Before Reni Arrives (2)
Normally I sat in the back with Luca, but since Charlie had come along today I took the front seat and shifted the car seat over to the left so Luca could still see me from up front.
“Mmm······.”
Luca looked busy. He kept glancing at Charlie, who was excitedly chattering away at him after so long apart, then turning back to look at me.
It was pure baby-talk begging me to come sit beside him again······ Sorry, little one. You’ve got to practice your social skills too.
The car pulled away smoothly.
Even if Luca felt betrayed, it couldn’t be helped. I simply flashed the baby a grin, settled comfortably into my seat, and struck up a conversation with Cassandra.
“It’s nice having Charlie along.”
“He was dying of curiosity. And Lemon Soup gets a fair number of families anyway. Besides, Dimitri suggested we all eat together afterward. Are you free?”
We often grabbed a meal there after a set, but since Dimitri had specially invited us I had to ask.
“Something going on today?”
“Ah, I’ll tell you later. Don’t worry—it’s nothing bad or serious.”
For all that reassurance, Cassandra looked faintly uncomfortable.
What was it? Don’t tell me he wanted to cut the base performance fee. Greg had once mentioned that some owners, if they thought the performers were raking in tips, would just tell them to live off the tips alone.
“······.”
Lately the tips had been pretty solid, so it was possible. But she’d said it wasn’t bad news, so probably not······.
While I was still trying to guess what I’d missed, Cassandra changed the subject. Her voice jumped a full tone higher.
“Oh, and I’ve got some really good news!”
“What is it?”
“I was going to save this for later too, but Dimitri’s looking into opening a new café in Old Town. Through that he met someone······.”
Apparently Dimitri had been hunting for mugs and teacups for the café and stumbled across a pottery studio.
It was a large workshop that rented cheap space to several up-and-coming artists. The owner was a potter himself and collaborated with the others to release a new lineup every season.
“So I asked Dimitri to mention our channel to the owner.”
My own voice rose a little at that.
“Don’t tell me they saw your mother’s designs and proposed a collaboration?”
Cassandra gave one vigorous nod.
“They suggested a six-to-eight-piece lineup for next spring, using a few of Mom’s designs as motifs.”
“That’s wonderful.”
Reproducing Cassandra’s mother’s pieces had made me genuinely fond of them. Knowing more people would get to love those designs made me happy too.
“Is there anything I need to do?”
“Nothing for you, Jun. They already bought one of each piece for reference.”
“I see.”
“Bubu!”
My raised tone earned a baby-talk answer from the back seat.
“Yeah, Luca. There’s good news.”
It really was good. Things were branching out in directions I never expected.
“So how much did you settle on?”
“The contract’s still being hashed out. We’ll take an advance for sure······ and the rest will be a percentage of sales, same as when we promoted your recipe book.”
I nodded. This deal, like the last, had been made because they were confident the pieces would sell better than whatever flat fee they might have offered.
“Yeah, that’s really great. Congrats, Cassandra.”
“Why congratulate only me? You take half of whatever comes in.”
I nearly bounced out of my seat.
“No—why would I take any of that? They’re your mother’s designs. Of course you keep all of it.”
“How many times do I have to say this? If it weren’t for you, Jun, I would’ve sold Mom’s pieces for pocket change that’d be long gone by now.”
That was true, but······.
“If you hadn’t recreated her work, this chance never would’ve existed. Don’t feel burdened. I’m the one who should be grateful.”
“Hmm······.”
Once Cassandra believed she was right, she almost never reversed course.
And with another child about to join the household, more money certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Come to think of it, I still needed to tell her about Reni······.
I stole a quick glance at her. In this atmosphere I might get scolded a little less.
After a brief deep breath I opened my mouth.
“Cassandra, actually······.”
I gave her a condensed version of the call from the nun a few days earlier and everything that had happened at the church yesterday.
At first Cassandra listened with a serious “what on earth is all this” expression. When I finished she fell silent for a moment.
Then the words came pouring out—anger, shock, and worry all tangled together.
“No, no matter what, you should have called me first! Are you serious right now?”
“I knew you were busy. And luckily Greg was willing to take a day off······.”
I could see her swallowing a dozen more things she wanted to say. The kids in the back had gone quiet, picking up on the mood, and I felt a little bad about that.
Cassandra stayed silent a while longer, then spoke in a deflated voice, as if she’d decided to let it go.
“Anyway, it’s wonderful that you’ll get to keep raising Luca. You must have been through a lot.”
“Yes. I’m grateful to God as well.”
