Their Future – Chapter 8

After my lunch with Emi, days fly by with little incident. I go to work, teach, come home, and spend time with Shizune. Occasionally I have lunch with Emi, and we enjoy ourselves, talking about our lives and television and stuff. Those days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and pretty soon it’s December. School is out, and I have more time around the house. I catch up on television that I’ve missed, and read a lot of the books I’ve had lying around for a while. I also, of course, buy presents for Shizune, Emi, Misha and my parents, as well as a few things for my co-workers. Two days before Christmas, Shizune is done with work until the New Year, but not before her work’s Christmas do.

We arrive at the venue, an empty hall not far from her work. I look over at her; while I’ve put on an old tux I managed to find – she berated me for ten minutes for not buying a new one - she’s wearing a ruby red dress that compliments her dark hair and eyes perfectly. She looks so beautiful in the moonlight, and I can’t resist giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. We smile at each other, and lock arms before entering.

The hall is large and well-lit, and there are only a few people around, as Shizune insisted we arrive five minutes early. There’s a buffet-style food station set up on one wall, but neither of us are hungry yet, so we stand to one side.

[There’s practically no one here! Are you sure we’re five minutes early, not fifty?]

Shizune looks unamused [Yes, we’re exactly on time. Other people, however, are not quite as considerate as us.]

We stop signing as we notice a woman approaching us. She’s middle height, slender, with long black hair and thin wireframe glasses. She’s wearing a business suit, making her stand out in comparison to the other guests. Shizune appears to recognise her, and smiles pleasantly. I prepare to sign our conversation, but the woman surprises me by signing herself.

[Hello, Miss Hakamichi. It is a pleasure to see you again. I assume this is your boyfriend?]

[Yes. Hello, I’m Hisao Nakai. As you already know, I’m Shizune’s boyfriend.]

[Of course. I’m Akari Watanabe. I’m a representative of the Togami Corporation. Mr Togami wished to be here himself, but he suddenly had an urgent matter to attend to – something about an old school friend - and so sends his apologies.] At this, Shizune simply nods.

[Anyway, enough business talk. This is a celebration, after all! What plans do you two have for the holidays?]

[I think we just want to relax a little, spend some time with each other and some friends, unless Shizune has a surprise in store?] I glance over to her in mock-hopefulness, and she responds by smirking.

[If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?] We chuckle silently, before turning back to Akari.

[Anyway, what plans do you have?]

[Oh, just work. I’m one of the “lucky” few who work at Togami Corporation year-round. I suppose the company needs to keep things ticking over, after all.]

I frown. [Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Do you enjoy your work?]

She nods. [Oh of course. It’s arduous, but rewarding. It’s funny, but I applied because I thought I’d be having face to face meetings with Mr Togami. I’ve heard a lot of very positive things about him.] It looks like she’s going to continue, but her phone begins to buzz in her pocket. She looks at it, and sighs.

[My apologies, but duty calls! It’s been nice seeing you again, Miss Hakamichi, and nice meeting you, Mr Nakai.] She leaves in a hurry, evidently to carry on working.

[Poor girl; I couldn’t imagine working all year.] Shizune silently nods in agreement.

By now, more people have started to trickle in, and the do is starting to get into full swing. We wander over to the food station, grabbing a few things to sate our growing hungers. After that, the music began to play, a nice, classical waltz, and a thought struck me. I take her hand, and lead her across the floor, where other couples are also beginning to dance.

I slide my arm around her waist, and think back to the dancing lessons we took a year ago. We begin slowly, and awkwardly, and it’s clear she’s struggling to remember as well. But as we continue with the motions, our muscle memory kicks in, and we pick up the pace a little, feeling more comfortable.

As we dance, we’re looking into each other’s eyes. I see myself reflected in those deep, dark, beautiful pools. We whirl around the floor, focused only on each other.

In this moment, like a bolt of lightning, I’m struck by a sudden realisation:

I want to marry her.

I’d been deliberating over it for months, worrying about expenses and the future, when all I needed was to see her, in my arms, looking as beautiful as ever. I imagine us at our wedding, dancing to this very same song, her in a gorgeous white dress, and I wonder how it was even a dilemma in the first place.

The song draws to a close, and I finish off our dance with a kiss, deep and loving. More and more people have come into the hall now, but in this moment, there is only the two of us.

The rest of the night is spent talking to Shizune’s co-workers about their work and holiday plans, eating every so often, and dancing the night away. It’s almost midnight by the time we get away.

We walk down the empty streets of the city, towards the bus stop to catch the final bus of the day. We hold hands the whole way there, making no attempt to communicate. The moonlight shines upon my girlfriend, making her look like an angel. Tomorrow, I decide, I’ll start planning the proposal. I’ll text Emi and Misha to ask for help and advice. For tonight, though, I just want to spend time with my only love.

After the bus, we walk home, shower, and get into bed. I make sure to let Shizune know of my feelings.

[I love you, so much.]