18.) Girls Night

Thursday January 7th, 2021

Toru sits alone at his desk, eyes on the screen concentrating on his work when his phone rings. "Hey mom." He answers with a smile. "I'm a little lost. Can you help me find my way up to your office?" Mina asks innocently. "I thought you were going out with Kaya and Sora after work." Toru retorted with a slight pout. "Can't I come see my son first?" Mina replied with a small whine.

Toru sighed and tore his eyes away from the screen. "Fine, where are you?" He asks. "Um, I found my way back to the lobby downstairs." She answers, Toru shaking his head at her little act. "I'll come down to get you. Stay there." He responds, pushing away from his desk and moving towards his door.

Reaching the lobby, Toru takes his mother by the hand and starts walking with her towards the elevator at a leisurely pace. "You look nice today. Thought you would have dressed more comfortably to go shopping with the Moniwa ladies." Toru observed as they ascended the elevator. "I left from a meeting, I've got sweats and a tee shirt in the car. Speaking of which, how are you liking your new car?" Mina asked sweetly, stepping off the elevator.

"It's nice. Lot more room in the back for more passengers on the Model S than my Roadster. Now that I'm about to be a godfather, I figured I may want backseat space for the little Iwaizumis." Toru told her with a large smile, ignoring the stares and whispers. "Mr. Oikawa, sorry to interrupt sir, I was hoping you might have looked into that budget issue I submitted to you in an email earlier today." A nervous Yachi inquired.

Toru gave Yachi a gentle smile, "If it's finance related you're much better off asking Kaya, I believe she's in her office, though she may put it off until tomorrow as she's not likely to want her shopping buddy here to wait all day." Toru informed her. "Oh, you're a friend of Ms. Moniwa?" Yachi asked, looking over at Mina. "I am trying to be. This would be the first time I spend time with her that has nothing to do with sweet Toru though." Mina told her.

"Oh, I see. So, you're Mr. Oikawa's…friend?" Yachi asked, uncertain, sulking back. "I'm sorry I try not to make snap judgements, I'm terrible about it and it's rude." Yachi started to tell her nervously without waiting for an answer. "I'm Toru's mother. It's nice to meet you." Mina told her loud enough for others standing nearby to hear. "Oh, you look so young to be his mother." Yachi complemented.

"Mina? You're here early." Kaya called from nearby. "Kaya, hello. I just wanted to come a little early to see the place and my sweet boy." Mina replied, watching Kaya smile brightly at her. "Oh, I just finished up for the day and was about to check in with Toru to see if there were any last minute needs or if he wanted anything before I went off to meet you." Kaya laughed. "Um, Ms. Moniwa, if it isn't too late, I was running into some issues with needing to order some replacement chairs and the budget." Yachi told her nervously.

"Oh yes, of course, I'd be happy to take a look and see what we can figure out. I'm sure a quick look will find us some things to move around for a month or two to free up some budget. If not I can talk to Toru tomorrow about moving some assets if need be as that would need the CEO's approval." Kaya told her happily as she motioned for Yachi to follow her back to her office. "See you guys in a bit." Kaya called behind herself as Toru and Mina watched the two women walk away.

Toru turned Mina the other direction and showed her the way to his office, Mina nodding her approval as they entered the room. "I like it, very fitting of you." She complimented. Toru just nodded and pulled out his office chair for his mother, allowing her to sit before he perched himself onto the desk next to her. "Why have a couch and chair in here if you're just going to sit on the desk?" Mina scolded.

Toru chose to ignore the question, instead folding his arms over his chest and looking at his mother with narrow eyes. "What is it you're really trying to accomplish with all this today? Don't say you just wanted to go shopping with Kaya for our trip next weekend. Since when do you publicly introduce yourself as my mom? Not just to Yachi, that was above your normal volume.

"Not to mention pretending you needed me to come down to the lobby to get you. We both know when it comes to finding your way around you have some kind of weird sixth sense. If you'd truly gotten lost you would have stayed that way until you figured it out. My stubbornness did always come more from you than dad." Toru finished.

