Transcendence

46: Okaasan (Mother)

This chapter is dedicated to my father.

 Cancer. That word should have crushed her. Would have crushed any other loyal faithful daughter. Instead, she'd pushed it to the back of her mind for the time being.

When all was said and done, she had face planted herself into their bed, shoes hastily ripped off. Then and only then did she allow it to resurface. Your mother has cancer. God forgive the first thought that hit her mind: She deserved it. All of the pain and suffering she'd dealt with as a child was manifesting itself in her mother's body... finally after so long.

God help her, she knew it wasn't right to think like that... but then again... she didn't have no holla for a woman who chose to abandon her...who chose to give her up like she was nothing. Why should she feel sympathy? You have to go to New York. You have to see her. As much as her mind told her so, she felt the stubborn sting of rebellion rise in her chest.

"Baby?" Turning, she locked eyes with Roto who had gladly switched out his suit for some sweatpants.

"Yeah?"

"How...are you feeling?" Sitting up, she sighed.

"I don't even know right now to be honest..." He came to sit next to her on the bed, reaching for her hand.

"We've had an evening... that's for sure."

"Yeah...to be honest...I don't wanna think about it." She pushed off of the bed and came to stand in front of the mirror.

"I don't wanna ruin our night. This is about you and me tonight..." Getting up, he came to stand behind her, gently caressing her shoulders. He didn't say anything as he began to unzip the back of her dress. She closed her eyes and relaxed into his touch.

"Roto..." His lips kissed her neck, drawing her breath.

"I had so much planned for tonight," His fingers drifted across her back, now bare.

"But I'll be patient." Biting her lip she inhaled, body screaming for him. She turned around, lifting her hands to gently push the hair back from his face. The rest of her dress fell in a pool around her feet.

"Baby..." He gently took hold of her cheeks before pressing a kiss to one. He looked up at her, gaze intense.

"This is the final thing we have to face before we can go forward." He slowly lifted up, pulling her into his arms. Heading to the bed, he lowered her gently. He kissed her deeply, possessing her breath for a sweet moment. Pulling away, he soon left her alone, laying on the bed, fingers tight on the sheets. After a while, she slipped into some shorts and a tank top. Mind clearer, she went into the bathroom and for the longest, she just stared. One last hitch in the road to tackle.

***

When the morning came, they found themselves packing a suitcase and getting ready for their flight, set to depart in a few hours.

"Ready babe?" He asked, coming into the bedroom. She put her hair up in a high puff and nodded, smiling up at him.

"Ready Freddy." He pecked her on the lips and like that, they were headed to New York, Brooklyn in their sights.

***

It had taken 14 hours but they'd made it. They'd gotten into a company car and the whole ride was quiet. They were beyond exhausted. She looked out of the window, the warm air rustling her curls out of her face. She could feel Roto's hand slide across her thigh and give a reassuring squeeze.