Misty is starry-eyed. "I wish I had a romantic story to tell about me and Ash, but I fished him out of some stupid pond." She says, looking over at Ash. I laugh at the two of them and put my arm lovingly around my wife.
Sakura smiles and holds my hand. It's gotten quite late, almost 10:00 and I hope Ayame's having fun at her prom. I'm sure she is, she's with her friends. There's a knock the door and I stand up, wondering who could be coming by at this hour.
Much to my surprise, it's my daughter and her friends. Channing and Pierre are holding Robert up and he looks badly bruised and bloody. I'm shocked. "Holy shit, what happened?"
Ayame is in tears and she hugs me as soon as she gets inside. "Daddy, some guys beat Robert up. We rushed home as fast as we could, but he says he doesn't want to go to the hospital, so we brought him here. Maybe you can look at him."
"Alright, well, get him over to the couch." I tell Channing and Pierre. Robert's struggling to get to his feet, but they keep dragging the floor. He must have really taken an ass kicking, so I go upstairs and retrieve my medical supplies. The good thing is, his eyes are responding to light and he's conscious, so I think he'll be alright.
"My rib is killing me!" He exclaims. "I think it's broken."
"Don't move, Robert." I tell him. "Has anyone called his parents?"
"Yea." Channing tells me. "We called his mom on the way here. She's going to pick him up and take him to the hospital. We hope you don't mind, but we gave her this address."
"Nah, I don't mind." I inform him. Sakura brings in extra pillows to elevate his head. He's luck he's still got all his teeth, but he seems to be bleeding from his nose. "Sakura, get me a cold rag and some towels please."
She rushes upstairs to get the things I ask for and I finally sit down again. We have to work to keep Robert awake, if he's bleeding from his nose, he could have a possible head trauma and I know from experience that these patients aren't supposed to fall asleep.
Sakura comes back and I wipe the dried blood trailing from his nose back to his ears with the cloth and instruct him to hold the cloth up to his nose. He does so, very weakly.
My wife sits next to me. "Who could have done such an awful thing?"
"We don't know." Pierre says. "Just a group of random guys. We're not real sure."
There is another knock at the door and I assume it's Robert's mother. Sakura answers the door and invites the woman in. I almost fall over when I see who it is, Ash and Misty are also holding their breath and I can feel the thick tension in this room. My wife and daughter don't know who she is, but I do, all too well.
It's Felina Ivy. She's standing in my living room and it's the first time I've seen the woman in person since I left that day on Valencia Island. "Brock Harrison?" She asks, sounding quite surprised. I don't know if she's as genuinely surprised as I am, but she was convincing.
"W-What are you doing here?" I ask. Sakura and Ayame exchange a perplexed glance and have probably figured out by now that I know this woman. Apparently, they haven't put two and two together yet. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing yet.
"Well, my son was beat up at his high school prom." Ivy responds. "That's why I'm here. I assume this is your house?"
My jaw is frozen and I can't speak. I just look over at Sakura. I'm panicking inside and my neck feels hot, my skin is wet with a thin film of perspiration and I wonder if Ash or Misty will say anything.
"Yes, this is our house." Sakura says, growing suspicious. "I'm Sakura Harrison, Brock's wife."
Ivy is leaned over Robert and she peers back at my wife with a sly smile. "Professor Felina Ivy."
The whole room goes silent and I want to sink through the floor. Was this all a scheme to get this woman into my home? I don't know yet. I didn't even know she had a son. Last thing I knew she was messing around with three girls and a strange man, so I don't know what to think at this point.
Misty taps Ash on the shoulder. I hear them whispering behind me and I can't really make out what their saying. I can't make out much of anything right now and I feel as if I'm going to pass out.
Ivy sits down next to Robert.
"Momma?" He asks. "I…I don't need to go to the hospital."
"Yes, Robert, you do." She says, putting her hand over his. This is so surreal to me, but somehow I feel things are about to get worse. Call it intuition, but I think it's because things seems to always get worse when Ivy's around and things aren't always what they seem with that woman.
Sakura beside me and I grab her hand. I'm squeezing it until my knuckles turn white, but she doesn't seem to say anything to me. I just watch.
