I Will Love You Forever Pt. 2 Ch. 18

"Did she tell you that?" Patricia asked.

"No, but I see the way that she treats those who are not Japanese," Kenji replied. "They are nothing more than a way for her to learn her skills. There is no real compassion or caring there. But enough about her, our daughter is quite the artist is she not?"

"Yes she is... Kenji, do you think that Niko's friend will be allowed to come over to play?"

"I don't know, we shall see," Kenji replied. "I suggest that we go to bed, we have much to do to get ready for the party. You go prepare while I take care of the cups."

Patricia was surprised that he had lasted as long as he did. The entire time that they were talking the front of his pants was tented out. She reached over and brushed her hand across the head and then gave it a little squeeze.

"See you upstairs," she said as she stood up. "Oh, I forgot to tell you that Joel and Penny are coming to visit this summer."

"That is good news," Kenji replied. "It will be good to see them again."

"I know, I'm so excited, but I guess we'll talk about it later," Patricia said. "I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Two minutes," Kenji called after her.

****

Mai tried to be an active participant in the table conversation. Ani and Jiro had broken the news of the pregnancy and their father was ecstatic.

"This is wonderful news!!!"

Mai plastered a smile on her face, but wished that she was somewhere else. She wondered what was happening at Kenji's home. Was he pretending to be happy as she was? Somehow, she didn't think so. She envisioned him sitting at the dinner table with his wife and children thrilled to be home. She could even imagine the smiles that he gave them. What-

"Mai!" her father called. "Since when have you become so rude?"

"I am sorry father, I was thinking about the hospital. "

"I was just saying that I believe that you and Shotaro should marry sooner rather than later. I have been thinking about moving to a warmer climate and I so far, I like this place."

Mai's heart pounded. This wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"What about Shotaro's residency?"

"It is almost over and I am sure that Shotaro would agree that UCLA is an excellent hospital."

Mai looked at Shotaro who refused to look at her.

"What of your business? Who will run it?" Mai asked frantically trying to think of a way to keep this from happening.

"That is of no concern to you," her father said sternly. "Your sister and Jiro have offered me a place to stay-"

"W...What?" Mai stammered.

"This is what happens when you don't listen," her father said sternly. "I am not returning to Boston. Shotaro will go back alone and arrange for the house to be sold. I already have a buyer. The rest of my things will be shipped."

Mai was speechless. What little freedom she thought she had was gone.

"I... I am pleased that you are staying," she murmured.

"Shotaro will go to the hospital and apply for a position," her father continued. "If he is accepted, he will move here and we will find a home large enough for all of us."

"Yes father," Mai said looking down.

She didn't see Ani watching her with a disturbed expression on her face, but she did wonder why Shotaro was going along with her father's plan so willingly. After dinner, she excused herself to her room saying that she was exhausted. She changed her clothes and lay on her bed blinking back tears. If she didn't do something, in three months' time; she would be married to Shotaro.

She heard the bedroom door creak open and then Ani's soft voice.

"Mai, we must talk,"

"Not tonight Ani, I am tired," Mai replied hoping that Ani would go away.

"Mai, you must forget about him." Ani said as she ignored Mai's excuse of being tired and sat on the bed, "Kenjiro Takeda is married and it was obvious to me that he loves his wife."

"Ani, he is just a friend and nothing more."

"I do not believe you," Ani said softly. "I saw the look on your face when he walked out with her. You may not be in love with him, but you covet him."

"Ani-"

"And if I know this, then so will father. You forget how astute he is. He will never forgive you if you bring dishonor on this family."

"Ani- you don't understand! I don't want to marry Shotaro!"

"That is nerves talking," Ani soothed. "I felt the same way about Jiro and look! We are happy together and are having a baby. Maybe it will be the same for you and Shotaro. Why do you not take this time to get to know him better?"

Mai's eyes burned with tears of frustration. There was no way that Ani could understand what she was feeling. All she knew was that her arranged marriage had turned out well for her. Mai knew that it wouldn't be the same for her and Shotaro. Once again she thought about Kenji and the way that he talked to Patricia. It wasn't right! If her father had only paired her with someone even remotely like Kenji, she wouldn't have fought so hard. But Shotaro was cold and unfeeling. She couldn't even remember if he had ever smiled at her.

