I looked up from my manga as I heard the phone ring and hurried to answer it. "Hello, this is Okazaki."
"Tomoya-san?"
"Hey, Pastor!" I greeted; I hadn't talked to him since the morning after his return from America. He had told me that he'd call me after he got settled back in, so I was relieved to hear his voice again. "Are you finally back in Japan?"
I heard a chuckle from his end. "Yeah, it's not so much the jet-lag as it is just getting used to being home."
"I'll bet."
"Listen, I need to ask a favor of you. Can you hear me out?"
"Sure."
"Thanks." There was a long pause before he spoke again. "Listen, I'm...um...going to the café to meet with Ryu-san, and I was hoping you'd be willing to come with me."
"Shouldn't be a problem," I said. "What time did you want to meet? And where?"
"Well, I'm supposed to meet with him for lunch at noon at the café by the station, so how about eleven, eleven-fifteen?"
"I can do that," I said. "Saturday, right?"
"Yeah, Saturday."
"Okay, I'll see you then."
"Thanks, Tomoya; I really appreciate this."
As I hung up I thought about why he would want me to come with him. He would be meeting with the twins' dad for lunch, so it had to be about something important. Maybe Kyou had been harassing him or something? I shook my head, figuring that I'd find out on Saturday.
***
I met up with Jeff just outside the main entrance to the church; for some reason, he was pacing. "Ah, there you are, Tomoya."
"Are you okay, boss?" I asked. "You seem...nervous or something."
"I am nervous," he admitted. "That's why I asked you to come along."
"So what's going on? Is Kyou harassing you again? Is that what you're going to talk to him about?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "It's...well, come with me and you'll find out." He set off, walking at a brisk pace, and I followed.
He didn't say anything the whole way to the café, and the few times that I glanced at him he appeared to be...focused.
We arrived at the café and quickly found Ryu. "Ah, Tomoya-san; I didn't expect to see you here."
"I asked him to come along," Jeff told him. "Is that okay?"
"I have no problem sharing a meal with my future son-in-law," he answered with an affable smile and a wink.
I chuckled at his choice of words. "Thanks, Dad."
"So, should we talk first or eat? To be honest, I'd like to at least order my food first," Dad said.
"That's fine," Jeff said, and I noticed that he was rubbing his hands on his pant legs.
So we ordered our lunches. I had saved some of my allowance for this, so I was able to pay my own way, which felt good.
A few minutes later our meal arrived, and Dad looked over at my mentor. "Ashton-sensei, would you like to pray for our food?"
Pastor Jeff blinked; apparently he hadn't been expecting Dad to make the request. "S-Sure, thank you." He looked to the sky this time, just as he had the last time we were here. "Lord Jesus, thank You for our time together. Give us knowledge and wisdom so we may have a...a..." I'd never heard him stumble during a prayer before, which was surprising. "...that our time together would be fruitful and beneficial. Thank You for your provision, and help us to stay within Your will for us. May Your will be done; Amen."
"Amen," Dad and I repeated; saying the word still felt weird, but not as weird as it used to.
"So," Dad said as he reached for his chopsticks, "why have you asked me here? What can I do for you?"
"Well, sir..." Jeff said, then licked his lips. "Would I be rude if I just went straight to the point?"
"Not at all," Dad replied before taking a bite of his meal. "And I thought I told you to call me 'Ryu'."
"You did, sir-er, Ryu," Jeff said, then licked his lips again. "I asked you here to ask you for permission to...to...for permission to..."
I watched with more than a little concern as my typically verbally adept mentor struggled to finish a sentence.
"Oh, for crying out loud..." Dad said, putting down his chopsticks. "Just spit it out; you're asking for permission to date my daughter, right?"
I paled at almost the same time Jeff did. "P-Pastor...?"
He glanced at me before looking back at Dad. "Yes; I am asking for permission to date your daughter, Kyou," he replied evenly, finally sounding more like the man I knew.
I was floored; had something changed during his time back in America? Had his mentor said something to him about this?
Dad sighed heavily as he leaned back in his chair. "Hmm...well, let's see..." He looked over his shoulder. "What do you think, sweetheart?"
Jeff's mouth fell open and his face nearly burst into flame as Kyou appeared from around a nearby corner of the café. Her cheeks were pinked, and tears pooled in her widened eyes as she approached the table and slowly lowered herself into a seat next to her father, her eyes fixed on my furiously blushing mentor. I looked to Dad to see him with an amused look on his face.
