Chapter 5

Thanksgiving Day weekend, during one of their phone conversations, Megumi said to Sean, “Guess what? I have a real surprise. In fact, it was a real surprise for me, my family ... and will be for your brother Josh.”

“For Josh? What’s this big surprise?”

“When he and I were talking on the phone a while back, remember? He told me how much he likes Japanese culture. I’m sure he was just being nice, but he told me he thought I was pretty and wanted to know if I had a pretty sister like me for him.”

“No, he really meant it. He thinks you really are pretty. AND, he’d love to have a pretty, Japanese girlfriend. I told you he’s into anything Japanese.”

“Well ... my mom’s sister, her husband and daughter are coming to the U.S. to live. Her dad will work in Washington D.C. for a two-year term as a sales manager for the company he works for. They will be living with us. Suki is a very cute girl, but she is really tiny. She’s 4’ 11” and weighs about 90 pounds. She has long, wavy hair almost to her waist, but her boobs are a “C” cup. If you let it out I said that I will surgically give you a sex change. I mean it. She’s seventeen like Josh. I just don’t know how well she can speak English. Do you think your parents would let us hook them up?”

“You know the first thing Mom is gonna ask is if she’s saved.”

“I’ve been witnessing to her and she is receptive and seems interested.”

“Well, what do you want me to do? Should I tell Josh about her or not? Do you have her photo?”

Seconds later, Sean was looking at a very cute, tiny girl with a megawatt smile. Megumi told Sean, “Yeah, you can tell him. Give him her photo. I’ll try and get some more. In fact, I’ll try and set her up with a Discord account so they can hook up before she moves here in January. Sound like a decent plan?”

“I like it.”

During their phone conversations, Sean learned that although a devout Christian family, Megumi’s family didn’t own a family Bible. So, for Christmas he bought them a large table-sized Bible and a stand for viewing or reading. Megumi’s birthday, she’d told him, was in September. So, Sean bought her a pair of one-carat genuine sapphire earrings and a matching necklace. When she opened them on Christmas morning, she cried like a baby. It was at that moment that both of her parents knew ... Megumi was in love.

Both James and Keiko were very touched when Keiko opened the Bible. Shaking her head in amazement, she asked out loud as she looked at their family name engraved on the cover, “How did he know we didn’t have a family Bible?”

Megumi looked up at her mom with a dreamy smile and said, “He asked if we had one, and I told him we didn’t.”

James replied, “Such a thoughtful gift. Please express our heartfelt thanks, will you, Princess?”

“Sure, Dad. I’d be happy to.”

Off and on during the day, she would start to tear up and gently weep. Keiko nodded towards their melancholy daughter and whispered, “Go to her. She always responds to you better than she does me.”

James went in and sat next to Megumi on the sofa where she was toying with the stone on her necklace. He put his arm around her, pulled her to him and kissed the top of her head. Without looking up she asked, “How long did it take for you to know you loved my mom?”

He snickered and answered, “About the same amount of time as you, but I was so afraid of being rejected, I didn’t admit it to myself or professing it for about four more months. I asked your mom to marry me six months after we started dating. You’ve got it bad for him, don’t you?”

“Yes, Daddy, I love him. I feel it in every fiber of my being. He makes me feel so alive, but most importantly, he makes me feel beautiful, valuable, and special. I am the most important thing in his life. We’ve both confessed and now we openly say we love each other. Is it possible that you and mom can accept that I love him and want to marry him?”

“Have you two discussed when you’d like to get married?”

“Yes, and according to the Bible, he’s the head of our family. He said that we need to keep the promise he made to Mom. We should plan on getting married after I graduate and take the USMLE [the Unites States Medical Licensing Examination]. Originally. I planned on taking them in two or three sections, but Mom said she would not consent until I passed my boards and got my medical license.”

“Let’s find out. KEIKO! GET IN HERE!”

Keiko entered the living room wiping her hands on a dish towel. “What is it, did you call me?”

“Yes. Have a seat.”

“I can’t right now, I’m busy with dinner.”

“Either you sit down, or I give Megs here permission to elope.”

“What!? Like hell you will!”

Both Megumi and her stepdad chuckled as they watched her plop into the armchair next to the sofa. James asked, “Now, do I have your attention?”

“One hundred and ten percent!” What’s all this noise about eloping?”

“Nothing, I just wanted you to sit. We need to discuss Megumi’s feelings about Sean.”

Keiko sighed heavily. Rolled her eyes and looking Megumi right in the eye said, “This had better be good.”

James rubbed Meg’s back for encouragement and said, “Go ahead. Tell her what you just told me.”

“Mom, Sean and I love each other. We’ve discussed getting married, and here is what Sean has decided—”

Keiko cut her off saying, ”Sean has decided? Who the hell is he?”

From where it came, no one in the room knew, but Megumi uncharacteristically stood and shot back, “Yes, Mom, Sean! He will be the head of our family, just as Scripture says!”

Keiko pulled back in her chair, and realizing that her daughter was not going to be easily intimidated, calmly asked, “What has Sean decided?”

Megumi’s ire subsided, she sat and said, “Sean said that he is first and foremost, a man of his word. He made you certain promises and one was to diligently encourage me to get my medical license as much as you do. Now, we want to get married next year. That means that I will need to utilize my genius I.Q. and finish med school next year. Right after graduation, instead of taking the boards in parts like I originally planned, I’d like to take all three parts in one sitting. It will cover a period of three consecutive days. After I pass the USMLE, we will get married. He will still have about 28 months of active duty, but I will be a practicing gynecologist and a married woman.

“What I want to know is will you support my choice and the man I love, or do I walk this journey alone?”

