I spent more time at this, trying to make him see the truth of it. My father was upset as he considered what he felt was Peter’s lack of honesty to be a slap in the face to me and an insult. My mother was strangely quiet during all of this as my father became more upset and I kept poking holes in his arguments. My mother finally spoke up and put her hand on my father’s arm. We were not causing a scene by any stretch, but she obviously was worried my father would become sp upset that it did happen. My mother looked at me and said “Sachiko, do you firmly believe, with absolute conviction and no doubt at all that Peter did not know about his son.” “Yes” I said seriously “I would stake my life upon it.
” She nodded and my father went silent looking at me. “The fact he has a son now, a son who he will be raising due to Jessica’s illness, do you truly think you are able to handle it and that you and Peter will survive this?” Nodding I said “Yes Mother. We have talked about it, in detail, and I understand what I am getting into. But, I am not a mother. You are..
. I will need your help and guidance. Mrs. Redman said she would help me in any way she can. I need my Mother and Father…
Peter and I need you both… and so does Matthew. It will be a strange situation for all of us at first. I know we will be alright..
. but please… we need you both.” My father was quiet and my mother sat there silently thinking. “he is a very bright boy, polite and has a keen mind.
He has been raised well to this point” I said adding “I don’t want to make a mess of that and cause issues.” My mother nodded and said “Okay. Sachiko, is Peter going to… what is he going to do about the two of you? Is he serious about you?
If that is not the case it is not fair to his son to have you become a part of his life and rip it all away when the boy is already losing his natural mother.” I nodded and my father spoke before I could say anything else and said “Is he going to marry you?” I sat there silently for a few moments and thought seriously on that question. “Yes, he has not asked but we have spoken of this.” “Will he ask you properly?” my father enquired. I knew what he meant.
I also knew that my parents would expect the ceremony to not be a Christian one. This caused me to think for a bit and I said “Yes, he will ask properly and the ceremony will be done as it should be, however, he may ask that two ceremonies be held. One in our tradition, and that we then have our marriage blessed in the Christian faith. I do not know for sure, but that is how it should be. I will be taking that position when the time comes.” My parents sat silently for a time. My father finally cleared his throat and said “Sachiko chan, if he does everything as he should I will not oppose it.
But, I would like him to learn to speak Japanese so that the ceremony can be done properly. I do not want him simply saying the words… I want him to know what he is saying.” I nodded and said “Yes father, I will make sure he understands fully. Matthew has already asked to learn Japanese and wishes to study Martial Arts.
He is very keen to learn, but we have not discussed this with Peter and his mother yet.” My mother nodded and my father said “Who will teach him Martial Arts if it comes to that?” I sat and thought. My father had trained me and my sister. It was a tradition.. a very deeply seated one and as I considered it I glanced at my father and could see he was waiting for an answer.
“Father, you are probably the best person for that, however I will understand if you do not have sufficient time. It is a great deal to ask of you.” My father replied “I think we should meet this boy before any decisions like that are made. Do you ever do anything the easy way Sachiko… or do you revel in making everything as hard as you can?
” he said with the hint of a smile. “I do seem to like to do things the hard way father, but the greater the challenge the greater the victory.” I said smiling. My parents relaxed and we chatted for about another half hour about how things were going in our lives. My mother was full of advice and told me to get on Matthew about his education immediately and define those rules fast and firmly. The poor boy was not going to know what hit him. My father was concerned about Matthew’s fitness level and wanted no laziness.
Oh yes, poor Matthew was in for a treat. But considering he was already active and did well in school I was not worried. It dawned on me there was always room for improvement and I said as much. My parents laughed and my mother commented about how that statement from her used to make me crazy. I laughed and said “Oh no, I’m turning into my mother!” this made all of us laugh. When we left my parents were satisfied and I felt as though a massive weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
I was still smiling when I found James outside the Apple Store enjoying a coffee. I brought him up to speed on what had happened and he was thrilled for me. I looked the Apple Store and made a snap decision. I went inside with James and purchased a laptop for Matthew. I know he is only twelve, but this was an important tool for education. I wanted him to have every chance to be the best student possible, and I could only do that by guiding him and providing him with the best learning materials. We left there and went to Foot Locker.
There I bought Peter a new pair of Nike cross trainers since he had beaten his old pair up rather badly. I knew he would appreciate this as he never takes time to shop for himself. Of course, I had to pick up some new athletic shorts and tops for myself because it was so very necessary. Face it, you cannot just shop for others when you see something that you would like for yourself as well. I rationalized it by reminding myself that I would be making sure our “family” exercised and stayed fit. James was laughing at me as we were leaving. He loved my ability to justify my clothing purchases.
We went back to my home, as I now thought of Peter’s, and I put away the items I had purchased. Realizing the time I dressed for meeting the girls that night. I choose a black pencil skirt, heels, nylons and a silver and gold scoop neck silk blouse that I adored. I did my hair and makeup. James was watching television as I got ready and when I came out his jaw dropped. “Do you ever not look amazing?” he asked.
Smiling at him I said “I did once, but had to kill the witness.” James laughed and we set out for his home so he could change. When he came out of his bathroom fully dressed he looked wonderful. His cologne was nice as well. He had chosen brown docker style pants, a white dress shirt, and a lovely solid tie with a matching sports jacket. He looked himself over and said “Is this good enough? I don’t know where we are going.
” I smiled and said he looked wonderful. When it was time we met Amanda and Barbara at the Milestone’s located at Dundas St and Younge Street. Barbara looked radiant as she always does. She was wearing a white and black bustier style dress with a pencil skirt bottom. Her black nylons and heels gave her a very powerful look. Her long blonde hair looked amazing and shimmered like gold as it flowed over her shoulders and down her back. Her wonderful breasts were very well presented in this dress, looking even fuller and more magnificent than they usually did.