Shouji found Tomo and Ken seated next to each other on the sofa in the living room. They held hands, unable to relax while expecting Watanabe to come down.
“Are you running away?”
“No, they’re helping with cooking.”
“They sure don’t look like they’re helping.”
“I gave them a break.”
They had peeled vegetables until their hands felt sore, and Ichirou had told them to sit down.
The noise of steps came down the stairs and Tomo turned around to see Tatsumi walking into the kitchen.
“Ichirou-san! Oh, and Shouji-san. My mother said I can eat here. She also wanted to talk to Mo— Tomoki-kun’s parent.”
The boy looked between the men, holding out his phone.
“Ask what she wants, so we know if it’s me, Naomichi-kun or Sawa-san she wants to talk to.”
Tatsumi put the phone to his ear. “Did you
