Chapter 38:
Kei and Mizuki decided to take Hana to a child psychologist now that she was 3 years old in order to see how they could better support her academic learning, behavior, and skills. As they waited in the lobby of the doctor's office, Hana began fidgeting on Mizuki's lap.
"Are you okay, Hana?" Mizuki asked.
"Sleepy, mama..." Hana yawned as she rubbed her eyes.
"I know... It's way too early, isn't it?" She smiled.
"Yeah, too early..." Her daughter nodded.
Hana's vocabulary had widened these last few months, and the two found it bittersweet that they could now have detailed conversations with their daughter. It meant that she was growing up right in front of their very eyes. After a few minutes, the doctor finally stepped out of her office and greeted Kei, Mizuki, and Hana warmly. They stood up from their seats and shook her hand.
"Good morning, Tsukishima family..." The doctor smiled, "I'm Doctor Watanabe, and this must be Hana, right?"
She looked at Hana, who was now hiding behind Kei's leg, curiously watching the interactions of the adults around her.
"What are your credentials?" Kei inquired as he crossed his arms expectantly.
"Baby..." Mizuki nudged him, clearly embarrassed, "Sorry about my husband..."
"No, that's quite alright..." Watanabe laughed, "I did my undergraduate degree in psychology at Tohoku University, and my masters and clinical Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo..."
"Oh, you attended the same university as my husband!" Mizuki chimed in, "He went to Tohoku university too!"
"Is that right, Tsukishima-san?" Watanabe gasped.
"Yes..." Kei nodded slowly, "How many years have you been a child psychologist?"
"Almost ten years now." She answered.
"And do you like your job?" He continued.
"I do!"
Mizuki cleared her throat and whispered, "Stop with the interrogation, already..."
"Fine, fine..." Kei sighed, "Thank you for taking the time to meet with us, Dr. Watanabe..."
"Of course!" Watanabe beamed, "So, for Hana's assessment, I'll be in the main room with her for about an hour, and after, I'll discuss my findings with you two. Is that alright?"
"Yes!" Mizuki smiled, "Thank you."
"Okay..." Watanabe bent down so that she was at the same eye level as Hana, "Hi, Hana-chan..."
Hana bit her lip and looked up at Kei.
"It's okay, sweetheart..." He murmured reassuringly, "She just wants to talk to you for a bit, okay?"
She nodded slowly and said, "Hi..."
"Hi, there! It's so nice to meet you." Watanabe smiled.
"Who are you?" Hana asked curiously.
"I'm a doctor..." She replied, "And you? Can you tell me something about yourself?"
"I like..." Hana pursed her lips together thoughtfully, "Dinos!"
Kei couldn't help but smile at her daughter's response.
"I love dinosaurs!" Watanabe gasped, "What's your favorite dinosaur?"
"The big one!" Hana giggled, stretching her arms out, "It flies!"
"A Pterodactyl?" The doctor grinned.
"Yeah! Terror duck till!" She took a step forward so that she was no longer hiding behind Kei.
"That's great!" Watanabe exclaimed, "Hey, Hana, I have some dinosaur toys in that room right there. Do you want to go in and play with them?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Hana beamed excitedly.
"Let's go then!"
Hana followed the psychologist into the room, only to stop in her tracks when she realized that her parents were not behind her.
"Mama? Dada?" Hana blinked in confusion.
"We can't go inside, my moonflower..." Mizuki explained.
"But..." She grimaced, torn on whether she should stay with her parents or go into a room filled with all kinds of toys, "Mama..."
Kei bent down and gently squished Hana's cheek, "We'll be right here, okay?"
Hana nodded, and before she entered the room, she planted a quick kiss on Kei's cheek.
"Bye, dada!"
Watanabe closed the door and began Hana's assessment. Meanwhile, Kei fixed his glasses and stood up, his face flushed bright red.
"Our daughter's going to kill me..." He groaned as he sauntered back to his wife.
"Why's that?" She smirked.
"Did you see how damn cute she was kissing my cheek?" Kei sighed, plopping down on the seat, "I'm going to have a heart attack because of her, one of these days..."
Mizuki laughed, leaning her forehead on his shoulder. An hour passed, and eventually, Hana came sprinting out of the main room with a giant grin plastered on her face.
"Mama! Look!" She waved around her new toy, "Bear!"
"Ooh..." Mizuki smiled, "Did Dr. Watanabe give you that?"
"Yeah!" Hana giggled, "Dada, look!"
Kei picked her up and kissed her cheek as she showed off her toy.
"We had so much fun playing and getting to know each other in there!" Watanabe stated cheerfully, "Should we go into the office and discuss her results?"
The two nodded and followed her inside the office with their daughter. As they sat comfortably, the psychologist took out the notes she took while assessing Hana in the main room.
"So, Hana's absolutely wonderful!" Watanabe exclaimed, "She's very developed cognitively and academically. Her vocabulary range and her communication abilities are typically that of a 6-year-old. Another thing is that when I used more complex words, she asked what it meant, meaning that she's very curious and self-motivated to learn. That's an amazing skill to have at such an early age!"
Kei and Mizuki sighed with relief.
"I'm not worried at the slightest, and I'm confident that Hana will do great once she starts school." The doctor beamed.
"That's great!" Mizuki grinned.
