A Dinner for Too Many

"You got everything in order mom?" Arata asked. With this important date, everything just had to be right.

"I'm so excited." She replied to him. Getting her makeup finished. "It's been a while since we celebrated together."

"It's only been a few months." He told her, unamused. "And we always eat out on your anniversary every year."

"Oh, when you get old like me and your father, you'll understand."

"What? But you're not that old…"

"True." She giggled. "I'm not even 40 yet." Her preparations were complete. Arata had already finished a while, he was just waiting on her.

"So we're going to the same place as last time." He asked her.

"Of course, it's your father's favorite after all."

"Then why do I have to dress up like this to go to that joint?" Unlike most days, the outfit he was wearing for this was far from informal. He hadn't worn clothes this nice since the school dance. Nor did he do up his hair like he did.

"Come on, it's a special occasion." She checked him to make sure there wasn't anything wrong. "Your father doesn't get to be home as much as he'd like. Plus, it's not everyday that he gets to come back on our anniversary." She said, gleefully.

"He always gets a day off for your anniversary."

"Yes, but it's not everyday, is it?" She smiled. "Anyway, we should get going." She checked the time. If they didn't leave soon, they'd be late.

"Dad's plane should've landed by now. I hope Ayami doesn't make him wait." Arata knew she took the car. Sadly, that meant he and his mom needed to walk to the restaurant. Thankfully it wasn't a long walk.

"Oh, she left early. If anything he's making her wait." She joked. They were about to head outside, when Arata's phone rang.

"Hello?" He said, as he slipped on his shoes.

"Ah finally." It was Yogi on the line. "I've been trying to reach you for a while now."

"Yeah, sorry." He replied. "I've just been busy, Did you need something?"

"Actually, we're going to grab some dinner, I was wondering if you could make it."

"Sorry, I can't. It's my parents anniversary." For once in his life. He actually had a genuine excuse to not be with Yogi.

"Wow really?" He said. "Well hope you have fun. And tell them I said congratulations." He hung up the phone.

"That sounded like that Yogi boy you know." His mom leaned into the conversation. "He's such a sweet kid." She had heard everything from him, including the congratulations.

"Yeah." Yogi was the kindest person he ever knew. If there was such a thing as deserving a harem in real life, that would be the boy he'd want in the middle of it. "Come on, let's get going." They locked up and made their way to their dinner location.

Arata really wished his dad had finer tastes. Why did his favorite restaurant have to be some old run-down sushi place. It's not as if the food was bad. In fact, he thought it was rather delicious. Just, this was what he thought was a good place for an anniversary dinner? The way his mom was walking, she was certainly looking forward to it.

"Hey mom?" He asked. "Isn't this your 20th anniversary?"

"So you do pay attention." She laughed, ticking him off a little. "And yes, you're right. We've been married for 20 years now."

"Then, why here again? We should be doing something special for a milestone like that." He was trying to say this in a logical manner, but in reality, this was just so he could go anywhere but there.

"This is special" She said. "I know we've never told you why, but this place really is important to us."

"Sure, whatever." He relented. "It's not like I hate that place or anything. After all, it's your day." They soon reached their destination. Inside, they were greeted by the owner. He was a kind old man, After having eaten here so many times. He was very acquainted with the family.

"Ah, it's you again." He said. Giving Arata's mom a hug, and Arata a handshake. "Don't worry, I didn't forget this special day." He had already arranged a table exclusively for the family.

"Perfect, my husband should be here soon. Ayami's picking him up."

"Excellent, then just have a seat here." They sat down at their table. If there was one thing he liked about this place. It was that they were treated like VIP's, he wondered if anyone else got that treatment?

"We'll get the usual please." The owner nodded his head and headed back into his kitchen. "You know…" She said to Arata, "I'm sorry that it's my fault this time you're not hanging out with your friends."

"It's not a big deal." Despite this being a break, he felt like he was working more than compared to a school day. Getting some family time didn't sound so bad considering the alternative.

The door opened once more. He figured it was his dad and sister coming in now. He turned around to greet them, but what he spotted was not what he was expecting. Thinking fast, he grabbed his menu in a pitiful attempt to hide himself.

"Mrs. Kashimura?" Erina walked up to them. "I didn't know you were going to be here. And, uh…" She looked over at Arata, who was nervously hiding behind his menu. "What are you doing?"

"H-hi guys." He revealed himself nervously. "Funny seeing you here."

"I really didn't expect to see you here when Yogi told us it was your parents' anniversary." Misei commented. She also wanted to ask why they were in such a rundown place, but she didn't want to be disrespectful with his mom there.

"And I guess I can say the same for you." He replied. They've never eaten here together, so he didn't think today would be the time to try something new.

"Funny story actually…" Yogi explained to him how he came to find this place. He was asked to take care of some dogs after he got back from their vacation. As luck would have it, they got out and ran all over town. It took all day just to find and get them under control.

It just so happened that one of the dogs ran into this restaurant, causing a ruckus. When he took care of the situation, the owner scolded him and made him clean up the plates. It was then he tried out the food, and he just had to tell everyone else about it. Didn't hurt that it was cheap too.

