“You didn’t answer me, Karen. What was the last nine years about then?”
“It was an act Ken,” she answered quietly. “It was a role that I had to play to keep everyone happy. My parents, your parents, you, our kids, but I want more Ken. I’ve got to stop playing a role for everyone else, and start being me.” Karen’s phone pinged, and she picked it up, wiping tears from her eyes. “That’s my ride Ken.”
“What do you mean your ride?” he asked incredulously.
“It’s my Uber. I’m heading out to Vancouver for my next season. I’ve left you the papers and my lawyer’s information,” she looked at him with pleading in her eyes. “Can you tell the kids Ken, please? They’ll take it better if you do it.” Karen got up and kissed a nearly catatonic Ken on the cheek and murmured softly in his ear “It’s better this way,” then went to the front hall closet, pulled out her suitcases, and left.
==========
ACT 2 – CHRISTINE
THE FIRST REAL inkling of a memory that Christine had as a child was walking down a long aisle, dressed in a pretty dress, throwing flower petals on the ground. At two and a half, kids really haven’t formed solid memories. Other than that fleeting sensation in her mind’s eye, she learned from her family that she was the flower girl at her parent’s wedding. That was about nine years ago.
Today’s memory would be seared into her brain for her to pick at for a long while. Christine and her brother had spent the weekend with her grandparents and cousins enjoying life near rural Ontario. Her dad met them at the door where her Aunt Kathy dropped them off before heading home. It was weird that Dad hugged both her and her brother really tight and really long before telling them to get inside and get cleaned up for dinner.
Something felt off so she looked out the front window as her dad walked over to the car and spoke to Aunt Kathy, who exited the car with her Uncle Rob. They told her cousins to play in the front yard while the adults spoke, their heads huddled together. All Christine could hear were murmurs, increasingly animated until she saw her dad’s shoulders slump. Her Aunt gasped and raised her fingers to her mouth while Uncle Rob put his hand on Dad’s shoulder.
“That bitch!” Christine heard from her aunt. She didn’t know exactly what it meant, but she knew it was a bad word. She saw her aunt speak to Uncle Rob, who then spoke to her dad and shook his hand while her aunt gathered her cousins and parceled them back in the car. Her uncle drove off while her dad and aunt walked to the door, her aunt’s hand on her father’s shoulder.
She didn’t know why, but her heart started beading hard in her chest and an unpleasant feeling began in her belly, like she was going to be punished. Christine didn’t know what dread was, but she could sure feel it. Her eyes started tearing up as the door opened and her dad entered with her aunt. Her dad saw how upset she looked opened his arms, letting her rush to him to give him a hug.
“Hey kiddo, things’ll be alright, OK?” he said to her. She wasn’t sure what “things” he was talking about but just hearing him say it calmed her. “Can you go get your brother? Your Aunt and I need to speak to both of you.” Christine nodded and ran to get her brother and they both ran back to sit on the couch in the family room.
“What’s wrong, Dad?” Christine asked quietly after a long moment of silence from her father and aunt. She would have let it go longer until they were both comfortable, but Bradley was already squirming. Her dad sighed and her aunt sniffled.
“Listen kids, um, your mom’s gonna be going away for a while,” he began, then took a shaky breath. “She’s going to be moving to Vancouver…”
“What’s Van- Vancou- Vancouver!?” Bradley asked triumphantly, getting the word right the third time.
“Shush, Squirt!” Christine scolded her brother.
“It’s OK, Chrissy,” her dad admonished her gently. “Buddy, Vancouver is pretty far from here, near the ocean. You know what the ocean is, right?”
“Yeah! It’s like when go to Centre Island!” the boy exclaimed, remembering family outings to the small amusement park on the islands, a quick ferry ride away from downtown.
“That’s right bud, but bigger. Lots bigger,” his father explained. Bradley thought for a moment and pouted.
“Is Mommy going to a fun place without us?” he asked, focusing on easy concepts a five-year-old could grasp.
“I don’t know if it’s a fun place, but, yeah, Mommy has to go someplace for a while. But you can always call her, if you like,” his father offered up. Bradley screwed up his face in deep thought, then nodded his assent, the simple tradeoff easier to explain to his young son. Kenji looked at his daughter’s face, sadness, and anger battling through tears.
“She left us, right?” Christine asked softly, a quiet sob coming from her aunt. Kenji sighed and Christine could see that the question hit him hard. He was struggling to keep his emotions in check and his voice light.