Mina smiled at her son, her face softening despite him interrogating her. "You also know I have good hearing. I wanted you to walk me up so I could hear the whispers of what your coworkers would think if they saw you with an unknown woman. It seems a good few were upset, saying they thought you were more serious about Kaya and that you shouldn't parade me around the office as the poor girl had been through enough.

"I put my rule to the side for the sake of keeping anyone from trying to turn the girl against you. Anyone can see that you've made great strides to get her to be closer to you, I don't want to ruin that just because I was curious, but at least now I know that the general opinion is there's something going on with the two of you and it sounded like half were happy you might not be.

"As for my trip with Kaya and Sora, I really do want to get to know her more. Even if the two of you remain friends for the rest of your lives she's someone who caught your attention. She's worth knowing. And I would love to meet her mom, I'm sure she's lovely."

Toru sighed and moved off the desk to sit on the couch. "Fine, just try to keep the embarrassing childhood stories at a minimum at least." He whined, covering his hand with his face as he sank further back into the couch. "No more than three, got it." Mina teased back with a smile.

The two spent the next 20 minutes chatting until Kaya knocked on Toru's door and let them know she was all finished for the day. She told Toru not to worry about what Yachi needed as she took care of it.

Toru walked the women to the parking lot, making sure both got into the car ok and watched them leave the parking lot together, Mina following behind Kaya to her apartment. At Kaya's, both women changed into sweats and long sleeve shirts, Kaya put a sweater over hers while Mina opted for a hoodie.

Sora arrived not long after Mina and Kaya finished changing and were ready to go. Kaya introduced the two mothers and they were on their way within five minutes, taking Sora's minivan so they had more space to store the shopping items with. "So what all are we looking to get for the trip then Kaya?" Mina asked cheerfully as they pulled into the parking lot at Epps Bridge Center*.

"Well, it's colder up there this time of year than here, they've already had snow and it may well snow again while we're up there. I haven't spent much time outside in the colder months in the last several years so I have no idea what's happened to a lot of my warmer clothes. We talked about taking one of the horseback riding tours since a lot of things will be closed that are usually open.

"We might also go by the stables and see the other animals if it's not too terribly cold, and I guess there's a hot tub, though I've never been in an outdoor hot tub when it's cold out so I told Toru not to plan on it for sure either. No matter what, it's a bit of a hike from the chalet's to the restaurant in order to eat and we both agreed we want to experience at least one meal per day there.

"Overall it may be a mostly hot chocolate and movies marathon type of trip. So In addition to outdoor clothes I'll need some actual pajamas since I mostly wear old shirts that are too big since they are so comfy. Not really appropriate to wear around him. Oh and a couple of bralettes, it'll be cold if I go braless like I usually do." Kaya finished, the other two women staring at her and wondering just how much she'd overthought the entire weekend trip.

"All right, wanna check out Versona first then? Should be able to find some nice clothes there." Mina suggests, the other women nodding their agreement. Once parked in front of the store the women quickly made their way into the clothing store. At first they split up, Kaya looking at the clothes in her size on her own while Sora and Mina looked at the things that might fit them and talked amongst themselves.

Mina was quick to ask Sora what she thought of her son once Kaya was out of earshot. She wasn't too surprised at how open Sora was with her in her answer, reminding her of Kaya in that way. She was however caught off guard with how quickly Sora answered, seemingly having already considered things Mina hadn't even thought she would have.

Mina listened quietly as Sora told her that she thought Toru was one of the kindest people she'd met in a long while and that it was a shame he seemed so down on himself and couldn't see himself the way others do. She went on to say that Kaya can sometimes be the same way, and that being with Kenji had only made it worse for her.

Mina stopped her at that point and asked the other woman to elaborate. As she listened to Sora explain to her how Kenji often used sideway's remarks that made Kaya feel as though she was never truly pretty enough, smart enough, nor good enough she started to see why she could never get information from her son about Kaya's ex without him getting angry and just going for a run to calm down.

Having a better understanding of Kaya's past with Kenji, Mina asked Sora to continue. Mina couldn't hide her smile when Sora raved about Toru at Thanksgiving, calling her son smart, funny, and charismatic. Sora went on to tell Mina that she and her husband Atsushi hope that in time Kaya might come to love Toru and be with him.

