She glanced at Takashi. “And you’ll never guess what happened recently…”
Minutes passed as she talked to the gravestone, recapping her testing of the new arm and her and Takashi finally coming together. Neither Takashi nor her father said anything, giving her this moment she needed.
A tear rolled down her cheek when she finished. Remembering hurt; knowing her mother wasn’t there when she needed her the most caused the most pain. In the past she’d be bawling her eyes out by now, but having her father, her friends, and now Takashi by her side, it got easier day by day.
Takashi was the next to speak; Mercedes had told him before leaving the house it’d be okay to do. “Hey, Mrs. Gail, it’s me, Takashi. It’s been… a long time. A lot has happened since I saw you, but the biggest one is what Mercedes told you. You always said I’d like your daughter if we ever met. Surprise, surprise, you were right.”
Mercedes couldn’t stop the quiet giggle that escaped her lips. Takashi glanced at her, an amused smile on his lips, and then spoke for a bit longer before letting her father have his time. Mercedes pulled Takashi to the side to give her father space. She’d learned over the years he didn’t let down his “tough guy” walls unless he felt alone.
“Mercedes,” Takashi said in a quiet voice. “Can I ask what happened? My mother wouldn’t talk about it to me.”
Mercedes frowned. “It was… cancer.”
Takashi’s eyes widened. Cancer-related deaths weren’t common these days. At the rate medical technology had advanced in the last ninety years, most people recovered with little residual health issues. The technology wasn’t there to replace the need for cybernetics yet, but at this rate, it was predicted in the next fifty years or so that kind of change would come about. The reminder always made Mercedes wonder how that would affect Narissa and her family.
Mercedes continued so Takashi would understand how it happened, even if it was difficult for her to go through. “It was an aggressive form. The doctors couldn’t combat it, no matter how hard they tried. We lost her within six months of finding out about the mass.”
Takashi pulled her close and kissed her on the head. “I’m sorry…”
The image of her mother’s last moments with her flashed through Mercedes’ mind. Her mom had tried so hard to smile and ignore the pain she was in. She’d tried to keep Mercedes on the right path, and teach her to see a light in the darkness.
Tears bubbled in Mercedes’ eyes. She buried herself into Takashi’s chest and couldn’t hold back the pain. She cried and Takashi let her. She tried to be strong; tried to keep moving even when the pain became unbearable. But there were times she couldn’t keep up the unbreakable façade. She couldn’t keep that wall up. Today wasn’t a day she could fight, and Takashi understood.
By the time she’d collected herself, her father had finished at the grave and approached the pair. His eyes appeared a bit red, but she knew better than to say anything.
“Are you ready to head to Sushiki?” he asked.
Mercedes nodded. “My belly is angry I haven’t given it breakfast, so it’s ready for lunch.”
Her father eyed Takashi for a moment. “He can come, too.”
Takashi’s brow rose. “Huh?”
“We always go for lunch at Sushiki,” Mercedes explained. “Goro usually joins us, and we just enjoy each other’s company like mom would want us to.”
“Miss Mercedes,” Tasha said. “I called Goro before you left the house to let him know there’d be an extra body, as I assumed Takashi would be joining you and your father for lunch.”
“Thanks, Tasha.” She looked to her father when an idea came to her. “Dad, can I invite a few friends to join us? Only one would be there physically if she can go. The others we’d video in.”
Her father sighed. “Sure, whatever.”
“I’ll pay for everything,” Takashi offered.
Mercedes gasped. “Stop trying to pay for everything!”
Her father started to walk toward the car. “Careful, kid, I might start to like you with offers like that.”
“Oh, well, we can’t have that.” Takashi laughed.
“Daddy! Don’t encourage this,” Mercedes complained.
“What, I’m old fashioned.”
“More like ancient,” she muttered.
Her father pointed at Takashi. “Don’t think you’ll butter me up enough to ask to marry my daughter. That’s never going to happen.”
Takashi chuckled. “We’ll see.”
