Please Save Me
The next day, I sat in the workshop and ran the sewing machine without rest.
Whirr, whirrrr…
Yellow, green, blue… Vivid primary-colored clothes made from thick non-woven fabric piled up one by one on the table.
Most of the designs for kids’ play clothes made of non-woven fabric that I’d seen online were as simple as sacks. You cut a hole in the middle of a long piece of fabric for the head, then stuck Velcro strips along the edges where the arms would come out to hold it closed.
Still, I was in a better position than most parents to put in a little extra care, so I was trying to make the non-woven fabric look at least a bit more like real clothes. Just running a chain stitch in thick brown thread around the neckline, sleeves, and hem, then finishing with an overlock, already gave them a surprisingly proper garment feel.
Whirr, whirrrr…
After cranking the sewing machine for a good while, my back grew stiff. I stood up for a quick stretch. Along with the crack of my joints came another sound that slipped out on its own.
“……Aigoo.”
Yeah… I’d been trying not to make that sound if I could help it.
I slowly rolled my waist and sorted through my thoughts. When I told Teacher Ivy I wanted to do a talent-donation class, she quickly set a date. She also let me know that fifteen kids, including Reni, would be joining that day. So I planned to make fifteen outfits to match the headcount, plus a couple of extras just in case.
It felt like the work had ballooned more than expected, but… with the thought that if I put in just a little more care the kids might be even happier, I sat back down and returned to the sewing machine.
The simple, repetitive work went on until, at some point, I was moving my hands in a kind of trance. That was when Cassandra came to fetch me, saying it was lunchtime.
“So you settled on the non-woven clothes after all?”
“Yeah. It was Reni’s idea.”
Technically I’d steered things that way, but we’d picked out the designs to stick on the clothes together.
“I’m going to treat the clothes like canvases and let the kids cut felt into whatever shapes they want, decorate them, and stick them on.”
All they had to do was cut the felt into shapes, stick Velcro on the back, and attach it to the clothes. It couldn’t get any simpler than that.
Cassandra picked up one of the outfits and smiled.
“The colors are so vivid and pretty. The shape’s cute too. Kind of like a loaf of bread.”
“You think so? I’m prepping hard, but I’m a little nervous, to be honest. I really hope the kids like them.”
“They will. Everyone’ll probably say the class was so fun that Reni’s nose and shoulders will shoot straight up to the sky. It’d be great if he starts wanting to go back to kindergarten again.”
“Yeah… I hope so too.”
I answered with a smile, then let out a small sigh as yesterday’s events came back to me.
“What’s wrong? Something else happen?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s just… since he was going back to kindergarten for the first time in a while, he started picking out what to wear that day again…”
Last night Reni had looked up at me with sparkling eyes and asked,
“Daaad, can you make any kind of clothes?”
I told him I couldn’t make every single kind of clothes in the world, but I could make quite a variety. The boy beamed and asked me to make him the clothes he liked.
“But Reni wanted the front and back of the T-shirt to be different colors.”
“Oh come on. Kids can be like that. Plenty of clothes are made that way. Sounds fine to me—why?”
“Hear me out, Cassandra. Front yellow, back black, and he wanted the pants done the same way, only reversed from the shirt.”
“So the pants would be black and yellow front to back. Hmm… like a bee, or a checkered flag.”
“Yeah… and he wants a big star cushion stuck on the back.”
“Ah…”
Cassandra looked like she was holding back laughter. She finally managed to suppress the smile and spoke.
“Ahem. You should’ve tried talking him out of it a little, Jun.”
“You think I didn’t try? It was completely useless.”
Even when I asked if it wouldn’t be uncomfortable having a cushion stuck to his back, the boy shook his head firmly and declared,
“If I put a star cushion on my back, my back will be all soft!”
“……I see! But chairs already have cushions, so maybe you don’t need one on your back?”
“No! Even if I lie on the floor it’ll be soft!”
Reni was utterly convinced.
I sighed and stood up from my seat. Yesterday, no matter what I said, persuasion had seemed hopeless.
“Oh dear. Sounds like quite the ordeal last night. Reni’s pretty stubborn in his own quiet way, isn’t he?”
I gave a small nod. But I hadn’t stopped him any further. I figured it was better to let him try all sorts of things and learn through experience. With that in mind, I’d decided to go along with every one of the boy’s requests.
“Still, Reni’s fashion sense is a little… unique, so I’m a bit worried. What if he gets teased or something… Other kids don’t seem to be like that.”
Didn’t most little boys usually like superhero outfits from action movies, and little girls the princess dresses from fantasy fairy tales?
“Eh, they’re all like that at that age. When Charlie was little, he loved going outside wearing a dog collar.”
“……What?”
I asked again without thinking, wondering if I’d misheard. Cassandra waved her hands as if just remembering it still made her dizzy.
“Every time we went out it was pure agony. If we happened to run into a police officer I had to explain the whole situation…”
Charlie? That same Charlie who played so maturely with the little ones and was so put-together?
When I made a face that said I couldn’t believe it, Cassandra pulled up a video on her phone and showed me.
“Later on I even filmed him throwing a tantrum so I could use it as evidence. Like this.”
The day of the talent-donation class.
I asked the office folks for understanding and took the day off. Not that I rushed around. I simply waited, half-hoping Reni might be the one to say first thing in the morning that he wanted to go to kindergarten.
But the boy only pulled out the new clothes I’d made and started getting ready at a leisurely pace after lunch, once I finally said we should get going. He seemed to like putting on the new outfit and going out more than actually going to kindergarten.
