Safety Net

21| which house is home? pt. 2

Saija's mind completely wandered off. Her nerves were all over the place. Saija continuously pulled at her sweater's sleeves as she sat in the passenger seat. She, Meechie, along with her mother were in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Meechie drove the rental car and took directions from her mom. She was glad that Meechie had decided to tag along. She didn't think that she couldn't have came back to this city alone without feeling some sense of protection.

"You straight?" Leslie answered a phone call from her husband and Meechie took the opportunity to ask Saija the question. He figured that she wouldn't be truthful since her mother was listening. He could see the nervousness written all over her face. Saija hesitated before nodding and trying to give him a convincing smile. He gave her thigh a squeeze, trying to provide her with some source of comfort and she appreciated it. Saija rested her hand on top of his. She was grateful for Meechie; it was like he always knew what she wanted or needed without her having to say it.

"Your father is so excited to see you Meme. He then called his mama to try and make tempura and them lil dumpling things." They both laughed knowing the closest thing her dad could make to Japanese food was a pack of instant ramen noodles. But it was always the thought that counted. Saija and her father never had the best relationship but since it's been so long she was willing to give their relationship another shot.

The ride to their residence wasn't long at all. Pulling up to the average sized flat house, Saija was hit with a ton of memories all at once. From when she used to ride her bike in the street with the other neighborhood kids to playing in the front yard in the snow with her little sister. She never thought she'd see this house again so to be here now was sort of surreal to her.

Getting out of the car, they were all engulfed with the cold air. She wasn't used to such cold air in March since she had become used to Atlanta's heat, so she was in a hurry to get inside of the house. Leslie used her house key to unlock the door and the three of them were met with a cloud of smoke.

"Kenji! The hell are you doing?" Leslie yelled and ran to the kitchen to see him standing over the sink with a pot inside and him holding his arm.

"I thought the oil wasn't hot!" He yelled back applying pressure to the burn trying to minimize the pain. He came back to his senses and realized that his wife was back from the trip to Atlanta. "Is she here?" His face softened completely.

Leslie nodded and he followed her to the living room where both Saija and Meechie sat on the couch. The family pictures decorated the living room space and a lot of it was still the same from the last time she'd seen it. Saija sat still in her spot and didn't touch anything.

Kenji's eyes lit up once he saw his daughter again. He was so overwhelmed with emotions that he didn't know what to say to her. Saija walked closer to him, not saying anything either, just extending her arms out. Tears were on the brim of his slender eyes as he went to hug her.

Meechie sat back on the couch and observed the scene that was playing out in front of him. He didn't want to interrupt and for some weird reason he felt it would be disrespectful to occupy himself with his phone, so he looked closely at all of the pictures on the wall. Picking up the picture frame closest to him, he saw Leslie, Kenji, and a young Saija—Meacco— sitting on his lap while a baby rested in Leslie's arms which he assumed was her little sister.

"Dad, this is my boyfriend, Meechie." Meechie jumped up and put the picture back in its place before extending his hand for Kenji to shake.

"Nice to meet you, sir." Kenji hesitantly shook Meechie's hand. He had just gotten his daughter back and didn't trust anybody around her. And it's been proven that she didn't have the best taste back then, but she was a whole different person now.