Maria-sama ga Miteru Volume 25 Chapter 2 Part4
"I know Sachiko always takes her time, thoroughly washing her hands and rinsing her mouth, and it looks like youre the same, Suguru-san. I should have expected that, since youre cousins. Youre both equally fastidious."
Hearing Sachikos mothers comment, they both looked at each other and smiled.
"Now, lets eat."
Being urged to hurry, Sachiko sat down on the sofa.
"I suppose. You went to the effort of making us tea, we shouldnt let it go cold."
Although it was matcha, so it wasnt meant to be served piping hot, but it would still taste worse cold. It was fundamentally different to iced green tea.
"Ah, hold on."
Sachikos mother stopped her just as she was about to take a sip from the teacup.
"What is it?"
"You should start by eating the manjuu. Right?"
The last, "Right?" was directed at Suguru-san. The gift giver simply smiled and said, "Well, we could try it your way."
"Were sitting on a sofa, eating manjuu thats a souvenir from a ski resort, and youre telling me theres a proper etiquette to it?"
It wasnt like it was the full-blown tea ceremony. If it were, theyd first of all have to do something about the matcha that had been sitting on the table for over five minutes.
"Never mind that. Come on, peel off the cellophane. Then on the count of three, take a bite."
" &h.e.l.lip; ?"
Even though she thought it was a strange procedure, Sachiko followed her mothers instructions. She cut the manjuu bun in two and placed one half in her mouth. At that point she was innocent. She hadnt been told anything in advance, so she held no preconceptions.
"What do you think?"
Suguru-san asked them, as they were chewing. He was a coward - hed unwrapped his manjuu bun but hadnt taken a bite.
"Give me your honest opinion."
Sachiko lightly glared at Suguru-san when he asked a second time.
"If you want my honest opinion."
"Please. Dont hold back."
In that case - Sachiko made up her mind.
"This confectionery, well, its - "
Sachiko started to speak, but then her mother blurted out, "Its disgusting!"
"Um, mother, shouldnt you consider your words a little more &h.e.l.lip; such as, "Its not overly tasty." Or, "Its not to my taste.""
Having said that, no matter how they sugar-coated it, something disgusting was still disgusting.
The outside was dry and crumbling while the red bean paste was overpoweringly sweet. It would have been better if that was all, but it also had a spicy aroma, so one bite was enough to make her lose her appet.i.te.
"Its alright, Sacchan. I sampled all the sweets they had at the gift shop and bought the most disgusting one as a souvenir."
"Why would you do such a thing?"
Was he really such an idiot?
"Because all the people around me have discriminating palettes. How would I get a gift that they all found truly delicious?"
"It wouldnt have to be truly delicious."
That was the nature of a travel souvenir. It was brought back as evidence of where youd been.
"Ahh, thats boring."
"I know one thing. Its become the talk of the family."
That Suguru-san the gourmand had brought back some truly awful sweets from his ski trip. Of course it would become a rumor. Even Sachikos mother had apparently heard the rumor and had been ready and waiting for Suguru-sans visit.
Even though shed just said it was disgusting, she was still taking bites out of the remaining half of her manjuu bun and washing it down with matcha tea.
"You too Sachiko-san, have another bite."
"No."
She was not currently overcome with hunger. She didnt want to eat something that she knew was awful. She didnt want to join her mother out of some vague sense of camaraderie.
"You think Im trying to trick you. Have it with the tea."
"&h.e.l.lip; Huh?"
Now that shed mentioned it, Sachiko remembered. The green tea. Shed been forbidden from drinking it before eating the manjuu bun, but it looks like that ban had now been lifted. Not having a choice, but still thinking she was being tricked, Sachiko took a sip of tea and then a bite of the manjuu bun.
And then.
"Oh my."
"Right?"
It definitely felt as though the flavor had changed. The overblown sweetness was milder, and what she had thought was a spicy aroma was somehow lessened and now had a subtle hint of flowers. Even though the aroma had previously seemed synthetic, now it seemed like the sweet had traces of caraway and dill in it. Was it really the same thing as before?
"Was this your idea, Suguru-san? Did you put that much thought into it?"
"No. I just bought something truly awful."
Suguru-san sipped his tea, looking unconcerned.
"Then &h.e.l.lip; "
"It was Mrs Matsudairas breakthrough."
"Matsudaira &h.e.l.lip; ah, Touko-chans mother?"
Sachiko remembered the last time theyd met, a couple of years ago. Mrs Matsudaira was an adorable woman - slightly plump but gentle, and still with the air of a sheltered lady despite being married.
"When I visited the Matsudairas, aunty was making some green tea. We decided to eat them then, since it seemed like a good time. I knew they were awful so I held back, but Mrs Matsudaira told me they were delicious. It didnt seem like she was faking it."
"Since she had it with green tea from the start."