"Mai, this is the way things are. I do not understand how it happened that ... Kenjiro... is that his name? Married a black woman, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that he is married and that you have obligations to your family as he has obligations to his. I suggest that you take the next few days and think about that."

In that moment, Ani sounded like her father and Mai rebelled.

"You do not understand! Shotaro and I will not have what you and Jiro have! He will never speak to me in loving tones nor do I want him to! We will never end a telephone conversation with the words I love you. Even Jiro gives you that much! A dark one is with one of ours and even she hears those words."

Ani didn't know what to say. She had known that Mai was less than enthused about Shotaro, but she really believed that the marriage would turn out as well as hers had.

"Mai-"

"Please leave, I am tired."

Ani sat on the bed for a few more minutes before leaving. She had a decision to make. Did she go to her father and Shotaro or did she give Mai a chance to see reason? She decided on the latter. After all, she had been as shocked as her and Jiro had been when their father announced that he was staying. She and Jiro had been sincere in their offer, but they hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

As Ani left the room, she saw her father sitting on the patio. She quickly slipped by before he saw her. She didn't want to answer any questions about Mai. She slipped into the bedroom where Jiro was waiting for her naked on the bed. She would talk to him about it she decided, but later after they brought each other pleasure.

Mai could hear the voices of her father and Shotaro as they passed her room. The idea to run came to her, but she needed her father in order to reach her goals. She sobbed as she realized that she was trapped. She would have no choice but to marry Shotaro if he found a position at the hospital. She began to silently pray that he wouldn't get hired. He would go back to Boston thus giving her more time. She felt a sense of relief that was quickly replaced with a new anxiety: her father could make her transfer to the Boston hospital and there would be nothing she could do to stop it

***

The next morning, Kenji, Patricia and Marie took Niko to school. He was beside himself with excitement that Florrie could come to their house. He tried to keep Kenji and Patricia's warnings in mind, but he couldn't help but to be optimistic. Surely, Florrie's parents would agree to let her play at his house.

"There she is!" Niko said excitedly when he saw Florrie standing with her mother. "Florrie!" he yelled as he ran over to her.

"Hi Niko!" Florrie called back ignoring the scowl from her mother.

"Good morning," Patricia said politely. "I'm Patricia; this is my husband Kenji and our daughter Marie. We're Niko's-"

"I know who you are," the woman rudely interrupted. "Florrie told me about you."

"Oh, well then I guess she told you that Niko invited her over to our house to play."

"Look," Florrie's mother said, "I appreciate that your boy has befriended my girl, but she won't be going to your house to play. They play at school and there's nothing that I can do about that, but-"

"I see," Patricia said. "It's alright that he defends her from the other children, but not alright that they play together outside of school. The war is over and these kids had nothing to do with it!"

Niko and Florrie stopped their excited chatter when they heard Patricia speak.

"Mom? Can I go?" Florrie asked. "Please?"

Mrs. Lane's face turned red as it fell upon her to explain why Florrie and Niko couldn't play together outside of school.

"No, you can't go," she said after several seconds had passed.

"Why?" Florrie asked confused. "Nikos mom and dad said that it was alright."

"Because.... Because I said so now get into school before you're late."

Niko was crushed. Tears filled his soft brown eyes as Florrie walked away. Kenji knelt down in front of him and hugged him.

"I am sorry Niko, perhaps she will change her mind and Florrie can visit another day."

Patricia bent down and kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry baby,"

"Thank you for asking," Niko replied back under control. "I must go so I won't be late."

Niko, like his father hated tardiness. Patricia thought that he was probably the only first grader who didn't have to be woken up for school. They watched him walk into the school and headed toward home.

"Please... wait," a voice called from behind them.

"Mrs. Takeda," Mrs. Lane said. "I'm sorry that I was o rude. I just want you to know that I don't have a problem with my Florrie playing with your boy here or anywhere else. It's my husband- he would never go for it..."

"Thank you for explaining that to us," Kenji said politely.

"I... thank you," Mrs. Lane said and then she hurried off.