The stone-like look on Keiko’s face revealed nothing. She slapped her hands on her knees and said, “I will support his plan. It’s going to push you to the limit, but if you can do it, I’ll be there for both of you every step of the way. The day after you pass the USMLE, you and I will start planning your wedding. Oh! One other condition. I expect my future son-in-law to spend a couple of days here with us when he comes home on leave. Any man that can stand up to me, and still keep his promise to me is certainly worth his salt, and worthy of my daughter.”

Megumi leapt up, jumping around and dancing singing, “He’s my man, oh yeah!”

Both parents shook their heads laughing at their daughter’s exuberance.

Keiko snickered and quipped, ‘Well, if you’re gonna be a housewife, get your butt in the kitchen and help with the cooking.”

Megumi looked at her stepdad with a smirky smile and he just shrugged.

Standing next to her mom at the island counter. Megumi was preparing the Asian sweet potatoes for the brown sugar and butter glazing. Keiko asked her daughter, “So, you say your future mother-in-law is a good cook?”

“Yes. She and I are now Facebook friends and she posts pictures of just about everything she cooks. Boy, her dishes sure look delicious. She cooks mostly Chinese dishes. She makes everything from scratch. Even her own dough for noodles, dumplings, and other dishes.”

As the two women worked together to finish Christmas dinner, Keiko asked, “How does Sean’s family feel about you?

“Sean’s mom is holding back judgement. I swear, Mom, you and she could be twin sisters. She’s a ‘Tiger Mom’ type of person, and she’s worried that something might happen, and Sean will get hurt.”

“What would happen and how would he be hurt?”

“Some time ago Sean was in a relationship with a Chinese girl named Sophie he’d met at church. They had a long distant relationship that was getting pretty serious when her mother found out about it. She turned out to be xenophobic about Sean being only half Chinese and gave her daughter an ultimatum: break up or be disowned.”

Keiko replied, “Oh, that’s sad to hear.”

Megumi continued saying, “Because you are so single-minded about me and my grades, he was afraid you might be the same way, but I told him that you would never do that to me. Besides, how could you be xenophobic when you married a Caucasian man? That put his heart right at ease.”

Keiko asked, “What about the rest of his family?”

“Sean’s immediate younger brother, Paul, is the black sheep of the family. He has really long hair, wears black nail polish and is living with a Jewish girl. He’s two years younger than Sean. We have never spoken, but Sean said that all Paul said about us was “That’s cool, man.’”

“I spoke to his brother Joshua on the phone. He’s a seventeen-year-old high school senior. Josh is really nice, funny and a very sensitive guy. He’s seen the photos I sent Sean and he said I was very pretty. He asked if I had a pretty sister for him because he really likes Japanese girls. His favorite pastime and hobby is reading and watching Japanese anime, movies, and dramas.

“Sean’s sixteen-year-old baby brother is autistic. He’s in his own world of computer games. All he said about us was “That’s nice.”

Both women quietly returned to preparing the holiday meal. Megumi mentioned that she hoped she had correctly followed Sean’ mom’s recipe for Chinese turkey. She said that the two years she’s made it. A twenty-pound turkey was finished by the end of the day. Keiko quipped that she was glad they didn’t have Sean’s family grocery bill.

As things turned out, the Chinese turkey was moist and delicious. What everyone couldn’t understand was that even though it soaked in a brine solution for three days, it wasn’t salty at all. It was buttery flavored delicious. The candied Asian sweet potatoes were a big hit with James. Keiko said they were very good, but a little too sweet for her taste. Megumi and her stepdad ate all of them.

Sean called Megumi at 7pm, her time, to wish her a Merry Christmas and Megumi broke the news to him.

“Sean, please don’t be angry with me, but I couldn’t hold back my feelings for you. When I opened your gift, I was so happy that I cried like a baby. Dad sat with me and we talked. I told him I loved him, that we both have confessed and openly tell each other that we love each other. I also told him of your plan for us to marry next year. I’m sorry. I know you wanted to ask Mom and Dad for my hand and explain it all when you come home on leave.

“Anyway, Dad called Mom in and had me tell her what I’d told him. At first, she tried to intimidate me with her hard-nosed bluster, but for the first time in my life I stood up and told her that we were going to do things according to your plan. She calmed down and I told her that we are bound by his promise to you that we wouldn’t get married until I’d graduated and passed the USMLE. She was a little shocked when I told her I was determined to graduate next year and take the complete USMLE. Her exact words were, “if he can keep his promise to me and still stand up to me, he is worth his salt and deserves to marry my daughter.” She does have a condition though. That you spend a few days here at our home when you come home on leave.”

Sean just chuckled and answered, “All things happen for a reason.”

Megumi quickly added, “She even said that she would support us and our plan. She said that if I can do it and pass the Boards next year, she and I will start planning the wedding the very next day!”

“See? Just like I said. All things happen for a reason. None of this changes my plan. I will ask your parents for your hand when I get home on leave. Then, we will officially be engaged. How do you feel about it?”

“I’m so excited I could pee myself! I can’t wait! Will you give me a ring?”

“No. We’ll go out and you can pick your own. How’s that sound?”

“Like music to my ears. My mind has been whirling with thoughts of the wedding I was thinking...”

“Yes ... thinking what?”

“I was thinking. Since you’re in the military, and Dad is in the military, and both Mom and Dad work in a military hospital ... why couldn’t we gave a military wedding? You know, Daddy can walk me down the aisle in his uniform, and you could wear your dress blues. Well ... what do you think?”

“You mean with the honor guard with the swords and everything?”

“Yeah. Cool, huh?”

“Sure, why not. Maybe your dad can make the arrangements with the military. I’m just a lowly Airman. I have no pull at all.”

“We’ll wait until you’re here to ask him together. Sound okay?”