Tokyo Seduction (Book 1 Of The Gaijin Series)

Chapter 74

They arrived at Kairakuen Gardens at One o'clock and decided to eat lunch at the restaurant in the grounds of the gardens before exploring. Mimi had stuffed herself full to bursting and was regretting her glutinous behaviour as they walked towards the Tokiwa Shrine.

Lacing her fingers in Hatori's hand she marvelled at all the plum trees understanding why it was one of the three great gardens of Japan. As they silently walked towards the shrine Mimi tried to quiet her mind by focusing on the crunching sound her shoes made against the gravel path. However, it was all in vain. Her mind was a bee hive of activity churning over what she heard earlier, what happened last night and most of all the dark cloud Hatori seemed to be under.

They passed through the courtyard of small shops that led to the shrine, the silence between them grew and Mimi felt as if she might drown in it. Needing the cut through it she started, rambling. "It's such a pity that none of the trees are in bloom. I bet its breath taking.

"I envy your childhood for having this on your door step. Back in L.A. you had the Japanese gardens at the Huntington and the Suiho En. But I was never really allowed to visit them." Thinking about the past sent a twinge in her wrist. It was such a foreign, yet still familiar, sensation she was momentarily distracted and stopped walking as she looked down at her wrist.

Hatori tilted his head to the side and seemed to come back to the here and now. Stroking her cheek he lifted her wrist and gave it a kiss. "Hey, what's brought all this on?"

She knew he was asking about her anxiety and her wrist. Even though she hadn't scratched her writ she could tell he was concerned. "It's nothing really," she tried to reassure him.

"You rarely talk about your family, Mimi, and I get it. But if my mom's behaviour has stirred up your anxiety or painful issues with your family you have to tell me. I don't want you leaving me in the dark."

The look he gave her was so heartfelt it sent a pang of guilt through her. She could see she was causing him pain and that was the last thing she wanted. Mimi would have rather ripped off a limb or even face her mother than cause him pain.

She sighed and pulled him along toward the shrine. Closing her eyes for a moment sorting through her memories and thoughts she plucked one out. "When I moved back from England I was left pretty much on my own. My siblings had their own lives and never had any time for me. As for my parents well my mother loathed me and what little attention she threw towards me was always cruel and aggressive."

She took a shuddering breath; it was still had to talk about her adolescence. "My father. . ." A shiver slowly crawled its way up her spine thinking about her father. "He was not a good man." She had to chew back the disgust she felt for that man, to stop herself from retching. Taking a few deep breaths she continued. "When I came back he didn't like how independent and free spirited I had become and caged me like a bird. My mother was jealous of all the attention he was showing me and after a while she made sure I was isolated from all of the family.

"After that I was left pretty much on my own and only allowed to venture out to a very small preapproved area. I only visited those gardens once and that was on a school fieldtrip."

Hatori wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they walked under the huge Tori at the entrance of the shrine. "Hatori, don't worry about what your mom said. I won't lie and tell you it didn't hurt because it did. But it's nothing I'm not used to."

"Thank you for trusting me enough to share some of your painful past. I wish I could wash the past and all the bad things that happened to you away. I understand you don't like talking about the past but I you to know that if you want to talk about you can. I love you, Mimi and nothing you tell me will ever change that.