Meet the Hakamichis –A USM Summer Series Conclusion Update

[Hoitash]

And now, the Final Chapter. Ave Imperator!

Previous Chapter

Chapter Sixteen: Distant Together


Mr. Hakamichi insisted on driving Lynda to the airport himself. Lynda accepted the offer and loaded her bags into the back of his SUV. Misha, Shizune, and Hisao were coming along to see her off, while Hideaki stayed behind. Lilly and Akira had swung by again, and gave their goodbyes to Lynda in the living room before she left.

“Take care of yourself, okay?” Akira said, extending her hand.

Lynda grinned and took the offered hand, “Thanks, I’ll do my best. Good luck in Scotland, and look after Hideaki when you can.”

Akira nodded, “No worries. You look after Misha, okay? You’re good for her, make sure to hang on to that.”

Lynda nodded as the two ended their handshake, “I know, and I will. And let me know the next time you’re in town –we can exchange jokes, frog-lovers for Irish.”

Akira grinned, “Deal.”

Her goodbye done, Lynda turned her attention to Lilly, who was standing next to Akira.

Lilly gave a light bow and said, “It was a pleasure to meet you, and I’m sorry it was so brief. Next time we meet we’ll have to talk and play a game of chess.”

“I’d be delighted to,” Lynda stated, returning the bow out of politeness, “Sorry you guys got shoehorned in like you did.”

Akira shrugged, “Shit happens, buy a helmet.”

Lilly sighed at her sister’s profanity, though Lynda was grinning. Though Lynda had been worried about meeting the two, she had gotten along with them both rather well, especially Akira, whom she considered a kindred spirit. Akira had returned the sentiment, so it was no surprise they got along so well, really.

“Have a good summer,” Lilly said, “and a good flight.”

“Thanks,” Lynda returned, “you have a good summer, too –both of you.”

With a final bow between them, Lynda turned toward the front door. Misha, Shizune and Hisao were outside with Mr. Hakamichi, Misha to make sure everything was packed for Lynda, Shizune to keep an eye on her father, and Hisao to keep an eye on his girlfriend.

In the hallway, waiting, was Hideaki, standing in front of the door so that Lynda had no choice but to speak to him. He looked serious about something, so, smirking lightly, Lynda approached him.

Raising an eyebrow, she asked, “Something on your mind?”

“I don’t remember my mother very well,” he replied. Adjusting his glasses slightly, he continued, “She was an important part of our lives –both mine, Shizune, and our father’s- but I was young, and it’s not something –someone- we talk about. I don’t know much about your situation with your mother, and I won’t presume to, but, I will state the obvious here: you may have been given a second Dad, but you only have one Mom.”

Lynda’s smirk faded as she eyed the young man. Sighing, she nodded, “I know, and thank you for the advice. You been talking to Misha about this?”

Hideaki shook his head, “I am a force of nature unto my own.”

Lynda rolled her eyes, “Sure. Well, thanks, like I said. I’ll try to remember the whole ‘honor thy mother and thy father’ bit. Okay?”

Hideaki nodded and extended a hand. Lynda took it, surprised at the piece of paper contained within. Taking it and opening it revealed a phone number, email address, and Skype username.

“Don’t be a stranger,” he stated, and wandered down the hall and into the kitchen.

Lynda smiled, folded up the paper, and stuck in her purse. Taking one last, brief look around her, Lynda opened the door and stepped outside.

Shizune and Hisao were having a conversation with Misha, which Lynda gathered concerned her own travel arrangements –she was leaving the next day via train for her own home. Mr. Hakamichi was waiting by the driver’s side of the car –Lynda still wasn’t used to the whole left-side of the road thing yet- and gave her a brief glance of acknowledgement when she walked over.

“Ready?” he grunted.

Lynda nodded and bowed, “Yes. Thank you very much for the ride, and letting me and my girlfriend stay here.”

“As long as my daughter can count Mikado as a friend, you are welcome here,” Mr. Hakamichi stated, “…with proper advance notice, of course.”

