Completed Chapter 36: "Hope"

Chapter 36 of Completed

Hiroyuki leaned back on a red velvet chair. He was in a room filled with bookshelves and files. He thought to himself, “How can I win against the Fujiwaras? I need to look for someone who has more power than the head of the family...I don’t know anyone who has more power other than the previous head?..”

When he realized what he just said, his eyes immediately brightened. He stood up from the chair and said, “Granny Yubi! She has more power than Akio!” He walked towards a wooden cabinet in the middle of all the bookshelves. He opened both the cabinet’s doors. There were albums of pictures inside. He was flipping through a lot of pictures. Most of the pictures contained Kura, and her parents with other famous people.

He continued to scan through the pictures. His eyes stopped at one page. It was a picture of an eldery lady with golden rimmed glasses. She was standing next to a lemon tree with a familiar blond boy in her arms. He placed his hand on top of the photo. He started to pat and stroke the photo.

Hiroyuki smiled and said happily, “I remember this photo. Twelve years ago, I stayed at granny Yubi’s summer house. She showed me around her garden. The most favorite thing in her garden was one big lemon tree. The lemon tree smelled very citrusy and refreshing. She likes to make desserts and drinks from the lemons. Granny Yubi was very kind hearted and gentle. I can’t believe that I forgot about her throughout all these years. I hope she’s doing okay. I wonder if I can somehow reach out to her?” 

He suddenly heard the sound of a door knob turning. He quickly closed the album. He put it back in the cabinet and closed the doors. He turned and saw Kata slowly opening the door. Kata noticed him and said in a curious manner, “Oh Hiroyuki! I was looking all over for you! What were you doing in the study room?”

Hiroyuki replied, “I was just looking for something to read.” Her face beamed from his answer. She cried in joy, “It’s great to be studious! You can always learn a lot of things from books. I am happy to hear that you aren’t slacking off in your studies.”

Hiroyuki grinned slightly and said in a fake enthusiastic voice, “Yeah it’s important to not slack off in one’s studies!” Kata nodded in agreement. Hiroyuki asked, “You said earlier that you were looking for me. What did you need me for?”

Kata put her hands together and said excitedly, “ Oh! I wanted to tell you that I hired a famous suit tailor for your wedding! He is at our house now. He needs to take your measurements for the custom suit. I decided to allow you to customize your own wedding suit! Isn’t that great news to hear?!!”

Hiroyuki clenched his fists. He forced himself to put a huge smile. He said in a forced cheery voice, “Yes, I am looking forward to it! Can you tell me where he is?”

Kata had a pleased expression and said, “Sure! He’s in the lounge room on the first floor.” Hiroyuki nodded and replied, “Thank you, Miss Fujiwara!” Kata said, “No need to thank me! Anything for my future son in law!”

He walked out of the study room and headed downstairs. He sighed and said to himself, “I can’t believe that she’s already beginning the wedding plans! This woman likes to move quickly with what she wants! Ughh!! I can’t catch a break. It’s exhausting to pretend that I’m happy with all this!”

Hiroyuki walks to the lounge on the first floor. The doors were already open. Hiroyuki could see Akio talking to the tailor. Hiroyuki walks up to them. Akio stopped talking to the tailor and said, “Great, you’re finally here! Hiroyuki, meet the famous suit tailor Jiro! He has been our custom suit tailor for years!”

 

Hiroyuki said in a formal manner, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jiro.” He put his right hand out. Jiro smiles and shakes his hand. Jiro said, “Same here, Mr. Hiroyuki. I am honored to work on your wedding suit. Do you mind if I get straight business and start taking your measurements?”

Hiroyuki replied, “That’s fine with me.” Jiro said, “Good. Now stand still. Keep your legs and arms straight.” Jiro takes out a measuring tape from his pocket. He starts to wrap the tape around his chest. He begins to take out a small notebook and pencil with which he writes down Hiroyuki’s measurements. Akio was slowly drinking tea while watching Jiro take measurements.

After the measurements were done, Jiro put away the tape and notebook. He said, “Mr. Hiroyuki, I brought you some sample suits. Can you tell me which material and style you would like from the suits?” 

A butler came in and slid a rack of suits into the room. Hiroyuki walked towards the rack and inspected the suits. The first suit was a classic black and white tuxedo. He felt the material and it was smooth. He glanced at the next suit. The second suit was a plaid gray suit. He ran his fingers over the plaid pattern. Akio said happily, “I love plaid suits! I wore a similar one to my own wedding.” 

Hiroyuki looks at a third suit. The third suit was wine red tuxedo. Hiroyuki was staring intently at the deep red. It made him feel energized inside. His eyes were drawn to the suit. He asked, “Mr. Jiro, can I try this suit on?” Mr. Jiro said, “Sure you can. It might not fit you perfectly but you can get a good feel for it.” 

Jiro takes the suit off the rack and helps Hiroyuki put it on. Hiroyuki pats the sleeves of the suit. A maid comes in with a large foldable mirror. She sets the mirror in front of him. Hiroyuki takes a look at his reflection in the mirror. He begins to do a few poses in the mirror. 

Akio said in a surprised tone, “I wouldn’t expect you to pick a wine red tuxedo. That’s an interesting choice.” Jiro asked, “Mr. Hiroyuki, how is it?” Hiroyuki said in a satisfied tone, “ It feels a bit loose but I am liking how this suit looks and feels. For some reason, the wine red color speaks to me.” 

Jiro nodded and asked, “Do you know that the wine red color represents?” Hiroyuki shook his head and said in a confused tone, “I don’t know.” Jiro said calmly, “The wine red color represents strength and passion. It can also mean feelings of love on a deep level.” 

