I Will Love You Forever Pt. 2 Ch. 19

"I admit I did not want to marry Shotaro, but he did not want to marry me either. Did you now hear him? He loves another! They are having a child together! What of his infidelity to me? Is that not reason enough for me to want to break the engagement?"

Much to Mai's surprise, her father laughed. It wasn't a happy laugh. It was a laugh filled with anger and disgust.

"How stupid do you think me to be?" he asked still chuckling. "You have always been the schemer but you get away with nothing. You wear your emotions on your sleeve- did you think that I did not notice your relief at Shotaro's announcement? You sat there with your head bowed to hide your smile. You think that you have won? Shotaro's infidelity does not enter into this- his family will address that. What we will deal with is your failure to uphold an agreement and the dishonor you have brought to the Kabata name."

Something in her father's tone made Mai nervous.

"You disgrace yourself and the Kabata name by throwing yourself at a man with a wife and children. That the woman is black is neither here nor there..."

Mai looked at Ani who was holding Jiro's hand. Her father knew too much and it couldn't have come from Ani. There was only one answer- she was being watched but by who?

"Oh yes... I am aware of your-pursuits just as I am aware of his reaction to them."

"You are spying on me?" Mai asked in disbelief.

"Call it what you wish," he replied. "If the marriage had gone as planned the issue would have been resolved."

"Father..."

"You will remain silent and listen," her father said sternly. "You will be allowed to continue your residency only because I have spent a lot of money on your education. You will continue to spend your evenings here. If you see Kenjiro Takeda you will stay away from him. You are not to even speak to him unless it is hospital related..."

"I am not a child!" Mai shouted, "And I am tired of being treated as such!"

Again her father laughed. "I suppose that you think it is mature to have a schoolgirl's crush on a married man? You are not thinking and so I must do it for you. That is something that a parent would do for a child who is too stupid to know what is best for her."

Mai's bead spun as she tried to figure out who was spying on her. She thought about Vera and then decided that it couldn't be her. She wouldn't do that to her-they were friends.

"All you had to do was be the dutiful daughter as Ani was and is..."

"I AM NOT ANI!" Mai screamed at the top of her lungs. "I am not like her! She likes being controlled and all she ever wanted was to be a wife and mother. I am happy that her marriage is a happy one but Shotaro and I would not have been that way-can't you see that or are you just thinking about how our marriage would benefit you?"

Mai didn't realize that her father had moved until she felt the sharp sting of a slap to her face. She was speechless. While her father had been a stern man, he had never physically punished them. A look or a sharp word was all that it took-until now. She cupped her hot cheek with her hand and stared at her father.

"You will go to your room while I decide what to do," he said his tone cold.

"Father, I apologize for my insolence..."

"I do not care to hear your apologies, leave my sight."

Mai went to her room and locked the door behind her. It was only a matter of time before Ani came knocking and she didn't want to see her. Her stomach roiled and she dry heaved as she tried to figure out what her father was going to do. She shouldn't have talked back much less yelled at him and his refusal to hear her apology didn't bode well for her.

She lay on her bed and whispered a prayer to Amaterasu-omikami --the goddess of the sun and universe for help as she cried. A short time later, the anticipated knock on the door came. When she didn't answer, there was a tentative turning of the door knob.

"Mai... let me in."

Mai didn't answer. She turned on her side and cried herself to sleep.

****

Saul finished filling out the application for UCLA just before it was time to leave for church. He still hadn't given Noah an answer about school. On the face of it, it sounded good; but there had to be more to it than just being himself. He mentioned Noah's offer to Reggie who wondered what he was waiting for. Joshua and Cora asked him the same question. What he needed was to talk to someone who had been helped by Noah. He had to know that there were no strings attached. He could only think of one name.

Isadora.

He had been trying to come up with a way to talk to her other than saying hello and now he had a way. He glanced at the application again before getting up from his desk to finish preparing for church. As he did so, he thought about how he was going to bring the subject of Noah Jackson up.

Breakfast was on the table when he got to the kitchen. He could tell by the expression on their faces that they were waiting for him to tell them that he had made his decision.

"Good morning!" he chirped as he sat down at the table.

