Normalcy.
Below us, the movie was almost done. I could hear kids laughing down in the theater. The sound of it made my chest ache.
So far, everyone on the island was happy and safe.
The kids’ laughter rose some more.
I swallowed.
Kenji wanted kids. He'd told me that with the afterglow of fire play in his eyes.
I wasn't sure if I was ready. We'd never had a real conversation about it—the kind where couples sat down and talked timelines, plans, and whether their love was stable enough to build a life inside of.
And then there was the Kiko chick. The woman who might already be carrying his twins. A truth that sat in my chest like a splinter I couldn't reach.
But right now, with the children laughing below me and my man somewhere in Tokyo walking into God knows what. . .none of that mattered.
I wanted to give him a child.
The feeling hit me so hard my hands went still in my lap. I wanted to carry something of his inside me. I wanted to watch him hold a tiny-mixed version of us and see the Dragon disappear from his eyes.
My mind tried to build the picture. Him in a doorway. Me in a bed. A tiny hand wrapped around his finger.
I shut it down.
Don't. Not right now.
I wouldn’t dare imagine it. Because if I built that world in my head and he didn’t come home, it wouldn’t just be him I lost. It would be every version of the future I let myself believe in.
I swallowed hard, glanced at Satoshi, and frowned.
He'd been scratching through the entire movie. His hand kept going to his neck, his arms, his chest. The angry red bumps had spread, and his skin looked raw and inflamed.
Nika came over and whispered to me, "What the hell is wrong with him? He got that shit?"
"What shit?" I whispered back.
"I don't know. That shit."
"No, he don't have that shit. He has an allergy."
Nika pulled back slightly. "Shit, I don't know if he should be around here, man. Might be COVID all over again."
"It's not the coronavirus. He's allergic to water."
“I don’t know about that.” Nika gestured to the staff. “I need a face mask. I’m not trying to pay some crazy medical bill this month.”
Someone knocked at the door.
Yoichi rose and opened it.
Two servers stepped inside carrying a large pot filled with a thick, creamy mixture.
Oh, thank God. Grandma's remedy.
Satoshi looked up from where he was sitting. "Take it down to my room. I'll use it later tonight."
"Hell no." I wagged my finger. "You need to use that shit now."
