Her Parents
1813 Words
“Let's talk about the girls you like,” she asks.
“What are you up to all of a sudden?” I question.
“We agreed on getting you a girl, right?”
I have my definition of an ideal girlfriend but at this point, it can be anyone. I'm hopeless. “Just a normal girl that has a good personality.”
“A personality like~”
“Nice and can be sweet at times.”
“Tch, that's boring. You need a s*xually aggressive girlfriend.”
“The f*ck are you saying? I just want to have a partner in life so I won't grow old single and die alone.”
“Okay, okay,” she says, rolling her eyes and her chin on the back of the sofa. “Just tell me who you like.”
I want to be always by her side. So, if that girl is my classmate, I could always be by her side. If I could choose one it would be, “Irene.”
“Irene?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I admit.
“Who is this ‘Irene’?” Her left eyebrow is raised.
“She's a nice and a smart girl. And I don't know, she always has a captivating smile. I like how she just stays quiet in class most of the-”
“Wait, she's your classmate?”
“Yeah.”
“That's a bad choice, bruh.”
“Why? I don't see anything bad about her.”
“What I mean is that it's always a bad choice being in a relationship with your classmate.”
“How so?”
“You couldn't do anything you like.”
“That's fine for me.”
“There's also a lot of reasons behind it—trust me.” She half-smiles while scratching her nose. “Like if you guys break up, I think you will feel awkward every second. Considering how awkward you already are.”
“I can handle it,” I insist firmly, although, I think I'm being ridiculous.
“You haven't even got to that point so your confidence has no basis, you dummy. Another reason is probably the worst one. After breaking up, you will be reminded of the hurt every time you see her. It'll be every day because you guys are classmates.”
“That's ‘if’ we break up.”
She sighs. “You're incredibly stubborn. Okay. I guess you'll have to learn it in a hard way. I'll first have to know who you're dealing with. We'll try to get to know her during the upcoming week of the sports fest.”
“‘We’?”
“Yeah, do you have a problem with it?”
“No, but I was just thinking about how will we explain that we're close all of a sudden. Nobody knows that we know each other.”
“Simple: just tell them we're childhood friends.”
“About your gender...”
“Just don't tell them that, geez.”
“Okay,” I nod. “So, where will we meet tomorrow?”
“I'll message you and uh... add me.”
She means adding her to my friends' list in Acebook. “Okay,” I agree, pulling out my phone. “What's your name, then?”
“Lil Liz.”
Now I know why I couldn't find her in Acebook for years and years. “Why don't you use your real name?” I ask with a trace of annoyance.
“Because I don't like it.” Putting her arms on the back of the sofa, she rests her chin on them and looks to the side with a frown.
I'm guessing that it's because the name “Elizabeth” is too feminine and she doesn't want to show her gender preference. She looks confused the way she frowns.
I found her in the search results. Her profile picture is an ordinary selfie that a normal girl would take. “Alright,” I say after pressing the friend request button. “done.”
“I'll accept it later.”
“So, I need to go now. It's getting dark and we have something to do tomorrow.”
“Sure.” She goes stretching her back and lying down on the sofa. “Don't forget to lock the door.”
“I will,” I nod, picking up my bag from the sofa then walk to the door.
“Wait!” she calls out just as I touched the doorknob. Her phone is ringing.
“What is it?” I ask with a sigh.
She's looking at her phone as she says, “Mom and Dad are calling me!”
“So what?”
“Just stay here for another moment. They might- Oh, I was right.” She closes her eyes and sighs. “They want to see ‘my boyfriend’.”
“Just tell them you haven't had one yet since you're new here.”
“I already told them about you yesterday!”
“What?! Ugh...,” I groan, walking back to the sofa. I guess I have no choice. I sit beside her. “Do they know who I am?”
“Y... yeah...,” she stammers, looking at the phone. She hesitates to answer it.
“Will this be a video call-”
“Shh!” she shushes as she answers it. This'll be awkward—I can tell.
