Holy: Book 4

A Late Warning

Naru walked with me in the sun and bought me a strawberry crepe at a stand in the park. He even gave me a soft kiss on the cheek, despite the fact that we were in public, and he didn't let go of my hand once. While we sat beneath a tree, watching some kids play on the playground, he called up his mother and asked her to come and get me.

"I think you've done enough for now," he said after hanging up. "But I'd rather not leave you alone. You do better around people, so go do something fun with my mother. I'll wrap up the case."

"You aren't just trying to keep me away from John, are you? Don't you feel bad for him?"

"I should. And maybe I am. But I mean what I said. I'll see you tonight."

We chatted of lighter things until his mother arrived in a rented red mini Cooper. She smiled at us all the way across the park, and even though his mother could plainly see us, he gave me a chaste kiss upon the lips. Two public shows of affection in one day, wow. I was definitely liking this.

"Be safe."

With that, he handed me off to his mother and left back towards the hotel.

"Oh, Mai-chan, you have something on your cheeks. Did your mascara run?" His mother, as I thought of her though I knew her name was Luella, pulled out what looked like a baby wipe and proceeded to rub a lot harder than Naru had beneath my eyes. Despite the discomfort, I smiled at the motherly action.

"Yeah. I don't really do much with makeup, so Ayako was doing me up."

"Would you like us to hire someone to do your makeup and hair for you on your wedding day? I was going to anyways, but my husband said I should ask first."

"That would be really kind of you, though I hope you know you don't have to."

"Nonsense! I've always wanted a little girl to doll up! Which reminds me, did you ever get a look at the Peninsula's ballroom? What do you think?"

I told her I thought it too grand and happily threw myself into a discussion on wedding venues as we walked back to her mini Cooper. Luella made it easy to forget the nightmares of the past few days as though she were a piece of sunshine and sweets herself. She gave her affection freely to me in little touches on my shoulders and arms and once my cheek in the excuse that she wanted to take a better look at the color of my eyes for dress options. Her fingers were warm and ever soft as flannel.

And yet I couldn't feel at ease. Something didn't feel right, and I couldn't stop thinking about John.

The two of us went to the mall to have a walk around, where we talked about wedding ideas and geeked out over baby clothes. I thought it would go away with time, but it only grew worse until I couldn't focus on anything and even got lost a few times in the conversation.

Finally, Luella asked if anything was wrong, her eyebrows puckered in gentle concern. I hesitated.

"Is there any chance...you would be okay stopping by the hotel? I need to check on something."

"If you're talking about your baggage, Naru mentioned he would bring it back with him."

"It's not that, it's a friend of mine. I'm worried about him. Something happened and I'd just like to check on him, you can come, if you like. I love having you around."

She beamed at hearing I liked having her with me and was more than happy to drive me back to the Tokyo Peninsula and tag along. We crossed the front foyer and into the elevator, where I found myself pulling on my fingers and biting my lip. For some reason, the elevator couldn't move fast enough for me.