Reliable Friends

The staff nearby drew in sharp breaths.

I blinked quietly.

The memories of the casual discrimination I used to breathe every day in my old neighborhood had somehow faded without a trace. Facing this kind of prejudice after so long left me briefly flustered.

The ice-cold voice laced with open hatred almost made me feel as though I had done something wrong.

Before I could even respond, the bartender I had just helped stepped in quickly.

"Madame, there seems to be some misunderstanding. Why don't you come upstairs with me for a moment…"

But his valiant effort went up in smoke.

"I'm not lying, am I? I've never heard of anything like this in my entire life."

Standing under everyone's stares made my face heat up and my words stick in my throat—not because I had nothing to say, but because the sheer number of reasons left me speechless with disbelief.

Still, I knew better than to waste time and emotion getting worked up at someone like this.

"Ungh…"

Especially with a baby in my arms who had sensed the tension and was now fidgeting anxiously.

I raised one hand to stop Greg as he hurried over, face flushed after figuring out what was happening, then answered her calmly.

"Yes, well. Now you've met one. I've been formally appointed as the child's guardian by the court, so if you have any objections, feel free to bring a lawyer and take it up with them."

The firm, even reply left the old woman speechless for a moment in turn.

She clearly had no intention of going that far, so why pick a fight like this just to ruin someone's mood?

Everyone who had been bustling about preparing for opening only moments ago had stopped dead and was watching us.

I let out a small sigh and was wondering how to end this when I heard Cassandra coming down from the second floor.

Arms full of jackets, she descended with a bright smile and greeted the old woman cheerfully the moment she spotted her.

"Oh my, Jane! You're already here. I was just upstairs—"

"…"

…Oh no.

I should have realized the second the bartender called her "Madame" so respectfully.

This Jane must be Cassandra's new mother-in-law.

Damn it.

I scrubbed a hand over my face in dismay. Sharp as ever, Cassandra stopped mid-sentence and scanned the room.

"Why does it feel like this in here? Did something happen while I was upstairs?"

The waitress standing beside her leaned in and whispered something.

The more Cassandra heard, the higher her eyebrows climbed.

I scrubbed my face again. It wasn't as if I would be seeing this old woman often, and I didn't want to put Cassandra in an awkward position over what had just happened.

I forced a smile and tried to smooth things over, but Cassandra was a beat faster.

Once she had the full picture, she flapped the jackets in her arms and cried out with a face that looked ready to faint.

"Good heavens, Jane! How could you say something so racist, insulting, and completely unhinged to my friend? That was so rude!"

Oh my god. She wasn't wrong, but saying it that bluntly?

A few of us, myself included, dropped our jaws. Greg, who had been hovering awkwardly in the middle, threw both hands up and backed straight onto the stage.

I glared at my useless friend, who made zero effort to hide the smirk tugging at his lips.

Don't you dare laugh, you bastard.

But of everyone present, Jane was clearly the most shocked.

"W-what? Un-unhinged? Rude?"

She pressed a hand to her chest as if no one had ever spoken to her face like that in her life.

"You—you—you…! How dare you say such a thing to me!"

Cassandra didn't back down an inch. She was every bit the Cassandra I knew.

"But it's true! I never imagined anyone I know would say something like that."

"…"

Faced with Cassandra's expression of pure disappointment and even sadness, Jane closed her mouth again.

Maybe it was because they were mother-in-law and new daughter-in-law, a relationship that forced both sides to tread carefully.

…Or maybe she had realized her offhand remark was socially unacceptable.

Brrring-brrring-brrring!

I jumped.

It was my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠phone. The sudden ringtone made everyone in the room flinch.

I hurried to pull it out and silence it, only to freeze when I saw the Sister's name and an incoming video call.

Reni must have woken up and was looking for me.

And this situation was nowhere near as important as answering a child who would be crying for his dad.

I looked up to find every eye on me. A wave of dizziness hit, but there was nothing I could do.

"Excuse me for a moment."

With that, I stepped outside the pub and took the call.

"Hello?"

It was my first video call, so I automatically pressed the phone to my ear before quickly holding it out to see the screen.

On the other side of the screen, Reni looked on the verge of tears. His voice was thick with emotion, but thankfully he wasn't actually crying yet.

"Hey, little guy."

Luca reached toward the Reni on the screen.

"Yeah, Luca. That's big brother Reni."

Beside Reni, the Sister gave a quick rundown.

She patted Reni's shoulder with a kind smile.

I looked at the pitiful yet adorable child and offered an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, buddy. Daddy had to come to the pub to sing today, so I couldn't stay at the church the whole time."

Even after my apology, Reni's sense of injustice hadn't faded; he launched into a sulky complaint laced with leftover sleepiness.

