This is the story of Ayame, a young artistic gymnast who, due to a stroke of fate, can no longer practise her sport. In search of a new purpose in life, she comes to Sendai from her home town of Sapporo by chance to work in the house of a famous fig...
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Two weeks had passed since then. Ayame completely blocked the night's encounter out of her thoughts. Yes, it had initially preoccupied her more than she would have liked. But she flipped the switch again and concentrated intensively on her work. She was glad that she felt so good about her new job and that she really enjoyed what she was doing.
She had established a routine for Yuzuru that was well-structured and regular. Just as his doctor had prescribed. She did all the housework, tidied up, cleaned, did the laundry, ran errands and did the shopping. She took the load off of him completely and made sure he kept to his sleep schedule.
She cooked three meals a day, always from fresh ingredients and with maximum nutritional content. During her gymnastics career she had acquired enough knowledge in dietetics and she could now offer him, the professional athlete, everything he needed to get fit again for his sport and, in Yuzuru's case, also his art.
They always ate their meals together. They had nice conversations without going into too much depth, but they quickly got used to a friendly tone. That felt good because it didn't feel like a working relationship at all.
Yuzuru told her about his career and that he wanted to create something new again as soon as he felt better. She saw that he quickly became enthusiastic, but did not yet have any concrete ideas.
There were often moments that made him seem sad. She quickly realized how exhausted he was from years of working in his world of figure skating, which he loved so much. This world had demanded too much of him. He seemed empty.
Ayame remained attentively at Yuzuru's side, deliberately refraining from intensifying direct contact with him outside of mealtimes. She instinctively sensed that he simply needed time to reorganize his world. And the professional distance was also good for her to really settle into her new role.
Every now and then she would see him sitting on the couch after their meals, completely lost in thought while she tidied up the kitchen. Often with his headphones on, he would stare blankly into nowhere or scribble something in his notebook. Sometimes he didn't stay long, thanked her again for the meal and left the shared living area.
***
It was the Monday of the third week since she had been in Sendai with Yuzuru. Ayame wanted to escape the heat and do something, go somewhere where it might be cooler. So before breakfast, she looked at the shared calendar that was always to hand in the living room.
Yuzuru had set up this paper version of the calendar especially for her and explained to her right at the beginning that he would enter everything that was important here. All his appointments, at the moment almost exclusively with doctors and his therapists. This should make it easier for Ayame to plan her free time, as Yuzuru gave her a completely free hand.
Ayame knew that he saw his trusted doctor, Yashida-sensei, regularly. She was glad to know that he was well looked after. Now she saw that he had an appointment with the same doctor in the morning and she decided to ask him if she could take the day off.
She was preparing breakfast, porridge with almonds and fresh strawberries, when Yuzuru came down to greet her.
"Good morning, Ayame! I hope you slept well?" "Good morning, Yuzuru, thank you, yes, I did."
Ayame didn't hesitate for long and asked him freely. "Can I take the morning off? I saw that you have a doctor's appointment today and I'd like to get out into the countryside for a bit and escape the heat. I can take the bus and be back in time for lunch."
"Of course, Ayame. That's a very good idea. I can also order something for lunch. Or are there any leftovers from yesterday?" Yuzuru immediately looked in the fridge. "Yes, there's plenty left over from the gyoza you made yesterday. Perfect! Then take the afternoon off too!"
Ayame laughed. She knew by now that Yuzuru would do almost anything for gyoza.
"I was actually going to freeze them for you so I'd have some there quickly if you really needed them," she joked. "But I'll just make some more soon, so go ahead and take them and make yourself a fresh salad, okay?"
"Sounds fantastic.""Very good, then I'll be back in time for dinner. If you need anything, give me a call. You've got my number." "That won't be necessary," Yuzuru confirmed, and they sat down at the counter for breakfast as usual.
