A Late Apology and Unspoken Words
I froze for a moment at the unexpected scene, then casually made a U-turn.
Without drawing anyone's attention, I walked away from that spot at a measured pace, putting as much distance between us as I could.
I was the furthest thing from someone who would dive headfirst into other people's family affairs to spread gossip or join in on it. Thinking about the things that happened between people was generally exhausting for me, and if it was something unsavory, I felt more discomfort than amusement.
So I saw nothing.
If it had been the affair of a close friend's lover or spouse, I might have felt obligated to tell them…
But Evan and his wife were people who made me uncomfortable—at best, awkward neighbors. There was no need or duty for me to stick my nose in and say something. Even if I did, I doubted they'd believe me.
Besides, what I saw might not even have been an affair. In broad daylight like this, not far away but in a park near the house?
"They'd have to be crazy…"
The words slipped out before I knew it. And for good reason…
Didn't people in this neighborhood at least greet each other? Even I, who hadn't lived here long, now exchanged eye greetings with the supermarket staff and residents of nearby villas. The population density wasn't that high, so it was always the same faces.
And those people were everywhere…
"…Ha, seriously."
They say when people fall in love, they go blind—was this exactly that case?
…Of course, they could just be close acquaintances or relatives. But the reason I'd been so startled was that no matter how I thought about it, the two of them had been looking at each other as if they were in love.
"…"
No, maybe I was just so shocked in the moment that I mis-saw it. But even if they were close, do friends or family kiss like that…?
"Haa."
Once I was well out of their line of sight, I stopped walking with a sigh. Now I was even confused about what I'd seen.
I really hoped I'd just been mistaken. It could have been an old classmate or a younger sibling they hadn't seen in a while.
"…"
…But what if it really was an affair?
No, it wasn't any of my business.
…But just recently, the two of them had gone around looking at kindergartens for a baby that hadn't even been born yet.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Ee-ee?"
"Yeah, no. Our Luca doesn't need to know anything."
"Eeeh!"
Yeah, better to stop thinking about it. No need to waste my precious time and emotions on them. I had enough on my plate taking care of myself and my kid. This wasn't the time to worry about other people's family drama.
The next afternoon.
After another diligent day, before dinner, I had playtime that doubled as educational time for the baby.
"Luca, look here? This square piece…"
I took the child's small finger and guided it along the four sides of the wooden piece.
"One, two, three, four… This is a square. Now, the square piece goes in through the square-shaped hole like this."
Clack.
The yellow square wooden piece fell into the wooden box with a cheerful sound.
"There, it's gone! The square disappeared!"
Luca giggled.
"You match the shapes like this, okay?"
"Eeeh…"
Yeah, he didn't get it. But I had to believe in my son.
"Alright, then shall we put this triangular piece into the box?"
I placed the red triangular wooden piece in Luca's hand.
"No, that's not for eating. Spit it out. Luca, spit."
I wiped the piece, now covered in drool, with a handkerchief, put it back in the child's hand, and traced the three sides with his finger as before. Then I brought Luca's hand over the box.
"Okay, now put the triangular piece into the triangular hole—no, Luca, that's the round…"
Clack.
"…"
Why did that go in there.
As I stared at the triangular piece that had gone into the circle hole with a look of betrayal, Luca beamed and brought the remaining circle piece to his mouth.
"No, Luca, spit. I'm never buying this company's products again."
I'd bought it thinking buying was better than making. These people were playing tricks with toys. Even the circle piece I'd taken from the child fit perfectly through the square hole.
Clack.
Luca laughed out loud again, and only I was serious. What the hell. Were they trying to teach that life is the real deal starting from infancy?
Sighing, I picked up another toy when the doorbell rang.
Ding-dong.
I stroked the head of Luca, who had stopped what he was doing and was staring at the front door with wide round eyes.
"It's okay, it's okay."
As babies grow, they become sensitive to everything happening around them, but if I acted with a voice and gestures that said it was no big deal, he would calm down quickly. Thanks to that, I was becoming a more relaxed person myself, forced or not—but when I checked through the peephole, I couldn't help but tense up a little.
Evan was standing outside.
"…"
Why on earth was he here? Without even contacting me.
I hesitated a bit before opening the door and greeting him.
"Hello."
