Suburban Island IV

Busy Child (Kenji)

Busy Child (Kenji)

-Kenji-

I waited on the other line. My anger started to well up inside. How dare she pull something like this! Does she really think scaring us will work? The screen popped up. There was my daughter-in-law looking at me.

"Hello, Kenji," she said. I glared at her.

"What are you up to now?" I asked.

"So you got my email?" Kate asked.

"Why did you send it?" I asked.

"I'm trying to save you."

"By using fear mongering?"

"Is Annie there?"

"Yeah." I turned to see my granddaughter sitting in her chair. She kept her eyes down to her hands. I turned back to Kate on the screen.

"Don't do this, old man," she said. "I do not want to fight over this."

"We aren't going to fight over this," I said. "Because we aren't going anywhere."

"Come on, old man! Don't do this! I am trying to save you! Why do you keep fighting me like this?"

I gave her a cold look. "You know what this is about."

"Are you going to keep holding that over my head?"

"He was my son!"

"He was my husband! Can't we put it past us now?"

"No."

Kate sighed. "Look, I'm being serious here. I can't lose Annie. I don't want to lose you either. Let me help you."

I sneered at her. "No. You already lost Annie when you tried to kill her."

"Are you really going to hold that over my head?

"I won't forgive you for that!"

"I am not going to do this with you again. Can't you just let it go for once and let me help you both."

I snorted at her. "No."

I hung up the call before she could say another word. I turned around to Annie. She had a worried look on her face. I have seen that face before. Even now, her eyes plead with her mother and I to stop fighting. I waved her off.

"Go off and do something else," I said. Annie didn't even argue with me. She just slid out of her chair and hurried out of her room. I watched as she closed the door behind her. I lowered my head in my forehead.

Damn it.

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It's not that I don't believe my daughter-in-law. I've known all along that we are running out of time. But I can't forgive her for my son's death. He was my only son. I wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for him. He went to America for work. (This was before the pandemic ate up the world.) There he met Kate and got married. I didn't want to leave Japan at the time.

"Come on, dad," my Atara said. "It's not safe there anymore."

"I am not leaving," I said over the phone.

"Things are getting worse in the world," he said. "I don't want to lose you. I've already lost one parent. I don't want to lose another one." Heh. He didn't want to lose me. Where have I heard that one before? Why were he and Kate so obsessed with not losing me? But my son won me over. I left days before Japan became infected by the virus.

I was not used life in America. Arata put me up in a nice house. It was two-story. At first, I stayed in a room downstairs. My beloved son couldn't figure out why.

"We can get you a chair lift," he said. I gave that boy a strange look.

"A chair lift? What do you take me for, boy?" I asked. Arata put up his hands.

"Okay, I get it," he said. "I just want to make things easier for you."

"Don't," I said. "It's insulting to me."

"Okay, okay," Arata said. "I understand."

It was just the three of us for quite some time. Kate and I never got along too well. Why did my son choose her? Arata was a particular child growing up. He loved to read. He had an interest in science and math. But my son didn't have many friends growing up. My wife didn't mind it.

"Just let him be," she said. "He has a bright future ahead of him." I didn't bother to ask how she would know that. I just knew that she would see to it that would happen. I don't know how he would feel about Kate.

My wife encouraged our son's love of science. Arata would go on and on about things he wanted to be when he grew up. It ranged from doctor, fireman, lawyer, policeman, and other brave and interesting career choices. He became none of those. Still, my wife saw him going places. She was never wrong about these things, you know? Anyway, back to how everything fell apart.

Before his death, Arata was working on the floating government at the time. He never got to see it complete. I know it's not Kate's fault but that's not why I am mad at her. The whole Annie business made it worse. I wouldn't let her around my granddaughter. I mean, she did try to kill her.

I shook my head.

I get that she too was grieving. But still, Annie was just a baby. She would've lost her daughter too if I hadn't come in just in time. I still can't trust her around Annie.

I lifted my head. Now, things have changed. I know that we will have to live with her in the sky. As much as I hate it, we don't have a choice anymore. The question is how much time do we have left? I looked at Annie's closed door. I should probably go downstairs and check on the rice. Right...

I stood up and walked out of Annie's room. For the time being, we will just have to live on. I am not looking for the day that I will have to move away to live.