“Your mom had something to take care of for a while, hon. She just couldn’t do it here,” he said, trying to soften the blow.
“Dad, I know you guys still think I’m a kid but, like, lots of kids in my class – their parents are divorced. Are you guys getting a divorce?” she asked, teary eyed.
“I don’t know sweetie. It’s something your mom and I are working out right now, OK?”
“Sweetie, your mom and dad have a few things they have to work out, alright?” Katherine spoke up. “If things get too much or you get upset, you know you can always talk to your dad, and to me too, OK?” her aunt offered.
“But it’s like she doesn’t want to be here…, with us!” Christine cried.
“Baby, it’s just she needed to do something and we couldn’t go with her. It’s not like she doesn’t love you,” her father explained.
“She just doesn’t love us enough!” Christine said, running off to her room and slamming the door shut. Kenji got up to follow her, but Katherine grabbed his forearm and shook her head.
“Let her be Ken,” she advised. “She needs to feel her emotions and work them out. When she’s ready, she’ll come to you.” Kenji nodded and looked over at his son, then crouched down to give him a hug.
“Hey buddy, how are you feeling?”
“I guess I’m OK, Dad,” the boy answered quietly. He thought for a moment, then asked, “Does Mommy not love us anymore?”
“Brad, Mommy loves you lots, OK?” his father reassured him. “Don’t you worry about that, right Auntie Kath?”
“That’s right, sweetie. Your mom loves you. We all do, OK?” Katherine said, backing up Kenji’s assertion. “Why don’t you go and play, alright?”
“OK!” Bradley agreed, running off, his worries assuaged.
As he saw his son run around the corner Kenji finally felt all his energy leave and he allowed his whole body to sag into the couch. Kenji screwed his face up in an attempt to control his emotions and forestall tears. Katherine saw that and broke down, crying. Kenji hugged her and waited her tears out. Crying jag over, Katherine sat up and grabbed a few tissues to blot the tears.
“Ken, I’m so sorry my sister did this to you. You don’t deserve this,” she apologised.
“There’s no need to apologise Kath. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just sad for the kids, and I’ve got my own soul searching to do to figure out if it was anything I did, or if I missed any signs.”
“Ken, I don’t think you did anything wrong. You’re a great husband, and a great dad, even though Chrissy’s not blood to you, she knows you’re her dad,” Katherine reassured Kenji. “And my sister, God love ‘er, she’s always been self-centred, but we all thought that when you both got together and became a family, that she grew up. But I guess not…,” Katherine sighed.
“I don’t know Kath. I’ve had a day to process and, well, even though I grew up here and lived here for so long, I guess I’m more like my dad that I’d like to be. You know, emotionally withdrawn, quiet. There’s a phrase we use – gaman suru – to patiently endure, to just take it,” he explained. “I guess I was just too quiet, too much of a non-entity to matter to her.” Katherine slapped him on the arm.
“Jesus H. Christ! Stop feeling the fuck sorry for yourself, Ken!” She shocked Kenji, who almost never heard her swear. “Take some time to think about what you want to do,” she suggested in a gentler tone. “Try to convince her to stay married? Cut her loose with nothing? I know she’s my sister, but Jeez Louise, she’s a bitch for what she did to you and the kids.”
“I’ll think it through Kath. Beer?” he offered.
“Sure. I told Rob he’ll be on his own tonight. I’ll stay over and make sure the kids are OK,” she explained as Kenji handed her a cold beer. “Let me call Mom and Dad and let them know,” she sighed, leaving the room to make the call.
Kenji took a long pull from his beer as he aimlessly looked out the big window to the front of his yard. “Fuck,” he sighed.
~ ~ ~
MARGARET AND KARL video called the family later that night to see how Kenji and the kids were coping. Margaret was crying while Karl and Katherine were trying to get her to keep it together for the grandkids.
“Ken, I’m so, so sorry! I don’t know what got into her,” Margaret apologised. “I’ll get her on the phone right away and make sure she gets back right away!”
“Marge, the boy may not even want that!” Karl said to his wife. “But if that’s what you want Ken, you let us know,” Karl directed at his son-in-law.
“Thanks Dad, but I get the feeling that this is a permanent thing,” Kenji speculated.
“How are you kids, huh?” Karl asked his grandchildren.
