Mom huffed, but Yasahiro plowed on.
“Hirata already came out and said he’s going to inherit the farm, something you indicated would not happen six months ago. You told me over the winter you hoped Mei-chan would come around to love the farm because you wanted to hand the land and business down to her.”
I looked up at Mom, and she swallowed hard. She was going to hand down the farm to me? I swept my eyes over the dining room, my painting up on the far wall, and remembered all the years I spent in the house and how badly I’d wanted Mom to change her mind. I’d had a chance at it all?
“What happened?” Yasahiro asked, echoing my thoughts.
The room was quiet except for the hum of the fan. Yuna stared out the window, chewing on her bottom lip.
Mom sat back down at the table. She took a deep breath and said, “I have glaucoma.”
“What?” I asked, surprised my lips even moved.
Mom turned to me. “During the winter, I noticed my vision along the edges was getting blurry and harder to see out of. I went to the eye doctor about it, thinking it was stress or that I needed real glasses finally. But no. He did tests, and I have glaucoma. And unfortunately, it’s already done damage to my vision.”
Panic sped up my thoughts, skipping along my memories of the past few months. Mom had been bumping into things, taking more naps, complaining of headaches. All the seed and vegetable sorting issues and the haphazard way she was storing her gardening tools suddenly made sense.
My mom was going blind.
“I’ve been using drops, but they irritate my eyes fiercely.” She sighed, a deep mournful sigh I wasn’t used to. Yuna, across from me, was aghast, her mouth dropped open. She was just as clueless as me. “They’re slowing the damage, though, so that’s good. But I’ll probably be blind within a few years.”
“What about surgery?” My voice cracked. I couldn’t even look at Yasahiro. The guilt of not knowing this weighed a metric ton and sat right on top of me.
“I can get laser surgery that will delay the onset, and I plan to have it done this year.” Mom smoothed out her hair, and I imagined her, blind, trying to take care of herself. My heart constricted and tears fell down my cheeks. “But it’s expensive, and it won’t cure me.”
The room fell into silence again as we all processed this news.
Yasahiro cleared his throat. “Why didn’t you tell us when you first found out? We’re family. We could’ve helped you.”
Mom scoffed, and I jerked, a stab to my chest. “You and Mei-chan weren’t married. You were too busy getting her knocked up and involving her in a nationwide scandal to think about me.”
Yasahiro lowered his head, and my cheeks burst into flames. If the earth opened and swallowed me whole right then, I would’ve been so grateful.
“And then your wedding pushed me over the edge. All I wanted was some peace and quiet, but I had to host a hundred people here for the big event. My eyesight was already in trouble then and only got worse after. You should’ve held it somewhere else.”
Anger flashed red hot across my vision, and I stood up, not realizing I was on my feet before I was towering over everyone. “I asked your permission. I even had a backup plan if you were unable to do it!”
I shouldn’t have yelled. Yuna was ready to bolt.
Mom huffed. “What did you expect, Mei-chan? That I was going to say no? I had no choice.”
“Not true. I gave you a choice.” My face heated by twenty degrees. “I specifically asked your permission to have the wedding here. We would’ve covered every expense, too, but you insisted on paying for a few items as a gift, though you didn’t have to. Yasa-kun’s parents offered to host. You knew that.”
“Ladies,” Yasahiro said, standing up and holding out his hands to keep us in our corners. “What’s done is done. I’m deeply disappointed in you, Tsukiko-san. Before I became your son-in-law, I thought we were friends. You should’ve come to me.”
Mom had no reply to that, and a part of me died inside right then. She felt bad about not confiding in Yasahiro, but she didn’t feel bad about what went between us. I was her daughter, and I was supposed to obey, right? She was angry with me for stepping out of line, and I was angry with myself for being the kind of person my own mother didn’t want to go to for help.
But at least I finally knew why everything had happened the way it did. In the winter, she’d been out of money, and her health was failing. Not able to come to Yasahiro for more money because of her pride, she had gone to Hirata. Now, she was adamant about keeping me around because someday she’d be blind, and she’d need me to keep the business in line. But she was still struggling financially. There would be no salary for me if she were paying for surgery on top of everything else. Health care was not expensive in Japan, but even with national health insurance, Mom would still have to pay thirty percent for the surgery and all the prescriptions.
Yasahiro pushed the folder across the table at my mom.
“This plan would still be good for you. It would take a lot of the burdens off of you in the future when your eyesight is gone. But I want to make one thing clear, we will not help you until you can apologize to Mei-chan for treating her poorly.”
“No,” I whispered, tugging on his arm. “No. She doesn’t have to.”
“Yes she does,” he said, whipping his head around to me. “And she will treat you better from here on out, or we will be strangers.” He set his jaw and looked at Mom. “I will not have it. Most of this is your fault for making Mei-chan keep your secrets last winter and then becoming angry with her for wanting to help you, not coming to us about your health, and not being honest with us about the wedding.”
Mom flinched as if she was slapped.
“I realize I caused problems during the investigation of Amanda’s murder, but I have apologized and made up for that. These other falsehoods have been ongoing and done much more damage than I ever could on my own.”
