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A short woman with signature orange hair flipped a pancake over. She hummed a popular pop song as she prepared brunch for her son and future daughter-in-law. She could hear them laughing together, and from the sounds of it, over a mishap the night before.
Oh how long it has been since she first heard Atsushi laugh like that the first time.
“Alright, I’m off. You wanted more bread, right mom?” Atsushi said. He got up from the sofa and put on a blue jean jacket. Risa got up to give him a small kiss on the cheek. Pink dusted his ears and he looked back to see if his mom saw. She did and gave him an approving smirk.
“Yes and don’t forget the orange juice, chicken breasts, pork buns, and a gift for your niece’s birthday party. It can be a toy or a stuffed animal!”
Atsushi hummed affirming her that he heard loud and clear. With a small click of the lock, Risa got up and skipped over to Atsushi’s mom.
“Thank you for inviting us over for brunch. Let me help you with preparations.” Risa grinned. She went into the closet to retrieve an apron and promptly brought out eggs. Risa’s cooking could use work, Atsushi’s mom remembered. But eggs should be okay.
“Thank you, Risa” Atsushi’s mom said. She remembers when Atsushi first mentioned Risa. Something about a tall giantess (such an immature name) and how she mocked his height at school. At first, Atsushi’s mom was nervous that Atsushi was getting bullied for his height. But then, at some point, Risa became less of an antagonizing foe and more of a friend- just as Nakao was.
No.
That wasn’t right.
It was different than Nakao. Atsushi did a lot more for Risa than he did for Nakao.
At that thought, Atsushi’s mom heard some clanging of pots and pans behind her. She turned around to Risa preparing to cook the eggs. Her eyes trailed to Risa’s fingers to which she found a shiny silver band.
Oh!
If Atsushi’s mom recalled correctly, Atsushi had proposed to Risa less than 4 months ago! She still gets shocked seeing the piece of jewelry. In fact, it was shocking that Atsushi and Risa grew up so fast. It was just yesterday when they were in high school. But now, here they are engaged at the ripe age of 28. How things have worked out for them is beyond her knowing how silly her son can be at times. Perhaps she was staring too hard though because then Risa said, “Oh have you seen this in person yet? I realized maybe you haven’t since it has been a while since we visited.”
She shook her head with a smile. “No, I have. Atsushi had shown me when he was preparing to propose. Did you know how much he worked for that? Too much for his own good if you asked me!”
“He refuses to tell me how much it was! Can you believe that!? It must have been a fortune…” Risa chuckled to herself. “Do you know how much it is?”
“Yep, but you’re not getting it out of me!”
“Betrayal!”
They laughed. Atsushi’s mom really loved Risa. It was easy to like her when they met for the first time. Risa had been worried about Atsushi when he was sick. Risa had already won points with that simple move. Then Risa just kept getting better: wore her heart on her sleeve when Atsushi couldn’t, supported Atsushi with her entire being (even making Otani merchandise for his basketball game!), and never went into an argument without wrapping it up nicely. They went through a lot, that much she knows.
“Even though I can’t tell you how much it is,” Atsushi’s mom mischievously grinned, “I can tell you how Atsushi has loved you since the very beginning.”
“Huh? No way,” Risa’s eyes widened. “I mean, I had to work just to get a confession through his head.”
Atsushi’s mom clicked off the fire as she finished up the last batch of pancakes. She shook her head and said “No, he definitely did. He worked so hard just to make you happy- had extra jobs, and begged for a larger allowance. Hell– I’d bet he didn't even know he was doing this because he was in love.”
At that, Risa started becoming pink with embarrassment. Supposedly, a good healthy love will keep surprising people. Everyone keeps changing, and everyone keeps learning about each other. Atsushi’s mother grinned.
“That’s right. He told me about how he ended up not going to his ex’s party that one night,” she said smugly “and ended up hanging out with you at a concert. He needed some money from me just to make sure both of you were fed. Sure that was just a polite thing, but the fact is that he chose you.”
Risa tried to keep her composure as she poured the eggs into the pan. But her pink ears and smug giggles betrayed her.
“And then, when he had given you his special edition Sea Monk record, best believe I was shocked because he wouldn’t even let me touch it! But here he was! Giving it to the poor girl he didn’t even realize he liked so much. He never stopped talking about you.”
“He had this part-time job, too” Atsushi’s mom continued. “Because he ran out of his allowance spending it all on you on your lunch and dinner outings. He would come home exhausted and his grades were even slipping. I tried to scold him out of it but he just said ‘Leave me alone!’”
Atsushi’s mom placed down plates on the table as she yapped on and on about all those evenings when she had suspected him of affectionate feelings towards his best friend. He denied it. Until he didn’t.
“No way!” Risa laughed at these stories.
“Even if he wasn’t sure about his feelings, he was very fond of you Risa since the beginning. Best believe it.”
Ding-Dong!
“I’ll get it!” Risa said rushing over to the door. Peaking past her shoulders was Atsushi!
“Sorry, I forgot my wallet-” His eyebrows raised when it finally occurred to him that Risa planted a kiss on his cheek.
“I’ll get it for you, Atsushi.”
“What’s up with you?” he rubbed his cheek bewilderedly. He glanced over at his mom. “And why are you smiling like that?”