“I’m OK, Opa,” Christine mumbled, “Just sad.”
Bradley looked at his sister and not to be left out, added, “I’m sad too, Opa,” he parroted with a frown.
“Well, anytime you kids want to come up and visit with me and Oma, you let me know, OK?” Karl offered. The looking at Kenji he said,” Son, you hang in there. Marge and I are here to help if you need us, alright?” Kenji nodded and gave a weak smile.
“Thanks Mom, Dad,” he said gratefully. “We’ll call you soon,” he promised before hanging up. “OK kids, time for bed! You guys have school tomorrow,” Kenji reminded his children. As they ran up to get ready for bed, Katherine put her hand on Kenji’s shoulder.
“Did you get to talk to your parents?” she asked.
“Yeah, I did,” he answered without elaborating.
“And?”
“And nothing,” he replied. “My mother cried and father said – ‘I told you so’ – and gaman suru. Then he reminded me to review the prenup.”
“Wow, not very warm and fuzzy, but hey, at least they made you get a prenup…,” Katherine said, looking for a silver lining.
“Well, I’ll give my lawyer a call tomorrow and see what the next steps are. The most important thing is to make sure that the kids are in the best situation possible.”
“That’s a good outlook, Ken. Amelia and I can clean up here. You go to bed, OK?” Katherine suggested. She watched as Kenji slowly made his way to bed, walking as if the world were on his shoulders.
~ ~ ~
CHRISTINE LAY IN bed, tossing and turning. She couldn’t get it out of her head that her mother abandoned them. Her sense of right and wrong was offended that her mother hadn’t even had the decency to talk to them face-to-face, or to even call, not that she knew that that was what was making her angry. All she knew was that, in the parlance of an almost twelve-year-old, it wasn’t fair.
Unable to sleep, she got up to grab a snack. As she made her way to the kitchen, she heard a noise come from the dining room. She crept over to see what was making that sound and saw something that shook her to her core.
From the time she was three, the parent with whom Chistine spent the most time was Kenji. It started off with Karen finishing her degree, then it was the job with the casting agent. Then add to that the spare time taken up by auditions, shoots, and waiting around doing work as an extra, the only real time spent together with Christine was the time Karen spent volunteering for Christine’s school plays. Once the trips to Vancouver started, all Christine saw of her mother were dinners and the occasional weekend lunch. Otherwise, Karen was content to have Kenji or Amelia take care of the day-to-day.
Kenji was Christine’s tutor, her sensei – martial arts instructor, her dining companion, her sounding board, and her disciplinarian. In all that time, Christine got used to her dad always being on an even keel. He was rarely emotional, always calm, or smiling, firm, but never vicious. Sensei Dad yelled like a drill sergeant, disciplinarian Dad was firm, but regretful, and just plain Dad was always happy to see Bradley and Christine.
What shook Christine was seeing her dad cry. Dad NEVER cried. He would be the one making everyone feel better when they cried. Now Christine saw her dad crying and it scared her. She didn’t know exactly how it came to pass, but she suddenly found herself standing beside her father. Overcome with fear at seeing how vulnerable her father could be, and angry at her mother for how she could treat him, she threw her arms around him, squeezing with all her strength.
“Chrissy!” Kenji exclaimed in surprise, shaken out of his fog. He quickly wiped the tears off his face and set his drink down. “What are you still doing up?”
“Don’t cry, Dad! Don’t cry!” she kept repeating, tears streaming down her own face.
“It’s OK, little one, it’s OK,” he stroked her head as he reassured her, “Dad’s just letting out some stress, things’ll be alright, OK?” Christine nodded and snuffled into the crook of her father’s neck. “Alright, now get back to bed, OK? I don’t want to have to drag a cranky girl out of bed for school tomorrow, alright?” Christine nodded into her dad’s neck again and after a few hiccups, looked at her dad with her puffy, red eyes, mirroring his own.
“Can I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, please?” she asked. Kenji chuckled and nodded.
“Want some milk with that?”
“Yeah,” she said shyly, a small smile creeping onto her face.
“Alright then, but don’t let Amelia or Aunt Kathy know, OK?” he ordered with a smile. Christine nodded and, for the briefest moment in a tumultuous day, felt like things would be alright.
~ ~ ~
THE NEXT MORNING was chaos, but everyone got off to where they needed to be. Kenji and Katherine carpooled to the office, with Katherine reminding Kenji to call his lawyer before heading off to her part of the building.
