His Memories of Her

27th

“You are early, are you done with your previous plan?” Rich said.

“Yeah, I just got done a few seconds ago.” Irene replied with a smile as she sits beside her brother.

“Seconds? What do you mean by that?” Rich said in wonder.

“Yeah, really it was great when you told me this morning that we would hold this meeting here since my plan is also here.” Irene said mischievously giggling.

“You did what?” Rich said with wide eyes.

Irene continued giggling, so happy that she manages to make advantage of her brother before she said “Well, I did not ask you to, it is you who decided the place.” And turn her gaze towards to her brother’s glass of beer and take one good gulp down before she looks up straight in front of her.

Rich looks at her, watches her as to how she would react seeing the face of the person sitting in front of them while Irene’s face looks so surprise, her brown eyes went as wide as they could not leaving Henry’s face who is also looking at her at the same manner, same state as he looks back at her.

Henry who has been looking at the girl in front of him from the moment he turned his head to look towards the source of the most familiar woman’s voice to him. From that moment he forgot to breath even, he is catching up his breath as his heart started to throb, the beating that have risen up every second of him staring at her with both surprise and longing. Surprise of how she turned out to be that he longs for the her she used to be in the past.

At the good amount of time, he stared at her while she talks so happily with her brother, he somehow understood by what rich have mentioned of changes in her. Her face for instance, it is not that big of a change but since he used to stare at her in the past that every nook of her face is a like a map to him that he knows very well like the back of his palm. And now seeing her nose that the only thing has changed aside from certain other parts of her face, he could guess more or less that the something happened to her to make these physical changes in her. Making it seems like she has become another person but not at the same time, because of her brown eyes and small mouth with her red small pouty lips that he has been staring at while she is talking with her brother.

“Nice meeting you senpai!” Irene said with a mischievous smile as she extends her hand while Henry is looking at her in confusion

“Sorry, I just could not help teasing you. I would have never thought that you are the person my brother has been talking about Dr. Altman.” Irene said.

“You, said it right. No wonder that when I first met you, I thought you seem familiar, felt familiar that I became interested to you. But if you would only like to tell me, what is senpai means Dr.  Catherine Stevens?” Henry said extending his hand with a face that seems something in his mind is going on, thoughts that are over flowing but decided to set it aside and think about it later.

“Senpai means upper classman in Japanese. Is that so? Then I guess this also explains the familiarity I feel towards you that even though with the fact that you act so persistent, I still could not bring myself to push you away.” Irene said.

“Oh, then I guess I should be thankful for that. But how come it is not Irene is the nickname you use anymore?” Henry said looking so calm and normal.

“Oh, it is just that someone in Japan gave me the other one, I liked it so I am using it, well aside from my brother who refused to do so.” Irene said with a smile after taking another sip from her brother’s glass finishing it to tell the truth.

“Why? I mean why did he or she called you in your new nickname?” Henry said asking with surprisingly natural and flat tone.

That made Rich looks at him, though the truth is that he has been staring at him, switching his gaze in between his sister and Henry who is talking just fine, calmly like there is nothing going on, like it is just a simple gathering of friends.

“Well, you know that not all of Japanese people knows how to speak English that well, so one of my classmates there started calling me Cast. is what it sounds but he told me that it is the first four letters of my name which is Cath and since then I have been using it and everyone there seems to be more comfortable in that way.” Irene said giggling from remembering how Cath of a nickname of her was born.

Henry stared at her with so many things in his mind going on, running wild with his thoughts that even he himself is not sure whatever they are. He just keeps staring at her listening to her talking and most of all her giggles that he used to love and came to love once again when the Cath in front of him right now.

“So, you have known that it was me?” Irene said looking into the eyes of Henry who just keeps on looking at her, watching her making faces in each and every word she says.

“No, the first time I just thought ‘is that you' but never really got the chance to prove it since you have been running away from me.” Henry said making a pitiful tone at the end going along with his expression after finally getting aware that he did not answer or said anything back to her and feel her gaze that is chilling but not in any bad way but in fact in a very warming way.

Irene giggled seeing him and hearing him. Before she faces her brother and said “Both of your glasses are empty. So now, I think it is time for you to get new ones and get my first.” Handling him Henry's glass and glaring at him like a kid who did not follow her command.

Henry could not help but to smile and said “I would have never thought that this day would come.”

“What day?” Irene and Rich said in sync.

“That I will be seeing you guys interacting to each other like this. I did not know in those years that you guys are like this.” Henry said with his little chuckle.