"I also noticed that she's very advanced socially and emotionally. Most kids are shy when they first meet people, and Hana is like that but once I warmed up to her, she's very open and willing to talk about different things..." Watanabe continued, "She can also sense if something is wrong just from looking at a person's face and their body language. For example, I pretended to get a call and acted sad in front of her, and she noticed instantly and asked me why I was 'upset'."
"She used the word... upset?" Kei blinked, clearly baffled.
"Yes!" Watanabe laughed, "I've never heard a 3-year-old use that word ever."
"My smart baby..." Mizuki kissed her daughter's cheek as Hana giggled.
"Her vocabulary is astounding, that's for sure!" The psychologist commented, "Overall, I'm confident that Hana will be able to relate to her peers and make friends when the time comes."
"We try to read different kinds of stories to her every night and she spends a lot of time with her cousins who are around her age so yeah..." Mizuki explained.
"It's evident that you two are very involved in Hana's lives..." Watanabe smiled, "It's important that she feels supported and loved."
"Definitely."
"Now, I have noticed some areas that Hana could improve on." She murmured.
Kei and Mizuki stared at each other with concern in their eyes.
"Hana is very friendly, which means that once she's comfortable with someone, she'll feel like she can let her guard down..." Watanabe explained, "She can be a little too touchy, I've noticed. She needs to learn that even though we are friendly with each other, it does not mean that we can invade people's personal space."
Kei and Mizuki nodded as they listened intently.
"Boundaries and consent are something that kids learn in school but I think it's better to start teaching her early..." The doctor continued, "This might be challenging especially if she's been brought up to believe that holding hands, kissing, and other forms of touch are how she can show affection."
"Right..." Mizuki chewed on her lip nervously.
"It's not necessarily a bad thing to show affection in this way, of course..." Watanabe cleared her throat, "She probably sees you two or other loved ones being super affectionate with hugs and all of that..."
Kei and Mizuki blushed at her statements. The two could be a little touchy when it came to each other.
"We need her to learn when it's okay and when it's not okay to do that." Watanabe finished.
"Of course..." Kei nodded.
"Overall, if you two want a more detailed report, I can email you everything that I found in case you want to look over it." She murmured.
"That would be great, thank you." Mizuki nodded.
After their appointment, the three went to their parked car so that they could drive home. Kei and Mizuki had a lot to teach Hana, and they were grateful for the child psychologist's objective insight on their daughter. It's easy to think that their daughter was amazing in every way but in reality, they knew that Hana still had a lot to learn.
As Kei buckled Hana into her car seat, she asked, "Dada? Ice cream?"
"Not right now, sweetheart..." He murmured, "We have dinner at home."
"But ice cream..." She frowned, "Mama, ice cream?"
"We have to eat dinner first, not dessert..." Mizuki explained.
"But ice cream!" Hana huffed.
"Hana..." Kei warned sternly, "We don't shout to get what we want, even if we're mad."
Hana's lip quivered, and she reluctantly nodded.
"Sorry..." She apologized guiltily, "Upset, dada?"
"I'm not upset, okay?" He reassured her, "Thank you for listening to me and saying sorry, Hana."
When they got home, Kei carried Hana inside their house as she had fallen asleep in the car ride. He placed her down on the sofa and covered her with a blanket so that she was snug and safe.
"I'm exhausted..." Mizuki sighed, "I have to start packing for Tokyo..."
After the Olympics in Paris, Mizuki's team received the silver medal, as they were narrowly defeated by the Brazil team in the finals. It stung to lose, of course, but she was grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Olympics again. On a more positive note, the men's team won gold, as they defeated Argentina in the finals!
Kei looped his arms around Mizuki's waist and pulled her close to him.
"I already miss you." He grimaced.
"I'm still here for another two days..." She laughed, tip-toeing up to kiss him.
"Still... I can't believe you have to return to Tokyo so soon..." Kei pouted, "You just finished with the Olympics..."
"It's gonna be okay, baby..." Mizuki brushed her lips against his, "I only have two years left in my contract anyway."
"What do you mean?" He cocked his head to the side, confused.
"I think I'm going to retire from volleyball..." She smiled softly, "After my contract expires."
"... What?" Kei widened his eyes in shock, "Are you serious?"
"Yeah..." Mizuki chuckled, "I've been thinking about this for some time now, and... I've had my time in the spotlight. I've had an incredible career in volleyball but I think I'm ready to move on."
"Are you sure?" He bit his lip, "I'll support your decision either way but... volleyball is such a big part of your life..."
"It still is and that won't ever change..." She grinned, "I just want to be with you and Hana now..."
Kei nodded understandingly, his heart fluttering at the thought of his wife by his side every single day.
Finally.
"I'll be okay, I promise." Mizuki declared confidently.
"I don't have to be alone in bed for weeks at a time anymore..." Kei teased, "In two years, I mean..."
"That's right!" She laughed, "Only two more years, baby."
"Two more years..." He repeated, leaning forward so that their foreheads were touching, "I can't fucking wait..."
"... Language." Mizuki chimed in, "If Hana hears that word and repeats it, I'll k-i-l-l you."
Kei shuddered and nodded defeatedly, "Right..."
Mizuki laughed and kissed him tenderly. She was so excited to start this chapter of her life (in two years, obviously) with Kei and potentially...
Expanding on their family.