Myra’s Big Mistake – Chapter 3

My dad is a very principled man. Growing up, my sisters and I had duties to do and guidelines to follow, and that was that. My older brother, Ean, the only male heir, was considered the ‘man of the house’ and in charge of us when Dad wasn’t around. It’s been a job he has both hated and taken very seriously. Ean’s going to make some poor woman lucky someday. I already feel bad for her.

Though we could choose our own careers and paths in life, those paths had to be in line with Dad’s core tenets — succeed and obey the law. Whatever we chose to be, we had to be the best at it. He despises mediocrity. He’s also an obsessive rule follower, and if there are no rules, he always leans towards caution. No screw-ups allowed. Gods forbid we end up in the principal’s office for cheating or skipping school or in jail for drunken disorderly conduct. That would get us disowned… or at the very least, the silent treatment for a good, long time.

Tilli’s favorite thing to say is that Dad is a ‘butt’ and a ‘total stick in the mud.’ I always thought he could be worse.

Maybe today is that day.

I look past Ruby to the stage. The deputy mayor steps to the front and clears her throat away from the microphone.

“Thank you, everyone, for coming! We’re so pleased with this year’s turnout for the spring flower festival. Hopefully, you’re all enjoying the blooms around town and the gorgeous weather we’ve been blessed with.” The deputy mayor raises her hands in prayer position as the crowd cheers and whistles. Goodness, yes. The winter this year was way too long. Orihimé’s large ocean mass means it’s never freezing, but it did rain almost every day. I swear we didn’t see the sun for three months straight.

“And without further delay, Mayor Kimura is here to open the festivities. Enjoy the band tonight, everyone!”

She steps aside as people applaud Dad’s ascension to the stage. He’s dressed up this evening in a smart, dark indigo kimono, bought from a town artisan. He’s not the only one dressed in kimono here tonight, of any gender, but he still looks so formal to me. Maybe because I know what a buttoned-up man he is.

I take a deep breath and hold it. Here we go. Praying hard, I hope that whatever he’s about to do doesn’t send the Kimuras into the doghouse.

He starts with the general platitudes everyone seems to want from politicians — a statement about the winter’s hardship, the leadership of the parliament in the capital, Tengoku, and the town’s tax situation.

My breath catches in my throat.

Money. I hate talking about money. Money causes more problems than it solves. I exist just this side of comfortable, but many others are struggling and others have too much money. Why can’t we all live without it? I’m not sure. Earth tried to give up capitalism once, and it did not go well. Here we are, living out those mistakes on a new world.

I train my eyes on Dad and ignore the surrounding people who keep glancing our way. Suri, Tilli, and Ruby move a little closer.

“Within the next parliamentary calendar session, I will propose a small two percent increase on property and income taxes here in Yamato. This will help pay for more public gathering spaces, more bus routes, and an extension of the train system between here and Izumo.”

The crowd meets this declaration with nods and murmurs, relatively positive.

So, what has Ruby so freaked out?

“We will also raise taxes on the local casinos, taxing casino winnings in a higher bracket, and we will be shutting down the bids to build another casino in North Yamato.”

The crowd is deathly quiet. Oh no. Oh, Dad. What are you doing?

The sound starts as a murmur before it becomes raised voices and shouting. Dad raises his hands and tries to quiet everyone, but no one is paying attention to him anymore. I press my fingers to my mouth and hold back a curse.

The objections roll around me. The loss of jobs, the loss of winnings, the loss, the loss, the loss.

Dad tries to raise his voice above the crowd. “We have the support of parliament in the capital! We’ve been losing valuable…” He trails off as people turn and leave the area.

Shit. I turn to look at Nosuké, Nosuké Maeda, son of Noburu Maeda, head of Maeda Clan, and owner of the most popular casinos here in Yamato. He must be pissed. But he’s gone, as are all of his friends. Mochi sits on the statue, his eyes trained on me.

The deputy mayor ushers the band onto the stage and prompts them to start playing, but it’s no use. The crowd is not in the mood. Very few people will stay to dance the night away.

Dad descends the stage and approaches us. I breathe deep and try to keep my anger on a tight leash.

“Oh, darling,” Mom says, bringing Dad into the group. “Denshi, do you think it’s worth it to anger Maeda? He’s been pushing for this casino for five years now.”

My indignation bubbles over before I can stop it. “What the heck are you doing, Dad? Even the empress gambles at the Maeda casinos. She’s the biggest supporter of gambling. Why are you going against her?”