At lunch, Kenji met with his lawyer, who went over the prenup with him again and forwarded a copy to Jacob Arthur. He then walked Kenji through how things like this generally went, although each divorce was unique. Thankfully, the prenup ensured that the usual equalization was moot. Kenji would still have to pay Karen out of her half of the equity of their marital home, about $300,000, which would set Kenji back about eight years on the mortgage, but not insurmountable.
Karen did make some noise about maintenance, and while Jacob wasn’t usually one to turn down business, he also knew when money spent would be fruitless. First, the prenup made sure that the only asset not protected was the marital home. Second, the one thing no one expected was that Karen wouldn’t want custody of their children. Even if Jacob was able to secure maintenance for Karen, the child support she would have had to pay would have nullified it.
At Brock’s urging, and against the advice of counsel, Karen brought the topic of maintenance up again in front of the judge. The crochety old judge, having reviewed the prenup, and expecting a quick resolution, fixed her with a hard stare.
“Young lady, how old are you?” he asked firmly.
“Thirty, your honour.” Jacob lowered his head and gave it a little shake, knowing what was about to happen.
“And are you ill?” he asked. Karen shook her head. “Young lady, you will have to speak to get it on record.”
“No, I’m not ill your honour,” she replied.
“Permanently injured or disabled?”
“No, your honour,” her voice beginning to falter. Her parents and sister, beginning to understand the gist of where this was going, also bowed their heads with a shake.
“And you have a degree, which your husband paid for, yes?”
“Yes, your honour,” she said, barely audibly.
“So, you are young. You are healthy. You are not disabled. You are educated, AND you will be relieved of the responsibility of caring for your children. Is there anything stopping you from getting a job?” he asked her pointedly.
“Um… no your honour. But…”
“But?”
“I’m an actress, and income in the arts isn’t as steady…”
“Well, that’s YOUR choice now, isn’t it? Millions of other people CHOOSE to do other work to make a living. If you choose a line of work that may not be as lucrative, that is your decision. It is not the responsibility of your soon-to-be former husband, or this court, to mitigate your life choices,” the judge lectured.
“But, your honour…,” she began as Jacob grabbed her forearm and hissed at her to shut up, but the Judge was on a roll.
“But nothing! You have a prenup and are now wasting the court’s time. Furthermore, you are lucky I am not making a judgement to have you responsible for child support, despite your husband choosing to waive it. Now, young lady, you may want to take your solicitor’s advice and just stop,” the Judge finished, heaving a sigh. “Next case, please.”
When all was said and done, all that was left for Karen to do was deposit her share of the house and for the couple to wait out the year of separation for their divorce to finalize.
~ ~ ~
AFTER FINALIZING THE separation agreement, Karen returned to Vancouver, where Brock was waiting for her, and her portion of the settlement. He was quite disappointed with the amount, considering what his other patrons came out of their divorces with. Any port in a storm though, as they say, and Karen was currently his.
With stars still in her eyes, Karen set up house in a rental about a half hour outside of Vancouver. Brock joining her didn’t even faze her, after all, this was the dream, wasn’t it? Karen ignored the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that something was off.
Kenji, on the other hand, took the opportunity to take a few of his many banked vacation days to clear his head for the year to come.
~ ~ ~
“KEN, I FOUND this support group at our local community centre,” Katherine suggested to Ken a few days after the judge signed off on the separation agreement.
“Yeah, Ken. Our neighbours went through a divorce last year and the husband attended,” Robert added. “It really helped him out.”
“How so, Rob?” Ken probed, hesitant to air his dirty laundry to strangers.
“Well, it really did help him come to terms with his sense of failure,” Robert offered. “And all those desperate divorced chicks meant he was gettin’ laid A-lot!” he continued, which earned him and elbow to the gut from his wife and a smile from Kenji.
“Don’t listen to him Ken,” Katherine gave her husband a dirty look. “I know you don’t much like talking, but give it a try, OK?” she requested.
“Sure Kath,” he acquiesced with a hesitant nod, which was how Kenji found himself at the community centre one early weekday evening, seated in a circle of uncomfortable seats, sipping on cheap coffee with twelve other, mostly dejected, people, and an overly cheerful moderator.
“Alright everyone!” she sang out cheerfully, clapping her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Let’s all get situated,” she requested, waiting for everyone to take a seat.