Lynda smirked, “Of course, and thank you.”

[It was good to see you again,] Shizune declared, [and I hope my brother and father weren’t too annoying.]

“You underestimate your own family,” Mr. Hakamichi muttered, “Disgraceful.”

“Not unexpected, though,” Hisao retorted.

Mr. Hakamichi grunted in reply.

Lynda kept her face neutral as she tried to ignore the side conversation while replying to Shizune, [“It was good to see you, too, and I enjoyed spending time with your brother and father.”]

Shizune blinked a few times as she processed the seemingly impossible statement. While she recovered, Hisao stepped forward to say his own goodbye, since doing so at the airport just seemed too informal and distant.

“Your Japanese and JSL are a lot better now,” Hisao stated, “Although you might wanna work on the accent.”

“Eh, I already stick out, might as well accept it,” Lynda remarked, “Thanks a bunch for the help, though.”

Lynda stuck out her hand and Hisao took it, “No problem. See you in the winter?”

“Hopefully. I’m gonna see if I can spend New Years with Misha here in Japan with her parents. I’ll know more when my own family’s sorted out their plans.”

Hisao nodded and Lynda ended their handshake, “You better still call though.”

Lynda grinned and nodded, “Count on it.”

“Don’t you have a flight to catch?” Mr. Hakamichi asked.

Lynda fished for her cell phone from her purse to check the time.

“Shit,” she muttered, “Crap, sorry. We better get going.”

The others nodded and piled into the car, except for Misha, who moved over from the trunk to Lynda. Lynda opened her mouth, but Misha placed a finger over her lips.

“Save it for the airport, okay~?” Misha asked.

Lynda blinked, smiled, and slowly nodded. Misha grinned, lowered her finger, and the two lifted themselves into the car.

The drive to the airport was oddly silent, interspersed only by the muttered grumblings of Mr. Hakamichi while he drove. Lynda and Misha spent the ride looking at each other, trying not to think about their looming separation. Neither one minded being apart for a little while –it was healthy, after all- but the pains of their first separation ran deep, and a few weeks apart was just long enough to bring those pains back to the front.

Still, this time they knew they’d be together again. Besides, Misha missed her family, and Lynda had been alone before. A couple weeks apart wasn’t the end of the world. Just another pain to get through –another test of faith in their own relationship.

Mr. Hakamichi’s grumbling intensified when they reached the airport, which was crowded with Saturday traffic for weekend flights. Eventually he managed to get close enough for Lynda and Misha to hop out and grab her bags. Used to taking flights regularly by that point, Lynda had packed light and made sure she could grab everything herself if she had to, even with the various purchases made in town.

Once the bags were out and the trunk closed, the two women stared at each other, neither one quite sure what to say. Misha, blinking rapidly to fight the forming moisture in her eyes, was the first to speak.

“…See you in a few weeks, alri~ght~?” she said.

Lynda ignored the choke in her partner’s voice as best she could, nodding and asking, “I’ll meet you in LA, okay?”

Misha titled her head, “You’re not flying directly~?”

“I want you with me when I’m in Vancouver,” Lynda stated, “and the flight’ll be cheaper that way, anyway. I don’t mind chilling in the airport for a few hours if it means I’m there to greet you.”

Misha smiled, blinked a few times, sniffed, and nodded, “Okay. I’ll see you then, then.”

Lynda smirked, “I’ll call when I’m back in the States. Good-”

“Don’t say it,” Misha demanded.

Lynda blinked, “Huh?”

Misha gave up trying to blink away the forming tears, letting them water her eyes as she stated, “It’s not goodbye. I’ll see you in a couple weeks, we’ll spend some time with your family, and then we’ll go back to New York together, okay?”

Lynda nodded, her own eyes starting to water despite herself, “Right. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Misha leaned forward, rising on her tiptoes to better reach her partner. Lynda moved closer and the two met for a brief kiss, neither one daring to put their arms around the other. For a brief moment, Lynda forgot her looming meeting with her mother, the surrounding people eying the two with various glances and looks, and the flight ahead of her. There was just the two of them, together.

