To Love is like Art

Chapter 4: Crimson Red Virus of Love

I was hoping that when I arrived back home for lunch, I would have my favorite beef udon waiting for me.

Instead...

"HAMBURGER STEAK!!!", Taiichi excitedly clapped his hands together in excitement, eyes shining.

"Oh, shut up! You're like a little kid," I tried to scold him.

"No, it's called acting your age Ate," he snarked across the dinner table.

ARGH! I felt the sting from that.

"You should really try it out sometime!"

STAB! There it was again.

"Th-this little trashbag.....", I muttered.

"Could you two please not tonight??", my mother gave her two bits.

The words "He started it!" crossed my mind, but I knew that was gonna dig me a grave deeper than I could handle at the time.

The table was decorated every so carefully with delicacies. The hamburger steaks that Taiichi was ogling sat steaming on a pearl white, porcelain platter. The golden, teriyaki, honey infused sauce glistened under the dining room lights. The scents of the spices that my mother used in the dish wafted gently in the air. 

Miso soup was placed at the top right-hand corners of our plates. The salty essence combined with that of the hamburger steaks and created a symphony of aromas. I caught a glimpse of an egg that lied at the bottom of the soup. It swam a bit as mother placed the pot of white, Japanese sticky rice on the table. 

Dammit... Now when I think about it like that, I am almost glad to accept tonights non-udon dish. 

I guess this really is not too bad.

Everybody got situated and we began to say grace. Dad was not here yet on account of his work. 

But it would be nice if he could be back for lunch like old times...

As soon as the word "amen" left our mouths, I dug into the food practically face first.

Hey, you cannot be picky when all you had for a snack was fruit snacks.

While I had about a half of a hamburger steak, Mom piped up, "So how did the repair go on Crispin?"

I was about to answer through the rice and meat until Taiichi chimed in the conversation, "Haha! Oh yeah, I forgot you named your scooter!"

Slightly embarrassed I whipped my head towards him, "Yeah?? What's it to you huh??"

Mom gave a small grunt of disapproval and I backed off. 

I swallowed my food and finally replied to her, "It went smoothly. I got the wrecked tire that I need to take to the junkyard sometime in the garage." 

"Thank God nobody stole it," she said, "Honestly Haruka, you need to be more cautious about stuff like that. Importing that scooter was not easy."

I was put down a bit by my mom's words. I began to think I really was not as "adult" as I thought I was...

I focused on eating after that. The hamburger steak tasted a bit better when I shut out everything else from my mind and let the flavors comfort me.

As I was about to finish off my plate, my phone vibrated in my pocket. 

I pulled it out of my pocket and opened it, letting the charm dangle. It was a message from Kayla!

"Oh, that's a cute little charm," Mom said.