"That's… Quite a story." Arata almost didn't want to believe it. "Well I guess you should find some seats. Elsewhere." He didn't want to deal with both these people and his family. One was already hard enough.

"Oh, you should sit at a table by us." His mom asked them. "We'd love some company while we celebrate." He didn't, but it was her day, so she had the final say.

They agreed and took a spot that was next to them. He was sure that Erina was happy for this arrangement, now he could take care of his supporting duties too. Not that he wanted to do that at the moment. Nor did she care, as she took the spot nearest him.

"So if this is an anniversary, where's your dad?" Yuriko asked him.

"My sister's picking him up." The door of the restaurant opened again. "Speaking of, that should be… Ahh!" He was shocked yet again when it wasn't his dad or his sister walking in. Instead, it was the gardening club.

"Ehh?!" Matsu's eyes widened. She wasn't expecting to see Arata here, or everyone else for that matter. They were unsure of what to do at this moment. His mom handled this situation without thinking of any implications.

"I remember you. Oh, I'm so glad to see so many of Arata's friends." This was getting to be her best anniversary yet, and her husband hasn't even shown up yet. "Please, come here and sit by us." She invited them over. She was acting like they were her friends, not his.

"Sure, we'd love to." Hanaka led the group. She knew this was a rather favorable position in this case. They sat along with everyone else, it was beginning to feel pretty crowded, and not everyone had made it here. Well, of the four that Arata thought he was eating with.

"It's so nice that we can eat together." Matsu perked up. Her friends took the table behind his, so she was able to just turn around and talk to him.

"Not technically together…" He said, unenthusiastically. Hard to say that when they weren't at the same table, or even facing each other. "But, it's not that bad, I guess." Now that she was there, he realized. Why were they here in the first place? There's no way everyone here just knew about it. The restaurant wasn't that popular. "So… How did you find this place?"

"It's actually a funny story." Karino explained. They were all spending time with each other. Planning on what they were going to do when school was back. It was at that moment, they ran into a dog that had gotten loose.

Matsu wanted to take it and go find its owner. However, it got away from them and they had to give chase. It ran into this restaurant. The plan was to corner it to make sure it wouldn't run. Unfortunately, that plan was a failure and the place got into a huge mess from that.

"It's a good thing that Aono was there to help us out. Turns out he was watching that dog." Hanaka added. Arata was going to put a curse on that dog for what it was making him go through.

"Anyway." Matsu continued. "The owner got mad at us and made us clean up the mess." Sounded like a troublesome adventure they all went through, he thought. Not only that, but that did explain why all the tables seemed off to him.

"Yeah, that really does sound like a funny story." If he didn't believe Yogi before, he certainly did now.

"So, um, why are you here?" Yumeho asked.

"Oh, we're here for my anniversary." His mom answered. "It's our 20th!" She didn't try to contain her glee with that statement.

"That's sounds so wonderful." Matsu responded even more happily. She closed her eyes in bliss. Envisioning herself married with a certain special boy.

"What are you daydreaming about over there?" He looked at her, confused.

"Anyway, we're just waiting for my husband and daughter to arrive from the airport. I can't believe they're late."

"Oh yeah, you said your dad traveled a lot." Said Yuriko. Having been at his place several times now, she realized that she never saw the man. "What does he do exactly?"

"He doesn't really talk about his work that much when he's at home." Arata answered. "All I know is that he's a businessman for a pretty big company around here. He's usually here during the school week, but gone on the weekends. So I don't get to see him that much."

"That sounds like a shame."

"Not really. I'm used to it." It's not like he didn't like his dad. In fact, he really did love that man. "You know me. I'm not one for hanging out. Plus, I think it's nice that he's got such a good job. Sounds like he's an important member at work."

Everyone else thought about what his dad might be like. It was probably more on Arata that he didn't spent too much time with his son. The only actually basis they had was his work. If he really was that important, then he must be a pretty serious man. They all envisioned a gruff older man, with a mean look on his face. The door opened, were they about to get their answer?

"Oh finally, there you are da-" It wasn't his father, nor was it his sister. Instead, it was the elderly group that he had gotten to know over his vacation.

"Oh Arata, it's a surprise to run into you tonight." Hine greeted him, not knowing about his frustration.

"Oh come on!" He shouted out. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude." He immediately apologized. "We've just been waiting for my dad to show up."

"Yes." His mom continued. "We're celebrating our anniversary!"

"Really now?" Hine was impressed. "Well congratulations to a long lasting marriage, and I hope you have many more happy years together." Arata was getting tired of this. Were the people he actually wanted going to walk through that door. What's next, the kids that he babysits?

"Hey mom?" He broke her out of her conversation. "I'm just gonna step outside and give Ayami a call. I wonder what's taking them?"

"That's a good idea." He left the table, going outside. He wasn't lying about giving them a call. Just that this was also a good excuse to get a some fresh air away from this chaos. He was about to give her a call, when his phone rang. Turns out, that Ayami was calling him first.

"Hello? Arata are you there?" She said through the phone.

"Yeah it's me. Where are you guys? You're really late you know."

"Actually I have some bad news…"