I Would Rather

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"You are late!" Mei Mei rushed over to meet her the moment she alighted from the car. She was wearing an apron over a white dress. She was holding a kitchen towel, it seemed like she was busy in the kitchen.

Mei pulled her to the kitchen because she has to go back to what she is cooking. She has a helper in the kitchen but she still does everything.

She chuckled softly seeing how her hair looks immaculate combed, no tendrils of her hair escaped from being perfectly coiled at the base of her neck despite working hours in the kitchen.

Her white dress is spotless. If she were doing that, her hair would look like she had a hair-pulling fight, and her dress would definitely won't look that clean.

She doesn't like wearing white clothes or anything white because the most time she can make them stay clean would be less than twenty minutes.

"Here, taste this," she scooped a bit of sauce from whatever she was cooking on the stove for her to have a taste.

"Hmmm mhhm," she circled her thumb and index finger, "Oishi desu."

Mei rolled her eyes at her whilst she removed her apron. She scanned the kitchen with a discerning eye, then called one of the kitchen helpers and moved to the dining room.

"Please move the other plate," she said, pointing to the plate next to the head of the table.

"Why are you removing one plate? Who isn't coming?" she asked, feigning surprise but at the back of her mind, she was praying that it was Hideaki who wouldn't be home for dinner.

"Nii-chan," she gave her a disappointed look. "He called before you arrived saying that he was caught with some meetings at work."

"That's too bad," she murmured under her breath. One thing she noticed when she came back to this country was she ended up saying something that she doesn't mean. Like showing regret that Hideaki won't be joining us for dinner.

When in reality, she was extremely glad that Hideaki won't be home. She doesn't want to sit the duration of a meal, acting like nothing was wrong between the two of them.

She wondered if Hideaki told Mei Mei about what happened to them when he drove them home yesterday.

They watched the helper remove one set of plates from the table. Mei Mei oversees everything as if the job couldn't be done without her guidance when in reality, the helper was able to do the task without any help and Mei Mei just stood there elegantly not doing or saying anything.

Laurie grimaced inwardly, she uttered a grateful prayer of not being in the same situation as her friend. She would grab a bottle of wine if she had to do all the things she was doing.

When she was satisfied watching the helper do a splendid job, she turned around and asked her to follow her to the tea room.

Laurie remembered the tea room as if she was just here yesterday. The room looks exactly as she remembered from the last time she was here. She went further into the room and saw the beautiful garden.

The tea room opened up to a garden. The garden was the only one that changed from Laurie's memory.

"Take your seat."

Laurie took her eyes off the serene garden and went back to the room and sat down.

The art of tea ceremony was one of the cultures that she delved into when she was a teenager. She had been to many tea ceremonies that she could count in her fingers.

She watched Mei Mei meticulously prepare their tea in silence. She would shift her gaze to the garden every now and then since the preparation doesn't hold any interest for her right now.

She just wants the tea.

"Did something happen?"

Her thoughts were pulled back to Mei Mei when she heard her question. She met her questioning eyes and lied.

"No. Nothing at all," she smiled and picked up the delicate teacup with her right hand and placed it in her left palm, and using her right hand she turned it clockwise, about ninety degrees.

It has been a long time since she sat down at this tea ceremony but she still knew the etiquette by heart. She smiled inwardly as she took a few sips of her tea before placing it back on the tatami mat.

"By the way, the issue with Yamaguchi was already okay," she beamed at her.

"No problem with the signing of the contract with your husband's business?"

"Yes. It was already fixed. As much as my husband's company needed the Yamaguchi's, they also needed us. Everything was good with that."

"That's good to know."

"The most important result was that -" she smiled widely at her, "My brother is no longer dating her!"

"Too bad."

"What do you mean? It's not too bad. It is a great thing. Now that my brother is no longer dating that girl, you can --"

"What does it have to do with me?" She didn't let her finish.

"You know --" she smiled and patted her hands. "Don't you want us to be real sisters?"

She chuckled wryly. Right there, she decided that her plan to leave the country was the best decision after running away from her mother's ongoing quest to find her a husband.

"If I want us to be sister-in-law, you have two brothers and --"

"Don't be silly! Ryu-nii is so irresponsible!" she laughed softly, dismissing her thoughts.

"I would rather marry Ryu than Hideaki."

"Seriously?"

She shook her head with disbelief in Mei Mei's face. If she didn't have to worry about being probed non-stop, she would tell her that she would rather die than marry Hideaki.

"Hideaki is so boring," she said in a light-hearted manner. "I am not sure he will be able to handle me as a woman," she said as she straightened her back. She knew Mei Mei would tell her brother everything she said.