A loud pitchy voice cries out, “Oh my! That means that Hiroyuki loves Kura on a deep level! This confirms that they are destined together!” Jiro bowed and said, “It’s nice to see you, Miss Fujiwara.” 

Kata grinned and said, “Likewise! I am glad to see that the suit looks well on Hiroyuki! I can’t wait for the wedding! I wonder who we should invite?” Akio sighed and said, “Dear, I think it’s a bit too early to decide on the guests. We haven’t even decided on the venue.”

Hiroyuki thought about what Kata and Akio said. He said in his mind, “Guests? I wonder if they would invite granny Fubi. Wait… This could be my chance to get in contact with her!”

Hiroyuki asked, “Excuse me, Miss Fujiwara. Is granny Fubi going to be invited to the wedding?” 

Kata turned around to look at him and said, “Hm.. I am not sure. Ms. Fubi is quite weak and ill. I don’t think she’s in the right state to travel.” Akio said, “My mother has been facing a lot of back pain and walking problems. I don’t want to stress her out on a long plane ride. She’s been living in her summer home in america.”

Hiroyuki said, “I see.. Can I write a letter to her?” Kata asked, “Why do you want to write a letter to her?” Hiroyuki stared into her eyes and said in an honest voice, “Because I miss her. I want to know how she is doing. And I want to let her know about our wedding.”

Akio said, “Dear, allow Hiroyuki to write a letter to my mother. I am sure it’s fine.” Kata sighs and said, “Fine but I will inspect the letter before it gets delivered. I better not see anything suspicious.” Hiroyuki said, “Thank you. I promise that I won’t.”

Jiro looked at his watch and said, “Look at the time, I got another client to meet with. I am sorry to end this so abruptly. Mr. Hiroyuki, do you mind if we discuss more details about your customized suit next time?” Hiroyuki shook his head and said, “Mr. Jiro, I am happy with this red wine suit. Can you make me the same suit but in my size?”

Jiro nodded and said, “Very well. I will take your request. I am also going to need you to take off the suit.” Hiroyuki said, “Right!” He took off the suit and handed it to Jiro and wished him safe travels.

As Hiroyuki walked upstairs, he thought to himself, “Yes, I finally have some way to contact granny Yubi! I got to find a way to write a secret message in the letter.” He saw a maid coming downstairs carrying a pitcher filled with iced tea. It contained ice and lemon slices.

When he stared at the lemon slices, a memory flashed in his mind. He remembered granny Yubi showing him a neat trick with lemons and water. He saw his young self staring curiously at Yubi squeezing lemon juice into a bowl with a bit of water. She mixed the juice and water together. She got a paint brush and dipped it into the mixture. She wrote out something on white paper.

The young Hiroyuki said, “Granny Yubi, why are you using the juice as ink? It’s not going to show up on the paper!” Yubi chuckled and said, “Just wait, Hiroyuki. I am going to show you some magic.” Hiroyuki’s eyes shined and said excitedly, “Magic??!! What kind?”

Granny Yubi finished writing on the paper and eventually set the brush down. She placed the paper on the patio table where the sun was shining the brightest. She put a finger on her mouth and said, “I will show you some magic after the paper dries.”

Hiroyuki said impatiently, “How long will that take?” Yubi looked up at the sun and said, “Hm.. maybe half an hour.” Hiroyuki pouted and said, “30 minutes?? That’s going to take a while.” Yubi giggled and said, “Thirty minutes is going to pass fast if we do something fun. Do you want to play a game while waiting?”

Hiroyuki’s face lit up and said happily, “I love games! Can I play pacman with you?” Yubi nodded and said, “Yes, it’s more fun when I play with you!” They went back inside to play games.

Thirty minutes later, they went back outside. Hiroyuki ran over and said, “Granny Yubi, the paper looks dry now!” Yubi glances and pats the paper down. She said, “You’re right!” Hiroyuki asked in a puzzled voice, “When is the magic going to happen?”

Yubi lifted the paper towards the sun and said, “It’s going to happen in a few seconds. Stare carefully at the paper.” Hiroyuki stares at the paper and sees brown words appearing on the paper. The words spelled out, “Lemons are awesome.” His eyes widened from the surprise and cried out, “Granny Yubi!! Words are showing up on the blank paper! This is magic! How is this happening??!!!”

Yubi said, “The secret to this magic is when lemon juice is dried and exposed to heat, it starts to turn brown from the heat. Amazing right?” Hiroyuki nodded and said, “Wow it is! Lemons are very awesome!!”

Yubi put a finger on her lips and said, “This is a secret magic trick between you and me. You can’t tell anyone. This way we can send secret messages to one another! Promise you won’t tell anyone?” Hiroyuki said loudly, “I pinky promise!” He sticks out his small pinky and Yubi wraps her pinky around his.

Hiroyuki grinned and thought, “I figured out a way to get granny Yubi’s help. This will work. I know it will.”

Author's Note

ignore grammar problems, please tell me what you think of it? I hope you enjoy chapter 36 and thank you for waiting patiently for each chapter! I would also like to shoutout to my friends who help me edit all my chapters! I created a discord group that I can give you updates when a new chapter comes out. Here's the link to my group: https://discord.gg/vyQrfME

Reviews

[Kari Rakitan]

This is so intriguing! I love how he schemes to contact the grandmother, and the lemon juice in an excellent touch.

I think it's odd to decide on the suit before deciding on the venue or guests. Venue and guests were the first thing Husband and I discussed for our wedding. We wanted to give our guests plenty of notice so they could plan ahead.

[Nariko]

aww thanks for your review again! Well you can say that Kata is getting way too ahead of herself about the whole "marriage" Yes makes sense to decide on the venue and guests first!