"Be careful not to squish the brownies, Kiori." Miah warns as she steps out of her car and into the crisp cool air of autumn. She tightens her brown coat around her body, shivering as she makes her way to the back door. As she opens the door, Kiori feels the same breeze and holds her arms.
She looks to the desserts and then back to Miah.
"Can I eat one?"
"If we have any left from the bake sale, then yes. But these are for the customers and your class." She tells the girl with a laugh. She pouts but climbs out of the car, grabbing the basket with her.
School ended two days ago for fall break and today her class was having a bake sale for a fundraiser. Miah didn't think so many people would be here today but it seems everyone was wanting pies and cakes for the holidays that were coming up.
Miah always loved baking, even when she was with her ex husband. He sucked at decorating so she would always do it and have him watch. Once they split, she left baking alone, too depressed to even step foot in the kitchen.
Making and decorating these brownies for today made her remember how good she was at it. Kiori had woken up early in the morning while she was adding some finishing touches and helped her before they started bagging them up.
Though, Miah wasn't in the best mood. It's been a week since she and Sugawara had sex but it's almost like nothing changed. Between them anyway.
When she woke up after that night, he was gone. He would still talk with her, but he never mentioned anything from that night. He was actually talking with Rema a lot. She didn't know what they were discussing, but all she knew is the conversation stopped when she entered the room.
It made her extremely suspicious, but right now, she was going to focus on this bake sale for Kiori.
Once the goods were out of the car, the two walked over to the table where a variety of desserts were laid out. From cupcakes to muffins and pies and homemade honeycomb. Her mouth was practically watering.
Miah thought she might just lay out a thousand dollars and take the whole table. "Wow! This is amazing."
The teacher walks over and smiles, "I know right? It all looks so good." She agrees. Miah finds Kiori's name tag on the table and the child places the brownies in her rightful spot.
As she was smiling at the girl, she noticed the name tag that was right next to her. Mairo Sawamura. Her heart drops in her stomach as she frantically looks around, searching for the boy and his father.
Seeing the horribly decorated cookies, she knows that they are here. She starts to feel faint, so she holds onto her stomach as she takes a step back. Moving from the table, she feels Kiori grab her hand.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Miah nods, "Y-Yeah...I'm fine...just...I forgot..." She had forgotten that Mairo was in her class. The young girl turns to her teacher, "Miss Chiro, can you watch my brownies. I have to take my nanny for some air."
The teacher nods and Kiori brings Miah back to her car. Miah felt a little embarrassed about having the young child taking her to her car, but once she was away from the crowd of people, she felt her nerves subsiding.
Kiori notices her skin is pale and hands her a water bottle. "Is it about your son?"
Miah cracks open the tiny water bottle and drowns it like she was taking a shot. She leans against her white car and sighs. "It's been...years since I saw him in person. In my mind, he's still a three year old baby."
"We kids do grow up." She looks to the side, "But we don't forget our moms." Kiori comforts her. "I'm sure Mairo knows you love him and he loves you."
Miah thinks about Kiori's words.