“God, does she have to be so fucking cheerful?” Ken heard grumbled from the seat beside him. He looked over and saw a tiny, beleaguered looking lady sitting there. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, long, dark-blonde hair pulled into a mom bun, and dressed in comfortable athleisure wear. She was tapping her manicured fingernails on a takeout coffee cup in frustration. “Sorry, sometimes cheerful isn’t what you need,” giving a slight smile, she extended her hand. “Monica.”
“Kenji,” he reciprocated, shaking her hand.
“You’re new here, so Summer’s gonna call on you to share. She’s a bit too much for my tastes, but she knows what she’s doing,” Monica shared.
“I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet…,” Kenji demurred, falling back into his natural reticence.
“Don’t worry. You share what you’re comfortable with,” she reassured as everyone else settled into their seats and turned their attention to the moderator.
“Good evening, everyone! Welcome to ‘New Beginnings’,” Summer announced, earning her a snort from Kenji’s seatmate. “I see few familiar faces, so welcome back. My name is Summer Moscoe, for those who are new. How about you, sir? Care to share?” she looked right at Kenji. Kenji hesitated, but decided that participation would make the time go by faster.
“So, I’m Ken, Kenji Suzumura. This is my first time here. My wife’s, uh…, ex-wife’s sister suggested that I come,” he admitted, getting one or two surprised looks. “I, uh…, my ex-wife left me a few months ago, and her sister and husband are thinking I’m a bit stuck.”
“Thank you for sharing, Ken. Alright everyone, let’s start sharing around the circle.” Kenji listened as others shared their stories. What he took away was that his situation, while sad, could have been worse.
Monica came up to Kenji at the end of the session as he made a face, sipping on the coffee coming from the urn. “You’re probably gonna wanna bring your own coffee next time. Take it from a veteran,” she quipped with a tight smile. Kenji smiled back, noticing that she wasn’t that bad looking.
“Veteran? How long have you been coming?”
“Been coming here for about a year and a half, so far. My husband cheated on me, and boy, was I an angry bitch,” Monica admitted. “I’m much better these days. Still not dating, but at least I’m not ripping your face off because you’re a guy,” she chuckled humourlessly.
“Well, thank you for not yelling at me,” Kenji acknowledged with a slight nod and smile.
“So, I’ll see you next week?” she asked.
“Yeah, I think so.”
~ ~ ~
OVER THE NEXT few weeks of sharing and hearing other people’s stories, Kenji came to a few realizations. First and foremost, that this was not his fault and that he wasn’t a failure. There really wasn’t anything that he could have done to stop this from happening.
When he examined their relationship, Kenji came to another realization. He was only along for the ride. Karen was the instigator throughout most of their life together. Not that he was opposed to what was happening, but that he chose to let it happen and focused on managing other aspects of his life.
That led to another realization, that both he and Karen had chosen to invest in things other than in their relationship. Karen had focused on her dream of becoming a professional actor. Kenji on the other hand chose to expend his energy on his children and his career.
Finally, when all was said and done, Kenji could admit to himself that, although he did grow to care for his ex-wife, and he was fairly sure she cared him, in her way, they were not in love with each other. If she had not initiated the divorce, he would have been content with the relationship they had, but that there was nothing he could have done to stop her.
~ ~ ~
IN THE MONTHS after Karen left, while waiting out the separation, Kenji did not have much of a social life, if at all. In lieu of a social life, Kenji decided he was going to focus more on his kids, and his relationship with his own parents.
Christine noticed that her dad was spending even more time with her and Bradley now that their mom was gone. Not that she was complaining. Bradley seemed to relish his time with their dad, and Christine appreciated the concern he had for how the divorce was affecting her. Christine smiled when she thought of how much her dad loved his kids.
Kenji wasn’t always so comfortable with Christine. Even though he had known her most of her life, he wasn’t always involved, not that Christine remembered. All her life, she knew that “Dad” was there for her; she didn’t really know any other father in her life. Kenji was never “Uncle Kenji” or “Mr. Suzumura” or even just “Ken”. Once her mother and Kenji married, he became “Dad”.
It was easy for Christine to not to feel her mother’s absence in her life. Aunt Kathy and her Oma and Opa made sure that Christine remained connected to her mother through her family. Her connection to Kenji was different. Christine felt his desire to be there, his caring for both herself and her brother. She knew that she wasn’t a chore or an obligation. When he could, her dad would make it out to every game, every play, and every important milestone.