Finally, Ivy looks up at me with those droopy eyes. "I'm glad you finally got to meet Robert, Brock." She says with a smile.
"Y-yea, he's a nice kid." I say, not sure of what else I could say.
"You know, Brock, I've waited years to tell you this…" She says, standing up. Sakura stands in front of me protectively, but Ivy doesn't seem concerned with that. She doesn't need to be too close to me to tell me whatever it is she's going to tell me, which is probably a good thing.
The room is silent. Ayame is standing with Channing. She knows how serious this is, she knows how much I despise this woman.
"Brock, Robert is your son." She says.
My jaw falls open, Sakura's grip on my hand loosens and I worry. I look over and she's still standing beside me, but I don't know what she's thinking. Actually, I'm not even really sure what I'm thinking. This is bizarre. There is no way that Robert is my son.
He looks nothing like me and…
Well, he could be. After all he is around the same age as Ayame.
Robert grunts in pain. "Momma!"
"Robert!" Ivy exclaims. The confession has still hung in the air and now I feel even worse. That same feeling of dread washes over me. However, my son is seriously injured now and we need to get him to the hospital.
We load him in the back of my truck. It's not the best place to put an injured person, but it will do for now. I'm as cold as stone as we drive to the hospital. Ivy chose to sit in the back and Sakura's in the passenger seat. My hands are gripping the steering wheel so tight it hurts now.
I try my best not to go over any bumps and not to speed. Sakura's silent and I wonder what she's thinking. I've been married to the woman for seventeen years, but I still can't quite tell what she's thinking sometimes.
"Sakura, are you mad at me?" I ask, not sure if I want to hear the answer.
"I guess I'm just shocked." She replies, but I don't relax yet. I can tell by the tone in her voice she has much more to say. "I mean, you…have a child with her."
"Sakura, I didn't know." I confess. I really didn't know. I've had a son for eighteen years and I really didn't know. I realize I'm no better than my father. I didn't grow up without a father, he was there for ten years of my life, but my younger brother's and sister's did for most of the developmental years.
It's a huge blow to my conscious. It breaks my heart to know and I wish Ivy would have told me sooner. I would have done everything I could to take care of him, even if Ivy was the whore she was.
I pull into the hospital parking lot and my own team of medics come and help him out of the back of my truck. I feel better now that he's on a gurney. As a doctor, I know how dangerous it can be to put someone in that position with a broken rib.
My daughter arrives with Channing and her friends just as I sit down in the waiting room. She has tears in her eyes and she looks at me. "Daddy, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, sweetheart." I tell her. I think she's still trying to take in the fact that she has a half brother, and that he's Ivy's son. Despite that fact that Sakura's angry with me, she leans her head on my shoulder. Her hair smells of hairspray, just like my mothers and I close my eyes.
I love Sakura. I love her with all my heart and soul, even if she was to be angry with me and walk out. I'm no better than Flint Harrison, in fact, I'm worse. At least he was married to my mother and didn't leave her while she was pregnant with his child, like I did to Ivy.
I was so young and stupid then. All these years I thought I was a good father to Ayame. I still have her baby photos, her baby shoes, and even some of her toys. I remember when she came into my life, like it was yesterday.
I'm so tired. I've been awake all night. Normally by this time of morning, I'm filming another episode of Pokemon, season three. I'm grateful they actually let me come back after just abruptly leaving like I did to stay with…
Well, I don't want to think about her right now.
However, instead, I'm standing in front of a nursery window, staring at the center crib marked "Harrison". My newborn baby girl is the only one awake in the entire nursery and I see her kicking her legs underneath the tiny pink blanket.
It's early May. I love this time of year. Everything's new and beautiful and I have a whole other reason to love this time of year.
I went in and saw Sakura. She fell asleep on me, so I decided to let her rest and come and watch my daughter. I wish I could sleep, but I'm way too excited. I know in the next twelve hours or so I'll be bringing my baby girl home with me.
I've never been so proud of anything in my entire life. Sure, my father isn't too happy with me because Sakura and I aren't married yet, but we have a wedding date set two weeks from now and I fall more in love with her each and everyday.
A solid figure stands next to me and I look over to see my father. "It's weird isn't it?" He asks. I look over at him, not saying a word. "I remember standing in this same position eighteen years ago, watching you through the window in your little blue blanket."