He took my hand and tugged me toward the door.
“We’ll await your answer, whenever you’re ready.” We both bowed, turned to leave, and Yasahiro closed his hand over mine as we reached the door.
“I hate secrets,” he said, not dropping his voice.
I was sure Mom heard him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Drip, drip, drip.
The last of the storm’s raindrops fell off the awning of the tea shop as I finished my lunch across from Murata. The shop was quiet today. Most people decided to stay home instead of braving the sideways rain for a hot cup of tea and some company. I couldn’t really blame them. But now that the rain had slowed down, I would expect people to show up for the afternoon.
Murata was reading one of her favorite newspapers and nibbling on a sandwich Yasahiro made for her. Though I had cleaned out years worth of newspapers from her apartment months ago, she hadn’t stopped her subscriptions. I still had to tie them up twice a month and put them out for recycling whenever I could.
The morning’s drama dominated all of my daydreams. I couldn’t imagine a scenario in which Mom would come to me and apologize of her own free will. In the past, she’d apologized to me on many occasions when I’d confronted her about something, but she would always find some excuse for her actions. That was just her way.
But when we got along, we were great pals. We had a lot of the same interests, and I loved sitting down with Mom for a cup of tea and a chat. Growing up, she had helped me with my homework and encouraged me to try new things. When I was dating, I often told her about the men I met, and she had opinions I valued. We had a decent relationship prior to this year.
Everything was different now though. Our relationship had shifted as soon as I moved back home. Getting married to Yasahiro made it even worse. I seemed to have crossed some line I didn’t know existed until I was way past it. The funny part was that, in the beginning, Mom had been excited about me dating Yasahiro. She even encouraged us. So what had changed? I wasn’t sure, and I would probably never
know what had happened to change her mind. Unfortunately, we were beyond easy apologies and forgiving and forgetting.
“How is that manga you’re reading?” Murata asked, jerking her chin at Ria’s red sketchbook. Her question throttled me out of my head, and I placed my hand on the red sketchbook. I was almost finished with the story, but nothing struck me as important yet. The heroine, Shizuka, was now meeting up with the side boyfriend, Kuro, daily, and once they were almost caught by her real boyfriend, Hiromi.
“It’s good. Very compelling. But I’m sure it’ll end tragically soon.” I drummed my fingers on the red cover and contemplated whether I had time to finish it tonight. With the rain ending, the rest of my day would be busy, and tomorrow, Yasahiro was due to return to days at Sawayaka. My work with the Fukuda house was done, and now my life with Mom was in jeopardy as we waited for her to come around.
I was in a holding pattern.
“Aren’t the best stories those filled with love, loss, and tragedy?” Murata asked, her eyes glistening and focused far away.
I almost laughed. “Uh, sometimes. I like funny stories too. Tragedy is not always my cup of tea.” I raised my cup to her, and she smiled.
The doorbell chimed, and I looked up, prepared to see one of my elderly clients come through the door, to find Goro at the entrance.
“Hey, Mei-chan. I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d stop by and check in on your progress with the Fukuda case.”
He tucked his police hat under his arm, set his umbrella to the side, and bent over to unlace his shoes. Normally, if people entered the front of the shop and just wanted to purchase a bento or tea, I served them without them having to take their shoes off. But farther back in the shop where people sat on the floor at the low tables, everyone went shoeless. It was our way.
I wasn’t sure if I was up for talking about the Fukuda case. The fight with my mom, learning she was going blind, and how she lied to me for months had taken its toll on me. What I really needed was a nap, but Yasahiro was upstairs taking his turn in the bed.
“Sit. Can I get you a cup of tea?” I levered myself out of my spot at the table.
“Sure. Do you have any more of the apple green tea? That was really nice.”
“I do! Coming right up.”
Once he had his cup and a fresh scone too, I sat back down next to him at the table. Murata watched us like we were her favorite TV show. Everyone wanted to learn more about Ria Fukuda.
“Have you finished it yet?” Goro asked, flipping through the manga.
“No. Almost. Maybe tonight. Things around home have been kind of crazy.”
“Really? You and Yasahiro?” He looked skeptical, and I was grateful that so much had changed since the winter when no one believed Yasahiro would date someone like me. We were finally a stable couple, one people trusted to last.
I shook my head. “Mom.”
“What’s going on with her? She and my mom have been so secretive. Always off to Tokyo together for random jaunts around town. Is it true what I heard? That Hirata-san is taking over the farm?”
News travels fast.
“Yeah. Hirata and his family moved in over the weekend, and Yasa-kun and I have been frozen out. Mom still wants me to work there for free, so we proposed a community share business model to her, and she flipped out.”
“Why would she flip out about that? That sounds like a cool idea,” Goro said around a mouthful of scone. He brushed some errant crumbs off the front of his uniform.
“Well, she told us she has glaucoma and is going to lose her sight.”
I regretted saying it out loud, but it was only the three of us in the shop, and I was done with secrets. The whole town would know sooner or later.
“Oh no. That’s horrible. She probably doesn’t want anything to change because, if she goes blind, —”
“It’ll be hard for her to adapt. Yeah, I get it. But shutting Yasa-kun and me out was not the best move. We could’ve helped.”