Dad’s face heats to blinding red levels. “Because she’s wrong.” He slams his right hand as a fist into his left palm. “Gambling is ruining our society. People are in debt up to their eyeballs to bookies and loan sharks.” He takes a deep breath and calms down. I swallow a retort as I watch people slide by with their heads lowered. “We should be past this. I’m tired of people ending up in jail for gambling and drinking problems. The two go hand in hand.” He swipes his hands together, cleaning off imaginary dirt.

“Everyone goes to the casino, Dad,” I stress. “Even me. They need a place to have fun and blow off steam. They just need to learn responsibility.”

“And what happens if they don’t… or can’t,” he says. “My job as mayor is not to just look out for the people who can take care of themselves. It’s to look out for the people who can’t.”

I glance sideways at Ruby. I know Dad’s right, on a basic level of fundamental kinship, but this is dangerous territory he’s entered into. Noburo Maeda is yakuza and has been since way back in his Earth days. Nosuké may run the business now, but his father is still there at his main casino every night, walking the floor, whispering in ears, influencing decisions.

I’ve spent plenty of time at the casino myself because of Ruby’s past relationship with Nosuké. Their relationship lasted about a year, and we used to spend our evenings drinking at the casino bar, having fun at the roulette tables and slots, and eating in the restaurants. The casino restaurants were my favorite place to hang out. Ruby and I ate many breakfasts at the buffet. I only wish we had gone to Kisetsu once. The famous kaiseki restaurant was too rich for our blood and always completely booked.

But then Ruby broke up with Nosuké when her job got demanding. Nosuké was cool about it. He had bowed out gracefully and gone back to work. That’s why they’re still friends.

I’ve got nothing against him or his casinos. In fact, I can think of a half dozen times or more he’s asked me via messages to hang out, and he really has no reason to be my friend since he’s not dating Ruby anymore. But he’s a good guy, always looking out for people he’s associated with.

Tilli makes eye contact with me. She understands the gravity of this situation.

“This is asking for trouble,” Suri pipes up, and I have to hold back my surprise. Suri has kept her mouth shut around Dad since he interfered with her love life.

He presses his lips together, glances around the circle of his angry family, turns on his heel, and stalks off.

“That went well.” Tilli blows out a huge breath.

“Sorry,” Ruby whispers.

“Don’t be. But I think Dad just put a target on our backs.” I glance over my shoulder, and half the people in the square are gone now. Everyone else is enjoying the music and food. “Come on. Let’s get something to eat.”

As we wander through the square, Nosh joins us and climbs up to Ruby’s shoulder.

“Myra, I don’t think it’s anything you need to worry about. I mean, Maeda is the mob, but it’s not like his people have killed anyone in a really long time,” Ruby says, emphasizing the last three words.

Really long time… Like, how long ago? A year, three years, ten? I sigh.

“And Nosuké is not like that. His father didn’t want him following in those footsteps. They’ve been trying to make the family legit for years.”

“I think we’ll be fine?” My statement comes out like a question. “Yeah. It’ll be fine. Maeda will just go to the empress and get it sorted out, and then Dad will be in a bad mood for the next five years.”

I dismiss it because what else can I do? Everyone fears Maeda, but it’s not like he’s chopping off heads and posting them on sticks in front of his casino. He’s a businessman who has questionable methods for getting what he wants.

Not that I know anything about that.

I’m just a girl who wanted to fly through space and visit other worlds. But instead, I’m a low-level chef at a local izakaya who dreams of making it big someday. Maybe my own restaurant. Maybe teach others? What I wouldn’t give to be a five-star chef.

My head turns as we exit the square and walk past the chocolate cakes at the last booth before the cherry blossom path. Or maybe I could open a pastry shop? Mmmm, yes. Cakes, cookies, and other sugary wonders.

I pull out of my head and focus on the confections at the booth. Ah, it’s Mrs. Martin’s bakery. She smiles at me, and I slowly raise my hand to say hi.

“I’ll go,” Ruby offers, crossing over and grabbing two slices of cake. I would go over there myself, but Mrs. Martin is one of my other failures. I don’t want to face her right now.

Maybe I’m still on the wrong path in life. Doubt, doubt, doubt. It’s my major crutch, the thing that always holds me back.