The walk home was quiet with no one speaking until they reached the house.

"I hope that Niko is alright," Patricia said.

"He will be," Kenji assured her with a hug.

"I hope so- he looked so hurt."

"Children are resilient," Kenji told her hugging her tighter. "But we need to make sure that he understands that it isn't him, but it is the attitude that is the problem."

"I know, but still... anyway, let's get moving; we've got some things to do for the party on Thursday."

The day passed quickly and it was time to go get Niko from school.

"I will go get him," Kenji said. "That way you can keep working on the party."

Patricia almost agreed, but then decided that Niko needed to see her. Instead of walking, they decided to drive in case they needed to go to the store. Niko greeted them with a smile on his face that made both Kenji and Patricia sigh with relief.

"How are you?" Kenji asked when Niko was in the car.

"I am fine papa," Niko replied. "Florrie's mother talked to us. She told us that she would like for us to be able to play together and she would ask Florrie's father if he would change his mind."

Kenji hesitated; he didn't want to burst Niko's bubble for a second time that day.

"Mrs. Lane also said that he will probably say no," Niko added.

"I'm glad that she explained things to you," Patricia said. "How about we go home and make dinner?"

"Can I help?" Niko asked, "Please?"

"Of course you can!" Patricia replied. "I was counting on it."

While Marie liked to help, it was Niko that loved spending time in the kitchen no matter who was cooking. Patricia viewed those times with Niko as her special time with him. Her time with Marie came in a different form- they colored together.

"What will we make mama?" Niko asked.

"I was thinking about grilled cheese sandwiches and soup."

Niko yelped with excitement. Whenever they had that for dinner, Patricia let him make the sandwiches while she watched from a distance. It was the one thing that she knew would chase any of his blues away.

"You are a good mother," Kenji told her as he took her hand and brought it to his lips.

"I'm just hungry for grilled cheese sandwiches," Patricia replied with a wink.

***

The week passed quickly and it was time for Kenji to go back to the hospital. Instead of leaving early in the day, Kenji left early afternoon since he was now on night rotation. Patricia packed him snacks and a sandwich for his lunch.

"I will call you before I go to the floor and again in the morning," Kenji told Patricia as he kissed her.

Patricia watched him drive away with the same ache in her heart that she always had when he left. She distracted herself by calling her parents and asking them over for left overs. When they agreed, she quickly put away the cookies and any other sweets and then reminded Niko and Marie that their grandfather couldn't eat sweets.

Niko listened fascinated. He was amazed that such a tiny thing as the pancreas could have such a large effect on the body. Marie on the other hand could have cared less. The only thing that concerned her was that there would be no dessert. She didn't like any of the desserts that Hattie made with the artificial sweetener. Neither did Niko, but he always ate some of it figuring that if his grandpa had to eat it, then so would he.

***

Kenji got to his room just as the previous intern, Robert was leaving.

"Thank you for the cookies, they were great."

"You are welcome; I will make sure to tell Patricia that you enjoyed them."

"Ummm Kenjiro, I know that we don't really know each other, but I think I need to tell you something. Do you have a minute?"

"Of course, let me put my bags down," Kenji replied.

A few minutes later, he was sitting on the chair by the desk and Robert was sitting on the bed fidgeting.

"I try to keep my nose out of the things that go on around here and I try to ignore the rumor mill," Robert said. "But, I'm hearing something that concerns you and I think that you should know about it."

Kenji closed his eyes and then opened them. He suspected that what he was about to hear had something to do with Mai.

"I... people are making bets on you and that Japanese intern Mai."

"Bets? What kind of bets?" Kenji asked.

"The bet is regarding when you'll give in and go to bed with her," Robert said clearly embarrassed. "Just so you know, I'm not a part of it and I don't know who initiated it."

"Thank you for telling me," Kenji said.

"You're welcome, I'd better get going or I'll miss my bus," Robert said as he stood up.

After Robert was gone, Kenji let his anger rise. He knew who had initiated the bet. It was the same person who initiated every bet that he knew of. The Intern, Neal Carlisle had approached him a number of times wanting him to participate in various raffles and bets. He finally stopped asking after Kenji refused to participate and Kenji avoided the intern whenever possible. The intern was married and had a child but he pursued the nurses as if it was his right and as if he was a single man.