"Shed been bedridden for a bit towards the end of the year, so at first I thought that might have affected her tastebuds. But since she was so insistent, I reluctantly tried one and discovered they were surprisingly good."
"Now that you mention it, I havent seen her for a while. So shes been ill then."
There were a lot of things being learned for the first time today.
"But I heard she made it to the sports carnival and the school festival."
Her mother asked, "Didnt you see her?" and Sachiko shook her head. The sports carnival and the school festival were both so hectic that she wouldnt have noticed an acquaintance in the crowd. Although she probably would have noticed if theyd been borrowed for a race, like a certain somebody.
"She was a bit blue because she was worrying about all sorts of things - like the family hospital, and her daughter, whos at a difficult age. But, from what I hear, it wasnt anything too bad."
Her concerns about her daughter were probably related to Touko-chan running away from home. However.
"What about the hospital?"
The Matsudaira hospital mentioned would probably be the one on the outskirts of Tokyo, where Sachikos grandmother had spent her last days.
"Mr Matsudaira &h.e.l.lip; uh, Toukos father, didnt become a doctor. And her grandfathers getting on in years. So it seems like a good time to consider the future of the hospital, dont you think?"
Suguru-san answered, with an, "I dont really know the whole story," vibe. Even though he probably knew more than he let on, he was good at making an exit for himself.
"Oh my, your mother was telling me that things were proceeding smoothly at the hospital."
Sachikos mother murmured.
"Well, there was some things put in motion. But Touko was completely against it, so despite things proceeding smoothly its been put on hold for now."
Suguru-san said.
When her mother left to make another pot of tea, Sachiko asked Suguru-san:
"Could that have been why Touko-chan ran away from home &h.e.l.lip; "
Shed missed the chance to ask earlier, but the timing of those events coincided almost perfectly.
"Correct."
Suguru-san then added, "That was the direct cause." Which meant that the circ.u.mstances must have actually been slightly more complicated than that.
"They were talking about what to do with the hospital?"
"To put it bluntly."
"But its not as though Touko-chans grandfather or either of her parents are forcing her to become a doctor, right?"
"I would say not."
"Then what does it matter what their daughter thinks? Dont you think both Mr and Mrs Matsudaira are too soft on Touko-chan? Thats why shes so selfish."
As she said this, Sachiko felt her main point was slipping away. Shed unknowingly been carried away by her emotions. She didnt want to say these things. But she couldnt stop herself.
"The Matsudairas may be soft on her, but Touko isnt all that selfish."
Suguru-sans comment finally put the brakes on Sachikos mouth.
"&h.e.l.lip; Youre right. I misspoke."
Yumis offer of soeurship had been rejected. Her irritation at not having a clear answer as to why had unconsciously been directed towards Touko-chan. Probably.
Sachiko understood it well. While Touko-chan may look selfish, or give that impression, like Suguru-san said she wasnt actually all that selfish. Even though she could sometimes act spoiled, one must always take into account the time and the circ.u.mstances. When the time came to reign it in, she reigned it in. Nothing she did was truly unreasonable.
But knowing that had probably made Sachiko even more irritated. Since shed rejected Yumi, there must have been some circ.u.mstances that stopped her, or made her stop. That was the only way that Sachiko could understand it.
"Hey, Sacchan, do you remember anything from when Touko was born?"
Suguru-san asked brightly. He was probably trying to soften her p.r.i.c.kly mood.
"No?"
Sachiko forced out a smile.
"I suppose not. You were only two, and she was a distant relative."
"Since you said that, does that mean you do remember?"
"Well, I was already three. Aunt Matsudaira and Touko came straight to our place from the hospital, and they stayed for about a month. I think she was a bit worried about raising a baby - well, I suppose everyone is the first time. So she was probably relying on the senior mothers - my mother and grandmother - to help. I was so young that I thought Touko was really my little sister. So I was telling everyone I met, "Ive got a new baby sister." I was over the moon."
"I see. And?"
Sachiko asked, and Suguru-san responded with, "Oh, nothing." It looked like he was just trying to change the topic, after all.
"You were affectionate towards Sachiko too, Suguru-san."
Her mother said, returning from the kitchen.
"Even though you were a baby yourself, you used to say, "Baby, baby." And pat her and kiss her."
"I dont remember that."
Suguru-san scratched his head.
"Im sure thats why Sachiko fell in love with you."
"Lets not talk about the past."
Sachiko glanced at her mother, who was smiling and placing the teacups on the table. She didnt want to revisit the story of how she said, "I want to be Suguru-sans bride," when she was in kindergarten.
It was tough because adults always delighted in dragging things out into the light things that children had done, but didnt remember.
"Alright, alright."
Hearing Sachikos mother say this as she distributed another round of tea cups and manjuu buns, the two younger peoples eyes met and they grinned.
"Even when you were young, you liked girls, Suguru-san."
- Her mother was only slightly off-kilter.