I'm silent for a moment and I peer back in through the glass. "Is that when you still loved mom?"
It's his turn to be speechless. He sighs and looks at me. "Brock, I've always loved your mother."
"Why'd you leave us then?" I ask, trying my best not to cry. I haven't cried since the day I left Valencia, yet every time I'm around my dad I want to bawl like a baby.
"Brock, I was so messed up back then." Flint tells me. Sometimes, when I talk to him it doesn't feel like I'm talking to my dad, it feels like I'm talking to a stranger. "I thought alcohol and strip bars were more important than my family. One day I got messed up with the wrong crowd and almost got killed, that's when I returned home and allowed you to go and pursue your life."
"You came back too late…" I say. "Mom took off to find you because she couldn't stand to see me handle everything on my own. She died looking for you…I blame you for her death."
He looks momentarily surprised and he looks at me through the corner of his eye. "I have something to tell you Brock…" He trails off for a moment and I wait. "Your mother isn't dead."
I scowl at him and grit my teeth. "You're lying."
"No, I'm not Brock!" Flint tells me, placing his hands on my shoulders. I shrug him off and tear myself away from him.
"Get the fuck away from me, Flint!" I say and I expect him to yell at me. He hated it when I called him Flint, and sometimes I did to just to piss him off, but now I'm doing it because I don't really see this man as my father anymore. I never really saw him as my father.
"Brock, Lola's alive!"
"Shut up!" I say, stuffing my hands in my pockets. I turn away from him and hurry down the hall.
"Brock, wait!" I hear him say. "You can't just run away from your problems!"
I turn back to him and glare. "Why not? You taught me how to…."
The double doors of the hospital open and I see Miroku walk through the doors. I'm surprised and I wonder what the monk is doing here, especially at almost midnight.
"Miroku?" Shiori asks her older brother curiously. "What are you doing here?"
"I came here because I heard there was an incident at your prom." He says, concerned. "Are you and Pierre alright?"
"We're fine." Pierre replies. "It's Robert who got hurt. Some boys beat him up. Me and Channing had to pull the guys off him, but they were too many and we think his rib's broken. Luckily, that's all that was hurt before the police finally got on the job."
Miroku seems somewhat relieved and he hugs Shiori. "I saw it on the eleven O'clock news. They're saying it was a hate crime."
"A hate crime?" Ayame asks. "What kind of a hate crime?"
Miroku shrugs. "They're saying it was because of the guy being gay. I mean, that's what I heard, but…"
"Robert?" Pierre asks. "He's not gay…" He trails off and looks over at Channing. "Is he?"
My daughter's boyfriend just shrugs.
"This is terrible." Shiori says, slumping in her chair. "Even if he was gay, that doesn't give them the right to beat him up and try and kill him."
The back door to the examination room opens and I see Ivy wheeling Robert out in a wheelchair. His eye has blackened and his lips are a little swollen, but she forces a smile when he sees me.
Nurse Joy walks up to me and hands me a file. "I put him on prescription pain medication, wrapped his torso with bandages to keep the fracture in his ribs from worsening and I've given special instructions to his mother to take care of the swelling."
"Nice work, Joy." I tell her, taking the file from her. Even if I'm off duty, I'm still the head doctor here and all my nurses and staff members still depend on me. I excuse myself from the waiting room and retreat back to my office.
A hate crime at my daughter's school? What is this world coming to? Today has been a whirlwind for me. I sit down at my desk and sort through the file before putting it away. I'm curious about a few things. A copy of his birth certificate is inside and I take it out. Ivy never put my name in as the father and I wonder why. Maybe she didn't want me to be able to claim him later. My opinion of Ivy has not changed, and it never will, but I still want to try and get to know Robert and make up for all those years I wasn't there.
Guilt has really reached an all-time high and I want to do everything I can to make it right. If there is one thing my father taught me it's that I'd never want any of my children, rather I knew I had them or not, feeling the way towards me like I did towards my dad.
I'm a married man now. I stand in a large room surrounded by family and friends. I didn't see my father here today at my wedding ceremony, but that's alright. After our fight a couple weeks ago when my daughter was born, I didn't expect him to show up anyway.
