by Guy Willard
“But you would have rejected me anyway!”
“Says who? I told you before that I’ve been with a man once. What I didn’t tell you was how much I enjoyed it.”
“Stop it! You’re just joking with me now.”
“No I’m not.” Tatsuya casually let his bath robe fall open to show his pajama bottom. It was tented out in front by a huge erection. Fumio was mesmerized by the sight, and when he finally managed to look up at Tatsuya’s face, his friend was smiling awkwardly. “Well?”
“You can’t mean it.” He found himself getting to his feet. “Why are you doing this to me? Stop it! Please!”
“But isn’t this what you want?”
“No!” His knee banged hard against the table as he turned away to go, and the coffee mug clattered noisily to the floor. As in a nightmare, he scrambled toward the door and yanked it open, fleeing the apartment in a panic.
He’d never felt so happy in his whole life.
35
“Akiyoshi-san. Akiyoshi Seiko-san,” announced the nurse at the window, even though Fumio and Seiko were the only ones in the waiting room.
“Yes.” Seiko got up and handed Fumio the magazine she’d been reading. “I’ll be right back.”
“All right.” He watched his wife walk past the window toward the examination room down the hall. Left alone, Fumio felt a keen desire for a cigarette, but managed to suppress it. Instead, he began flipping through the magazine he’d been handed, a women’s weekly full of travel articles, cooking hints, and gossip.
After only fifteen minutes, Seiko returned. “Sorry to have kept you waiting.”
Fumio put the magazine aside, and when their name was called again, went up to the window to pay the nurse.
“Please take care of yourself,” she intoned mechanically as the young couple left the clinic. Their car was parked just outside, and as soon as they were safely inside it, Fumio turned to Seiko.
“Well?”
She nodded, a little solemnly.
Fumio felt a radiant tenderness flood through him. “And is everything all right?”
“Everything is fine.”
“That’s good.”
Without any hesitation, he reached over and placed his hand protectively onto her belly. She allowed it to rest there for a moment before gently placing her own hand over his. To all outward appearances, they were a young couple deeply in love, basking in the first flush of married happiness.
“I hope it turns out to be a boy,” said Fumio, like any newly-informed father.
“Me, too. In fact, I’m sure it will. Somehow I just know it.”
“Whose do you think the baby is, his or mine?”
“His, of course. But does it even matter?”
“Not at all. But at least now I feel reassured that the baby will look cute.”
They smiled at each other, and Seiko said, “I’m glad you’re taking it like this. I admit I was a little worried that you might become jealous at the critical moment, even though we were both prepared for it.”
“Don’t be silly. Why should I be jealous? After all, you’re carrying the baby of the man we both love.”
“It’s funny—this child will have two fathers.”
“And two mothers. I want to mother him, too, you know.”
Fumio felt delighted that they would both be able to watch over Tatsuya’s son, to cherish and nurture this living symbol of their shared love. He grinned. “I wonder what Father’s reaction will be when he notices the boy’s looks.”
“Oh, he won’t even notice. He’ll be such a doting grandfather that any lack of resemblance to you will completely escape him. It’s Mother I’m more worried about. Sometimes I think she knows a lot more than she lets on, as if she can see through everything.”
“Somehow I feel she wouldn’t mind even if she knew the true story. As long as our family is together and happy, what does a little thing like that matter?”
“What, indeed?”
Fumio had started up the car and was pulling out into the narrow street in front of the clinic. The university campus across the street was a quiet, wooded sanctuary with all the calm repose of a temple ground. The sky above was slightly overcast; the weather report this morning had indicated a slight chance of rain.
“Shall we go straight home?” said Fumio. “Mother is out, but Sensei is in. He should be informed of the good news.”
Seiko thought for a moment. “Could you drive me to Tatsuya’s place first? I think I’d like to be with him.”
“To tell him about the baby?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you worried that the news might put him off having sex with you?”
She giggled. “Sex isn’t exactly the top priority in my mind right now. I just want to be with him, that’s all.”
“I understand.”
“Anyway, even if my belly starts swelling out and he is put off by it, I still know how to keep him satisfied, thanks to you.”
“Silly girl. But who knows? He might even find the sight of your swollen belly sexy. Some men have a thing for pregnant women, you know.”
She laughed. “Actually it’s more likely that he’ll want to play around with other women, because apparently that’s what happens a lot during pregnancy. But you know what? Now that I have his baby, I don’t care so much if he indulges himself a little. After all, he’s a young man with a strong sexual appetite. Why not give him a little freedom? I now have a link with him which can never be broken—something all those other women don’t have: his child.”