Sora told her they thought it was possible she already had a little crush on him and that's why she's been getting a little more nervous about spending time with him. This was when Sora found out that Kaya had been taking more time the past few weeks to think about the way she looks when the two spend time together and she often giggles nervously when she's talking about her plans with him.

Mina decided to tell Sora that when she first saw Kaya she was worried about her being near her son. Toru had mentioned her before they met, but it was to vent about his first day at Date Tech. From there she only heard that Toru had been talking a lot with Hajime about some girl and he seemed to be a little obsessed over her.

She explained that Kaya in a lot of ways reminded her of Aimi, but that the two did look quite a bit different from one another. She explained that Aimi had very light brown hair, but that her curls were similar to Kaya's. Where Kaya has grey eyes Aimi had bright blue. Aimi was a good deal shorter than her husband, and Kaya is even smaller.

She then explained the things that really made them look different from one another. Aimi had a much darker complexion than Kaya as Aimi's grandmother was Haitian. Where Kaya had a nose that came out further from her face and an upper lip that was thinner than her bottom, Aimi had a wider nose and even lips. Kaya is small all around, where Aimi had somewhat thick thighs and a large butt.

She went on to tell her that after talking with Kaya and being satisfied that her son wasn't just trying to replace his late wife, the two women being quite different from each other she was happy he'd moved on, though it broke her heart that he had feelings for someone who was already taken. Now that Kaya was single, it was her hope as well the two would date in time.

Both mother's felt happy they seemed to be on the same page about the other's child and their hopes for the future of the two. Sora was also grateful to hear it from Kaya's mother that there may be a chance for Toru afterall, a small smile gracing her lips before she told Sora "Toru loves Kaya, he'll wait for her to be ready, no matter how long it takes." The last thing she managed to say before Kaya came over to them with her selections.

The three women walked over to the changing rooms together, Kaya trying on several items while Sora and Mina only had a few. Kaya was happy the other two women were getting along so splendidly. She wasn't sure what they'd talked about, but her mom looked very excited and happy to be there. All her nerves about the two getting along washed away as she tried on outfit after outfit.

Sora and Mina waited patiently while Kaya analyzed each choice, putting things on the no thanks rack for reasons ranging from "making her look kind of pale" to "not sure it really matches that well." The other two women shared knowing glances at one another with how picky Kaya was being, but in the end she did leave with two pairs of pajamas, three outfits, a coat, and two bralettes.

Still needing to find a few more things the women made their way over to The Rusted Arrow Boutique where Sora and Mina stayed with Kaya this time helping her look through the options. As the three women shopped together they kept the conversation on the items they were looking at, until Kaya yet again ruled out most of what she tried on.

By the time they left The Rusted Arrow, Kaya had chosen another two outfits, an additional bralette, and even a swimsuit just in case. The three women decided to get dinner together after finishing up their shopping, with the agreement to go to Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen since it was nearby and they were all near starving after shopping around.

They were all very happy there was no wait to get a seat, allowing them to get in and situated quickly, placing their drink orders and ordering some of the famous honey butter croissants and santa fe spinach dip to get started.

"SOOOO, Kaya, think you're all ready to go on your big trip next weekend?" Mina asked, watching Kaya's face become a lovely shade of pink. "You say it like it's some really big deal thing. It's just two friends going to relax on a weekend together." Kaya muttered just loud enough for the other two women to hear.

"It's not a super big deal or anything, but it is still nice. Dad and I are very happy you're starting to come out of your little shell lately. Wearing makeup most days, doing more than just tossing your hair up, you also took such care with any new clothes you bought, making sure they could make sense even outside of the weekend trip you're taking." Sora eased, giving Mina a 'don't scare her off glare.'

"I guess that part's true. I hadn't really thought about it like that. I have been enjoying the feeling of not having to worry what it might look like to Kenji if I put a little effort into the way I look." Kaya admitted. "Surely he liked being able to see you all dolled up." Mina inquired. "He didn't really care about that kind of thing." Kaya responded, taking a sip of her water.

