A Call From Dad

The cafe that I worked at had an exterior that was at odds with the tall, concrete buildings that overwhelmed the street. It was made fully from wood and furniture from the signboard to the doors to the wall. The only thing in that exterior that was not made up of wood were the windows. In fact, even the bicycle left hanging outside the door was carved out of wood. 

The atmosphere created because of this wooden structure was cozy and calming as a result of which a lot of people tended to visit this cafe, especially in the evening and the night, to look at the world rush by through the windows while they remained still inside the cafe as if removed entirely from the realm outside.

I was carrying eggs Benedict in one hand and a cup of cold brew in another hand when I heard a loud voice call out from behind the counter.

"Order for Table No. 6 is ready!"

"I will be on my way soon!" I yelled back.

I dropped off the dishes in my hand at Table No. 5 and headed to the counter where Yomiuri-senpai had just placed a few pieces of choux pastries with cream filling the cracks and espresso in a white cup.

Just before I took the plate away, our eyes met and she gave me a refreshing smile, along with a, "Just a little more push."

The work today was hectic and there were more customers than usual so we were having a hard time managing everything. There were four of us in the cafe, including Yomiuri-senpai. One was a man named Sasaki who was a college student and the other was a girl, Emi, who had recently finished high school. 

We were constantly moving around the small cafe without taking a single break. Not to mention the whole ordeal with Komatsu-san was still not leaving my head. So her kind words and smile really helped me push forward a bit more.

"Phew."

In the break room, I sat down on the chair heavily like a weary, old man and slumped my body forward on the table. Sasaki-senpai and Emi-senpai were in a similarly worn-out state in front of me.

"Good work, all of you."

Yomiuri-senpai came with four cold drinks in her hand. She had long black hair that cascaded down her back with a pair of green eyes. She always had a gentle smile on her face and kindness in her eyes. She was about six years older than me and an older sister figure for the three of us.

She sat down next to me and distributed the drink. The sensation of the drink cooling my throat was heavenly and I regained some of my lost energy.

"It sure was rough today," Emi-senpai complained while taking a swig of her drink.

"Yeah, I panicked when I got an order wrong." Sasaki-senpai had a downtrodden face.

"Days like these happen but don't let it discourage you. It won't be this rough again, I bet."

Emi-senpai looked at Yomiuri-senpai and said, "While we look like dishrag wrung dry, how come you look so full of energy when you worked the hardest of us all?"

It was true. She was the one preparing the orders along with Emi and even while doing that, she had the time to take orders and deliver food to the table. And despite that, she didn't seem the least bit tired. It was a mystery.

A coy smile came over her face. "I have an infinite supply of energy. Whenever I feel like I am running out, I can just tap at the source and new energy fills up my body." She tapped the ring on her ring finger as she said that.

We all broke into smiles at her answer.

After talking for a while, Sasaki-senpai and Emi-senpai left. I started making preparations to leave as well. And that was when Yomiuri-senpai called out to me.

"Yuuta-kun."

"Yes?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

"Ah, I just thought that you looked kinda out of it today. Like something was weighing on your mind. So I was wondering if something happened."

She was as sharp as ever. The little swing in the moods of her co-workers never went unnoticed. She always looked after us and whenever we had some sort of trouble she would listen to us and help us get through it. 

Her gentle eyes, her kind smile, and her comforting words made people want to open up their hearts to her and lay bare everything at her feet. And that was precisely why I had told her everything about myself. About what had happened to me, my family, and what my current beliefs were.

When I told her all that, she didn't say anything. She just looked me straight in the eye the whole time and listened intently as I relayed to her what I hadn't to anyone else. She didn't pity me or try to make me feel better. She just listened and that was exactly what saved me.

I smiled at her.

"Well, there's something on my mind but it's nothing to worry about." I shouldn't rely on her kindness too much. I should try to tackle and get through things on my own as well.

"Really?"

"Yes. If it gets any troublesome, I would tell you first thing."

"Okay. That puts me at ease."

Yomiuri-senpai and I closed the shop and left together.

The street was empty with only the neon lights as our companion.

The two of us walked side-by-side on the pavement without exchanging a single word.

That was when I thought of asking something through some hesitation.

"Um, Yomiuri-senpai, can I ask you something a bit strange?"

"Yes?"

"Umm...did you tell someone about what I told you about myself?"

"About your family and related stuff?"

"Yes."

"Of course not. There is no way I would just ramble off about such sensitive stuff to just anybody." She said in a calm voice.

"Yes..right...There's no way you would do that. Sorry for asking."

"No, it's alright. But I wonder what prompted you to ask me this out of nowhere." She looked meaningfully at me.

"Nothing. That thought just popped into my head suddenly."

She didn't grind me any further and we continued walking till we reached the station where we parted ways.

She took the train headed east. Her abode was at the Ochitsuku which was a station away from here.

We bid our byes and I boarded the train to Toyohashi.

As I watched lights flicker in and out through the glass on the train, my thoughts started wandering.

The only person who knew about my circumstances other than me was Yomiuri-senpai. There is no way Komatsu-san figured out all about me on her own unless she heard it from someone else. That someone else could be no one but Yomiuri-senpai so I had asked her that question earlier with suspicion in my heart. But I should have known that she wouldn't do something so insensitive. And even if Komatsu-san had approached her about me, she would have definitely told me about it. In the first place, there is no way Komatsu-san would be able to deduce that Yomiuri-senpai or anyone else would know about my circumstances.

I sighed.

The more I thought about it, the weirder it got. I was getting nowhere.

I shouldn't rush. I would take things slow and try to find out how she knew me so well.

I reached home at around 10 pm. I had already had a light dinner at the cafe with everyone else so I wasn't in the mood of eating anything.

I took a quick shower, changed into my sleepwear, and pulled the covers over my head. But sleep remained elusive.

I tossed and turned around in the bed and tried different sleeping positions but still, I couldn't sleep. Even trying to breathe regularly and rhythmically didn't help.

It was probably around 12 when my phone rang signaling that I was receiving a call.

Who could be calling me this late in the night?

I grabbed the phone from my bedside table and found that it was from my dad.

It had been long since he last contacted me so I was a bit shocked. I looked at the display for a while before eventually picking up the phone. 

"Hello."

"Ah, hello. Did I disturb you?" Came a hoarse voice from the other side.

"No. I wasn't sleeping."

"That's good." He said with a slight chuckle. "So, how's life going?"

"Fine, I guess."

And thus began a completely trivial conversation with my dad about how I was faring and about my studies and the like.

I gave him responses now and then while he did most of the talking.

While on the phone with him, all I could think of was the sad look on his face whenever he looked at me after mom cheated on him. He would always avert his eyes from me. He probably couldn't bear to look me - the son of the woman who betrayed him - in the eye as it brought back painful memories to his brain. And probably that was also why he looked sort of relieved when I proposed that we live separately.

We talked for about half an hour before finally hanging up.

The sky was pitch dark outside and I could see a black bird soaring outside my window.

I fell asleep near morning.