“But what if…?” began Fumio.
“Yes?”
“I was just wondering…what if he feels like trying something a little different than usual?”
“Different? What do you mean?”
“Like with a boy, for instance.”
“Do you think he would?”
“Well, as you said, he has a very strong sexual appetite. And we both know that he has a taste for the forbidden. Besides, he told me once that he’s always been a little curious about that world.”
“Did he? Well, I must admit I would feel much less jealous if it was with a man instead of a woman.” She paused mischievously and continued with a smile, “Especially if it was with someone I knew…you, for instance.”
“Me?”
She laughed. “Admit it. That’s what you’d want, isn’t it?”
“Well, yes, of course….”
“Then why don’t we leave one of your Barazoku magazines lying around so that he’ll ‘accidentally’ come across it? We might be able to create an itch in him for some forbidden fruit. How about that?”
“Don’t be silly.” But he found himself smiling at the thought.
Because of the heavy traffic, it took them almost an hour to arrive at Tatsuya’s apartment building. Fumio pulled over so Seiko could get out, and kissed her before she left. It was a kiss which would be transferred to Tatsuya’s lips the moment she met him, and Fumio found even this indirect method of expressing his love for Tatsuya satisfying.
“Have fun,” he said. “Call me up when you need a ride home.”
“I will.”
After waving goodbye to her, Fumio turned the car around and headed for home. When he got there, Seiko’s mother was still out shopping, but the professor was in.
“Father,” Fumio called out from the front door. “Or should I say: Grandfather?”
The professor came rushing out from the living room. “Do you mean to say she’s pregnant?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Then this calls for a celebration.”
“In the middle of the afternoon?”
“Of course!” The professor went to the kitchen to get a bottle of champagne and two glasses. “Where’s Seiko, by the way?”
“Oh, she went to inform her girlfriends about it. I think she’s happy now that she can join their maternity circle. She said she’ll give me a call when she wants me to pick her up, so I can’t drink too much.”
“All right.”
As they clinked glasses at the dining table and drank, Fumio said, “You know, the timing is just right too, since Seiko and I will be moving into our new apartment in two weeks. This way you won’t be bothered by the crying of the baby every night.”
“What are you saying? I wouldn’t have minded it at all. Still, with you and Seiko living away from here, that gives the two of us more chances to meet in private without arousing anyone’s suspicions, doesn’t it?”
“That’s true.”
“Speaking of which….” He glanced at the clock. “Mother won’t be coming home for another hour or so. What do you say we celebrate in our own little way?”
“I don’t mind at all, Father. And which way would that be?”
“As if you didn’t know.” He approached Fumio with a happy gleam in his eyes.
“Not in here, Sensei. Mother might interrupt us. How about if we go upstairs to our room?”
“Excellent. That will be even better.”
Fumio, carrying the tray with the champagne and glasses, preceded his father-in-law up the steps to the second floor. Behind him he could hear the old man’s labored breathing as he climbed. Apparently the doctor had recently informed the professor that he should cut down on strenuous activities for the sake of his health.
As soon as they were in the room, Fumio set the tray down and closed the curtains.
“Father, I’ve been delegated by Seiko to ask you not to drop by our new apartment without any warning. Of course you’re free to come anytime you like, only please let us know in advance.”
“All right. I understand your need for privacy.”
“In return, we’ll visit you here as often as possible.”
“But you’ll sometimes come and see me on your own, won’t you?”
“Of course. And we can meet as often as you’d like elsewhere, too—at a hotel, for instance. I promise you that from now on, I’ll be much nicer to you than I’ve been till now. Since we’ll have a lot more privacy, I wouldn’t feel the need to hold back anymore.”
“You’re so sweet, Fumi-chan.”
Sliding open the closet door, Fumio pulled out his own futons and began setting them out on the floor. When he was done, he said, “Seiko and I always performed our baby-making activities in my futon…stealthily, so as not to be overheard from below.”
“Yes?”
Fumio got inside the futon. “When the timing was right, I would signal my intentions by pulling the top cover back, like this.”
“And…?”
“She would silently join me inside my futon.”
The professor didn’t need to be told twice. As soon as he was under the covers with Fumio, the two of them embraced and kissed. And then they quickly got undressed and began making love. Within moments, the older man was unable to hold back his cries of pleasure.
“Shh! We must be as quiet as possible, sir.”
As Fumio languidly caressed the older man’s chest, he could feel the heart underneath pounding away at an alarming rate. He lowered his mouth to a nipple and ran his tongue lightly over it. The professor’s whole body trembled with joy.