A Bump in the Road (COMPLETE)

Prolog

As I walked down the street, breeze blowing through my air, I could smell the faint scent of flowers and you could feel the on comings of spring. The seasons passed quickly and it was the second spring since I arrived in Tokyo. I had been on my way back to my Uncle’s bar from running errands and as I thought about this it made me giggle a bit. When I first arrived I was running errands for him and now it had become part of my job. Looking back now it felt like that was ages ago. So many things had happened in this past year and I could recall all the happy memories I had made with the man that I had fallen in love with.

When I had first arrived in Tokyo after my college graduation and after the funeral of my mother, my Uncle had taken me by surprised by telling me that he would help me find work if I promised to help one of his friends. That meant that I had to pretend to be that friend’s wife for as long as needed. I wasn’t sure why at that moment, but I had picked the smart-mouthed Yamato and after learning about his problem and all his quirks, I had begun to fall for him. It was thanks to him that I was able to move on from my mother’s death and become the person I was today.

As I passed by a shop, I stopped for a moment to take a look at the display. It was the same shop I had passed a year ago, but this year’s bridal gown was slightly different; it was a simple dress with intricate lace and beading, but it was so beautiful. Smiling to myself, thoughts of my own wedding came into my mind. Though we hadn’t officially announced our engagement, Yamato and I both decided that we wanted to get married in a few years. All the details were neatly compiled in my mind and some were even in a notebook that my brother Kyo kept in his possession at all times. After we sorted out the little issue we had with his anger at the whole situation he was right on board with the whole wedding idea. I think it was because he felt like his older sister was finally going to be truly happy.

After a few more minutes of walking I arrived at Long Island and saw immediately that Yuta, our friendly neighborhood comedian, was sitting at the bar.

            “Welcome back Lorien,” Uncle smiled, “thanks for running errands again,”

            “It’s no problem,” I said as I placed the groceries in the fridge, “how’s it going Yuta? I didn’t expect to see you here at this hour,”

            “I just finished shooting for today,” Yuta took a sip of his drink, then looked over at Uncle, “did you hear that Kyon is back in Japan?”

            “Oh, yea, Kyon,” Uncle shrugged.                         

            “I can’t believe Kyon is a diplomat now, it’s amazing,”

Who what this Kyon person they were talking about? In the year that I had lived here they had never once talked about him nor had he ever come into the bar or to any of the baseball games.

            “I wonder if he’s changed any,” Yuta continued.

            “I wonder the same. I’m looking forward to seeing him again,”

            “We should invite him here one of these days,”

            “That sounds like a great idea,”

            “Um,” I finally spoke up, “who’s Kyon?”

It was evident that they hadn’t heard my question because it was drowned out by screaming coming from one of the many tv’s Uncle had in the bar. Looking over, I saw a very handsome man was being shown surrounded by screaming women; an entertainment reporter referred to him as “the prince of flower arrangement”. Racking my brain, I vaguely remembered seeing him in a magazine I read a few weeks ago. According to the reporter, who was giving an exclusive look at the arranger’s exhibit, he had just revealed that he was engaged.

            “So he’s getting hitched too?” Yuta looked a little sad, “sounds like royalty,”

            “It really does,” I nodded.

            “Hey Lorien,” he laughed a little, “I’ve been thinking, do you find other men attractive even though you’re about to get married?”

            “What?!”

            “Yea,” Uncle nodded, “you were awfully interested in that handsome flower arrangement guy,”

            “Are you having second thoughts?” he got up close to my face.

            “Of course not!” I pushed him away, feeling a bit angry.

            “Well if you two ever have a fight feel free to come live upstairs of the bar,” Uncle chuckled a bit.

            “I don’t think we ever really fight now that I think about it,” I thought for a moment, “even though we’ve been living together this whole time,”

            “It’s still hard to believe that you’ve been here for a year,” he nodded to himself.

            “You got accustomed to us so quickly too,” Yuta smiled.

            “Well that’s because you guys are all so awesome and supportive,” I smiled genuinely.

It was true, no matter what happened they were all there for Yamato and me. Each had been supportive of my conflicted feelings last year and all of them had helped with my rocky emotions when I was still going with things about my mom. They all had turned into my closest friends.

            “I think we should have an anniversary party for Lorien,” he looked at Uncle, “get the whole gang together for a night of partying,”

            “You guys don’t have to do that,”

            “I think that is a fantastic idea!” Uncle smiled, pulling out his phone to call everyone.

            “Could you call your hubby for us?” Yuta smirked at me.

            “He’s not my hubby yet,” I blushed as I pulled out my cell phone.

I had no idea just how exciting these next few months were going to be.