When Christine turned ten, her dad officially adopted her as her birthday present. Christine was overwhelmed by the sheer happiness of it that she began to weep. “Why Dad?” she had asked him, not quite understanding why he wanted to make the relationship binding.
“Sweetheart,” he replied, “we’re just putting down on paper what we both know. That I love you, and I’m your father, and no one can say any different.” Christine held her head higher for days afterwards, pride and a sense of assurance in her place in the world filling her to bursting.
Her father brought the family over to Japan to visit his parents and his hometown, so that they could get to know him better. There is nothing like seeing where and how someone grew up to understand them better, especially someone so cut off from their past. Christine sucked up the whole experience like a sponge, immersing herself into the life there. Her steady stream of questions and her efforts to try and fit in endeared her to her adoptive grandparents, her Ojiisan and her Obaasan, who saw their blue-eyed, blonde-haired grandchild striving to earn her belonging in her Japanese side of the family. On that trip, her dad started using to use her Japanese name, Megumi, on occasion to make it easier for his parents. Karen was not amused.
While they were still married, Kenji was the parent with whom Christine bonded more. When they divorced, Christine hurt more for her dad than she did for herself. She knew her dad was burying himself into work and into taking care of her and her brother. She loved getting closer to her dad over this time but she knew he needed to live more of a life, so she encouraged him to get out of the house to do other things. The support group seemed to help, but any time he would get down on himself after a session, she would try to cheer him up.
No matter how much she tried to make sure she was there for her father, she knew he kept putting her and her brother first. When she asked, his only response was, “Because I’m the parent.”
~ ~ ~
THE CONTRAST BETWEEN parents couldn’t have been more stark. In the first two weeks after her mother left, Karen would call her kids every day. Even though Christine didn’t want to talk to her mother, Kenji insisted that she did, because “You only have one mother.”
The calls tailed off after a while, to once every other day, to once a week. When her mother started filming again, they could go weeks without speaking. After a while, it was more of a surprise when her mother did call rather than didn’t, which was why the call from Karen asking Christine out to lunch a year after she left was such a surprise.
Karen was in town for the film festival and to audition for some roles. Now that she had some TV credits to her name, she was able to wrangle an invitation to a minor event on the periphery of the festival. It was also an opportunity for Brock to come to Toronto on Karen’s dime to get some exposure as well, confident now that no one would be coming after him for paternity.
They were going to get together at a Korean BBQ place in the north of the city between the downtown core, where Karen and Brock were staying, and Christine’s home in eastern North York. Christine was still feeling hostile towards her mother and wanted to refuse, but her father and aunt made sure that she went, convinced that it would help her gain closure.
Christine’s dad drove her to the restaurant and waited with her in the car until her mother arrived with Brock. Not wanting a confrontation with his ex-wife, Kenji just waved from the car after Christine got out.
“I’ll just be wandering around the mall nearby, so call me when you’re done, OK Meg?”
“OK, Dad. Love you,” she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before getting out. “Thanks for being nearby.” Christine walked slowly towards the restaurant, dreading seeing her mother and her new man.
“Hi honey,” Karen reached to embrace her daughter. Chistine stiffened as her mother came in for a hug, letting it happen without actively participating. Flustered, her mother drew back and motioned for them to enter the restaurant.
After being seated and giving their drink order, Karen tried to begin the conversation by introducing Brock and Christine to each other. “Honey, I’d like you to meet Brock. He’s a friend of mine from Vancouver.”
“Hi Christine. I’ve heard a lot about you from your mom,” he greeted the young girl with a toothy grin that creeped Christine out.
“Hi,” she responded sullenly. Unsure of what to do next, Brock’s gaze leapt from Christine’s face to Karen’s and back again.
“So…, Christine, I understand you performed in some plays in school. Are you thinking of becoming an actress like your mom?” he asked, attempting to find common ground.
“No,” she continued with the monosyllabic answers.
“Christine…,” her mother warned under her breath before the waitress came to take their order. Christine threw her mother a glare before looking back at Brock.
“No, I think I’d rather do something different,” she answered. “Dad thinks that I should do something with all the languages I speak.”
“Acting is a great way to do that, you know,” Brock insisted, reaching desperately for a connection. “You’d be really great at it! I’m good at spotting talent.”
