Life in San Fransokyo

Cold Comfort Part 3

"I suppose you might be wondering what Tadashi meant earlier," Aunt Cass remarked as she wiped the café's counter with a white rag. She kept her eyes on the surface, a small frown marring her forehead while she focused on the spot she was cleaning. Elsa and Hiro sat at a nearby table and waited—her hands were neatly folded on her lap and her back ramrod straight with tension, while he slouched and rested his elbows on the table, his forearms crossed.

Aunt Cass put the rag away then disappeared to the back. Elsa heard the faint sound of water running for about a minute or two before the older woman reappeared, wiping her hands on her pants. "Do you guys want coffee? Hot chocolate? Donuts?" she offered, raising her eyebrows.

"Come on, Aunt Cass—what did Tadashi mean earlier when he said he was sorry?" Hiro pressed.

Aunt Cass sighed and fiddled with her necklace, the movement catching Elsa's eye. It was a green pendant—an emerald?—suspended on a silver chain. She didn't answer Hiro immediately, her eyes roving back and forth in thought. She sat down beside her nephew and began to speak after a minute of thoughtful silence.

"You know your mom and I are twins, right?" she said softly. "Only difference between us were our eyes—she had blue ones. We had matching necklaces, with a sapphire and emerald pendant. She had the emerald one. I had the sapphire one and exchanged our necklaces when she died."

"Oh," Hiro murmured, his eyes widening fractionally over the revelation.

"Tadashi had mentioned his parents died in a car accident," Elsa ventured, her voice soft. "That's about all I know."

"He never liked talking about it," Aunt Cass replied after a heavy pause, shaking her head. "Who can blame him? It wasn't something a boy should go through. Alex and Akihiko died when he was eleven, and you—" at this she glanced at Hiro—"were three." She let out a short, breathy laugh. "My sister's name was Alexandra," she explained when she caught Elsa's curious gaze. Elsa knew the brothers' father was named Akihiko, but she never learned their mother's name until now. "She was the older one by five minutes. We went by Lexie and Cassie when we were kids then Alex and Cass as we got older because our names both had 'sandra' in it. My parents thought they were being clever." She rolled her eyes and gave a wobbly smile. "Anyway, sorry—I was getting caught up in the memories. I miss Alex. She—she was my best friend."

Elsa felt a pang of sympathy for her, offering the older woman an understanding smile. "I know what you mean, Aunt Cass," she said, nodding. "My sister Anna, she's my best friend, too."

"Siblings share a special bond, especially twins," Aunt Cass agreed, misty-eyed, before she gasped and grabbed Hiro's shoulder. "Wait a second—what date is it today?"

"Um, it's the fourteenth," he answered with a mystified expression on his face. "Why?"

Aunt Cass sent him a pointed look until the answer dawned on him. "Oh. Yeah, that's probably why Tadashi went berserk earlier."

"Am I missing something here?" Elsa asked, shooting a glance between aunt and nephew.

"Tomorrow's the day our parents died—we usually go to our parents' graves to clean it up and stuff," a somber Hiro answered her. "Fun, huh?"

"Your brother idolized your father," Aunt Cass remarked, remembrance written on her face. "Tadashi had said he wanted to be a doctor like Akihiko back then. I was surprised when he applied for an SFIT scholarship—he wouldn't tell me why he suddenly wanted to go there, only saying it's a good school."

"Probably for some self-sacrificing reason. Like, I bet it was because SFIT's cheaper since it's only fifteen minutes away from here. And he probably wanted to keep an eye on me," Hiro guessed. "You know how he is."