Clearing her throat, she smiles just as the screen turns on, showing her parents. In a casual girlish manner, she greets them in Japanese. I couldn't make out what they're saying until she gestures her hand to me. She's introducing me. So, I bow like in their customs and smile as naturally as I can. This is awkward, looking at their faces as they look at me.
Her parents are older than mine. They're approaching their elder years as some of their hair is grey but their smiles are still bright.
“Hello, Kevin,” says Mrs. Tokunaga. “Do you still remember us?”
“Uh..., yes, Mrs. and Mr. Tokunaga,” I answer. “It's nice to see you again.”
“As do I,” she smiles.
“So,” says Mr. Tokunaga with a serious face. I shiver a little. “I'm guessing that you two already had s*x. That's good,” he nods, satisfied.
NOT EVEN AN OUNCE OF HESITATION!!!
“OTO-SAAAN!!!” Eli screams then scolds him in Japanese.
His serious face turns into a smile. “My bad,” he says.
It's definitely your bad, old man! Why the hell would you say that?!! A normal dad would be furious if he finds out that a guy had se- uh... did something inappropriate to their daughter! Not be proud of it!
But if you insist I will gladly- Argh!! This stupid mind of mine again!
“Both of you don't have to be shy about it,” says Mrs. Tokunaga. “It's normal in a relationsh-”
“Stop!” yells Eli.
Is this the Tokunaga couple we met years ago? As I remember, they were polite and so fun to talk with. Now, they're very weird! Super weird!
“Can we talk about something else, Mrs. and Mr. Tokunaga?” I ask, hoping to talk about other things to blow away the awkward air.
“Alright,” Mr. Tokunaga says. “what are your plans for the future, boy?”
It's far-fetched but better than talking about “that.”
“Uh... achieve a degree in physics,” I answer.
“That's good,” he nods, folding his arms. “We can arrange Japanese lessons for you so that you can teach here in Japan.”
What is he saying? “I'd rather teach here, Mr. Tokunaga.”
“Live here and take our surnames. Also, I want to see my grandkids every day.”
This is hopeless!! I lean to the side to hide my unsettled face from them. What is wrong with him?!! I look at Eli and shake my head slowly, begging her to end the call. Instead, she pulls me back to the camera.
She grins, hiding how she finds this awkward. Then she says, “We're still knowing each other, Dad. Don't go overboard with it.” She sounded like she could kill someone.
“But both of you known each other since you were little, right?” Mrs. Tokunaga reasons. “Then you guys can just go ahead and have se-”
“Stop, Mom! STOP!!! Both of you are acting like weird people!”
Wow. I thought no one could be more naughty than her that makes her immune to teasing with this kind of stuff. I guess this is the only time that she's in this position. Her parents are so shameless talking about it unlike her.
“How is your place, my daughter?” her mother asks. “Is it fine?”
“Yes, it's fine,” she answers, looking to the side.
“That's good. How about your parents, Kevin? Are doing fine?”
“Yes, Mrs. Tokunaga,” I answer. “they're doing fine. Thank you for asking.”
“I'm glad. If possible and if the time is right, can you let us talk to them?”
“I'll do that, Mrs. Tokunaga.”
“Thank you,” she bows.
“You're welcome,” I bow back.
“I'm glad that you found each other again. You two were inseparable when you were kids after all. I see that both of you are still going along just fine even after so many years. I couldn't be more thankful that my daughter ended up with someone like you, Kevin.”
Ah... that flatters me so much that I couldn't say anything.
“Be her man, Kevin,” says Mr. Tokunaga.
I can sense their overwhelming support. But no... all of this is just an act of ours.
“That's all we have to say for now,” says his wife. “We just wanted to know that both of you are doing fine. We'll see both of you again.”
“See you again,” I mutter. Then the three of them say their farewells in their language.
Eli ends the call and frowns at me. Pointing at my face, she threatens, “Forget all of what you just heard or you're good as dead.”
“I want to but I can't. And by the way, your parents are crazy!” I sprang up from the sofa, grab my bag, preparing to leave.
“I know that better than you do!” she yells. Her face is red—that I thought she could never do.
“Goodbye,” I mumble, opening the door and leaving.
- Writer