“Sounds like you’re an actor too. Been in anything I’ve seen?” she asked innocently.
“Well, you know, with an actor as talented as I am,” Brock began smugly, “sometimes casting directors steer me to more ‘artistic’ projects, but really, my first love is theatre.” Brock had a condescending air about him when he spoke. “Someone as young as you may not be aware of some of the roles I’ve had.”
“Wow! That’s really impressive,” Christine faked wide-eyed wonder, but almost unable to hide an imperceptible sarcasm. She opened her mouth to continue along that vein when her mother cut in to change the subject, knowing where this could lead.
“Hey Chrissy, sweetie. Did I tell you that Brock and I will be going to a festival event with some real Hollywood heavy hitters? I’m sure there’s going to be some teen stars that you’d be interested in,” Karen interrupted.
“I didn’t, Mom. So happy for you,” Christine said flatly as their food was brought in and placed on the grill.
“I could get you some autographs, if you’d like,” Karen offered.
“Thanks Mom, but I’m good,” Christine brushed off the offer as she stared at the sizzling meat over the flame. The meal continued through stilted conversation and awkward silences. Near the end of the meal, Christine excused herself, taking the opportunity to call her dad to have him start heading back to the restaurant.
The layout of the restaurant was set up to give each dining group privacy from the others by providing small dining cubicles. When Christine was returning to their table, she overheard Brock and her mother speaking.
“Boy Karen, your daughter really can be bitchy! She’s sure lucky she’s such a little hottie, just like her mom,” his voice had a predatory edge that sent shivers up Christine’s spine. What she heard next though, sent her world spinning.
“Shut the fuck up Brock!” she heard her mother hiss. “One, she’s just twelve, so that’s just sick! Two, she’s YOUR daughter, so that should never, NEVER, cross your mind!”
“OK, OK, I didn’t know!” Brock made his excuses. Christine chose that moment to re-enter the booth. Both adults swung their eyes to her, a hint of guilt still on their faces.
“Mom, I’m not feeling too well. Is it OK if we left?” she asked, not having to the fake the nausea she was feeling. Seeing her colouring go a little green, Karen quickly agreed and settled the bill, and the trio left the restaurant.
Karen hugged Christine and asked her to come out to Vancouver soon. Brock made a move to give Christine a hug as well, but she quickly stepped back, not able to fully hide the disgust on her face, as she extended her hand for a shake. Spying her father’s car, she quickly made her excuses and ran over, jumping into the passenger seat.
“Everything OK, sweetie?” Kenji asked her.
“Can we just go home Dad?” Christine asked, staring straight ahead, her eyes threatening tears. Kenji nodded and headed home.
Tears cascaded down her cheeks as Kenji drove. As soon as they arrived, she ran into the house, directly to her room, and threw herself onto the bed and started sobbing in earnest. Fearing a bad outcome, Kenji had asked Katherine to come over in anticipation of such an event.
When they both entered Christine’s room and seated themselves on the bed, Christine launched herself into both their arms and cried until all that was left were a few hiccups. The soothing stroke of her aunt’s hand on her head calming Christine down.
She refused to tell her father or aunt about what had her in such a state, afraid of what her dad or the rest of her family would do. After that day, she refused to take any more of her mother’s calls for months.
~ ~ ~
CHRISTINE WAS WITHDRAWN after the lunch with her mother and Brock. Outwardly she maintained a cheerful façade, but those that knew her well saw a change in the girl. She was much quieter, often disengaged, and quick tempered. Her loved ones tried to reach her, but she wouldn’t speak about what was bothering her.
At school, Christine was equally distant. She was beginning Senior Public School and while her old friends were able to interact with her, she was closed off to new people and new teachers.
Christmas break was not pleasant, with Christine snapping at her family, particularly her little brother, and spending most of the time in her room. Christmas day came and she received a call from her mother. Since it was Christmas, she took the call, taking the phone into the next room, closing the door.
Even through the closed door, the family, sitting at Christmas dinner, could hear her agitation in the murmurs coming through. At the end, Christine was speaking loud enough that they could make out the words.
“Fine! You do what YOU want Mom! Merry Christmas!” they could hear her raising her voice before letting out a frustrated scream. Sobbing could be heard through the doors and Kenji rose to comfort her when Katherine motioned for him and the rest of the family to sit and let her take care of things.