Sakura's still in her wedding gown and she looks gorgeous. I don't think I've ever seen anyone look more amazing than she does right now. I'm a very happy man.
We just finished with wedding pictures and I'm glad to say I'm glad this wedding is over with. Not that I didn't want to get married, it's just I want to start my life with Sakura as soon as possible.
I have my back turned and I'm talking with Ash. I hear footsteps behind me and then a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and once again I see Flint Harrison standing in front of me. I take a shaky breath.
"Dad?"
"Congratulations, son." He tells me with a smile.
I try to remain calm and to be honest, I'm glad he's here. Maybe, just maybe, he does care, even a little bit. "Thanks." I say simply.
"Brock, look, I know you're still mad at me for what happened a couple weeks ago, but--"
"I'm over it." I interrupt him. I instinctively prepare myself to be backhanded across my face, but it never comes. He used to hate when I would interrupt him. I guess he really has changed.
Ash must have sensed the tension, because when I turn back around to ignore my father, he's gone. I sigh and face my dad again. He's calm and sober. He hasn't once tried to go for the champagne, and I don't smell the cigarettes on his clothes anymore. If he didn't look so much like myself, I would swear this wasn't my father.
"Brock, I want you to listen to me…" He tells me. "Your mother is alive and she's here."
I freeze. How could my father be so cruel? I have just come to terms with my mother's death not too long ago, now he's telling me that she's alive? "No!" I say. "No, dad. Mom's dead!"
"Brock, I'm man enough to admit I lied, alright?" He says as I wipe a tear away from my eyes. "But she's alive, and she's here. She watched you get married and she's here right now."
I turn away from him and I start to sob. I can't help it, even though I know my father forbid me to cry growing up. He raised me to be as tough as nails, solid like a rock. I expect him to call me a sissy, or gay, but instead, I feel him hug me.
For the first time in my life, my father is actually showing me that he cares and I hug him back. My tears are soaking through his shirt and I see now that my father is just trying to make things right with me again. It may have taken him a while, but he really does care.
I hear a pair of heels come up from behind me and the familiar scent of my mother's perfume. It's like I'm 10 years old again. I look back to see my mother for the first time in five years. She's aged some, but not very much. Her hair's still in the same short, flipped style it's always been in.
There are no words to say to her at this moment. She just hugs me as tight as she possibly can and I hug her back, hoping that, if this is a dream, I hope I don't wake up soon.
"Brock, honey, I'm so proud of you." She says, smiling. "You have a beautiful family and I know you're going to be a great husband and father."
I stare at her for a long moment. I know my mother always believed in me and it's so good to see her again. Still, I'm angry at my father for lying like he did. All these years I thought I never got to say goodbye, that I'd never see my mother again, and now here she is.
I turn to him and take a deep breath. It's my wedding day and I can't afford to be bitter towards anyone, even my father. "Dad, why did you lie to me?" I need to know.
Lola interrupts him before he can speak. She touches my shoulder. "Brock, I left because I felt like I was in your way. I felt like a burden to you. I wasn't strong enough to hold my family together, but you were and I didn't want to be in your way." She looks embarrassed, but she maintains eye contact with me. "Your father only lied to you to protect you. He knew you were out there trying to make a life of your own and he didn't want you to occupy your time looking for me. So he told you I was dead."
"It was the wrong thing to do at the time." Flint says to me, and he puts his arm around my mother. "But I was only trying to protect you. Please understand that, Brock."
I'm silent for a moment and look down to my shiny black shoes. "I understand…" I mutter. Now there is another question burning in my mind. "Are you and mom…back together?" I ask, almost afraid of his answer.
They both smile. "Yes." They reply in unison.
Flint laughs. "I've gotten the help I need to take care of my wife and my family. Lola and I are in love again and we're proud grandparents of a very beautiful baby girl."
I smile. Yes, today really is the happiest day of my life.
My office is quiet. The only light I have on is the small desk lamp illuminating Robert's birth certificate. There is a knock at the door and I hesitate. I'm hoping that's it's not Ivy, I really don't want to talk to her.