Mercedes’ face flushed hot. She wasn’t sure what to make of the situation. It’s a bit early to talk about all that, right? “Um, Tasha, please call some of my friends so I can invite them to this lunch.”
“I’ve already done so, Miss Mercedes,” Tasha replied. “Shira will meet you at the restaurant, and the others are happy to video in. I have notified Goro of the additions. I also made an attempt to invite Takashi’s family, but they are all busy. They sent their heartfelt thoughts instead.”
“Great, thank you.” Her thoughts all jumbled, she followed the two men to the car.
They drove back to her place to retrieve a few tablets for the call-ins, and then headed for Sushiki. Shira was already there waiting outside by the time they arrived, Snake sitting patiently next to her.
Shira waved at them and then her brow rose when she noticed the tablets. “What are those for?”
“For everyone to video chat with us,” Mercedes said.
“Every…one?”
Mercedes nodded. “Narissa, Ajax, Kiara and Darius, and Jasper and Zach.”
Her expression dropped and she appeared to be struggling not to recoil. Snake nudged her hand, giving away her rising anxiety. “Okay…”
Mercedes’ eyes softened. “It’s going to be okay, Shira. This will be as good for you as it will be for us.”
Her lips twisted and her eyes tightened. “Is this why you wanted me to join you?”
Mercedes bopped her friend on the forehead with her palm. “Of course not, don’t be silly. Now let’s get inside.”
Shira huffed but opened the door, Snake getting to his feet and waiting for her to enter after she let the others in. Mercedes looked around, finding Goro approaching from one of the private rooms.
She smiled at him. “Konnichiwa, Goro.”
The elderly man bowed. “Konnichiwa, Mercedes-san.”
He turned and bowed to everyone else and greeted them before requesting they follow him to the private room. Mercedes ducked under the cloth half-curtain and gazed around. A long table, set with plates, filled the room to near entirety. Pillows for sitting rested on the floor on all sides, and in the center of the table rested a small shrine, a photograph of her mother standing tall. Mercedes smiled and then found a spot to call hers before setting up the tablets.
She called Narissa first, while Takashi called Ajax, and Shira called Jasper and Zach per Mercedes’ request. She didn’t look happy about the request, but didn’t argue. Mercedes had done it on purpose, hoping it’d force Shira to face her reality. She did too much running. All of their friends helped in ways, those two men especially, but there was only so much any of them could do. Shira had to make the effort to fix her own life.
Narissa and Ajax answered without issue, but the call for the two boys rang a few times before a young girl’s voice picked up. “Hello?”
“Hey, Serenity,” Shira’s chipper voice greeted. The instantaneous change in Shira’s demeanor surprised Mercedes. She knew Shira had a soft spot for Jasper’s daughter, but she’d never seen her friend interact with the little girl.
“She-ra!” the girl exclaimed. She then coughed and sniffled, indicating she was home from school due to illness.
Mercedes chuckled. Shira had told her of the name the little girl had given her a few years ago. She strugg
led to say her name correctly, and the one she managed just stuck. It helped that Shira was a fan of a character from an old cartoon with that name.
“Hey, your dad was expecting a call from me and Mercedes. Is he around?” Shira asked as she placed the tablet on the table, giving everyone a good look at the little girl, no older than six, with bright green eyes and dark brown hair.
Serenity shook her head. “No, Daddy went to pick up lunch. Zach is heah”—she looked around—“somewheah. Zach! Zach! She-ra is video chatting with me.”
Everyone heard something crash to the floor and then someone called out, “She’s what?”
“She’s video chatting with me. She called for Daddy, but he’s not heah.”
“Keep her on the horn, Serenity,” Zach yelled from wherever he was. “I’ll be right there.”
“‘Kay!”
Shira’s service dog settled down next to her finally and rested his head on her lap.
Serenity gasped. “Snake! Hi, Snake!” The black dog looked at her, ears alert, but didn’t respond audibly, making the young girl huff. “Meanie. You always greet me when I say hi.”
