by Dahlia Rose
“Arrangements have been made for you to marry a very respectable girl in Japan and join our two families, making it stronger,” Ichika Sato stated. “Our family depends on it.”
“No, that’s you, mother,” Jacob answered. “You want to return to Japan and be part of some kind of hierarchy of fame and power that I want no part of.”
“When you go back, you will see and your thoughts will change,” she stated.
“No mother, they will not,” he said.
“So, this girl, this Eden is more than an infatuation?” his mother asked with a frown. “Diluting our heritage with some African American woman—”
Jacob slammed his hand down on the table. “Enough! I keep repeating myself, to you over and over again. I have not, nor will not be trapped in some loveless marriage with some woman I don’t know. One without a brain obviously, if she thinks she has to bow to her families wishes and marry a stranger in 2020, for god’s sake. I am going to Japan to work, nothing more nothing less. I agreed to help you relocate back to your home and again, no more than that. Don’t make me regret my choices, Mother.”
She nodded stiffly. “Very well, Ko... my son. I will abide by your wishes. I have to go; I have a meeting.”
“Enjoy your day.” Jacob took his coffee cup and left the kitchen as he spoke, “See yourself out.”
His mother acquiesced much too easily and he know at some point she would try to broach the conversation again. Luckily, she knew nothing about Eden because he and his siblings had dealt with her meddling before. His mother wanted to preserve a part of their culture that was forever changing while she refused to. Jacob wasn’t about to let her pull him back into the past because his father had died and she thought she knew best. With the elder male Sato gone, his mother had gotten worse and worse.
Jacob wondered if it was a bad thing that he felt a sense of relief that she was going back to Japan to take up residence. He decided no, that it wasn’t as he went into the bedroom and pulled out clothes to head in to work. The room still had Eden’s scent in the air, a mix of melon and cucumber from the bodywash and lotion she used. He saw something beautiful in her, a future that he wanted to build on. There was no way he would be able to do that with Ichika Sato in the same area, she would never accept Eden.
Chapter Three
The fuller breasts, the weird cravings for food and the weird intense sexual dreams. Eden thought it was all just hormones and a sign that she was happy and being well fed. After six weeks of being romanced and in a relationship with Jacob, she thought it was just all part of being blissfully in love.
Her co-workers even noticed her glow and commented on how happy she was.
Then she found out it was much more than that and it knocked her for a loop when she looked at the test in her hand. Eden closed her eyes and opened them again. Nope, the two lines didn’t change while she sat on her toilet seat. Pregnant. The word a red blinking flashing light in her mind. Holy shit! That was when she started to panic, her life was definitely not in order for a child, she still had school and... Jacob!
His name made her dizzy and she put her head between her knees. What would he think, hell what would he say? They were in no way near careful and maybe he’d think she was trying to trap him. Hell, she was a woman of contemporary time and she should have taken condoms or maybe got on birth control with all the sexing they’d been having. She would have to tell him, figure out if he was happy or sad. Oh, God! When did having great sex with an amazing guy get so complicated?
Eden was trying to get accustomed to the idea of being the mother of anything other than a dead succulent in a pot on her windowsill. How the hell she killed a cactus, she had no damn clue.
If she was—ok, when she became a mommy, she would have to step her game up that’s for sure. Ugh... this was drinking type of news except she couldn’t because yeah...baby. He would be leaving for his first three months in Japan soon, so she would have to tell him tonight.
The door buzzer on her apartment door rang. Being on the bottom floor of her complex sometimes people rang her doorbell by mistake. Except it wasn’t a mistake, when she opened the door it wasn’t a postal worker or UPS guy.
It was Ichika Sato dressed to the nines in a soft royal blue business suit and of course, matching purse. Her pearl earrings probably cost more than Eden’s entire salary for a year.
When Ichika flicked a glance at her pajamas and head tie, Eden felt the disapproval roll off Mrs. Sato in waves. Well, get over it, this is my damn place, Eden thought the words but didn’t voice them. “Mrs. Sato?” Eden said the name hesitantly. “Would you like to come in?”