I sigh and prepare myself for the possibility. "Come in." I say and the door opens. I breath a sigh of relief when I realize it's just Miroku. I offer him a seat from across my desk and he takes it. "Hey there."
"Hey, Mr. Harrison." He says, relaxing back in his seat. "Sakura asked me to come in here and see how you were. You've been in here for a while."
I glance at the clock, it's half-past midnight and I realize I've been in here just thinking for a half an hour. I sigh and lean back in my chair. I look at the pictures on my desk. Our wedding picture, Ayame's baby pictures, all the way up to her recent senior pictures, and Keiko, who's now in fifth grade. Yes, I have a beautiful family, but it's not complete. Robert's mine to and I'm trying hard to except that.
"I guess I was just thinking." I tell him. "I'm a horrible father, Miroku."
"No you're not." He says, but I don't believe him. I am a terrible father, worse than my own. I don't look at him. I'm too embarrassed. The monk always looked up to me as a role model. He and Sango even consider Sakura and I the grandparents of their children and I always thought of myself as a good father, until now. "You're a great dad."
"No, Miroku, I'm not." I say, looking down. "There is a teenage boy in there who has grown up without a father and it's all my fault."
"That isn't your fault." He says. "It's Ivy's. She's the one who didn't bother to tell you about your son.." He seems nervous, he wipes his hands on his jeans and his eyes are averted down to my desk. He obviously doesn't like confronting me, but I know why he's doing it. He looks up to me, but I haven't set a very good example, at least in my opinion.
Though, I can't argue with him. He does have a point. Ivy didn't tell me, therefore it's partially her fault, but I shouldn't have ran away that day like I did. That was extremely childish of me.
"Mr. Harrison," He says, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Everything I know about being a devoted husband, and a loving father, I learned from you. You've taught me so much and even though my real father is dead, and Mushin raised me, you were the one who really taught me how to grow up."
I smile. It makes me feel a lot better to hear that coming from someone who isn't my son. Miroku's messed up a few times with Sango, but all of us do at some point in our lives. I messed up with Sakura a few months after we were married.
I come in late. The house is dark and quiet, and it looks like I've avoided a fight with Sakura again. At least, I think that until the light flips on. Sakura stands by the staircase, holding Ayame with one arm as my daughter sleeps on her shoulder. I know I've made her mad this time.
"Where have you been, Brock?" She asks.
"I'm sorry. I…forgot to call." I say, hoping this will be the end of it. I have work in the morning and I'm extremely tired and on top of that I have class right after I get off work, but I know she's wanting to give me hell for not calling her.
"You used to call me and tell me you were on your way." I see a tear in her eye and she heads towards the stairs, Ayame opens her eyes to look at me tiredly. "Is this how it's going to be Brock? Are you going to have me waiting up every night for you?" She starts to cry and I wonder why she's so mad about tonight for.
Maybe it's because I've been hanging out down at the pool hall for the past four weeks with my friends when I really should be home with my wife and my child. God, I don't want to turn out like my father…
"Sakura, I'm sorry…" I tell her, but she's already stomping up the stairs. "Where are you going?" I ask.
"Somewhere your not." She says, throwing a large suitcase onto the bed. She's packing her clothes and I'm hoping she's just going to her mothers. "If this is how things are going to be then I quit!"
Ayame looks at me. She's only a year old and she doesn't understand, but I do. "Sakura, don't put Ayame through this."
"Well, she's not staying here with you when your gone every night!" She says, throwing the suitcase outside the door and heaving the duffle bag she has for Ayame over her shoulder. "I was wrong about you, Brock Harrison." She slams the door and the house is quiet.
It's the second time in my life I've been walked out on. The house is cold and lonely and I contemplate rather or not I should go and chase after Sakura. She wouldn't listen to me anyway right now, she's too angry.
I pull a blanket off the couch and lay my head on one of the decorative pillows on our sofa. I have all night to think about what I've done. I don't even consider how my wife may feel when I'm out late like I am sometimes.
Sure, I work all week and go to college full time, so I need a little fun, but I can at least take Sakura's feelings into consideration.
I don't think I slept at all that night, but I did make time to go and talk to Sakura about things. I was lucky enough she gave me another chance and I really put my priorities in line after that.