I pick up a chunk of cake with my fork and shove it into my mouth. My gods, this is amazing. My eyes roll back in my head. Damn her for being such a great pastry chef.

“Everything okay?” Mochi gallops over to me.

“Yeah. Fine.”

“You’re not fine. I can tell.”

I stuff more cake into my mouth. “It’s been a night. Let’s walk.”

Mochi swirls around my legs for a moment before falling into step at my side. I lower my voice. “We’ll talk in private later.”

“Okay, Myra.” I can hear the smile in his voice. He wants to be in on every conversation and doesn’t want to be ignored, much like me. We’re two peas in a pod.

The corridor of lit cherry blossoms soothes my frazzled nerves and brings a smile back to my face. Ruby loops her arm in with mine as we amble along. People pull off to the side to take photos under the trees, and little kids up way past their bedtime run through the trunks and pluck petals from the ground. I eat the rest of the cake and place the plate and fork in a local recycling bin halfway down the path of blooming cherry trees.

“Wouldn’t you rather be with Aki?” I ask Ruby.

“Nah. He already went home for the evening. He has to be up at four to babysit an experiment in the lab. And he leaves in a few days to head up to orbit, too.” The disappointment in her voice is thick. “I should probably move on from him, right? It’s not like he’ll ever have time for me.”

“Do what’s right for your heart.” We walk in silence for a few moments. “You could go back to Nosuké.”

I try to imagine the two of them together again, and I can’t. I can hardly believe they dated the first time around. Ruby can be so forward, bright, and cheerful. Nosuké is kind but quiet and intense.

“I don’t know,” she says, laughing. “Maybe yes? But he may not be my type anymore. What about you?” There’s hesitation in her voice. “What about what’s right for your heart?”

“I don’t know what’s right…”

A little boy runs up and comes to a screeching halt when he sees Mochi.

“Ew! A skunk!”

I smile and hold out a blocking hand. “It’s all right. He won’t hurt you.”

“Mommy!” He kicks dirt at Mochi, and I see red, all of my good cheer gone. My body lights up with anger.

“Hey! That’s not nice.” I step between the two. “Stop it.”

Someone rushes up from the side and grabs the little boy by the arm. “Hey, kid. What are you doing? Don’t treat animals that way.”

It’s Nosuké, and his anger on Mochi’s behalf pulls the air from my lungs.

He lets the kid go. “Beat it, or I’m going to tell your parents you were harming a helpless animal. That could get you jailed, you know.”

The little boy pales and runs off.

We’re silent for a long moment before reality snaps back and reminds me of where we are.

I press my hand to my chest and try to calm my racing heart. “Thank you,” I say, holding back tears. “I… I hate it when people treat Mochi like that.” I lean over and scoop him off the ground. Mochi nuzzles into my neck.

“I’m okay,” he says, his whiskers at my ear. “It was just a stupid kid.”

“He’s okay.” I sigh, and Nosuké nods.

“Let’s keep walking.” Nosuké holds out his arm to usher us forward. “I wasn’t that far behind you.”

I open my mouth to tell him it’s unnecessary. He could return to whatever he was doing before, but I catch Ruby raising her eyebrows behind his back. She wants to talk to him.

We walk in silence for a while before Ruby picks up the conversation and eases us into polite talk about how things have been in the last few months. When asked how Ruby’s job is going, she tells him of the plan drafts she’s done for the Hikoboshi mission. I stay quiet and let my blood pressure come down to normal. They’re the old friends, and I’ve always been the third wheel.

When the conversation comes to a lull again, Nosuké turns to me.

“I didn’t see you at the Hikoboshi Farewell Ball, Myra. Your parents and Tilli were there, so I thought I would run into you.”

“Oh, me?” I press my hand to my chest. “No. No, I wasn’t invited.” I was happy that no one asked me. I’m impressed with everyone going on the mission and the work the Interstellar Agency is doing, but seeing it all reminds me of my failures.

“That’s too bad. I’m sure you would have looked stunning in a ball gown.”

Was that a compliment? My cheeks rush with a blush, and I try to turn away from his smile. “No such luck. No one asked me.” I clear my throat and cool my nerves. He’s just being kind as usual. It’s nothing. “I’m sorry about my dad and the casino stuff. That must be stressful for you.”

Ruby looks warily between us.

“I knew it was coming. We’ve been talking to the town council for years. I was hoping things would change, but we’ve hit a wall.” He shrugs, a lot less angry than I thought he would be. More like disappointed. “Do you know what his issue is?”

