’s not an underhanded compliment, I don’t know what is. He expected it to be shitty because he has always felt that my work doesn’t meet his high expectations.

High expectations that are alienating him from the rest of his family.

I try not to sigh, but weariness hits my voice anyway. “So, what can I do for you?”

“We have an impending problem. There’s a typhoon heading this way, and the news will be breaking in about” — he checks his watch — “two hours.”

I fold my arms over my chest. “Okay. We’ve had typhoons before. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

He shakes his head. “Not like this. The meteorologists are saying this is a superstorm. We had a hot summer, and it’s charged the storms to a much higher degree.” He runs his hand through his hair, and the worry he’s holding back leaks through. Hmmm. “We’re considering an evacuation to a town farther inland, but it won’t be compulsory.”

“An evacuation? We’ve never had one before. This is going to be that bad?” He nods, and the implications of an evacuation are clear. We expect this storm to be destructive. “Shit. The Ginmori estate encampment.”

“Yes. The storm’s outer edges should hit us tomorrow evening, and we need to be ready before then. My weather team seems to think the typhoon may hook north and only last six to eight hours, but it’ll be enough to be severely damaging. The encampments here and in Izumi will have to be evacuated to stronger structures. I’m sorry this missed the neighborhood meeting. You all could have made better plans if I had gotten this information just a few hours earlier.”

I’m silent as I run through the scenarios in my head. If they evacuate the whole town, then those in the encampments will go with them. But if it’s voluntary, they’ll want to stay. I’ll have to convince them to move somewhere else temporarily. But where else? There’s no place to go. We’re pressed for space as it is.

Ultimately, this is not my decision to make, though. I’ll need to take this information to the neighborhood and find out what they think is best.

“I’m sorry that we will have to delay the lottery until next week.”

I groan and close my eyes. “Everyone’s been looking forward to it.”

Dad looks disappointed, too. “I know. We’re so close to being able to house everyone here.” He drops his eyes. “I can’t help but feel as if I failed.”

It’s a rare moment that my father admits to failure, but we both know this is not his fault. I approach him and squeeze his shoulder.

“We’re making progress. One storm will not stop us.”

His mini-tablet chimes and he sighs, stepping out of my grasp. “I’ve gotta get back,” he says, checking his messages.

At the door, he stops and turns to me. “She seems nice. Kind. Isn’t she a widow?”

“Yes.” My answer is clipped by a wall of anger rising to protect Karina.

“Hm.” He nods. “Good night. I’ll call again tomorrow.”

I don’t relax until he’s down the stairs and the door closes behind him.

Fuck. This day has been one whiplash-inducing event after another.

But I smile as I remember Karina’s body relaxed back against mine, the citrus scent of her hair, and the way she came out and told me she’s been as interested in me as I’ve been in her. I take a deep breath and let it all out. The image of her in a bathing suit pops into my head, and I groan. Damn, I have it bad for her. I should go to bed before I start down the rabbit hole of dirty, sexy thoughts.

I dump my bag on the only available chair and enter the kitchen to grab a glass of water. I drink it all down and fill the glass up again before heading to the bedroom. I’ll set my alarm for six-thirty, get up, and head to Café Mela early to tell Karina the storm news. Then I’ll walk over to the Hotaka residence and speak to Yuri about plans for the neighborhood.

I’m brushing my teeth, running through everything that happened today, when I hear tapping. I turn off the water and listen.

What is that?

It sounds like glass.

I peek my head into the bedroom but see nothing out of the ordinary.

I finish brushing my teeth and head back into the main room. There are a few more taps at the window, and when I turn to look, a flurry of wings beats against the glass for a moment before it’s gone.

Opening the window, I stick my head out. If there was a bird here, it’s gone now. A glint of something metallic catches my attention as I go to close the window. A silver necklace sits on the windowsill — a delicate chain, thin and caked with dirt, with a small charm. Under the moonlight, it shimmers and gleams. Huh. I reach out, pick up the necklace, and wipe the grime from it to reveal a plum blossom. Suri found an earring here, too, earlier today. What is it about this place? Every time I turn around, another piece of jewelry is just waiting for me.

I close the window and stare out into the night.

The birds at the club were interesting, though not actionable on their own.

But I’ve heard that crows bring gifts to people they like, and I’ve seen a crow or two around the encampment every time I’ve been there.

I hastily open the window again. “Crow?” I call out, trying not to be too loud. My neighbors are all in bed. “You can come back!”

Nothing.

Huh. Maybe I’m just imagining this.

I close the door, set the necklace next to the earring on the kitchen counter, turn off the lights, and go to bed.