In the Language of the Flowers

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Beau stood quite a bit more quietly than my mother had, but he shuffled calmly into her open arms nonetheless. I sat and watched them as if I were an old man on his porch, calmly looking back on his life with contentment.

"I'm so glad we've still got you," she said quietly. "Kazoku." 

I smiled to myself. 

"What?" Beau asked. 

"It means family," I explained. 

She held his face. "Which is what you are to us."'

Beau looked properly defeated. "Thank you, Ai." 

"And," she continued, ignoring his gratitude as though it were completely unnecessary and her kindness was run-of-the-mill, "speaking of family." They sat back down together. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you two." 

"Is that why you asked to have lunch?" Beau asked. 

"Can't a lady just want to have lunch with her boys?" she asked. 

"Yes, of course," I said, "but be honest." 

She sighed. "Ok, you got me. I have made a decision about my future that you two ought to hear." 

Anxiety invaded my mind. It seemed the same for Beau. "What is it?" he asked, leaning forward immediately. 

"I told my lawyer to push up the divorce proceedings massively," she said. "By the time Beech is rightfully in jail, I will be a tragic divorcee." 

"Isn't that a good thing?" Beau asked. 

"Why don't you seem relieved?" I asked. 

Mom smiled sadly. "Because after all I've been through, divorcing him without fighting it out will diminish the amount of money I can take from him. I have to settle."

"Then wait," I said immediately. "You've got to take as much as you can from him." 

"Maybe she doesn't want to drag it out, Ren," Beau said quietly. 

"That's part of it," Mom explained. "I really don't want to stay married to him for a minute longer, but I would have waited if it felt like a real option. I have quite an amazing lawyer, and I'm sure she could help me drain him of everything he has." 

"Then why won't you wait?" 

Mom leaned back in her chair. She took a slow sip of her water. "Because I'm going to turn him over to the authorities." 

My heart leapt into my throat. "You're what?" 

"I know," she said. "I can't believe it myself."

"Why now?" Beau asked. He was taking this entire thing incredibly calmly. 

"How is that possible? Do you have something on him?" 

She smiled coyly. "I have quite a bit, actually. I've been collecting evidence of his habits since the first time he hurt me."

"How did you get it?" 

"He never thought much of me," she said. Her gaze grew briefly distant. "When a man doesn't bother looking at you, he cannot see you even if you're right under his nose. And Tatsuo never did think women could understand business."

"Why now?" Beau asked again. 

She looked at him. "I'm going to be honest with you, Beau." He nodded. "A part of me suspects he's responsible for your hospitalization." 

Beau looked hollowed out. I felt sick. "You believe me?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I always knew he was a bastard, but I never thought he'd go so far as to take another person's life. He kept me alive all these years, after all."