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She waited outside the gate while checking her phone.
And noticed her car approaching from down the street.
Mm... He's coming. Let's see how he stays in character~
The car stopped a polite distance in front of her.
Haruki got out of the car and slowly walked toward her.
While Kyouko stood and waited.
Why is my heart racing like this? He's my son...
Just before Haruki could say anything.
"Kyouko-chan~?"
Kyouko's eyes widened as she glanced around and noticed the neighbor lady.
Ugh! The noisy busybody neighbor, Mrs. Kashikawa. If Haruki says anything weird, she'll surely gossip to the entire neighborhood.
Kyouko turned and bowed politely. "Good morning, Kashikawa-san."
"Arara, Kyouko-chan~ Dressing up like a young girl, going somewhere?" She turned and looked at Haruki. "Ah! Haruki-kun!!!"
Haruki bowed politely. "Oba-san, good morning."
"Arara~ You've become so handsome now~ I still remember you back when you were small~ Playing alone in the courtyard~ Are you going somewhere?"
"Ah... yes, Oba-san. I'm taking Mother to buy groceries." Haruki smiled at her.
"Oh~ What a good son." She glanced at Kyouko, then turned back to Haruki, leaning in to whisper. "You better watch out for your mother here. If you leave her alone, who knows how many men would try to approach her? She's still so beautiful, you know."
She glanced at Kyouko again, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Kyouko-chan~ I was wondering who the girl was standing in front of your house~ I thought maybe you had a visitor, or perhaps Haruki-kun finally found a girlfriend! But it was just you all dressed up! My eyes aren't what they used to be, you know~"
"Ah... we have to go now, Kashikawa-san." Kyouko said while bowing politely and forcing a smile.
"Arara~ There's no need to rush, you know." She said while turning to Haruki. "Haruki-kun~ You're already this big and handsome, how about I introduce you to my niece? She's about your age, studying at Waseda University, very smart and pretty! Or perhaps the Tanaka's daughter from three houses down? She just graduated from Keio and works at a big company now!"
Haruki just smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "I already have a girlfriend, Oba-san. But thank you."
"Arara~ You're lucky your son already has a girl. So? Did you bring her to meet your mother here, Haruki-kun?"
"Ah... not yet... me and my girlfriend just recently got together. Perhaps next month or when she's ready." Haruki glanced away and coughed.
"Arara~ Getting shy~ Anyway, Kyouko-chan?"
"Y... yes, Kashikawa-san?"
Mrs. Kashikawa leaned in close, lowering her voice to a dramatic whisper. "You know the neighbor from the end of the street? The one with the big white house? Someone saw her bringing a young man inside her house while her husband was on a business trip! Can you believe it?"
Kyouko's smile froze. "Ah... is that so..."
"Yes~ and you know, Kyouko-chan? Remember Nakamichi, Sayako's son?"
"Oh... what about him?" Kyouko forced a smile, both hands still holding her handbag.
She kept gossiping with Kyouko while Haruki just stood behind Kyouko and waited with a polite smile, occasionally nodding when she went on about various neighborhood scandals.
She went on for about half an hour before someone called her from her house gate.
"Mom! Where are you!?" Another girl's head popped up from the gates.
When she saw Haruki, her face turned bright red and she suddenly became shy, tucking her hair behind her ear and looking down, a complete transformation from her usual rough, tomboyish demeanor.
"Father's calling."
"Ah, right~ Okay, Kyouko-chan~ Don't let me keep you! Have a nice day~"
"Mm... okay, Kashikawa-san."
"Oh, before I forget," she turned and looked at Kyouko and Haruki. "Don't forget about the neighborhood association meeting at my house next week."
"Mm... I will, Kashikawa-san."
They both watched her walk back toward her house.
Kyouko and Haruki exhaled together in relief and headed toward the car. Just as Haruki was about to move to open the passenger door, Kyouko widened her eyes and glared, signalling him with a sharp look.
Haruki caught her meaning and simply gestured for her to get in, maintaining his casual "son taking mother shopping" demeanor.
Once they were inside the car, Haruki started the engine and slowly pulled away from the curb, checking his mirrors carefully before merging into traffic. The car moved smoothly through the quiet suburban streets, the morning sun filtering through the trees.
After driving for a while.
"Mom?" Haruki asked in a low voice, his eyes focused on the road.
"What?" Kyouko smiled, glancing at Haruki. "You already broke character~ You were supposed to call me what?"
Haruki just shook his head. "I think we should stop with this roleplay."
"What? Why? We didn't even start!" Kyouko puckered her lips.
"But what if someone you know starts gossiping and talking badly about you? Hmm? Like Oba-san from next door? You saw how she was looking at you. She already thinks it's strange that you're dressed up like this."
"You don't need to worry about that, you know? Besides, you already made me wear these ridiculous high heels~"
"Yeah, but still... I don't want them to start spreading rumors. You know how this neighborhood is. One person sees us together looking like we're on a date, and suddenly the whole street is whispering about how 'Kyouko-chan is having an affair with a younger man'."
"No. We both already agreed to this. You signed here, remember?" Kyouko said while pulling out the small notebook from her bag.
"You're using that for this?"
"Yeah! I want to help you get comfortable around women. Besides, you just told Mrs. Kashikawa you have a girlfriend. What if one day she asks again? What are you going to tell her? Or what should I tell her?"
"Hmm? It's easy. I'll just say she lost interest in me."
"For someone as handsome and tall as you? Not interested?" Kyouko narrowed her eyes. "Do you know what gossip she would spread about that? Hmm? I've known her since before you were even born. I know how bad her gossip can get. She'd tell everyone you're gay, or that you have some weird fetish, or that you're impotent. She'd make up stories until they become 'facts' in this neighborhood."
Kyouko mimicked Mrs. Kashikawa's way of talking perfectly. "You know Kyouko-chan's son? My neighbor? Her son just dated a girl for less than a week and broke up. I heard he just left the girl heartbroken after he got what he wanted~ And I heard he doesn't want to take responsibility after making the girl pregnant~"
Haruki let out a soft laugh and shook his head. "Mom... there's no way she's going to say that."
"It's true! That's how your 'Oba-san' will make up stories." Kyouko exhaled dramatically.
"But what if she makes gossip about you, huh?"
"Hmm? Most of the neighbors near our house know you. The handsome son of... well, thanks to my genes~" Kyouko cutely puffed out her chest with pride, a smug little smile playing on her lips.
Haruki chuckled softly while Kyouko continued. "Besides, if they start talking about me going out with a young man, I can just say that it's my son taking me out, accompanying me while he's on summer break or any break."
"Yeah, yeah..." Haruki shook his head.
"I can just smile sweetly and say, 'Oh, are you jealous because I have such a wonderful son who actually wants to spend time with me?. Ah... don't be jealous just because I have a good son who cares for me and takes me out, while your children only remember to call when they need money~'"
Haruki shook his head, a fond smile on his face. "You're terrible, Mom."
"I'm just being practical~" Kyouko adjusted her glasses. "Now, are we going to continue with our date, or are you going to keep worrying about what the neighbors think?"
( End Of Chapter )