"Hello. It's been a week since I last saw your face. Have you been well?"
"Yes, well…"
It sounded crazy, but I'd been having a hard time because thoughts of you kept popping up yesterday and today. But since I wasn't actually crazy enough to say that, I just smiled vaguely and mumbled.
"What brings you here? Is there a problem with the recipe I gave you yesterday?"
"Not at all. I brought it to Kelly today and she really liked it. Moreover, most of the people I showed the sablé flavor to gave it high praise."
That was good news to hear.
"I was worried it might be nothing special after submitting it, but I'm glad the response is good."
"Nothing special? And originally, something familiar with a new spoonful gets a better response than something completely new."
Evan nodded as if he was truly satisfied with the recipe even as he spoke.
"Also, it seems like it would pair well with a dry white wine, or a sweet and cool lemonade. I'm currently thinking about alcoholic beverages to pair it with."
"Ah, I hadn't thought as far as alcohol."
"Yes. If you have any beverage recommendations later, please let Kelly know. If we pair it with a few compatible drinks, it might become quite popular on SNS later."
Evan's eyes sparkled as he said that. He'd been going on about classic and unique rather than trendy, but now he wanted that classic and unique book to become popular. Well, as someone selling books, it was natural…
But he wouldn't have come just to say that, right?
Perhaps my thoughts showed on my face, as Evan continued.
"Ah, actually, I came to give you this."
Evan took out a small booklet from his leather briefcase.
"This is our publishing company's regular periodical that just came out. It contains brief introductions and reviews of selected new books each month, and we distribute it to our VIP members. I think you'll find it not bad to read."
Indeed, the book looked like a lot of care had gone into it at a glance.
"I sent it by mail to the others, but for James and you, Jun, I thought it would be better to deliver it in person."
"I see. Thank you."
"Yes, then…"
Evan, who seemed about to greet me appropriately and leave, hesitated as if he wanted to say something more.
"Is there something else you'd like to say?"
"Well, actually…"
Evan asked if I could make a chocolate cake for tomorrow. Among the desserts delivered to James's shop yesterday, there hadn't been a chocolate cake.
"My wife wants to eat it, and cakes from other places don't seem to satisfy her."
"Aha…"
Something rose to my throat but I swallowed it. Then I asked a question without meaning to.
"When I saw your wife briefly yesterday, her belly was quite large. Is she due soon?"
"Yes. Mid this month will make it eight months."
"I see. Eight months…"
It was July now, and we'd first seen each other last December. I blurted out the thought that followed without realizing.
"So she was already pregnant then."
Evan couldn't hide his slightly surprised expression at me bringing up that time, and answered.
"Yes, at the time it was too early so we didn't know…"
Probably the same thought crossed both our minds. If these people had adopted Luca back then… Would they have raised Luca as is? Or would they have been glad and returned him?
There was no way of knowing. Feeling as if my stomach had gone cold for a moment, I closed my mouth, when an unexpected apology came.
"Actually, I've been feeling sorry about what happened then. To you, and to the baby."
"…"
When I looked up at him, he surprisingly seemed to be speaking sincerely.
"It might sound like an excuse, but Grace and I were very sensitive at the time… We hadn't been able to have a child despite years of trying. Even when we went to the hospital, both of us were healthy."
"Ah…"
An apology was an apology. …Had he finally found the room to apologize? Still, it was something that he'd apologized.
"Anyway, congratulations. And thank you for apologizing about what happened then. I'll make the cake even tonight."
Evan brightened.
"Thank you. I'll have Grace formally apologize later as well. Right now—well, actually, she's been sensitive ever since we saw you that day… Since she's pregnant, it's not easy to bring it up."
Well, the Grace I saw yesterday didn't seem to feel sorry for me or Luca at all. And besides…
I swallowed the words that were about to burst out again and answered appropriately.
"Yes, that makes sense."
Anyway, if I said something stressful to a pregnant woman due next month and something happened to the unborn child, what then? That child was innocent, after all. Besides, I might have been mistaken, and even if I'd seen correctly, my position was the same as yesterday.
When the baby came out, if Evan felt something was off, he'd get a DNA test or whatever on his own.
…Not everyone in the world was like Greg, so I didn't know what would happen if it turned out the born child wasn't his.