Robert's birth certificate is still sitting on my desk and Miroku becomes curious about it. "What's that?" He asks.
"It's his birth certificate. It was in his medical files Ivy bought with her…" I say. He asks if he can take a look at it and tell him he can. Miroku picks up the document and looks at it curiously.
"Hey Brock, Ayame was born in May right?" The monk asks me.
"Yea." I reply, wondering why he'd ask me such an off the wall question. I busy myself with straightening up my office, but I can tell Miroku's thinking about…something.
"Well, Robert's birth certificate says August of the same year…" Miroku says, and it takes me a few moments to register. We exchange glances.
"Robert's three months younger than Ayame…" I realize, stating the obvious more to myself than to Miroku. "Why didn't I notice that? Miroku, you're a genius!" I stand up, leaving Miroku by himself in my office. This means that Robert was conceived three months after Ayame was, meaning that I was already with Sakura and planning a wedding.
I have to talk to Robert and now. I walk out into the waiting room, Sakura's still here and she looks at me curiously. I smile at her, but continue my way to Robert's room. I walk in and Nurse Joy is in the room with him. Normally, by this time of night, my patients are asleep, but Robert's obviously too upset to sleep, so he's watching television.
He looks over and sees me. I'm relieved Ivy isn't in the room. I need to talk to him.
I take the swivel chair out from under the counter and pull it to his bedside. He's quiet so I start the conversation.
I look over at the television. He's watching late night sports highlights. Maybe we can find something in common with this. "So, you like baseball?"
He shrugs. "It's alright."
OK, maybe not. I clasp my hands together, trying to think of something to say to him. "So, what do you do at school? Are you on the football team with the other guys?"
"No." He replies. Robert shifts uncomfortably under his bed sheets and I have the feeling he might just be a little uncomfortable around me. Does he think I'm in his father? I don't know rather to tell him the truth or not because I don't know what Ivy's told him.
"I don't really like football." He says after a moment. I turn the television volume down just a bit and he doesn't seem to protest. I think I might have been a little more interested in the sports coverage than he was.
"Oh, well that's OK." I tell him. To be honest, I'm starting to feel a little jittery myself.
Luckily though, I don't have to bring up the father issue with him, because he brings it up first. "You know, Mr. Harrison," Robert says, looking away from me. "Mom is lying to you. I'm not your son."
Even though what Miroku discovered on his birth certificate already proved that, hearing it straight from Robert sent a wave a relief over me. "I know." I tell him. A bigger concern is haunting me now. "Do you know who your father is?"
"Yea, some guy who pays us a visit to the island once a year right around my birthday." Robert says. "I don't really like the guy." He tells me.
"Why don't you like him?" I ask.
"He's always trying to get me to play sports or go out and pick up girls." He sighs and leans back, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm not really into all that."
Yea, there was no way he was my son. I love sports and girls, but I guess some guys don't. The door opens and I see Ivy walk in. The tension is thick and I know Robert can feel it just as well as I can.
"Brock…" She says.
"Felina." I say, shortly, not making eye contact with her. She looks down at Robert.
"How do you feel, Robert?"
"Better." He says, smiling. Ivy sits down in the chair next to him.
"Bonding with your son, Harrison?" She asks.
I grin slyly and Robert and I exchange a knowing look. I nod to him and he turns to her. "I told him, mom. It's not right you're trying to fool him into giving you money."
Ivy scowls at him and she's about to get angry, but I step in. "Felina, he didn't exactly tell me. I figured it out. His birthday gave it away."
She looks up at me and straightens her blouse. I realize now, under the bright lights that she has gotten very old. Her bust line has definitely sagged and her eyes are even droopier than I remember. What did I ever see in this woman?
"You and that brilliant mind of yours Brock." She says. "You always did know it all, didn't you?"
I stand my ground. She's toying with me, just like she did when I was 17. But I know the real Professor Ivy now, I'm older and wiser and I won't let her play her games with me anymore.
Robert sits up, grabbing both of our attention away from the stand off we're having in his hospital room. "Mom, Mr. Harrison?" He says, wincing with pain from his rib as he straightens his back against the pillows.
"Yes?" I ask.
"You know why I got beat up at prom right?" Robert asks, his voice is shaky. Ivy and I both shake our head, and I have to admit being in the same room with this woman is making me want to climb the walls, but I'm here for Robert.