Has Shira video chatted with Serenity before? That didn’t make sense to Mercedes. If she’d done that, she wouldn’t have been so reluctant to make the call.
Shira pointed to Snake’s service vest. “That’s because he’s working. He knows better than to bark unless it’s an emergency when he wears his vest. When he’s heard you through the game chat, he wasn’t working.”
That explains it.
“Oh!” Serenity clapped. “Then good boy!”
The room rumbled with laughter. They quieted down just as someone on Serenity’s side ran into the room. A tall, athletically built man shot into the feed next to Serenity, almost falling over when his momentum kept him going a little too much. He ran his fingers through his short blonde hair. “Hey… Shira. You’re looking wicked good.”
She waved at him with her good arm, her body rigid. “Hey, Zach.”
Serenity looked at Zach, her nose scrunching. “Why did you run, Zach? She wasn’t going anywheah.”
His ice-blue eyes darted back and forth between the camera and the little girl. “Um… I… um…”
Mercedes and her friends laughed as he struggled, and Shira’s cheeks reddened a bit. See, Shira?
Just then, a door opened on their end and Jasper’s boomed through their place. “I’m back with the food.”
Serenity turned away from the camera. “Daddy, She-ra is video chatting us!”
“Am I that late?” Everyone heard him put some bags down, and far more calmly than Zach, then his face appeared in the feed. Tall, muscular, with tattoos covering his tan skin, he didn’t fit the typical look of “father,” but anyone who even thought to call him unfit would end up in the hospital, and Serenity… she’d end up with an ice cream out of the deal somehow. His green eyes squinted as he smiled. “Hey, Shira.”
“Hey,” she also waved to him, but Mercedes noticed her movements were even stiffer this time. Snake was also pressing himself closer to her and nudging her artificial hand. Even with this calmer approach, she was still struggling with this.
Mercedes wasn’t sure what to make of it, but she needed to get the attention away from Shira so she could calm down. She went about calling Kiara and Darius as she spoke, “What did you pick up, Jasper?”
“Yer assistant said something about Japanese cuisine, so I thought we’d eat the same,” Jasper said before ducking out of the display.
“Oh, I’ll help you, Daddy.” Serenity ran off to assist him. Zach took advantage of the extra space, but Shira turned the tablet so it wasn’t as directed on her, clearly disappointing him.
Mercedes finally got a hold of Kiara and Darius, but she wasn’t sure it was such a good thing when she was met with the sight of Kiara wrestling with a tall, dark-tan-skinned, man, Kiara telling him to get his own chair. “Um, do you guys want me to call you back?”
“No,” Kiara said. “Darius needs to stop bein’ a dobber.”
Oh boy, he’s got her worked up.
“I am not,” Darius said, his dark eyes darting toward the camera. “She’s insisting on setting up the video where it’s hard to squeeze two people in and won’t share her seat.”
“Because you’re ower exaggeratin’ and can fit neist tae me without issues!” Kiara grabbed a fistful of his dark hair and yanked, getting him to grunt in pain. “Now, get oot o’ ma spot!”
Amused smiles spread across the faces of everyone watching. A doorbell rang and Darius stopped. “Food is here.”
He let go of Kiara and ran off. The sudden release on his unsuspecting victim left her unbalanced and she fell over, letting out a squeak and then an oof. Her hand rose back into the feed, her middle finger extended. “Jackarse!”
“Hey, we have a kid on this end,” Zach warned.
“You’ve said worse around her,” Shira chastised.
“And I’m yelled at every time by you and Jasper. So it’s not like I get away with it.”
“Get away with what?” Serenity asked, popped in next to him, her tiny hands full with a juice box and one takeout box.
“Saying bad words,” Zach said.
Serenity giggled. “Nope. She-ra kicks yah butt wicked good when you do.”
For the first time since the video feeds started, Shira laughed. It made Mercedes relax a little. She’d started to think she’d done something wrong by doing this.