"Good morning," Cora replied, "So?"

"Cora!" Joshua exclaimed trying to shush her.

"I want to know what my boy has decided!" she exclaimed.

My boy.

Saul felt tears forming in his eyes and wiped them away. He knew that he was cared for, but the words "my boy" told him that he was loved. He cleared his throat before replying.

"I'm still thinking about it. I'll make my decision soon. I just want you all to know that I love all of you and consider you family. Thank you all for your help and kindness."

"We love you too," Cora replied.

What Joshua didn't know was that bringing Saul home had literally saved her life. She had sorely missed the son that had died and needed someone to mother. Joshua gave her that when he bought the skinny, hungry white man home. Saul had filled out and had filled an empty place in her heart. She loved him as if he were a son born to her.

"Now we'd better eat or we'll be late," she said as she passed Saul the eggs.

**

They walked into the church and Saul looked around for Isadora. He finally spotted her sitting off to the side and to the back of the church. He made a beeline for the empty chair next to her but was beaten to it by another man. The man looked over at Saul and winked. Saul now had competition for Isadora. He was gratified to see her scoot her chair away from the man that he finally recognized.

Saul hadn't seen him in a while and tried to recall his name. Lucas...Lucas...Newton-that was it. He was one of the remaining few that still had issues with Saul attending the church. Saul had pretty much forgotten about him since Lucas usually sat in the back and made a point of not speaking to him. Saul thought he knew what was happening. Lucas had picked up on his interest in Isadora and was going to compete for her although he hadn't been interested in her before. He knew that the current interest was only because he-Saul-a white man was interested in her.

He found another seat and debated what to do. The only thing to do was to try to catch her after church before she hurried away. As soon as the benediction was over, Saul rushed to the back of the church where Isadora was trying to break away from Lucas. He immediately knew where Lucas had gone wrong-he had moved too fast.

"Good morning Isadora, Lucas," he said politely.

Lucas gave him a dirty look but Isadora actually smiled. Saul didn't know if it was because she was glad to see him or if it was because he was rescuing her from Lucas, but he didn't care. All that mattered was that she smiled. It wasn't the little polite one that she had given him weeks before-this was a full-fledged smile that lit up her face.

"Good morning," Isadora said genuinely glad to see anyone that would run interference for her. Truth be told, Lucas had made her nervous with his questions about what she liked to do in her spare time.

"I don't have much spare time," she replied. "I'm busy with classes."

His response to her reply made her want to slap him.

"Classes? What's a beautiful woman like you doing in school? You should be home having babies."

She knew that Lucas knew that he has screwed up by the look that she gave him.

"Of course, it's a new day isn't it?" he asked. He fell silent when she didn't reply.

"Shit," he thought to himself. He was about to apologize for his statement when Saul walked up to them. What he didn't like was that Isadora had smiled at him. He felt like a third wheel then Saul and Isadora began to talk as if he wasn't there. They didn't seem notice when he walked away.

"Thanks," Isadora said when Lucas was gone.

"You're welcome," Saul replied liking the low, smoky sound of her voice. "I was hoping to talk to you for a few minutes if I could. It's about Noah Jackson," he added when he saw her tense.

"I know him, what about him?" she asked warily.

Saul told her about the offer and asked if there was more to it.

"It's as he says," Isadora replied, "although I'm not aware of any other white people that he's helping."

"I would be the first if I accept," Saul replied.

"Why wouldn't you accept?" Isadora asked. "You only have to agree to help others in any way that you can. No money exchanges hands and besides, he must have seen something in you if he made the offer. Did he ask you what you wanted to study?"

"Yes. A long time ago," Saul replied. "He made the offer on Christmas day."

"Why haven't you accepted?" Isadora asked and then blushed. "I'm sorry-that's none of my business."

"No apology needed," Saul replied. "It was a valid question. When he talked to me he mentioned your name. I wanted to talk to you before I committed myself to anything. The other issue is that I need to make sure that my family back home is taken care of before I do this. I'm pretty much the breadwinner."

"Again, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry," Isadora said.

"May I ask what you're in school for?" Saul asked thoroughly enjoying their conversation.

