Stardust House: 1st Year Spring

CHAPTER 10: Spring Shuffle

A few things happened during the last few days of Golden Week. We were supposed to go back home on Sunday morning as planned, however there was some kind of an emergency coming from StarPros that needed Dad’s presence, so we canceled our hot springs trip on Saturday and went back home instead. Even if we missed that hot springs opportunity, it wasn’t a big deal anyway. Those five days of being with family and away from the bustling city life was very well worth it. We took a lot of family and scenery photos anyway. I have to say that my favorite photos we had were that of our last night in Nijibei Village. In particular, the timed photo that Kaito took using my camera of our side profiles looking up the starry sky with Auntie Ibuki’s telescope in front as if we were serious wanna-be astronomers. The photo became a buzz around our circle of friends that it had been passed along to who knows who and some even used our group photo as their wallpaper.

When we got home, that Saturday afternoon, Dad decided to hold a short daytime ceremony for finally burying Mom’s urn in to the newly-built mausoleum at the Irie Family cemetery plot. This was the first time that the entire Irie Family, as well as the Atsushi Family, would be gathering around like a huge family reunion, in addition that close friends are also invited as well. Dad decided that because there was no time to have catering services and such to decorate Stardust House for the luncheon after the ceremony that he decided to book the entire Matchy’s Hilltop Restaurant, not too far from where Stardust House is located. Knowing how filthy rich the Iries are throughout Hinasaki, we could have held our luncheon at a much higher-end, high-class establishment, but Matchy’s Hilltop Restaurant held a lot of significant meaning to Dad.

That restaurant was the very first place where Dad took Mom for their first date. It was the first move that Dad made on his quest to win Mom’s heart. It was during second year of high school when Dad just turned sixteen and Mom was still fifteen at that time. Although Matchy’s was also a high-end fancy restaurant on its own, Mom loved the dishes there because that establishment were completely environmental-friendly and that the ingredients that they used were locally grown and freshly-harvested. Everything was homemade, or handmade rather, and they always had specials for certain dishes for those who can’t afford to eat at such a fancy restaurant. The restaurant itself was located right up the hills (after all, it is a hilltop restaurant) and also offered its entire hill lot for special occasions such as wedding receptions, birthdays, and the like.

I’ve dined several times at Matchy’s before but I wasn’t they type who would like to go to high-class restaurants like that on a daily basis. I only dined there whenever the rest of the family wanted to dine there. I would dine there sometimes with Tai-nii whenever he invited me. Actually, to be more specific, the only time that Tai-nii would invite me to Matchy’s to have lunch or dinner with him was during my weekend visits back here during that seven-year stretch. Ever since I returned here last month, I haven’t had any Matchy’s for a long while now. Simple reason why. The just replaced me with the girlfriend and Matchy’s became their own personal love nest. Jerk.

When we got home to Stardust House, the house felt absolutely lonely. Well, I wouldn’t exactly say lonely, more of like deserted. We don’t get to see the rest of the tenants back here until tomorrow, so in short, it was only Dad, Tai-nii, Jun, Kaito, Sara-san, and myself who were present here. Auntie Ibuki decided to stay overnight here also so she can help us out fix Tai-nii’s room to prepare for the arrival of our brand-new tenant: punk-ass cousin Yukinojou Irie. Of all people, I thought to myself, why did it have to be this dude? I wonder if this was Mom’s doing that gave me the signal that while I’m already back home that I need to reconcile and fix all the mess that I’ve left behind. If Shinoda and I have been getting along a little bit better, even if I still find him an emo-tastic dumbass, maybe I would end up being the same with Yuki.