“Good. But next time something like this happens, you tell me too. Promise.”
“I will.”
“And······.”
She stopped at a light and looked straight at me.
“That’s incredible, really. Deciding to bring the older brother home. At your age I never could have done that. But one kid is hard enough—are you sure you’ll be okay with two?”
“When I think about their future, this is better. I’ll just work hard. And I’m lucky right now. There are so many people helping me······.”
Plus the help from that mysterious app that feels like it was sent by an angel.
The rooftop of Lemon Soup.
“Uncle Greg!”
“Heyyy, Charlie!”
Charlie and Greg exchanged an enthusiastically long-overdue greeting. Same as with Reni—Greg really was popular with kids.
Except ours.
“Hi, Luca!”
“······.”
Luca whipped his head away again today. He didn’t even have to; he was actively pretending not to notice.
Greg’s shoulders slumped in visible heartbreak, and Cassandra burst out laughing.
“Don’t take it too hard, Greg. Kids this age are just like that. They start playing favorites between their main caregiver and everyone else.”
She gazed up at the sky as if remembering something from her own past.
“They’ll play perfectly fine with both Mom and Dad, then one day suddenly freeze Dad out. Or the other way around. Either way, the parent who gets the cold shoulder feels crushed.”
“But he’s fine with other people. It feels like he only hates me.”
Greg’s sulky tone earned a gentle reply from Cassandra.
“Looked at another way, maybe it means he felt close enough to you. Kids only act bratty with people they consider family.”
······Bratty? So that was what Luca had been doing?
Greg still looked unconvinced.
“He doesn’t treat you like that.”
“He probably finds me more intimidating. Or, even if not, babies just prefer aunties over uncles. That’s a fact according to me.”
“What? That’s completely unfair.”
The performance went smoothly.
It was a mid-July evening, peak heat, but the air wasn’t sticky. Once the sun dropped it was actually pleasant. Outdoor air-conditioners and fans made it downright comfortable.
Luca had been nodding along from the first song. At some point his face took on that heavy “about to snore” look and he sank into deep sleep.
Nothing puts a kid under like a good water-play session.
After the set we gathered in the first-floor room that had become a kind of clubhouse.
Maybe because Charlie was there, the menu felt more like a family dinner. Sure enough, Charlie was happily forking away with pure bliss on his face.
“Wow, this place is so good!”
“Slow down, Charlie. The main courses haven’t even arrived yet.”
“I can eat this and that and everything!”
Having a kid at the table made everything noisier and livelier. While the others dug into the full spread, I gently woke Luca—still deep in dreamland—and fed him the baby food I’d brought.
Even half-asleep, my son ate diligently without a single fuss, let out a majestic burp, and drifted straight back to dreamland.
“He’s gotten so big.”
“Right? He’s really strong now too······. These days I get punched every single day.”
“I know, right? Charlie was the same around that age······.”
We talked kids for a while. When a fair amount of dinner had passed and still no one had gotten to the point, I asked outright.
“So, what was it you wanted to talk about tonight?”
“Dude, why are you even asking? I already know.”
“Huh?”
When I looked blank, Greg shook his head in disbelief.
“It’s obvious. Those two are dating!”
I couldn’t believe it.
Charlie took one look at my stunned face and exploded into laughter, which only confirmed that I really had been the last to know.
Cassandra and Dimitri gave sheepish little smiles of confirmation.
“Wait—since when?”
My dazed question got another answer from Greg.
“I had a feeling from day one. You really are clueless about this stuff.”
“······Whatever it is, I support you. Congrats! Looking at you two now, you actually suit each other pretty well.”
Dimitri was outgoing and Cassandra was even more so; saying they matched wasn’t a stretch.
Both of them just sat there blushing and smiling, as if suddenly shy about the whole thing.
Dimitri cleared his throat and turned to me.
“That leaves you as the only single one here. If Michelle from last time isn’t your type, what about the bartender you saw out on the floor earlier? Most popular guy on our male staff.”
That’s not what this is about.
The next morning.
I woke up before Luca’s customary palm-smack assault.
I had a whole week of preparations for Reni’s arrival ahead of me; there was no time to lounge around.
I picked up the notebook from the nightstand. Time to play carpenter again after so long.
I looked over the rough floor plan of our house that I’d sketched before falling asleep.
Two bedrooms, two bathrooms. A sunny living room that opened onto a terrace.
We’d been using the space pretty freely so far, but the place was never actually small for one adult and two kids.
Scratch, scratch.
It was time to start the project for maximum space efficiency.