The memory was still so unfair that a tear rolled down from the child's big eyes. Everything seemed to displease him right now; he hiccupped and fretted in the most endearing way possible.

Aigoo…

He lifted one foot for me to see, shoulders bouncing, and it was so cute I had to bite back a laugh.

Laughing now would be a disaster. After all, I couldn't wipe his tears or hug him from here.

"Reni, baby. Don't cry. Daddy actually said goodbye and gave you lots of goodbye kisses earlier. Want me to do it again?"

I leaned in and planted a loud smooch on the child's face on the screen. Looking back, it probably looked pretty weird from the other side.

Seeing Reni finally burst into tears made Luca start to pout as well. That was a danger sign; cold sweat ran down my back.

I scrambled to soothe Reni before I ended up with surround-sound crying.

"Reni, Reni. How about we stay on the phone from now on? You've never seen Daddy sing at the pub before, so you can watch it like TV this time, okay?"

The child's sobs quieted a little. The unexpected suggestion seemed to leave him wondering whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

The Sister, who had been smiling quietly beside him, quickly backed me up.

Whether he was finally waking up or not, Reni still hitched his breath but stopped crying.

Seizing the moment, I threw out one more soothing offer.

"And on Monday, Daddy will make you that sweet-and-sour lemon cake you love."

"Should we make the cake in star shapes like you like? I'll make them as pretty as little baby stars, so I hope you eat lots."

Reni had completely stopped crying and was now working his lips. Then Jennyfer suddenly poked her face into the frame.

Tony's head popped up above hers.

I swallowed a laugh and took the children's grateful orders.

"Okay then, Jennyfer's heart cake will be strawberry, and Tony's penguin cake will be chocolate. How's that?"

Kids' joy was contagious; a smile quickly bloomed on Reni's face too.

"Then Daddy will finish getting ready for the performance and call you right back. Is that okay?"

Reni answered with a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bright grin as if he had never cried at all, then vanished from the screen with his friends.

I exchanged a few more words with the Sister and hung up.

"Hoo…"

I let my shoulders slump and sighed, only for Luca to blow a little "hoo" of air right into my face.

I slipped the phone into my back pocket, wrapped both arms tightly around the baby, and nuzzled my face against his small shoulder. He shrieked with laughter.

"Luca, Daddy's tired today."

"Daaah!"

"Yeah, tired. Try saying, 'Hang in there, Daddy.'"

"Aw-dang-da!"

"Is that right?"

I adjusted my hold on the sunny little boy and took another deep breath.

I didn't want to go back inside the pub, but opening time was almost here and I couldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exactly camp out on the sidewalk.

When I opened the door again, though, the atmosphere had changed.

Jane was nowhere to be seen—probably gone upstairs—and the staff were once more bustling about with opening preparations.

Beside the stage, Greg and Cassandra were trying on jackets and chatting.

Had Cassandra sorted everything out?

I tilted my head and walked over. Greg snorted a laugh.

"Dude, we heard the whole call. Your sugary-sweet daddy voice was too much for that prickly old lady—she fled upstairs."

No way.

Stifled laughter rose from the staff all around. I pretended not to notice my warming face and muttered indignantly.

"The soundproofing in this pub is terrible."

"We left the windows open," Cassandra said with a snicker.

I sighed and apologized.

"Sorry for making things awkward in every way, Cassandra. Was that Dimitri's mother just now?"

Cassandra shook her head vigorously and waved both hands.

"No, why are you apologizing? I'm the one who should be sorry. And Jane said she'll apologize properly later too."

I nodded vaguely. Just as I had nothing to apologize for, Cassandra had nothing to feel sorry about either.

Still, I couldn't help worrying.

"…But she's going to be family now. Are you sure you're okay?"

Cassandra shrugged.

"I'd love to let most things slide for the sake of peace, but wrong is wrong. And it's not like this is my first marriage—I'm past the age of watching my every word and tiptoeing around the in-laws, don't you think?"

Hmm…

I closed my mouth, unsure how to answer. I was still wondering whether speaking up was better than bottling it up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠when Cassandra laughed again.

"It'll be fine. Honestly, I was a little surprised today. Jane always seemed so calm and kind…"

Greg shrugged out of the jacket he was wearing, took Luca from me, and added,

"Show's starting soon, so hurry up and try on a jacket. Oh, and that grandma—she did look a little regretful. Not that it makes what she said okay."

I slipped into a jacket, checked the fit, and huffed a soft laugh.

"Still, it's reassuring. Having friends who step up for me like this."

Cassandra made a face like I'd said something ridiculous. Greg snorted, then answered with mock seriousness.

"What are you talking about? You're the boss who signs our paychecks. Gotta do what we gotta do. You're putting this on our performance reviews, right?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake."

Greg inevitably took a solid swat on the back from Cassandra.