And though Dad just said why he’s so angry, I can’t spill it to Nosuké. My dad may annoy me, but he has the town’s best interests at heart.

“I don’t know. I’m sure he has his reasons for doing what he’s doing.”

Nosuké runs his hand through his hair, and I remember how he used to do that when he was unsure of himself, watching Ruby flirt with other men. “I really hope he stays safe.”

My face flushes. “Is that something we should worry about?”

“Myra,” Ruby assures me. “I’m sure it’s not.”

Nosuké raises his hands, palms out. “Not from me. I’m a businessman, not a thug like some people in this town seem to think I am,” he grumbles. “I am genuinely concerned for his safety. You saw everyone in the square. It’s not me he’d have to worry about.”

I shrug. “I hope my dad stays safe too, but I have no control over him.”

“I see someone I know over there,” Ruby says, pointing to the distance. “I’ll be right back.”

I almost lunge to grab her, but instead, I huff an annoyed breath.

Nosuké settles his hands in his pockets as he walks next to Mochi and me. “I saw you came into the casino last month for drinks. Why didn’t you stop in and say hi?”

“Uh, I was there with work friends. I didn’t want to bother you.” My face flushes, remembering all the other times I’ve been there. Nosuké has always stopped me to say hello or make conversation. Duh, Myra. He’s annoyed that I didn’t reciprocate. I swallow my pride. “I’m so sorry. It was dumb of me not to make an effort.”

“It’s fine. I’m sure I was busy. Just remember that you always have an open invitation to come. I would love to see you more often.”

“I… I, uh,” I stammer out and fall into silence. He wants to see me? I mean, he’s in my inbox every other week asking me to the casino to have drinks with him and his friends, people I somewhat know. But it’s always felt like it was an obligation. I know he invites Ruby, too.

No, it’s nothing, Myra. Don’t make something out of nothing.

I often make something out of nothing because my imagination runs away with my heart. I’ve been trying to rein in my impulsivity for years.

“So,” Nosuké says, forcing a smile from his face, “how’s business at Izakaya Tanaka? You still work there, right?”

“I do.” Mochi shifts on my shoulders. “Business is good. Mrs. Tanaka has no complaints. I’m working a lot because one of the line chefs quit. This is my first night off in a few weeks.”

We pause walking as a shuttle takes off from the distant spaceport and zooms across the sky, heading to orbit.

“I’ve always meant to ask you. Why didn’t you apply to the I.A.? I thought you would follow in Suri’s footsteps.”

A jab to the heart. “I did. I… I failed the entrance exams. Twice.”

“Ah.” He presses his lips together.

“It’s okay. It was probably for the best. I’m not as smart as my other sisters, and I would have struggled even if I had passed. Not that I’m not struggling now or anything.” I clear my throat and look away. “Anyway, I figured I should become a chef since I love food so much.”

Nosuké laughs, and his smile makes me smile. “Who doesn’t? You’ll have to show me one of your favorite recipes.”

Maybe he is flirting with me? My smile fades quickly. No. It’s my imagination. Stop that, Myra.

“I help develop the menu at Izakaya Tanaka. You can always come there.”

“I might just do that.” He glances at his watch. “It’s getting late, and I have an early shift tomorrow. It was good to see you and Ruby. Let’s all get together sometime soon.”

Coming from my left, Ruby reinserts herself in our conversation. It’s almost as if she was waiting for the cue. She flutters her long eyelashes at Nosuké.

“Yeah, sure,” Ruby chirps, a broad smile on her face. “How about drinks this weekend?”

Nosuké’s eyes skate over me from head to toe, and a smile forms. I’m too dumbstruck to say anything.

“Great. I’ll ping you.” With a wave, he jaunts off, a raccoon joining him at his side from the trees.

“What are you doing?” I smack Ruby on the arm.

“Nothing.” She smirks and bumps her hip against mine. “Maybe I can get lucky again with him. He looks fantastic. I forgot how much I loved his hair… and that hot body.” She purrs and raises her eyebrows twice before sighing. “It’s not like I’m getting anywhere with Aki.”

Well, that settles it. Even if he was flirting with me, which he was not, Ruby has her sights set on him again.

“Nosuké likes you,” Mochi whispers and then snickers under my hair.

“Shut up,” I whisper back.

Ugh. Everyone needs to leave me the hell alone.