“She thought she’d get more help from Hirata-san?”
“Who knows?”
Goro finished off his scone. “But, that explains the trips to Tokyo she made with my mom. Your mother was probably seeing a specialist there, and my mom was the driver.” He rolled his eyes. “Typical.” He sipped his tea and hummed. “This is my favorite. So your mom is losing her sight, and she still wants you working at the farm for free?”
“Mmm,” I grunted, trying to communicate that this situation was too new and raw for me to discuss.
Goro ignored all of my social cues. Murata’s smile widened.
“That’s a tough deal for you, Mei-chan. I thought you were going to move in and renovate the place. Yasa-kun’s been talking about it for months.”
“You don’t say?”
Sarcasm was lost on him.
“I do. I’m really surprised by this.”
“Me, too, Goro-chan. Can we stop talking about this? It’s been a rough few days, and I just need a few hours to forget about what happened. Get some perspective. Okay?”
He shrugged. “Sure. Whatever you want. I came to talk about the Fukuda case, anyway.” He cleared his throat and pulled out his trusty notebook. “You wanted me to look into anything I could regarding her time at high school, so I made a call to the principal of our old high school again.”
“You did? That’s great! I was just talking about this with Minato-san a few hours ago.”
“We must be on the same wavelength. I figured I might as well check in with the school since I still go out there to do safety classes a few times per year. Aizawa-san, the principal, did some digging for me and found all the club photos for the year that Ria-chan went missing. She was too busy to go through them and send me the lists, so I asked her to set aside the photos in a folder for you.”
“Fantastic! I can run by and pick them up tomorrow morning.”
“Well,” he said, standing up from the table, “the reason why I’m in the neighborhood is to speak to all the local businesses about the typhoon on the way.”
Both Murata and I blinked up at him. “Typhoon?”
He sighed. “Haven’t you been watching the news?”
“No. I’ve been a little busy.”
“This little storm we had is only a prelude of the good times to come,” he said, gesturing to the wet streets outside. “Typhoon Number Nine is on its way, and it looks like it’s heading straight for us. None of this small tropical storm stuff that dumps rain for a few hours and moves on. They’re talking category two, and it may get stronger by the time it hits us.”
My blood pressure dropped, and I began to sweat. A state of alarm was not good for the baby nor me.
“If you’re going to go to the high school, I suggest you go now. Tomorrow, you’ll be battening down the hatches and staying inside.” He glanced out the front window. “I think if you put the shutters down, the shop will be okay. Most of the tea shop is up off the street. The real problem will be out on the farms in the low-lying areas.”
Mom. Despite being so mad at her I wanted to move to Europe, I didn’t want anything to happen to her, Yuna and the boys, and the farm. The farm could easily flood in a heavy rainstorm, so a category two typhoon would do a lot of damage. There was also a small river a half kilometer away that could cause problems too in a large rainstorm. I chewed on my lip, worried about Mom, but going out to the school had to come first.
“I’ll go ask Yasa-kun to come down and watch the shop.”
“Good idea,” Goro said, nodding to Murata and me. “I have to be on my way.” He slipped his boots back on and tied them up swiftly. “Give my best to Aizawa-san when you see her.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Mei-san, It’s good to see you again,” Aizawa-san said, opening her office door and gesturing for me to enter. I’d been sitting in the main office waiting area for only a few minutes, enjoying the sound of classes being held down the hall and the staff answering phones or typing up notes. It wasn’t as if I
missed school, but like most people, I craved the nostalgia of times gone past.
“Thank you for seeing me at such short notice,” I replied, bowing and following her into her office.
“It’s no problem, I assure you.”
I sat in the same chair I’d sat in last fall when I visited to find out more about Tama’s teaching schedule. It was here that I’d caught him in a lie about where he was when his father was killed. He hadn’t been teaching because he’d gone home sick. Would I be that lucky today?
“Did Hokichi-san brief you about why we need these photos?” I asked, eyeing the manila envelope on the desk.
She shook her head. “Only that you were in the middle of an investigation. What’s all this about?”
She was a serious woman but very curious — good traits for a school teacher and administrator.
“We’re looking into the disappearance of Ria Fukuda.”
“No,” she said, gasping and leaning back in her chair. I almost smiled at her reaction.
“Yes. Her father passed away recently, and my friend inherited the house. While I was helping her clean it out, we thought we might try to solve the case.” I shrugged my shoulders. “It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I admit the whole situation’s been nothing but confusing and stressful.”
“I’m sure. The police never got very far with the investigation. I wasn’t here then, but I was good friends with the former principal. Having a responsible and caring young woman like her go missing on his watch almost got him fired. There was nothing he could’ve done though. It hadn’t happened at school, and there were no prior warning signs. Just here one day and gone the next.”
“Did the police come and question anyone in particular?”
She lifted her eyes to the ceiling. “Hmm, not that I remember. I looked at the principal’s logs from that time, but he didn’t mention anyone specifically. The police questioned anyone who had been in the same classes with her. That’s about it.”
The Daydreamer Detective Returns a Favor Page 15