Page 80 of Secrets & Sake

Dad and Katsuki mumble greetings.

Raiden and I sit, and the waitress stops by to take our order. Raiden squeezes my knee beneath the table. “Not too bad so far.”

I elbow him. “Don’t jinx it.”

While the chef slices and dices at lightning speed, my mother turns to me and gives an artificial twitch of her mouth. It’s like how someone would smile at a stranger. Am I really that? A stranger to all of them? “You look well.”

“I’m doing great.” I’m not going to let the awkwardness get to me. I came here to show how well I’m doing. My parents thought I’d fail, that their spoiled son wouldn’t last a second away from home. I’m going to prove them wrong. “I’m working on a photo book.”

“Oh?” My mom nods with interest. “How is that going?”

“Pretty good.” I sip my water to avoid talking.

Raiden smiles. “He’s very talented. Your son’s going to be a famous photographer someday.”

“Well, that’s wonderful!” Mom says. “Isn’t it, dear?”

Katsuki makes a noncommittal noise around a sip of sake.

Dad has been scrolling on his phone the whole time. “Hm? Oh. What was that?”

Mom sighs. “Really? Can’t you give the phone a rest? We’re having a family dinner.”

Katsuki and I exchange looks. It’s already starting. Now, I’m really at home. Family dinners were always a war zone. Mom would get on Dad about paying attention, Dad would act like he was doing us all a favor by gracing us with his presence, and Katsuki and I would feel hurt because our own dad couldn’t be bothered to listen to us talk about our day. Well, maybe he’d listen to Katsuki. More often than not, he was on my ass about not joining the baseball team like Katsuki.

Dad crosses his arms, glaring over his spectacles at me. “Yes. It’s wonderful that you neglected your duty to your family to run off and take photos.”

That surprises even me. “Dad—”

“You threw away all our hard work because you’re a coward with no sense of loyalty to the people who raised you. And what do you have to show for it?”

My furious retort gets stuck in my throat. How dare he speak to me like this, and in front of my boyfriend. I want the floor to swallow me up as shame heats my skin. Raiden squeezes my knee painfully hard.

My dad just shakes his head. “At least one of my sons isn’t a disappointment.”

And Raiden says, “Shut your mouth.”

My father’s mouth goes slack. Katsuki chokes on his sake. My mom gasps.

Cold fury grips Raiden’s face as he stares my father down. “I don’t ever want to hear you speak that way to him again.”

“Raiden,” I begin, alarmed as my father’s face turns a furious purple. “It’s okay.”

Raiden stands up, tossing his napkin onto the bar. “You know, if you’d just supported Hiro in what he wanted to do with his life, maybe he wouldn’t have flown across the damn country to get away from you. You ever think about that? Your son is amazing. And it’s your fault that you’re too damn blind to see that.”

My eyes sting with tears.

“How dare you?” My father is shaking with fury, a vein throbbing in his temple.

“No, how dare you!” Raiden’s shout fills the restaurant. Heads turn and people glare, but Raiden seems oblivious to all of it. “Let me make something clear. Hiro is mine, and I’m going to spend every day showing him how much he means to me. He’s going to know every day that he’s treasured. Because that’s what he deserves.”

I blink away the tears clouding my eyes. My mother hangs her head, and Father looks like he’s about to breathe fire. Katsuki eyes Raiden with cool appreciation.

“Jinta,” Mom begins.

“I’m leaving,” I say, and I hop off the bar stool. I take my boyfriend’s hand and squeeze. “Let’s go.”

Without looking back, we walk from the restaurant together and toward the car.

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