"K-Kyou?" Jeff finally said with a look of disbelief.
"You...You really want to...to date me?" Kyou asked incredulously.
Jeff simply nodded with an awkward smile. "I...I'm sorry to take so long."
Dad smiled and I gaped as Kyou's chest started heaving. "I've...waited so long..." she said, rising from her seat and making her way around the table, "...I've been waiting..."
Jeff also got to his feet, and we watched as he faced her and spread his arms. "Would you accept someone like me?"
His arms weren't empty for long, as she threw herself into them, sobbing. "Th-Thank you, Jeff! Thank you so much!"
***
"Good for you, sweetheart," Dad said as she and Pastor Jeff sat next to each other, holding hands. "You've been waiting a long time for this."
"I'm really sorry," Jeff said yet again.
"Oh, don't worry about it," Dad grunted. "I'm sure you had things you had to deal with first, right?"
"I did," he admitted.
"Is that why you went back to America when you did?" I asked.
He nodded bashfully. "Yup."
"May we know why?" Dad asked.
"Is it because of Jessica?" Kyou asked with a sympathetic look.
"I...wanted to honor her memory," Jeff replied. "And, honestly, this is one of the things that I disagree with Pastor Hamilton over; whether it's okay to remarry or not."
I wanted to ask about the differences, but I didn't think it was the time. "Is that why you met with him?"
"I thought...well, maybe I should just explain the whole thing," my mentor said. "Before I decided to go back to America I had been receiving an impression that I needed to remarry. I questioned it, and even fought it, worried that it might be Satan just...doing what he does. The feeling wouldn't go away, so I went back to America to visit my mentor, Pastor Hamilton, to talk with him about it, and to...well, to visit my late wife's grave."
"Her grave?" I was surprised. "I thought Christians didn't pray to the dead."
"We don't," he replied. "It was...I guess you could say it was more psychological than anything. We don't stop being human when we become Christian; we're forgiven for our sins. Anyway, I visited Jessica's grave for a closure of sorts, and that's when I really felt...no, that's not right..." He shook his head. "It's getting kinda personal, now."
"It's okay, Jeff," Kyou said as she patted his arm. "You don't have to tell us if you're not ready."
"No, I want to," Jeff countered. "See, when I say 'impression', I'm referring to when God talks to me; it's not a voice like yours or mine, it's like I hear it here," he said, tapping his chest. "I understand if it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. I've followed that 'voice' many times and have been blessed richly as a result. In fact..." He looked over at Kyou with a smile. "Asking permission to date Kyou was a result of listening to that voice."
"And I'm really happy you did," Kyou said in a voice filled with emotion as she gave his hand a squeeze.
"Well, I don't get all this God stuff," Dad admitted, "but as long as you treat my daughter right you'll have no complaints from me."
"I will," Jeff promised, then turned to Kyou. "Listen; a-are you available tonight? I'd like to take you to d-dinner. I know it's short notice, so I'll understand if-"
"I'm free," Kyou interrupted. "Right, Daddy?"
"Yes, sweetheart," Dad chuckled. "You're free tonight."
"What about you?" Jeff asked me. "Again, I understand it's short notice, but I'd like this to be a double-date if possible."
"I'm game," I replied. "Just have to check with Ryou."
"I'll let her know that she's available," Dad said with a mischievous smile and another wink. "Where and what time?"
Pastor Jeff looked to me. "Would you be willing to meet me at the church...no you've done that quite a bit already. How about I meet you at your place at five-o-clock and we'll pick the girls up from their house and go to the restaurant from there?"
"Sounds good to me," I said, then looked to Kyou. "Would you two be okay with that?"
"Being escorted to a restaurant by this hunk of manliness?" Kyou asked as she snuggled up to her new boyfriend. "Absolutely!"
"K-Kyou!" Pastor Jeff sputtered, turning an interesting shade of red.
"Take it easy, Kyou; you've just started dating," her father admonished. "Give him a chance to get comfortable with you before you start embarrassing him."
"But it's the truth!" she protested. "I mean, just look at him!"
"K-Kyou!" Pastor Jeff sputtered, turning an even more interesting shade of red.
"Kyou..." Dad warned.
"All right, all right, I'm sorry," she said, looking far from 'sorry' if her catlike smile was any indication. "I'll behave...for now."
"For now?" Jeff said, putting a hand on his forehead. "What have I gotten myself into?"