Kenji looked at the small clock on the desk and wondered if the intern was still in his room. Taking a chance, he left his room and went in search of Neal. He found him in his room counting money.

"I would like a word with you," Kenji said not giving the intern a chance to speak. "I was told of a bet that you have initiated regarding me and another intern."

"Who told you?" Neal asked.

"That does not matter," Kenji replied. "I want the bet to end."

"Oh come on Kenjiro! You'll get a cut either way and don't tell me that you can't use the money," Neal said not noticing how angry Kenji was. "You've got a wife and a couple of kids to feed and besides, maybe a good screw will loosen you up a little."

Kenji took a deep breath to calm his anger.

"Neal, you are married are you not? And you have a child with your wife."

"Yeah and?"

"I do not understand how you can profess to love your wife and child and then you dishonor them and your marriage by sleeping with anyone who is willing. The fact that they are willing does nothing to change the fact that you are breaking your vows to your wife. You further dishonor the sanctity of marriage by taking bets on whether someone will be unfaithful or not. I want this wager to end immediately. Give the money back to those who have participated and do not start another wager involving me again."

"Are you for real?" Neal asked. "That Mai has an ass that many of us married or not want to get our hands on! She wants you and you're going to walk away from a free fuck? And let's face it, your wife is expecting you to fool around just like mine does."

"Neal, I love my wife and my children," Kenji said. "My wife has been through hell with me and I would do nothing to dishonor her and our marriage and that includes sleeping with another. This is something that she knows and trusts. I am telling you to end this bet. I also want to warn you of something. Just as I found out about this bet, your wife will find out about your infidelity. What will you tell her? That the woman was willing? What will you tell your child if your wife decides to leave you? Now, end this bet."

Kenji walked out not giving Neal a chance to reply. Mai was next on his list, but he would wait to talk to her. Going to her room alone was not acceptable as it would only lend credence to the rumors that there was something between them. He would wait until breakfast.

***

Mai couldn't leave home fast enough. She went back to the hospital under the guise of needing to do a few things before her shift. She knew that Ani wanted to talk to her again, but she avoided being alone with her as much as she could. She did however; take Ani's suggestion that she try to get to know Shotaro a little better.

It didn't take her long to realize that she had been right: Shotaro didn't want to marry her and he didn't want to move to California. When she found him, he was sitting on the patio reading a letter. He had a smile on his face that reminded her of Kenji whenever he looked in his notebook. The smile on Shotaro's face took away the hard edges and showed how handsome he really was. Mai knew that look- Shotaro was in love with someone. He was as trapped as she was.

When she tapped on the patio door to let him know that she was there, the smile vanished as did the letter that he was holding. The hard edges reappeared and he greeted her with a curt hello.The conversation was stiff, formal and over in a matter of minutes with Shotaro excusing himself first.

She tried again to talk to him with no real success. The night before she was due back to the hospital, she corned him.

"Shotaro, I am no happier about this than you are."

Shotaro gave her a small smile, but didn't reply.

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

"What can we do?" Shotaro replied. "We have been betrothed for years. Our wedding will happen as planned."

"You love someone else," Mai said. "I see it whenever you read that letter."

"Be that as it may," Shotaro replied, "there is the family honor. I cannot and will not dishonor either of our families by following my heart. We will simply have to learn to make the best of it."

"But Shotaro..."

"There is nothing more to discuss," Shotaro said quietly but firmly. "I will make my application to UCLA and will move here after my residency."

"Shotaro, wait... we don't have to do this, remember that intern who is married to that black woman? He did it! He broke away from tradition..."

"But at what cost?" Shotaro asked. "What will become of their children? Who will accept them as more than half-breeds? No Mai, I will not do that to our families or my children."

"Wait," Mai said suddenly understanding Shotaro's reaction to Kenji. "This woman that you love; she isn't Japanese is she?"

"That does not matter," Shotaro replied. "What we want does not matter; preserving the family honor is what's important. I am through discussing this; begin the preparations for our marriage."