Page 65 of Blossoms of the Heart
I could only explain it like having an out of body experience.
But trapped in my mind. Today seemed to be worse and not filled with the haze of lust that overpowered me last time.
Today as I looked at her, and listened to her talk, all I could see before me were memories.
Memories of what used to be. Memories I stored away in my heart and dared not think of because it would remind me of how much I’d missed her.
It would remind me of how the ball was actually in my court to make some form of contact over the years, but I didn’t.
She asked me the other day if I was ever scared when I was in Iraq.
I told her the truth, and she got the chance then to ask me what did scare me.
If she asked I would have lied because the only thing that had ever really scared me in my life was the fear of not being good enough for her.
Having her mother confirm that I wasn’t was a massive blow to me.
How dare I thetattooed freak with no ambition, try to defile her precious princess?
“Oh my God that was the year when Tai had bad hair.” Mitsuke suddenly said.
Her words and outburst of laughter brought me out of my thoughts. I hadn’t caught on to what was said prior to that, but I remembered that year very well.
Phoebe looked at me, eyes wide. She remembered too.
“Yes someone thought it was a good idea to drop a can of oil paint on my head.” I gave her an accusing stare.
“It was an accident.” Phoebe defended raising her hands and drawing my attention to the candy pink polish on her nails. It matched her lips but the pink on her lips was subtler.
“Of course it was. Buckets of paint justsomehowhappen to land on people’s heads.”
“How did that happen Phoebe?” Akito asked. “I wasn’t aware that was your fault.”
Her skin colored fiercely making Mitsuke laugh even more. “I went to find Tai. He was at the old barn with some friends. Somehow the paint fell and caught him.”
It was explanations like that she used to give in the past, leaving out all the key details and using that damnsomehowword I hated.
“She was spying on me way past her bed time. Princess Phoebe thought she had a great hiding spot among some old cans of paint that was stored on the upper level of the barn. The ceiling caved in and down came the paint on to me. Not my friends just me.”
“Well at least I saved you from getting a tattoo that could have gone wrong.” Phoebe shook her head.
“Phoebe I would have preferred Sho’s tattoo than having to shave my head.” Sho had actually became a tattoo artist. He’d set up shop in Sapporo, and was doing extremely well for himself.
“But you didn’t just simply shave your head.” Mitsuke had to point out. She glanced at Candace and remembered she was sitting next to me.
She’d been quiet.
“No my hair was fucked.”
Akito kicked my leg under the table for my use of language.
“Sorry, I mean my hair was messed up.”
The girls all laughed.
“First we had to get the paint off his scalp.” Mitsuke thought she’d explain, much to my embarrassment. “But because it was oil paint, and old, it just stuck in there and wouldn’t come out. So we had to cut it out and loosen it up over a few days.”
“Yes, thanks to Princess Phoebe my entire year was fuc –”