Mrs. Sato cast a glance past her and frowned. “No, this will not take long.”
“Okay,” Eden said slowly.
“You will not be seeing my son anymore,” Mrs. Sato stated bluntly.
“Shouldn’t that be his choice?” Eden asked flatly.
“As the oldest male in our household, he is who we lean on,” Mrs. Sato went on. “When he leaves here for Japan, he will be marrying the daughter of another family and we become joined. This is how it’s done within our culture.”
Eden’s heart broke when she heard the words, but she stared defiantly at Mrs. Sato. “Shouldn’t Jacob be telling me this?”
“He is much too busy to deal with his dalliances on his own.” Mrs. Sato’s voice sounded smug. “Oh, you thought it was more, you are one of the many flavors my son has tried and as a man, he is allowed to do so. But in the end, he knows is duties as the eldest Sato and where his loyalties lie. He has known of this engagement and marriage all this time you were in his bed. Ko will tell you a sweet goodbye and then you will never hear from him again. I at least, wanted to spare you such suffering.”
“Because this is so much better,” Eden heard the hurt in her own voice. God, she wanted to cry but wouldn’t allow the woman in front of her to see such weakness.
“I am a woman, who speaks the truth in all things, I am sorry this hurts you—”
Eden laughed. “Oh, I’m sure you’re not.”
Mrs. Sato’s smile was cold. “How astute of you.”
“I guess that’s all you need to say,” Eden said. “Goodbye.” Eden had the greatest satisfaction of closing the door in the smug woman’s face before she broke down. Then she sat down, and tears slipped down her cheeks. It had been all too good to be true. She should’ve known, and she felt foolish because she always listened to her instincts. He was a coward to send his mother and that was a new low for any man.
Except now she was pregnant and if he showed up, she would tell him the truth. He had the money and his mother had the power to take the baby away from her. Eden’s protective instincts kicked in and she pressed her hand against her belly. This was her baby, no one else’s, and no one would be taking it from her. Acting on hurt and instinct, Eden went to her bedroom. Worry about her dead plant and the apartment was no longer a concern. She packed a bag hurriedly and would think about the rest of it later.
Right now, she had to run and the rest would be dealt with when he was gone. Back to Japan and his new family and marriage. A laugh mixed with a sob escaped her lips, as there was only one place to go. And that was home. It seemed the only flight she could get was the next day in the afternoon, instead of staying home she got a room in the hotel close by. It was late evening, well past when she and Jacob were to see each other. He kept calling, texting and calling again, but she wouldn’t answer.
Finally, Lisa called and that was the only called she answered.
“Chick, where the hell are you?” Lisa’s voice was frantic. “Jacob has been calling you and then he called Jordan and thus, me.”
“I’m good, I don’t need to talk to Jacob enough was said,” Eden answered.
“He went by your place and you wouldn’t answer or you’re not there,” Lisa said. “What the hell happened, Eden?”
Eden wanted to share her misery, but Lisa was a direct line to Jacob through his friend, Jordan. She
had to keep her secret and get out of Texas until he left before any more decisions were made. “It just isn’t working, and I had to leave,” Eden said. “I needed to get away and clear my head. I’ll call him, so he’s not running all over Texas, looking for me.”
“Eden, I know you and this isn’t you, tell me please?” Lisa begged. “What’s wrong, did he hurt you... is that why you’re hiding? I will cut his balls off if he did.”
“I’m hurt but not like you think.” Eden sighed. “I promise I will tell you everything when I can. Please, please let me do this my way.”
Lisa sighed. “Okay babe, but keep in touch with me okay? Let me know you didn’t fall into a ditch or end up in the Amazon living with pigmies.”
Eden smiled. “I promise I will call in a few weeks. “
“Okay, love you, please be okay,” Lisa said.