Mina narrowed her eyes at Kaya a moment, took a deep breathe, then decided to speak from the heart. "When you're ready to be with someone again, make sure it's someone who likes the person you are. I talked with your mom a bit and it really sounded like you loved this guy with your whole heart and he just walked all over you like you were noone.

You're an amazing person Kaya. You deserve to be with someone who will love you as deeply as you love them. That way the next time you find yourself meeting a male for any reason, work, friend of a friend, whatever, he'll know that he has no reason to worry this new man in your life will open up your eyes to his not being worthy of you." She finished, hoping that she didn't push Kaya from Toru.

Kaya held a small smile as she listened to Mina. "Someone who will cherish me always." Kaya said just above a whisper, her right index finger softly caressing the double chained Pandora bracelet on her left wrist. Sora's eyes widened as she recalled those words and they way her daughter had reacted to them before while Mina smiled at her wearing her gift from Toru.

"I have a good idea, you should find someone that you trust with a good head on their shoulders who would neither lose nor gain anything from the decision and ask them to give the seal of approval the next time you start seeing someone. Perhaps your dad or one of your brothers." Sora told Kaya, catching her attention.

Kaya giggled nervously. "I don't know about dad, I overheard dad planning my life with Toru to Yuki**. And Kaneme tends to go along with dad on things, then both he and Kosuke are always talking about Toru being a catch." She told the other two women silently. Mina suppressed a giggle, while Sora tried to hide her guilty face knowing she and Atsushi had talked at length about Tour becoming their son in law.

"You can always count on honesty from Hajime and Takeru if you feel your family has been compromised. Mina suggested, gaining a happy nod from Kaya. "That could be a good idea." Kaya agreed. Mina stopped a moment and thought about something her son had told her about Christmas Eve dinner, so unable to stop herself she asked Kaya about it while they were on the subject of Toru's friends.

"What did you think of everyone you met at Toru's for lunch on Christmas Eve? I'd never asked you. They can be a fun bunch." Mina finished, hoping she didn't sound too eager for the answer. "They were great. It was really nice to finally meet Hikari, she's so beautiful and kind. And you can tell how much Hajime adores her."

Shoyo was a bit loud, but he was super nice and funny. He and Tobio make a really cute couple and they made me laugh a lot. I wouldn't mind seeing them again." Kaya finished, Mina still watching her intently. "What about Hikari's brother. Koushi." Mina prompted. "He was really kind. Had a sort of big brother vibe going on with Shoyo and Tobio so that was funny. He said he wanted to tour Date Tech, but I think he was just being nice." Kaya replied.

Mina and Sora watched Kaya for a moment. "You didn't mention this Koushi person to me before. What did he look like?" Sora asked. "Um he had soft looking silver hair like Hikari and big brown eyes. There was a beauty mark under one of his eyes and he had a soft smile with a soft voice. Pretty handsome honestly. I bet some of the moms of his student's love going to teacher parent conferences." Kaya chuckled.

Sora raised a brow at her daughter. "When this man asked to see Date Tech, how did he ask?" she inquired. "Well we were talking about Yachi, I guess he knows her too, and he said something like 'I'd be happy to come back to Athens sometime soon and maybe get a look around Date Tech. Give me a call sometime and we can set it up." Then he kissed my hand like those cheesy movies."

Sora suppressed a laugh. "Kaya, the handsome teacher was trying to flirt with you and wanted an excuse to give you his number." She laughed. Kaya's face turned slightly pale at the realization her mother was correct and she shifted in her seat. "I...I didn't even take his number with me from Toru's place. I think he tossed it. I wasn't planning to call." Kaya told them.

Mina leaned in a little closer. "Oh, why is that? You said it yourself, he was handsome." She teased. "I just wasn't thinking along those lines at all. I didn't talk with him enough to think I'd like to start up a friendship and flirting was so far from my mind I didn't realize that's what was going on. I don't know. I could care less if I ever see him again. He was handsome, but he's not my type." Kaya concluded.

"Yeah, he's not over 6 feet with brown hair and brown eyes." Sora muttered under her breath.

*Epps Bridge Center is a shopping center with several big box stores, smaller local stores, and restaurants.

**Yuki is one of the Moniwa family's dogs.