Between Him and Her

So Sleepy

Ryuuhei walked early morning towards Liya's apartment. The early morning chill was in the air. Good thing the schools were closed so there wouldn't be any crowd on their way to Yasuyuki's home. He had his guitar case slung over his shoulders and his overnight bag in his hand. He saw Liya sitting outside on the steps in front of her apartment building. She had her earphones on listening to music as was customary. Her backpack was on her shoulders. Her glasses slipped down her nose; she pushed them up.

"Ohayo!" Ryuuhei called out. Startled, Liya quickly stood up removing her earphones and greeted back.

"Ohayo, Ryuuhei-san." Liya waved at him.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"Yes," she answered patting her shoulders. "You are bringing your guitar."

"Hm! My friend, Yasuyuki, plays the harmonica. He will expect me to bring my instrument as well," Ryuuhei said. "What were you listening to?" He pointed to her earphones.

"Oh, this?" She said, "I was listening to some old songs in my language."

Ryuuhei looked questioningly at Liya. She gazed down at her playlist. As she was on the steps, they stood head to head. She moved one earphone to his ear and played a soft melodious Indian music.

Liya knew she had surprised him when Ryuuhei slightly stepped away. But she kept her steady gaze on him, and he watched her back. He moved his ear towards the earphone watching her face. Then he listened to the music with his eyes closed.

"It's beautiful." He turned to her and said. "Shall we go?"

She nodded her head and stepped down to the road.

Taking the 7.10 train out to a couple of stations down, Ryuuhei and Liya made it to Yasuyuki's house in good time. On the train, they had sat next to each other in one of the middle compartments. Other passengers had watched them albeit surreptitiously. But they could feel the questioning glances. It wasn't often they got to see a half couple together.

When Yasuyuki had opened the door for them, he had also stared at them as well. Well stared at Liya at least. She had introduced herself to Yasuyuki in the customary fashion of Japanese culture and given a gift to Kumiko as well. Ryuuhei smiled indulgently. Liya had asked about what his friends would like, and she had prepared an appropriate gift for them.

Yasuyuki and Kumiko were surprised, but they were very welcoming towards Liya. Kumiko had told Liya how Japanese-poi she was. Liya attributed her Japanese-poi to all the lessons Ryuuhei had taught her.

Four of them set out soon after. Yasuyuki and Kumiko sat up front in the van they were traveling while Ryuuhei and Liya occupied the back passenger seats. In the very back, they had other things packed as well. Thirty minutes into their road trip, Kumiko turned back to tell them they were stopping by a lovely riverside to have a small barbecue picnic.

Ryuuhei and Liya were aptly surprised and dismayed that they hadn't prepared anything for barbecue. Ryuuhei forced Yasuyuki to stop at a convenience store. Both he and Liya went in to buy some bottled drinks and snacks.

"Yasu always does this," Ryuuhei told Liya shaking his head.

"It is okay. I think it is nice of Yasuyuki-tachi for planning one. Otherwise, we would have stopped at another restaurant before we went to another restaurant. This way we can have some home-cooked food" Liya said. Ryuuhei looked at her and smiled in reply.

Close to mid-afternoon, Yasuyuki had managed to get them to the riverside camping area on the way. Both men prepared the bbq grill as the girls got the veggies washed and cit for the grilling. Kumiko had prepared the marinated meat.

Liya went to Ryuuhei with his drink as he stood over the grill fanning the flame under the warm sun. He was slightly sweating from the heat. She gave him the cool beer which he accepted with a "Maido." It was Kansai dialect for thank you.

Kumiko and Yasuyuki were sitting and taking a break. Liya turned to look at them. Following her gaze, Ryuuhei also watched them. They were a happy couple. Kumiko was laughing and playfully swatting at Yasuyuki for something he had said to her earlier.

"They are a cute couple," Liya admired.

"Yes, they have been married for some ten years now," Ryuuhei acknowledged.

"Were they high school sweethearts?" Liya asked.

"Yes," Ryuuhei answered. He went back to fanning the flame.

"Please let me do it for a while," Liya asked for the fan in Ryuuhei's hand. "You take a break."

"No, it is alright," Ryuuhei said.

"No, please. Ryuuhei-san can stand next to me and drink the beer," Liya told him.

Giving the fan to her, he stood beside her and watched over her. "Don't fan too much." "Yes, that's right."

Yasuyuki looked behind him to see how Ryuuhei and Liya got along. He had a slight frown. He turned to Kumiko, "Do you think he likes her?"

Kumiko turned to look behind as well. She had a small smile. "He is smiling. Of course, he likes her. But I don't know if it is the like that you think it is."

"She is a foreigner," he said as if that determined what kind of person Liya was.

"So? If anything, it will help Ryuu-chan get over his past and move on. He is with a person now." Kumiko said placatingly.

Liya called the couple over when the meat was ready. She served everyone and distributed diced fruits in drinking cups. The ladies made sure both men had equal shares. By the time they had finished cleaning up and storing everything back in the van, Liya was tired. Yasuyuki had already had a small nap after his lunch. He napped on Kumiko's lap saying his wife's lap was the best pillow a husband could have had. Ryuuhei and Liya had taken a quiet stroll along the riverside.

Getting in the van, Liya felt sleepy that she yawned many times and nodded off a couple of times. But she woke up though every time her head hit the window pane or if she lurched forward. She was a restless sleeper. Tired of her constant movement, Ryuuhei pulled her along his side laid her head on his lap. Ryuusei murmured her to go to sleep with a hand patting her head. Yasuyuki drove, but he was also attuned to what was happening in the back as well. He raised his eyebrow at Kumiko. Her eyes were wide as well.