Eden could tell she was about to cry. “I will,” she whispered. “Talk soon, love you.” She hung up and looked at the multiple texts from Jacob.
Eden, are you okay?
My Moon, where are you, I’m fucking worried sick!
EDEN ANSWER ME...PLEASE
She sighed and texted back the words.
I’m fine, we’re over, live your life and be happy with your choices. You are a coward and I’m never going to forgive you for it.
A few seconds later, her phone dinged.
What the hell does that mean? Eden, come on where are you, talk to me! Damn it, talk to me!
Goodbye, Jacob. She turned off her phone after that and before she left, she would disconnect this line and change her number. This was what love brought you and believing in someone you truly didn’t know. She would be strong and she would rock this mommy thing, even if she was alone.
* * * *
How did he lose someone so perfect and he didn’t even know why? Jacob thought he was seeing Eden that night. Instead, he ended up frantically calling everyone and getting a goodbye text. His choices, her words made him confused as he tried to keep calling texting. But Eden wouldn’t answer and then her phone was disconnected, and her friend Lisa was a tomb. That was a good friend but damn... it frustrated Jacob to no end. He left Texas with his heart broken and went to Japan, thinking it would only be three months, but instead he was there for over a year.
Not by choice, his mother got sick and as the oldest, it was his job to care for her. So, his life became his work and caring for his mother.
“Ko,” she said weakly from her bed.
“Yes, mother?” He sat on the side of the bed. “Are you hungry, does the nurse need to come in?”
“A bit thirsty,’ she said with a small smile. “I’m always so tired now.”
“Take a sip,” he said gently and held the straw to her lips. The water was filled with ice which she drank more often than not, his mother wouldn’t even take warm soup.
“Thank you, my son,” she said and lay her head back on the pillow. “You are so kind to me after all I have done.”
“It’s fine, Mother.” He’d heard her many sins as she got weaker.
“Eden was proud even as I lied...” She sighed and closed her eyes.
His heart stopped in his chest. “Mom—mother, what did you say?”
She opened her eyes weakly. “I could see you cared for her, and she cared for you. I destroyed that. I told her that you were coming to Japan to marry, told her you sent me to tell her goodbye.”
“What?” Jacob couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Mrs. Sato continued on, like she didn’t hear his son. “Dalliances, I told Eden she was one of the many women that came through your life. That as a Japanese man it was your right. She closed the door in my face.” His mother gave a husky laugh. “Her defiance was admirable.”
There was fury within him, Jacob wanted to rage and shake her until her teeth rattled. Instead, he paced the room. He had to push that turmoil aside, because on the bed was his dying mother and he needed to make sure she died in peace, not with his anger in her ears. This was what Eden meant by his choices, she thought he chose an unknown stranger over her. Even after a year, Lisa would give him no information, hell he even tried to buy it from her, and Lisa threatened to skin him alive. It was all a cascade of realization he should’ve seen sooner but he was dealing with his own broken heart.
“Ko... Ko...,” she said and held out her hand to him.
Jacob took a deep breath and sat beside her, taking her hand.
“Forgive me, Ko, forgive me for all of this and being such a hard mother.” Tears leaked from behind her closed lids. “I would change it all if I could.”
“It’s okay mother, you rest, you are forgiven for all things,” Jacob said. So many secrets and lies because she didn’t want to die with it on her conscience. It wasn’t because his mother had any guilt but because she thought it would help her go to Takamagahara which in their culture, was heaven. But from the way she had manipulated his father, then chasing away the perspective mates of him and his siblings, Jacob didn’t think heaven was anywhere in her afterlife. If she wasn’t dying, his mother would still be up to her same old tricks.
In his mind, he was thinking of Eden, it had been a year. Was she in another relationship where she was? He didn’t know but he had to find her, had to tell her that he hadn’t known what his mother had done and that his love never waned. Even if she were happy and at peace in her new life, Jacob had to let her know the truth.
A few days later, his mother died and she was buried, as per the traditions she loved. It took another four months before he could go back to the United States.
