Page 20 of Unravel Me

Taylor seemed to know what table we belonged to. Already sitting there was a shorter Japanese man who looked quite a bit like Taylor. I noticed immediately the color of his eyes were the exact same shade. He stood to greet us. He smiled like Taylor did when he wasn’t faking: the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

“Hello dear.” He shook my hand.

“Mr. Hirano.” I shook back.

“You’re family now. Call me Ikari.”

I nodded and we all sat. Taylor sat between me and his grandfather, almost acting like a barrier.

“Jiji.” Taylor turned to his grandfather. “I am glad you two could finally meet.”

“You’ve been keeping me from her Taylor.” Ikari said in an almost lecturing voice.

“I…” Taylor looked down at the tablecloth. There was something in his expression that I had seen before. It was when I spotted him near collapse in his gym and it was in his eyes when I woke him up while he was sick and delirious.

I subtly tapped his wrist and took his hand in mine and held it on the table where His grandfather could see. Because of the hand tapping system, it looked natural. “I’m glad to meet you, Ikari, I apologize for not meeting sooner but with my fashion business being so hectic for the season change, I hardly have to time to see Taylor.” I didn’t know why Taylor had declined to meet with his grandfather for so long. Last time Iasked he didn’t really answer. But I knew I had to lie for him. I trusted his reasoning.

“Funny that you and Taylor had been dating this whole time I thought he was setting up a meeting,” Ikari said, keeping his eyes on mine. “I heard him say he was dreading it. But that was all to keep it from me, eh?”

I giggled. Dreading it? He hadn’t even met me yet! “Sorry we were so secretive. I insisted on it. I’m a private person.” That was a lie. But I probably wouldn’t want my clients to know about my love life until it was serious, gossip traveled fast, so there was some truth to it.

“When you asked me to get married, I convinced her to be more open about it. And then we decided to get married as soon as possible. It felt like the right thing to do.” He sounded convincing to me; it was following the story we crafted up together.

“Are you wanting children, Lydia?” He asked and my face went hot.

“Jiji.” Taylor said sternly. I could feel the stiffness of his body next to me.

“Is it wrong for a grandfather to want to know about grandchildren from my only grandson?”

I recovered quickly. “Yes, I’ve always wanted children.” This wasn’t a lie. The idea of tailoring very small suits or dresses for my future kids always excited me. I could bring them to runway shows and teach them how to sew. “We’re not planning anything right now.” Not a lie. “But I’m open to whatever the future brings.” Vague enough to not be a lie.

Taylor gave me a look that seemed grateful. When I said I could handle his grandfather, I meant it.

“Good. A fine girl Taylor.”

“Yes. I think so too.” He nodded.

A waiter came around and got our orders. I let Taylor order for me, I didn’t really want to look ignorant here and the dishes on the limited menu were all unfamiliar to me.

“Why don’t you get me and your wife some wine,” Ikari said, looking at his grandson with watchful eyes.

“I can call a waiter over,” Taylor suggested eyeing me, somewhat nervously.

“They’ll take too long. Be respectful Taylor, I’m too old to be walking around.”

Taylor squeezed my hand and then let go, standing up to go to the bar. He glanced back as he left, obviously concerned.

“Now Lydia.” I brought my attention back to Ikari.

“Yes?” This was going to be the real challenge.

“You love my grandson?” He asked.

“Yes. I wouldn’t have married him if I didn’t.” This was partly a lie. I had always seen myself marrying for true love. I never wanted to settle for someone even if that meant never getting married. But these were extenuating circumstances and also only temporary. Hopefully he wouldn’t see through me.

“So, you’re not marrying him for his money?” He asked bluntly.

I felt my throat close up and my heart pound. I wanted to pull my hair out, but I had to keep myself composed. I was marrying him for his money, but not in that way. I didn’t lie before, I wouldn’t marry someone just because they were rich, I wanted true love. But how was this any different? I remembered agreeing with Taylor that this was just a business deal, and that we weren’t using each other. But weren’t business deals just two people agreeing to use each other? I felt sick but I realized I was taking too long to answer.

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