I have a need to be a father to him, even if he isn't my son.
"Well, it's because…" He pauses. "Well, there is this boy at school and we were…hanging out in the hallway while we were waiting for the senior walk."
Ivy brushes the hair from his face. "Well, why would they beat you up over that? Are you two friends?"
"Kind of." He says.
"Well," Ivy says. "it's not like you two are gay or anyth--" She pauses when she sees the look on her son's face.
I realize it too and now everything makes sense.
"Robert…" Ivy says. "It's alright. You can tell me…" She looks up at me and I look at Robert.
"Yea, you can tell me, too. I won't judge you."
He shifts under my gaze. I know to him to came across as very masculine and he was probably afraid to tell me in the first place, but his eyes shift between me and his mother and he finally nods.
"Yes, I'm gay." He says. "I was in the hallway with him, he asked me to dance and I told him yes. We were making our way back into the dance area when these guys just jumped us. He got away, but I was under all of them." He pauses and takes a sip of his water with a shaky hand. His confession shook him up. "If it wasn't for Channing and Pierre, I don't know what would have happened."
I'm quiet. I'm not sure quite of what to say except that I'm proud that my daughter's boyfriend and Pierre jumped in and did the right thing. I know Channing will make a very nice son-in-law one day.
"It's alright, Robert." She says, she peers up at me and then back down at him. "I've had my share of experiences…"
That feeling of dread washes over me again as I think about seeing that experience. It still chills me to the bone until this day and I really think it's time I high-tail it out of here. Robert's fine now, and I think a large burden has been lifted off his chest.
It's time I go home and spend time with my wife.
We exit the hospital. Channing takes Ayame home in his own car from the hospital, they are still dressed in their prom attire. Sakura gets in the seat next to me and she looks very tired.
She smiles at me though, and kisses my cheek. "I'm not mad, Brock. Miroku explained everything to me."
"I'm sorry Ivy ruined your night, honey." I tell her as we pull out onto the road.
"No, Brock. I'm not going to let her ruin my night, or what we have." Something sparkles in her deep blue eyes and excitement builds in me.
It isn't long before we make it home, I must have been speeding. I open to the door to our home, it's dark inside and Ayame and Channing haven't made it home yet. Though I'm a little worried, it's actually kind of a blessing. I can talk to Sakura.
She kisses me before I can say anything and I return her kiss, then just as quickly she pulls away from me. "Brock?"
"Yes?"
"Do you want another baby?" She asks me.
That was definitely not what I expected coming from her. I laugh, run fingers through my hair and turn away from her. "Sakura, I'm getting old. I mean, our oldest daughter is an adult now."
"I just…" She looks at me and I look at her. She's afraid to talk to me about this and I'm wondering if I'm being unapproachable. I walk over to her and lift her gaze up to meet mine.
"What?"
"Miroku was showing me all those cute little baby pictures of his son and I just really want another one…"
I grin and kiss her softly. "Sakura, you may be an immortal fox demon, but I'm just a mortal. You're going to stay young forever, but me…I'm going to get old." I sit down on the couch and look at her.
"That's only half true…" She says, sitting next to me with her legs folded under her. I'm confused and I give her a puzzled look to prompt her to explain. "When I was a little girl I was told that if I ever fell in love with a mortal, I would eventually die…"
I'm stunned. For all these years I had no clue that I was a death sentence to the one woman I truly loved. "Sakura! You never told me this!"
"That's because I don't care." She says, putting her finger to my lips. She smiles and looks into my eyes. "Brock, I would rather love you and die than live a million years and never be loved by you."
She kisses me and I tumble back onto the couch. I kiss her back and I feel her grasp my shirt, wanting to tug it off. I'm not protesting.
Suddenly, the front door opens and we both jump apart.
Ayame and Channing and standing at the doorway looking at us with a disgusted look on their faces. "Ugh," Ayame cringes. "Get a room…"
I laugh and kiss Sakura on the cheek.
Yes, I'm happy. My life has changed so much, but everything that has happened to me has made me who I am today.
As for the baby thing…well…
We'll still talk about it…and there is always grandchildren.
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