Paper Wishes novel Chapter 4

I hung the dresses in my closet and took a minute to appreciate them. Then, not wanting to disturb Kai, I scrawled a quick thank you note and taped it to his door. He would find it when he was done with whatever he was working on and read it at his leisure.

Not knowing what else to do, I resigned myself to start working on my homework. I grabbed my school bag-a designer bag that Kai had bought me for my birthday earlier this year. It was a St. Scott London convertible bag that could be used as a purse or a backpack, which was how I had been using it since I received it. I wasn't sure if calling such an expensive purchase practical was nonsensical, but I loved it and used it primarily for school. I pulled out my notebook, set it in front of my laptop, and settled into my studies.

About three hours later I was done with my homework and Kai still hadn't come out of his room, although it was nearly dinner time. I heard the furious clicking of his laptop keys and decided to go ahead and cook dinner. If he didn't come out of his room by then, I would take a plate up to him.

I decided to make oven chicken after looking in the refrigerator and pantry to see what ingredients we had available. It was something fast and simple that Kai's mom had taught me to make. I smiled at the memory of Mama, as Kai's mom liked for me to call her, taking the time to teach me her recipes over the years. She had become extremely zealous about passing her recipes on after I moved in with Kai. In retrospect, she was probably trying to keep both of us busy so that neither of us would get lost in the grief that we never displayed. Her efforts were not for nothing because even though I still withdrew into myself, I now held a plethora of Suzuki family recipes in my head.

As I checked on the progress of the chicken, Kai sauntered into the kitchen.

"I saw the note you left me. I'm surprised you didn't catch Jez and me throwing glances at each other, trying to communicate silently so you wouldn't know what we were doing. You are so oblivious," he laughed.

"I really didn't know! But I do know Jez well enough to know that she doesn't do anything by accident."

"Well, in any case, you're welcome. Is this your way of thanking me?" He asked as he sniffed the air delicately, "You know I love Mama's cooking."

Mama Suzuki had moved back to Japan shortly after my birthday to help her brother and his wife with their newborn twins. She'd always been very nurturing, so from what I gathered no one in their family was surprised when she made the offer. I suspected that she also wanted to get away for a while, to keep busy and away from thoughts of how her best friend had passed away.

Though Kai's Dad, Takuya, wasn't entirely enthusiastic about the idea, he agreed to it with the stipulation that she came home before the holidays. He would never hold Mama back from something she really wanted to do, even if it affected him.

Everyone seemed to wilt a little with Mama away. I suspected it must have been extremely tough on Kai, and as I had thought he would be, Kai seemed to be genuinely pleased with the prospect of eating his mom's cooking, even though it was actually prepared by me.

"It sure is! I'm making oven chicken," I said. Although it was a simple recipe, she didn't make it often, only relying on it when she was short on time. It was tasty, and growing up it had been one of Kai's favorite meals. I had been very glad to see the bag of chicken wings and drumettes in the freezer.

"It's been awhile," he smiled.

"It really has," I replied as I opened the refrigerator and pulled out a jar of takuan. "We have some left over tsukemono from the last time we went grocery shopping, so it'll really be like your Mama's here cooking for you."

"Hey, Kai...," I said, suddenly and somewhat randomly.

"Yeah?" He asked, acknowledging me before he shoveled a bite of rice and takuan into his mouth.

"I was wondering, I don't keep tabs on your love life or anything but in the time I've lived with you, you haven't been on a date."

"Nothing, really, I just thought that you could use some fun in your life, Mr. Workaholic."

He rolled his eyes at me. "Vilv, between work and college, worrying about you is all the fun I can handle right now."

Heart pain.

I put my hands in the air to signify defeat. "Okay, I get it. You're really, really busy. But if you do like someone, I'd be happy to aid in the process of getting you two together," I said with a wink.

"Thanks, I suppose," he said with an exasperated sigh before returning to his meal.

"You're welcome, bestie," I winked again, even though it was superfluous because I thought it would make him smile. I was right.

"Vilv," he said, a smile still spread across his face, "I just want you to know I had fun with you today."

Kai's smile made me happy, but it broke my heart that I had been the one to rob him of it for so many months.