Senshi the dog was just as manic, almost bowling Teruko over in his eagerness to lick her face; believe me, I knew how he felt…
Mum had made breakfast, the full English, so we tucked-in, and I have to say, having brekkie made by your mum is one of the little things that makes life worth living. While we ate, we chatted about life, university, classes, my job, small talk, but I could see mum picking-up on an undercurrent; all her ‘Okay, what have you done now, Jack?’ instincts were twitching, so, after clearing up and putting all the dishes in the dishwasher, we joined her in the sitting room.
She waited until we’d made ourselves comfortable, Teruko sitting next to me, which was her usual place whenever I was home for a visit, with mum in her favourite chair opposite us, looking at us quizzically.
“Okay, darlings, it was sweet of you to come home and see me, I’ve missed you both terribly, and even Senshi’s been moping around, so tell me; what brought this on?”
Teruko and I exchanged glances, and she moved a little closer to me on the couch, her fingers twining in mine. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow with mum; it was how she usually sat with me, but this time mum picked-up on something different.
“All right, Jack, what’s going on?” she asked, her eyes flicking from me to Teruko, and back to me.
I swallowed; this was it. Teruko smiled at me and nodded, so I cleared my throat and began.
“Mum, we, I have something to tell you. There’s this girl, she’s beautiful, smart, everything I want, and I’m in love with her, and I sort of asked her to… marry me… and she said yes…”
Mum leaned back in her chair, one eyebrow raised.
“Well, carry on, just exactly who is this girl?” she asked, and I lifted our joined hands and kissed Teruko’s hand.
“Mum, Teruko and I, we sort of… found each other, and I love her, I think I always have, and she loves me, and we want to get married one day and start a family. Say something, please!”
Mum leaned forward, her eyes narrowed.
“I see. Teruko, go to your room, please, I want to speak to your brother in private!”
Teruko stood up, suddenly looking apprehensive, my squeeze of her hand not cancelling out the raised eyebrow from mum, or the expression on her face.
“I wait for you call me, Jakku-san!” she smiled, her bottom lip trembling slightly. Mum watched her leave the room and climb the stairs, Senshi bounding ahead of her, and then rounded on me.
“So mister, do you mean to tell me that while your sister was living with you, supposedly being looked after by you, what you were actually doing was… was… I don’t even want to think about what you were doing! I expected better of her, and I certainly expected better of you, John Cameron, although God knows why. First and foremost, she’s your sister, which in my day actually meant something! Secondly, it’s illegal, or were you so busy yanking your pants off that it never occurred to you wonder whether or not incest is against the law? Jack, she’s your little sister, are you out of your bloody mind?”
That put me on the defensive right away.
“Look mum, this is something we both want, and it just… happened, it was meant to be, that’s how we feel!”
My mother snorted derisively.
“Jack, she’s only eighteen, she’s still a child, how can she know what she wants? And you, you’re a grown man, you should have had enough restraint to walk away, not just stand there and unzip! I really expected better of you, I really thought you’d matured; apparently I was wrong! You were supposed to take care of your sister, not seduce her! You’ve disappointed me deeply, Jack; you went to a place you’re supposed to avoid at all costs, for some very good reasons, and you took your sister there with you. Do you know how angry that makes me? You brought her here to England to keep her safe, we made her part of our family, and now you go and do this? I’m ashamed of you, Jack, you should have known better, you’re bloody well old enough to know better!”
A movement caught my eye, and mum turned her to look where I was looking, to see Teruko standing in the doorway, tears running down her cheeks.
“Please do not be angry with Jakku-san, haha, and do not be angry with me; I love Jakku-san, he love me, we are together now, for always. This is what we want, please, do not hate us, haha!”
Mum turned away from her, her mouth twisting.
“Baby, you’re not old enough yet to know what you want!”
Teruko shook her head, tears glittering on her eyelashes.
“Mummy, I have always known, and I am old enough to know this now!”
Mum looked closely at her, her eyes flinty.
“Baby, are you sure about this? Is this really what you want?”
Teruko nodded, her eyes shining.
love him and I want to be with him, please do not hate me, mummy!”
Mum’s expression softened, and she beckoned her closer, to hold her close and murmur in her ear “Since you came to me, you have been my beloved daughter; I will never hate you!”
Mum hugged her for a few more seconds, then held her away to look in her in the directly in the eye.
“Baby, you’re still only a young girl, please think about this…”
Teruko looked back steadily, and kissed her once on the cheek.
“Please mummy, this is what I want.” She whispered
Mum looked squarely at me.
“If this is what you want, and you both say you know what you’re doing, all I can do is remind you of what I just said; Teruko’s your sister, Jack, not some girl you met at a party, she’s your flesh and blood! But I can see that whatever I say, nothing is going to change your minds, so I’ll only say one more thing; she’s my little girl, don’t you dare hurt her, Jack Cameron, do you hear me?”
I nodded, and then I noticed the tears glimmering in the corners of her eyes. Teruko saw them too, and reached up to wipe them away, kissing her once on the cheek.
“Do not cry, haha, I will look after Jack! Your children will always be here, I promise!”
Mum smiled, and kissed her back, then stood up and hugged me.
“I suppose congratulations are in order, after all, you just got formally engaged!” She smiled sadly as she said it, and a great weight seemed to lift off my heart as she did; she’d accepted it, fighting it all the way, but she’d accepted us! She looked narrowly at me.
“One thing, though, don’t let it go to your heads, both of you; while you’re here I’ll have no bed-hopping, do you understand? You may or may not be shacked-up in London, over here you’re still brother and sister, at least for now, remember that, and try and not let your urges get the better of you!”
She hugged Teruko one more time then left the room, trailing her hand over my shoulder as she left, tapping once, lightly, with her finger as her hand brushed my shoulder, a code to follow her, so I did, while Teruko opened the French doors and followed Senshi out into the garden.
Mum led me to her room, sitting me down on the bed while she rummaged in the bottom of her closet, eventually pulling out a beautifully lacquered Japanese casket. She opened and tipped it out, jewellery cascading out onto the bed.
“These were my mother’s, things I bought, things your father gave me. One day it would have all gone to you, or Teruko I suppose, so pick a piece, pick out something suitable for me to give your fiancee on the day of her engagement!”
I looked through all the conventional rings and bracelets, chains and pendants, and then a piece caught my eye; a beautiful, exquisitely carved milky jade pendant of two rats manhandling an egg; the carving was breathtaking in a piece no bigger than the end of my thumb, the feeling of antiquity radiating off it in waves. Mum smiled as I picked it up, admiring the quality and detail of the carving. “Well done, you picked a lovely piece, Edo period, the man at the British Museum dated it to about 1760, one of my favourites, and appropriate; rats are symbols of prosperity and increase in Japan, Teruko will appreciate that. Your father gave it to me when I left Japan with you, so it’s only right I give it to her.”
I looked closely at her.
“I’m sorry we sprung this on you like this, mum, honestly; I thought by now you’d be loading the shotgun, or at least booting me out the front door, but you’ve got me picking out bride-pieces! What am I missing here?”