Roses and Cherry Blossoms

Chapter 10

"Yumi!" I scold. She made fun of my Cupcake!

"He was a hard kid to deal with!" She defends. "He hated everyone and never listened! He still is like that!" She laughs.

Cupcake is in his room taking a nap. I wanted to nap with him, I love cuddling with him when we nap, he always pulls my back into his chest and wraps his arms around me. I almost went with him. But, then Yumi asked me to make mochi with her. I was leaning towards the nap. But then she told me she was making it filled with ice cream this time.

So, obviously, I said yes.

"I cannot wait to show you all the family recipes!" Yumi squeals. "My son is useless in the kitchen and so is Mia. So, I guess I need to pass everything down to my daughter in law."

Daughter in law? "Yumi, you know Cupcake and I are just friends." I remind her. Even though I know she already knows that.

"Evangeline, you and I both realize that's not going to be the case for much longer. I've seen how he is around you, he has never been happier. You are his person. Tell me dear, do you like him?" She asks, I freeze right there.

What should I say? Tell Kai's mother how I feel about her son? Is that not weird? She did say I could talk to her about anything. Did she really mean that?

"Well, I- uh- yes." I blurt out. "I wasn't sure for a while. But a few days ago I realized that I do. It's just so weird. How could it be that the first person I meet in the real world is my person? What are the odds of that?" I question.

"I think that you have had a challenging life. You were isolated, then you lost the only people you have ever known. You were shoved into the world at seventeen with no preparation. I think that Kai was sent to you because that was when you needed him." She explains.

Wow. I have spent days trying to tell myself that Kai can't be the person I end up with. I can't just end up with the first person I have ever really met. The chances of the love of my life being the first person I ever met were next to nonexistent.

Maybe Yumi is right. Maybe it wasn't a coincidence that Cupcake was the first person I ran into. Maybe it wasn't just a coincidence that he happened to be standing in front of my locker. Maybe he is my person, and I met him when I did because that is when I needed him most.

"I never thought of it that way." I admit to her. "Maybe you are right." I tell her with a huge smile.

"I know I am, Evangeline. You two are so still so young, it may take some time for you both to see things as everyone else does. But trust me, he really likes you." She assures me.

How could she be so sure? Would Cupcake have told his mom if he likes me? Is that something people tell their parents?

"My Mama never explained anything about this to me. She just told me that one day when I was older I would have a husband and a family. She made it sound like they would all just appear. She never told me about all this awkwardness of trying to figure everything out." Yumi always looks sad when I talk about what things were like before. I am not sure if she feels bad that I missed out on so much, or feels bad for what I lost.

"I know sweetheart, but remember what I told you okay?" She says with a smile. Yumi is so nice!

"Thank you Yumi, that means so much to me." I tell her, and it really does. I am so thankful to have her. "I don't think I am very good at this." I tell her, inspecting my first ball. The dough is not wrapped around the ice cream in the prettiest of ways. Mine looks clearly homemade, whereas Yumi's looks perfect, as if it were made by a professional.

"It looks fine! And it is going to taste good, and that is really all that matters!" She says, encouraging me to place my first one next to the two she has already made.