By that time, an investigator he’d hired found Eden’s address in Arizona and she had started a new life there. This was what Lisa didn’t want to tell him, maybe she had a new man in her life, and he was the last thing on her mind.
Jacob now sat in a rental SUV outside a small Spanish style ranch house on the opposite side of the street. The neighborhood was comprised of cookie cutter duplicates of each dwelling down both sides of the street, though it seemed nice.
Children played outside in a balmy seventy degrees and the sky was blue without a cloud. The house where Eden now lived had a small front yard with a garden and a little bird feeder that made him smile. It suited her and with a deep breath, Jacob got out the rental and crossed the street. Nervousness clenched at his gut when he rang the doorbell, a light chiming sound that again made him smile.
“Mom, you just left, how many grandma kisses do you—” Eden’s words froze in her throat when she saw him.
Then Jacob saw fear in her eyes.
In her arms, she carried a baby dressed in a pink onsie with chubby little legs kicking. Tiny feet wore little pink socks with butterflies on them and the baby smiled around a fist she was eating. She was beautiful, but her eyes, it was like looking into a mirror, down to the dark brown pupils. Jacob reached out hesitantly.
Eden stepped back, pulling the baby away from his touch. “What are you doing here?” Her tone was crisp.
“Is she...is the baby mine?” Jacob asked.
“No,” Eden said firmly. “Goodbye, Jacob.”
“It doesn’t work like that Eden,’ Jacob said firmly. “She looks to be around six, or seven months old and I’ve been gone for fourteen months. The timeline fits, tell me the truth.”
“Why? So you can try to take her from me,” Eden demanded to know. “You and that vile woman you call a mother?”
“I would never do that,” Jacob denied. “I know what she said to you, the things that made you run away. I can see you’re afraid, but I swear I would never try to take our child from you.”
“You said a lot of things, Jacob.” Eden’s eyes turned cold. “I would fight you to my last breath if you ever dared tried.”
“My mother died, four months ago and it took me that long to close out business there and to find you,” Jacob said. ‘She told me what she did on her deathbed.”
Eden gave short laugh. “Wow, it took you that long to figure ou
t she was the deceptive one.”
“I was dealing with a broken heart and not thinking clearly,” Jacob admitted. “Eden, talking from the front door with me on the outside looking in is not helping. Can I please come in? I can see she’s mine, God.... my soul can feel her pulling at me because I’m her father.”
Eden sighed and stepped back. “Come in.”
Inside the house was comfortably decorated and had lots of open space for a baby to grow and learn to walk. It was cool as the sunlight poured in over the cream covered sofa and the yellow throw across it.
“I like your home,” Jacob said with a smile.
“Thank you, it’s not your sense of opulence but its home to us.” Eden moved into the living room. “You can sit wherever you want.”
Jacob chose the single chair and couldn’t take his eyes off the baby. “What’s her name?”
“Seraphina... Sera,” Eden answered and added quickly. “Kinsley.”
“Did you give her a middle name?” Jacob said huskily.
“Akira,” she answered hesitantly.
“It means ‘bright and clear’ in Japanese.” Jacob felt pride fill his chest. “You are my sky, I am the sun and together, we created a beautiful baby girl.”
“I’m not your anything, Jacob,” Eden said bluntly. “Finding out what your mother did doesn’t change the fact that we made a life here and without you.”
Jacob frowned. “If my mother hadn’t deceived you, we would be married right now, raising our daughter.”
“Or you would’ve denied us to the bitter end, and we’d be here anyway,” she pointed out. “All it showed me is that I can’t trust anything you say.”
“That is not true and you know it,” Jacob said helplessly. “I tried to reach out to you, if you had just told me. We wouldn’t have lost over a year together and I would have been in my daughter’s life from the day she was born.”
“You’re kidding me, right?” Eden said incredulously. “I was to tell an honorable Japanese son and man, that his mother came to my home and spewed the most hateful shit and he would believe me?”