Through trials of separation and tests of devotion they had stayed together, in a world that was only just beginning to acknowledge such a relationship was acceptable. In that moment, all that mattered was that they were there for each other.

The two broke apart with a jump when Mr. Hakamichi honked his horn. Chuckling for a moment, Lynda took a step back, carefully wiped a tear from Misha’s cheek, and said, in Japanese:

“Until we meet again, Shiina.”

Misha smiled and returned the favor, a lone tear having broken through Lynda’s resolve, “Have a good flight, Lycchan.”

Lynda smiled and sighed, nodded, grabbed her bags, and, with a quick nod to the SUV, headed off into the airport.

+++

I seem to have a thing with airports. I’m sure it’s a whole didactic symbolism thing, but it’s not intentional. The story just seems to go that way.

Oh, right:

THE END

Knew I forgot something.

Well, that was my summer. Writing fan fiction and donating my plasma so I could go to Gen Con. Time to write about witch doctors, cryptozoologists with machetes, and katana wielding elves again. Oh, and space miners turned UPS drivers.

I am a man of many genres, all of them heavily dependent on a good editor. Who has his own magnum opus to work on, but either way, thanks for reading, hope you liked it, etc, etc.

/smokebomb

[bhtooefr]

“You’re Japanese and JSL are a lot better now,”

Your English, OTOH...

Also, d'aww.

[brythain]

Very sweet.

But just one teeny-tiny irritant:
"… the two hefted themselves into the car… "

You can heft something else, but 'heft' used to be the past participle of 'heave' — so now we heave ourselves and other things, but only heft other things besides ourselves.

Seriously.

But this was fun anyway!

[Hoitash]

“You’re Japanese and JSL are a lot better now,”

Your English, OTOH...

D'Oh!

Also, d'aww.

Yay!

Very sweet.

Thanks, I thought so, too.

But just one teeny-tiny irritant:

Of course, that how I roll, man .

"… the two hefted themselves into the car… "
You can heft something else, but 'heft' used to be the past participle of 'heave' — so now we heave ourselves and other things, but only heft other things besides ourselves.
Seriously.
But this was fun anyway!

Hmm... well, not sure if my fix is better, but it's more grammatically correct, at least. And thanks, glad you liked it

[griffon8]

the surrounding people eyeing the two with various glances and looks

eying

in a world that was only just beginning to acknowledge such a type of relationship was acceptable.

Unnecessarily wordy and you didn’t want a second ‘was’: ‘such a relationship as’

+++

New I forgot something.

Forgot something else, apparently…

A satisfying conclusion.

Overall, this whole piece was a bit of fluff, but entertaining fluff. Slice-of-life doesn’t need heavy drama to make it interesting.

[Mirage_GSM]

in a world that was only just beginning to acknowledge such a type of relationship was acceptable.

Unnecessarily wordy and you didn’t want a second ‘was’: ‘such a relationship as’

"Such a relationship as acceptable?"

[Hoitash]

the surrounding people eyeing the two with various glances and looks

eying

Huh, learn something new every day.

in a world that was only just beginning to acknowledge such a type of relationship was acceptable.

Unnecessarily wordy and you didn’t want a second ‘was’: ‘such a relationship as’

I fiddled with that line a bit to get it right. Apparently forgot to try and make it shorter along the way. hopefully the new fix works out.

A satisfying conclusion.

Thanks, I try to make sure my endings are sound. They are kind of important, after all

Overall, this whole piece was a bit of fluff, but entertaining fluff. Slice-of-life doesn’t need heavy drama to make it interesting.

Indeed. Though drama can be easier to write (or rather, easier to use as a hook to keep reader's attention.)

[griffon8]

in a world that was only just beginning to acknowledge such a type of relationship was acceptable.

Unnecessarily wordy and you didn’t want a second ‘was’: ‘such a relationship as’

"Such a relationship as acceptable?"

Yes. Though looking at it again, it’s not too bad with ‘was’. Either is fine, but ‘type of’ is definitely unneeded.