"Pre-law, you?"

"The ministry," Saul replied. "I just finished filling out the application for UCLA this morning."

"Good... maybe I'll see you around campus then," Isadora said. "Take care."

"I'm going to school," Saul murmured as he watched Isadora walk away. "And I'm going to marry that girl," he added.

*****

Warden Ellis sat at his desk unable to concentrate. Part of the problem was Hazel. She called him every hour on the hour for one asinine reason after another. He was beginning to hate her. It took conscious effort on his part not to snap at her or to tell her to leave him the fuck alone. He could tell by the tone of her voice that she was expecting him to have sex with her-something that he wasn't looking forward to. He sometimes had a problem achieving and then maintaining an erection. In those instances, he took care of his horny wife with his mouth. He had it down to a science. On a good night he could make her come in less than five minutes and then plead exhaustion when she offered to reciprocate. That would work for as long as she was pregnant, but after the baby came...The other reason for his inability to concentrate had something to do with a young black woman by the name of Millie Rhodes. Just the thought of her made his groin tingle in a way that no one never could. This was not good. The maid had to be fired and the sooner the better. The problem was going to be convincing Hazel. He looked at the clock; he had to wait another fifteen minutes to leave for home. If he left sooner than that, he would see the maid. Instinctively he knew that he had to stay away from her. He blushed with confusion and shame as he felt his cock harden. No white woman had ever affected him like this-for that matter, no woman had ever affected him like this. Just to be safe, he waited another ten minutes before leaving thus eliminating any chance of seeing Millie.

Hazel met him at the door with a worried expression on her face.

"You're late!"

"I'm sorry dear," he said hoping that he sounded appropriately contrite. "Is dinner ready?"

"It's warming in the oven, I ate early-I hope that you don't mind, but I just couldn't wait any longer."

"Mrs. Ellis? Is it alright if I leave now? I'll miss the last bus if I don't," a voice called from the kitchen.

Ellis froze as the soft voice hit his ears. What was she still doing here?

"Of course! And thank you for staying," Hazel replied. "Oh and why don't you take the day off tomorrow? I think that we've gotten everything done."

"Are you sure?" Millie asked, "I don't mind coming back," she said as she walked into the living room.

"That won't be necessary," Hazel replied. "Enjoy your day off."

Ellis watched Millie as she gathered her things and left. His cock was rock hard and throbbing. Taking Hazel by the hand, he led her to their bedroom where to her surprise and delight; he fucked her the way that she liked not once, but twice.

Afterwards Hazel would wonder what had gotten into him and he knew Millie couldn't come back.

****

It was another two weeks before Kenji saw Mai again. He still didn't know what happened nor did he care. It looked as if his being blunt was what was needed in order to persuade her to look elsewhere. His relief however was short lived. She looked different... unhappy but he didn't ask her what the problem was. To do so would only invite trouble.

He made his way to the lobby to wait for Patricia who was bringing their lunch. He had some news for her. He was meeting with Dr. Coleman at the beginning of next week and he was uncharacteristically nervous now that the appointment was made. He was deep in thought when he heard his name.

"Kenjiro, hello."

"Dr. Kabata," Kenji said cautiously.

"How are you? I have not seen you since we last talked."

When he didn't say anything, she continued.

"I left the evening rotation because my father gave me no choice. He demanded that I leave the night rotation and move to a day one."

Mai didn't know what she was expecting, but she expected more of a reaction than she was getting.

"I was also betrothed but he broke it off-he says that he is in love with someone else and that they are having a baby together. Of course- my father blames me and wants me to stay away from you-he has someone watching me."

This got a response, but not the sympathy that she hoped that her story would generate.

"I am sorry for your difficulties, but if you are being watched; why are you talking to me?"

"I just wanted to offer an explanation for my behavior," Mai said glancing around. She still hadn't figured out who the spy was.

"Thank you for explaining it, now I must ...."

"Am I that repulsive to you?" Mai blurted out. "Would it have been different if my skin was dark?"

It wouldn't occur to her until much later and it was too late that all she had to do was to ask Kenji how he had defied tradition. She would also realize that she would have had a good friend in Patricia if she had made different choices. The questions that she had just asked had permanently alienated him for all time and had taken away the support system that she needed to break away from her father.