“Dad, I’m all dressed!”
“Yeah, you put them on well.”
I combed his messy hair and forced a smile.
……No matter how I looked at it, he looked like someone had cut a piece straight out of a yellow-and-black checkered racing flag.
Reni put his hands on his hips, stuck his belly out, and showed off to Luca.
“Luca, doesn’t big bro look cool?!”
“Yeah.”
Luca raised one eyebrow ever so slightly, but still gave his brother the best answer he could manage.
Our good little Luca…
I was genuinely terrified of the day Luca would learn the words “no” or “I don’t like it.” Something told me it wasn’t far off…
I loaded the kids into the stroller, stopped by the office to grab the clothes and snacks for kindergarten, and headed out.
“Good afternoon.”
“Oh, Jun. You put some real effort into your style today, huh?”
“Yeah, I wanted to make a good impression on the kids. More importantly, take a look at our kids too.”
Greg and Cassandra looked down at the children sitting in the stroller and burst into small laughs.
“Hey, why are you laughing? You’re supposed to compliment them.”
“What do you mean why? They’re just too cute!”
At the word “cute,” Reni turned around proudly to show off the huge yellow star on his back.
“Wow, our Reni’s the king of stars!”
Cassandra clapped and gave the perfect reaction. While helping me carry the things, Greg quietly asked,
“Reni’s one thing, but did Luca also dress himself according to his own stubbornness?”
“He’s still a baby—there’s no way. Why? What’s wrong with Luca?”
“The boy’s wearing a bonnet with lace and a big ribbon.”
“Well, the weather’s getting cooler, so I put it on him. Don’t you know retro styling?”
“No, I mean—why a bonnet instead of just a regular hat…?”
“I think it’s ridiculously cute, and I feel like in just a few years Luca will refuse to wear anything like this.”
“Think carefully about what’s wrong with that answer of yours.”
“I’m already nervous enough, so don’t pick fights over nonsense.”
Greg snorted a laugh and helped carry the bags all the way to the car. Then, in a thoroughly teasing tone, he said,
“Looking at you like this, you really seem like a dad heading out to sell non-woven clothes just to make ends meet with his kids.”
For a second I had no idea what he was talking about, and once I understood, a hollow laugh escaped me and the thanks I’d been about to say vanished.
“Stop talking nonsense and get back upstairs to record.”
It was a little late, but Greg was currently planning a playlist collecting the autumn songs we were singing at Lemon Soup Pub.
“Yes, sir! Understood, boss!”
I ignored Greg, who kept giving a playful salute right to the end, and set off for the kindergarten.
Even after bantering with Greg, my heart had already been beating a little fast; once we arrived at the kindergarten it pounded even harder.
I have no idea why I’m this nervous…
But since I was doing this for Reni, I kept as straight a poker face as I could, greeted the teachers, gathered the supplies with them, and stepped into the classroom.
The moment our family opened the front door and walked in, the kids immediately called Reni’s name.
“Reni! It’s Reni!”
“Hi!”
“Reni, why didn’t you come to kindergarten?”
Reni smiled brightly, waved at the kids, and didn’t forget to turn around and show off the puffy star on his back.
“Wow, so cool!”
Thank goodness. They thought it was cool.
Reni happily soaked up all the attention pouring onto him, while Luca raised one eyebrow at the noisy surroundings and frowned a little.
“…….”
Why is only Dad this nervous, kids?
Just standing there was draining the energy right out of me when Teacher Ivy and Teacher Daniel clapped their hands and took charge of the children.
“Alright, everyone! Today Reni’s dad is going to give us a special class!”
“Dad?”
One child tilted their head.
“Why is Reni’s dad younger than my dad?”
“Ah…”
I’d braced myself for questions about skin color, but I hadn’t expected “why is he young?”
Before I could answer, though, Reni replied in a clear, ringing voice.
“My dad’s a boss!”
“Wow!”
“Ohhh! Is that why he’s handsome?”
“Amazing!”
……So that settled it?
I looked at the teachers in bewilderment, and they flashed me an “okay” sign.
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat lightly, then pulled out the non-woven clothes I’d worked so hard on these past few days from the box.
Rather than fumbling through awkward greetings, I figured showing them right away what we were going to do would help keep the kids’ attention.
And my judgment was right. The moment the colorful clothes appeared, the children reacted instantly.
“Woooow!”
“Teacher, the red one! Give me the red one!”
“Alright, sit still and wait. Dad will hand out the clothes.”
The teachers reined in the excited kids, and Reni also took Teacher Daniel’s hand and sat down at one of the tables.
Teacher Ivy watched over Luca for me. Fortunately, Luca was already completely absorbed in the new toys I’d prepared for today.
Now I just had to do my part well.
I went around the five tables, handing out one outfit after another to the children.
“Thank you!”
“Thank you!”
“Oh… but I wanted yellow…”
A child who’d received a green outfit looked up at me with a pouty face.
“Ah…”
I was a little flustered.
Before making the clothes, I’d asked the teacher if we shouldn’t unify the colors in case the kids fought over the ones they wanted. But the teacher had confidently said it was fine, that there was a way, so not to worry.
I’d wondered how she could be so sure. Turns out she had a plan all along.
“Okay, has everyone got their clothes? Then shall we play a clothes-swapping game?”
“Yes!”
“Yeees!”
The moment the teacher finished speaking, all fifteen children shot up from their seats and started running around laughing.
“Kyaaaa!”
“I want red!”
“Me! Wanna trade with me?!”
While the kids screamed and dashed around me, all I could do was stand frozen in place like a tree.