Sorcerer Hunters Fan Fiction ❯ Tropicana ❯ Chapter Eight ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

It had been a week since I had resigned from my job and returned from Florida. The company had taken it rather well, which surprised me. The new president in charge was this man who seemed vaguely familiar who called himself Milphey, and he seemed like a nice and capable man, so I was comfortable. I now had a little job at a local corner bookshop, and I found that it satisfied me, which I discovered was all that really mattered. Now I sat in my quaint dining room, in my little house on 30th Street. I was enjoying some good Tropicana orange juice that I had just poured when the phone rang abruptly. I rushed to get it, and slammed my ear to the phone.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Hiya, Marron." My heart did a million flips and my face burned for reasons unknown, even to me. Why was Gateau calling me?

"Uhm, hello, Gateau," I stuttered, fighting to regain my composure. He never failed in surprising me in some weird way.

"I called because you forgot something." His voice was secretive, and sort of...well, I won't say "sexy."

"What?"

"You forgot to tell me goodbye, so here I am." My breath whooshed out in relief. I thought he was going to say something really vulgar, like..

"And also, you forgot to sleep with me." I fell over, my chair crashing to the floor. "Whoa, just kidding!" I could hear him laughing lightly in the background.

"You better be," I muttered, setting my chair upright again and sitting in it. "I am sorry I forgot to say goodbye, though," I trailed off, my heart pounding roughly against my chest for some reason.

"That's okay, Marron. I just wanted to make sure you take care." His voice was so loving, so caring, and so weirdly nice. I was intensely stunned. What had happened?

"Thank you, Gateau. I will. You too." I was flooded with emotion. Gateau actually cared how I was? Before it had always been simply about sex, and I could care less about that. But he really cared?

"Thank you Marron. You know I'll always be here for you. Which is probably one reason I'm in Massachusetts right now." Suddenly I heard cars honking and traffic in the background on Gateau's side.

"WHAT?" I couldn't contain my surprise, and I almost fell off my chair again. "What are you doing here of all places?"

Gateau snickered. "Your brother told me to keep a little eye on you for a while. Whatever that means."

I gulped. Now this sounded totally odd. My brother asking GATEAU to look out for me? I had thought he hated it when Gateau tried little romantic stuff with me. And here he was asking Gateau to do it! I was lost in a void of confusion.

"I know, I know," Gateau went on, aware of my thoughtful quiet. "It IS kinda weird that Carrot suggested I come up here, but, hey," his voice was lost in the traffic sounds again. "Uhm, Marron? I don't mean to intrude, but," he said as his voice became audible again, "Do you mind if I come up to your place to talk? Or we could go to some coffee place or something.." As he said this, I nodded slowly.

"Sure, Gateau. Why not." I shrugged indifferently, and I could almost see the joy on Gateau's face.

"Really?!"

"Yes." I smiled. What the heck.

"Okay, I'll be there in," he paused, apparently looking at his watch, "Uhm, in about five or ten minutes, I guess."

"Gateau," I said softly, "do you even know where I live?"

"Yes," he said seriously. "I always want to be sure you are alright, no matter what."

This touched my heart. It seemed that Gateau perhaps had taken a change of attitude, or perhaps he, too, had changed, as my brother had, over the past week. I took a sip of my orange juice, that Tropicana stuff, which I noted, was from Florida. It was bitter and simple, like the truth. And then I realized this intense beating in my heart was a truth that needed to be recognized. And I knew that Gateau was waiting in the silence for it. That and my goodbye.

"I'll see you then, Gateau. In five minutes or so." But before I hung up, I said something.

"Aishiteru." And I hung up the phone, my heart racing, pounding in my ears.

I realized then that I had meant it.





THE END