Page 68 of Semi Sweet
“Yeah. I’m not even in Denver anymore. I’m staying with a friend and their family in Aspen.” I figured there was no reason to tell her about Sean yet, especially when I wasn’t exactly sure how to describe my relationship with him at the moment.
“I’m happy to hear that. Your sisters and I think about you every day.”
I let out an anxious breath as I prepared for what I was going to say next. “Does Dad ever say anything about me?”
This time when she paused it felt like an eternity. I almost couldn’t stand to know what the answer was.
“Actually, he’s right here and he’d like to talk to you.”
I swallowed hard, telling myself I couldn’t move forward without dealing with the past.
“Sure,” I whispered. “Put him on.”
***
A while later, I headed out of the room and heard the sounds of the Mizunos eating dinner without me. I was glad they hadn’t waited. My phone call had taken longer than I’d been expecting. All three stopped what they were doing when they saw me enter the room tentatively. I’d tried to take a few minutes to collect myself, but I knew Sean probably saw the red splotches on my face.
“Sorry,” I murmured as I sat down at the spot beside him.
They’d made me a plate–a perfectly cooked steak on a bed of mashed potatoes and garlic crusted asparagus on the side. Maybe savory meals weren’t his wheelhouse, but it was still light years better than anything I could make.
Sean immediately reached for my hand, rubbing his thumb across the top of it, but it was his mother who spoke first. “Was your phone call enlightening?” Her eyes were hopeful.
I nodded. “I got through to my parents.”
“Oh man,” Sean said. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. My family is going to visit me soon.”
His eyes went wide. “Including your father?”
I was still in disbelief as I confirmed, “Including my father.”
I fought the urge to burst into tears of joy. Instead, I dove into my dinner, not realizing how hungry I was.
“An excellent development,” Mrs. Mizuno declared. “Sean-kun, it sounds like you have things to share, as well.”
He nodded, still running his thumb over the top of my hand. “You pretty much knew this already. I’m going to put an offer on the storefront. We did the math and I should be able to afford the rent to own payments. My parents are going to help me with the security deposit.”
“I consider it an investment,” Mr. Mizuno said. “If I recall, I think I said that when I signed him up for cooking classes when he was a boy.”
“That’s fantastic!” The thought that Sean would be in Aspen with me was comforting. “Do you think you’ll call it Mizuno’s? Or Sergei’s?”
“Actually,” Sean said looking up from my hand and into my eyes. “I was playing with the idea of calling itSemi Sweet. I kept thinking of the tagline to your social media account. It’s catchy as hell.”
A sweet break from my otherwise bitter life.
It had gotten sweeter as of late.
***
After coffee and helping clean up, Sean’s parents said their goodnights since they had to work in the morning and left Sean and I to ourselves in the living room. I leaned against him with my feet stretched out on the couch.
“I’ll have to go back to Denver for at least thirty days. It’s in my contract,” he explained. “Maybe longer if subletting gets complicated.”
“Are you serious about getting back into your old place?”
“Absolutely. I love my parents, but they are so regimented in their routine that my first task was going to help you find a place after this weekend was over. You’d be going to bed now and be trapped in your room. I can’t live like that.” Sean chuckled. “You willing to have a roommate again?”