“Really? Never? Even once? My brother told me that you have known me in all those missing years in my head. And those are three years.” Irene exclaimed to Henry before throwing another look to his brother.

“Well, I was afraid of your brother at that time, I have talked to him a couple of times but never been with you. He would just give me dagger looks when you are around and glare when you are not.” Henry said looking into Irene's eyes telling her these things that have happened in the past.

Irene giggled before giving his brother a light smack on his shoulder and said “I thought it was only when we were in Japan that you acted like that.”

“It is not true though. I just look and stare at him practicing my psychic intuition, reading his actions that was needed in what I was studying that time.” Rich said defensively.

“If I would have known that I was being your guinea pig, I would have been more scared. By the way, have you finished the prosecutor study that time?” Henry said sounding like a joke in the first half of his sentence.

“I will just go and get myself a beer. It seems that you guys have a lot more to catch up than me.” Irene said jokingly as she picks up the glasses.

“Sorry.” Rich and Henry both said to her while chuckling until she stood up and walk away from them towards the pub counter.

“Thank you.” Rich said.

“Even if you did not join us, I will not ambush her with all those things, I told you that I am just happy to know that she is great and seeing her everyday at work having a great days, which is really a shock turn of events, is enough.” Henry said looking at Rich with full of sincerity towards the sorry man.

 “So, she is having fun right now. I am so happy to know that and to know that you guys close to each other right now, I feel comfortable leaving her.” Rich said.

“Leaving her? Why are you leaving her?” Henry said.

“Well, I told you that my wife’s family is there and so I needed to go back with my son and wife. It is hard to leave her here alone, but you know I just could not abandon my wife and son just because I still worry for my sister who is old enough to have her own family.” Rich said.

Henry looks at him with all of his attention and concentration did not want to miss anything in the loud music in the background and the crowd but his eyes suddenly went wide by hearing a certain word which he said it out loud. “Alone?”

Rich who look at him surprised by his yelling of one single word making his shock change into wonder and confused making him ask him “Why?”

“She has a kid, right? I mean she brought here once, on her first day here. And I just remembered how rude I went to her that day!” Henry said in desperation that quickly turns into depression remembering how their first day went. Slapping his face with his palms and rested it on them.

“What?” Rich said in disbelief.

“Here you men!” Irene said exclaiming as she came back with a tray on her hands containing three glasses of beers one each of them.

Rich quickly looked at her while Henry kept his face buried on his palm making Irene look both at them with wonder and so she said “What had happened in fifteen minutes I have gone to get us beers?”

“You have a kid? How come I did not know of this?” Rich exclaimed that made Henry look up and see the upset look on Rich’s face and surprised on Irene.

“Kid? What kid?” Catherine said taking a gulp of her beer.

“A kid that you brought on your first day of working here which made him approach you rudely.” Rich said pointing to the depressed Henry who is looking at both of them.

Catherine followed his finger and look at Henry who looks at her back straight into her eyes as she tries to remember her first day that happened a month ago. Her gaze tighten as her mind tries to hit that certain day and the closer it gets the smile on her face grows bigger and bigger until she laughs. She laughs so hard that she left both of the men speechless while they look at her who is laughing hysterically all by herself.

 “The kid he is talking is the only kid you know.” Catherine said in between of her laughs that it is almost hard to understand or so it seems as Rich lean closer to her because he could not hear it clearly due to loud music and the crowd.

“It is Ryu. And that day, you do remember that it was his annual checkup. You had to step out because you got a call, Mika did not come with us because she has a flu so I was the one who looked out of Ryu who suddenly run out while I talk to his pediatrician and it was that time that Henry met him and thought he is my son whom I could not look out properly making him the rudest man I have ever met. I even told you that I met a rude man when you came back to pick Ryu.” Catherine said explaining to Rich the misunderstanding on his side.

She did not know that Henry also have leaned closer to them that when she turns her head to look towards Henry. Only by then she found out that his face is just so close enough. Their faces are close to each other, only one centimeter away their lips are from each other making them look at each other with wide eyes due to surprise but it soon changes, Henry’s changed faster as his gaze went downwards until they drop to Catherine’s lips and it seems that Catherine is doing the same thing. They are both doing the same thing at the same time that Rich did not do anything except to look away and pretend like he does not see them although he does see them, could get a glimpse of them could get a glimpse of them and he is waiting, or so it seems until he sigh in disappointment when he sees both of them just leaned away from each other.