Your Lie In April - The Second Sonata

Chapter 7: Tumbling Back Into The Past

"Kousei..", my old man suddenly called me out in the middle of our Christmas dinner (yes, surprisingly, he came home).

The aroma inside our house was that of blissful confusion. It had been a while since there was an array of different delicacies on the dining table. Dad made mom's pot-au-feu, while Hiroko-san roasted some chicken. The menu wouldn't be complete if I didn't cook my world famous egg sandwiches though. And then, Koharu-chan mixed in some fruits with all the milk in the fridge for our dessert. I guess she was already old enough to make something like that.

"Why didn't you invite your girlfriend along?", my dad asked. I instantly sprayed mom's original beef stew all over my food.

"Takahiko-kun.. don't go blurting out ambush questions like that for your son. See what happened?", Hiroko-san said with some giggles in between, referring to the mess I just made.

"What? It was just a random question, Hiro-chan..", replied dad. Then he reverted his attention back to me. "Is Emi-chan spending Christmas with her family?"

"Yes, she actually flew in this morning..", I replied, which reminded me that I haven't called her yet. "Uhh.. Oto-san.."

"Yes, son?"

"She's not my girlfriend yet..", I said as I looked down to hide the obvious redness on my face. "Please don't go blurting out things like that when she's around. It's embarrassing..", I added.

"Really? You two look very much together whenever I visit you in Okutsu", replied dad. I just continued staring at my already messy dinner plate. "I guess you kids do prefer to keep things complicated", he added before he chuckled awkwardly.

"Til now it still amazes me how similar you guys show that face", Hiroko-san said, pertaining to dad's uncomfortable expression that at times, I wear myself.

"Well.. he is my son.."

My father, Arima Takahiko, had been absent for almost half of my life. He was always at work or out finding something that could earn him good money. Business trips, even on holidays, were always in his agenda. Whether it be halfway across the country or hundreds of miles outside Japan, he would work himself to the ends of the earth. Hiroko-san seemed to have had the liking of calling dad an "absentee parent" for a jest.

And for what? It was simple really, and it was exactly why I didn't mind him not being around all the time. Mom's illness exhausted my college fund, so dad had to work extra just to get it back.

But dad wasn't always missing in action like everyone around us claimed. Besides him being in constant contact with me through phone calls and emails, he used to be always around and hands on before mom died. Well, he had to be. Someone had to maintain the upkeep of the house and fulfill his family's needs, not to mention making my mom's last days easier. That explains him being able to cook mom's pot-au-feu and many other things.

Though since high school, dad was a little bit more visible already. I used to make it an excuse that it was easier for him since an airport was near my high school, but here I was back in Tokyo, and he was here too. I guess my college fund was about ready.

"So..", dad interrupted while I was drinking some warm milk by my window.

It was a bright evening. The light of the moon shone through the room revealing a very dusty and cluttered grand piano. If she was here, she might've thrown a fit before lashing out at me then proceeding to throw all that clutter towards me. The thought actually made me smile. It had happened before as I recall. Funny that it was also the first time I brought a girl in our house.

"Who is it this time?", dad asked.

"Eh? What do you mean, Oto-san?", I replied in confusion.

"You don't normally go out of your way like coming home after three years out of the blue, Kousei.."