Page 75 of Fumiko and the Finicky Nestmate
“That’s so weird.” Sinder looked to Juuyu. “I swear, I never saw him.”
TWENTY-SIX
Seascape
Once Juuyu excused himself for work, Antigone chased Akira out of her kitchen, adamant that she needed no help with dishes. So he faced the stairway’s obstacle course and formulated a different plan. Fumiko hadn’t come downstairs for breakfast. Maybe she’d be up for a walk to that little doughnut place he’d found.
Quickly changing into street clothes, he stole up the spiral staircase to her room, softly calling, “Fumiko-nee? Am I intruding?”
“Akira? It’s fine.”
From his position on the staircase, he spied her propped in bed, reading. She looked so much like Tsumiko in that moment, he grinned. “Did you sleep at all last night?” he teased.
Zuzu was suddenly sitting on the top step, blocking his view. “She did! Juuyu should sing her lullabies every night!”
“I know, right? Suuzu spoils me with songs.” Now that he knew Suuzu was coming soon, the days ahead felt long and empty. Filling the time was part of what motivated him to ask, “You liked the pizza, yeah?”
Fumiko sat up in bed. “It was good.”
“Want to try something else?”
“Did you smuggle another treat past Antigone?”
Akira laughed. “I was hoping to sneak you past her.”
She slid from bed, padding over in her nightgown, to kneel beside Zuzu. “What do you mean?”
“Will you go for a walk with me? I found this little place that sells doughnuts right out of the fryer. It’s not far.”
“I can’t leave Zuzu.”
“You could,” countered her sister. “You could.”
Akira looked between them. “Is two blocks too far? I feel like we would still be under Zuzu’s branches.”
Zuzu touched her sister’s face. “Akira will hold your hand.”
“I’m a very good hand-holder,” he promised. “I even hold Sinder’s hand when we cross the street.”
Fumiko’s expression gentled. “You won’t let go?”
“Not until you’re ready,” he promised, feeling uncommonly gallant. “Come down to my room when you’re ready.”
“I’ll be quick,” she whispered.
Minutes later, Zuzu hugged them both close. Akira blinked, and he was in a different location. It took a moment to orient himself. They were next to the flower shop, which hadn’t yet opened for business.
“We skipped the gate?” he asked. “What about the barrier?”
Zuzu simply smiled … and vanished.
Fumiko said, “She can come and go as she pleases. The barriers mostly hide her existence. And filter out pollen.”
“So that’s how it is!” Akira offered his hand. “Hungry?”
She slipped her hand into his, which is how he knew she was shaking.
“Do you like cinnamon and sugar? Or glazed?”