Kenji stood up when he saw Patricia walk in. Without saying anything, he walked away to meet Patricia at the door.

Mai stood watching as Kenji greeted Patricia with a hug and a kiss. She felt a surge of jealousy and turned away when she saw Patricia looking at her. She walked to the cafeteria and found a table in the corner. She didn't want to be seen. She had already heard the whispers whenever she walked by a group. She held her head high and acted as if she wasn't being talked about, but inside she seethed.

She watched as Patricia found a table while Kenji went to get their drinks. She took the opportunity to watch Patricia. She wanted to see if she saw whatever it was that Kenji saw-but she didn't and that seemed to make things a little harder to swallow. Suddenly, Patricia was standing and walking toward her. Mai stood up to leave but was intercepted by another resident and by the time he left; Patricia was waiting to talk to her.

"Don't leave yet," Patricia said. "We need to talk."

"I am sorry, but I must..."

"Sit down," Patricia said her tone cool. "What I have to say won't take long."

Mai looked around to see if anyone was watching and sat down.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush," Patricia said her tone icy. "You've had your eyes on Kenji ever since you got here. He sent you subtle messages which you didn't seem to understand, but you did-you're not a stupid woman. I know that he talked with you and explained that he has no romantic interest in you but yet you persist. I also know that the last time he spoke to you he left no room for interpretation of what your relationship with him is-there is none. Now, listen to me and listen good- I know that you think that you're in love with him but you aren't. It's the fact that he's with a black woman and you want to be rescued..."

"That..."

"I'm not done," Patricia said her tone cold. "As I was saying, there are two things at play here. One is me and two you want to be rescued- maybe you think that you're rescuing Kenji, I don't know and I don't care. What I do know is this- you need to look for another knight in shining armor because my husband isn't it. There are plenty of single men here who would be more than happy to play that role. Do I make myself clear?"

When Mai didn't reply, Patricia stood up and looked down at her, "I'm taking that as a yes," she said and walked away.

Mai sat at the table for a long time trying to decide on what to do. After several minutes, she realized that she was out of options. In some ways she was worse off than she was before Shotaro broke the engagement.

"Hey, are you alright?" Vera asked as she sat down in the seat that Patricia had just vacated.

"No," Mai said softly, "no I am not," she said looking over at Kenji and Patricia.

*****

Kenji sat in the office waiting room waiting for his interview with Dr. Coleman. Up until a few minutes ago he had been nervous, but now he was calm. He had taken the 'I'll be fine with whatever happens' approach. What also helped was that he knew that Patricia would be fine with whatever happened too. A few minutes later, the door to Dr. Coleman's office opened. A tall, but large man stuck his head out and told him to come in.

Kenji followed him in, took the offered seat and waited. He met the doctor's assessing look with one of his own. The doctor also had to meet his approval as much as he had to meet his. He started with the doctor's face, lingered on his blue eyes and made his way to the hands that rested clasped on the desk and then unclasped and lay flat. No tremor Kenji noticed.

"I've heard good things about you," Dr. Coleman said. "I also heard that you hadn't given surgery as a profession any serious thought. Why is that?"

Dr. Coleman listened to Kenji's explanation and said nothing for a long time when he was done. When he spoke it was to ask a question.

"Have you discussed this with your wife? If I select you, it will add another two years to your residency. It also changes your plans to practice together."

"We have talked," Kenji replied. "If you offer the position to me, I will accept."

"She has no qualms about living on a resident's salary for another two years? I know my wife did. She wasn't happy that we had to put off buying our first home."

"My wife is very supportive of my decision," Kenji said. "We have decided that if the position is offered then it was meant to be. If I am not offered the position-then we will continue as we have planned."

Dr. Coleman clasped his hands together and gave Kenji another long assessing stare.

"Paul Mynt and Dr. Vincente were right about you. You're a very cool customer- a surgeon needs a cool head. I'll make my decision sometime in the next few weeks. Thank you for coming. Wait, one more question- is it true that you thought to sterilize the equipment that you were going to use to deliver your child in mason jars?"