Goro entered the private room, along with several waitstaff. They all carried food or drink, the drink mostly sake, and set it down on the table. The waitstaff left when there was nothing left to distribute, and Goro sat down next to Mercedes. He and her father poured the sake and offered a toast. Those present grabbed their sake, those not picked up what they could if they were at work, or whatever was available at their home. Even Serenity had her juice box.
Everyone said a few kind words honoring her mother, and then Goro yelled, “Kanpai!”
“Kanpai!”
Mercedes, Shira, and her father were the first to finish their sake, consuming the rice alcohol like champs. Takashi’s mouth hung open, and Darius whistled.
“Don’t count little Serenity out, though,” Narissa called. “Look at her.”
Everyone watched as she sucked on her juice straw, her face turning red from the single breath attempt she was going for. She finally let go, her lips smacking together and letting out an “ahh…” before shaking her box. No sounds came from inside.
“I did it, Daddy!”
Jasper curled his hand into a fist and held it up to her. “That was sick. Wicked job, sweetie.”
She bumped her fist with his and then gave Zach a high-five. Serenity looked to Shira, who put her fist to the camera, allowing the little girl to also virtually “give” her a fist-pound too. How cute. It made Mercedes wonder, if she had a daughter, would she be that adorable? Would she be Takashi’s? Whoa, Mercedes, jumping the gun, don’t you think?
She glanced at Takashi when he reached down and squeezed her hand under the table, smiling at her. Was he thinking the same? Stop jumping the gun! She smiled back at him and popped a sushi roll in her mouth.
Takashi’s phone went off and Ochi’s voice came from it. “Takashi, I know you are busy, but this message is an important one.”
Takashi, mid-bite into some rice, put his food down and whipped out his phone. His brow creased. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Mercedes frowned. “Another hacking issue?”
He nodded and went to typing to the GM. Darius focused on them. “Hacking?”
Takashi was too focused on his messaging to respond, so Mercedes did on his behalf. “Yeah, someone keeps hacking his business. This is like the fourth or fifth time, I think.”
“That�
��s peculiar. Takashi isn’t the type to make enemies. Which GM is helping you?”
“Ashton,” Takashi said. “He’s been helpful, but sometimes difficult to deal with.”
Darius chuckled. “Sounds like him.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll dig around with my contacts to see if I can get any more light on the matter for you. We don’t need these types of situations continuing. It presents too big a flaw in the game’s security.”
Darius worked in the art department for Lion Rage Games, the creators of Lusara Fates. Even though he designed character models and environments, he had good connections with those in other departments. And of course, being friends with him came with some perks, particularly around the time of Gamer Nine and getting discounted tickets, and dealing with annoying in-game matters, like this one.
Takashi placed his phone down and rubbed his face. “Any help would be greatly appreciated. I’d like for this to stop finally.”
Lunch resumed; much conversation and laughter with it. It made Mercedes’ heart swell. She had such amazing friends, and had her mother not turned her into a nerd, she wouldn’t have ever met these people. She wouldn’t trade them.
“C’mon, Shira, just one tournament,” Zach begged. “It’s three months from now.”
Shira shoved a roll in her mouth, her cheek resting on her cybernetic hands. “I said I’m not interested.”
“Guys, help us.”
“I don’t see why she shouldn’t,” Darius said.
“I do,” Kiara said.
He looked at her, brow furrowed. “Why?”
“Because you think she should.”
The two began to wrestle and the others laughed.
“Where is this tournament?” Mercedes asked.
“Anaheim,” Zach said. “It’s in your neighborhood, so you wouldn’t have to go very far.”
Mercedes and Narissa looked at each other, but before they could protest, Jasper jumped in. “I already told you, we’re not doing that one.”
Zach stared at him. “What? It has a wicked prize pool!”
Spellbinding His Ranger: A Sci-Fi Gamer Friends-to-Lovers Romance (Looking For Group Book 1) Page 29