Kenji, Robert, the grandparents, and the other children were more than willing to let Katherine soothe Christine. Dinner continued with one ear on the door, waiting for the outcome. After fifteen minutes or so, Katherine stuck her head out the door and motioned for Kenji. As he entered the room Christine rushed to her father, slamming into his chest as he reached his arms around her to hold her, letting her cry into his shirt.
“Mom… won’t come… for my birthday!” she wailed. “I’m gonna be a… <hiccup> teenager, and her acting career is more… more… important that me!” she cried. Kenji looked over her head at Katherine, mouthing words indicating his confusion.
“My sister would rather stay on location ‘just in case’,” Katherine explained, making the universal hand gesture for air quotes, “instead of flying home for her daughter’s first teenage birthday.” Kenji nodded his understanding and stroked his daughter’s hair while making soothing sounds until she settled down. Katherine reached out to squeeze her niece’s shoulder in added comfort.
Kenji looked over his daughter’s head again at Katherine, who made a disgusted face and shook her head. She bundled her niece off to bed, making sure Kenji didn’t say anything to his in-laws before he went back to dinner. With a sigh, Kenji turned back to the dining room.
~ ~ ~
AMPLIFIED BY HER mother’s rejection, Christine’s moodiness continued into the new year. It all came to a head one day in the cafeteria. One of the mean girls was mocking her for not looking like her dad, and for her mother abandoning her and not wanting her. Christine finally lost her temper and screamed at the girl.
“Shut up! Shut the fuck up, you bitch!” She picked up her tray and slammed it on the table, scattering food and drink all over. She ran out of the cafeteria, crying. She grabbed her coat out of her locker and ran out of the school, walking the five kilometers home in the cold.
Kenji got the call from the school just as he ended a lunch meeting.
“Mr. Suzumura, I’m Doris Bradford from Christine’s school. We just wanted to reach out to let you know that Christine didn’t show up to her afternoon class after lunch. We’ve notified the police but they asked us to reach out to you. By any chance did you bring her home?”
“Ms. Bradford, this is the first I’m hearing about this. Would you mind if I called you back while I check on a few things?” Kenji asked calmly, even though his heart was slamming into his chest in fear.
“Certainly Mr. Suzumura. Again, I aplogise for worrying you. Please let us know if Christine is safe,” she requested before hanging up. Kenji called the house right away, reaching Amelia and confirming that Christine did indeed leave school and make her way home. Breathing a sigh of relief, he asked Amelia to put Christine on the phone.
“Young lady, you and I are going to have a talk about your behaviour lately when I get home,” he warned. “You don’t move. I’ll be home soon.” He called the school back to let them know that Christine did indeed make it home.
“I’m happy to hear that Mr. Suzumura. Thank you for letting us know. Our principal, Mr. Philips, was wondering if you would be able to come in and speak with him and Christine’s teacher this afternoon. Is that possible?”
“Sure Ms. Bradford. I’ll be heading home now. Would you like me to bring Christine along?”
“That won’t be necessary. Actually, we would prefer if you could come see us before you speak to Christine. Would it be possible to stop by on your way home?”
Kenji arranged to be there in half an hour. After clearing his afternoon, he made his way to the school to have his sit down. Once he arrived, Doris led him into the principal’s office, where the principal rose from behind the desk to shake his hand.
“Good afternoon Mr. Suzu-Suzu-…,” the principal struggled with Kenji’s surname.
“Please, call me Ken, Mr. Philips,” Kenji offered, taking pity on the principal.
“And it’s Jeff here,” the principal reciprocated with relief. “Ah, here’s Ms. Meehan,” he said rising again.
Kenji turned around and felt like he was punched in the chest. In front of him, by his estimation, was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. In flats, she was as tall as his five foot eleven. With her fair skin and long dark red hair down to her shoulder blades she looked like a Celtic shieldmaiden who wouldn’t be out of place on a windswept cliff looking out towards a crashing sea. Her face captivated him. Her sage green eyes, full of warmth, gazed at him with curiosity and concern. She reached out her hand to him.
“I guess this explains how Christine ended up with her surname, Mr. Suzumura,” she said with a smile that highlighted her cheekbones.
“Oh, yes, I guess it does. And it’s Ken,” he said as he recovered and took her hand in his. Her grip was warm and firm, the skin soft on his own calloused palm.
“Then it’s Colleen for me,” she replied widening her smile. “Has Mr. Philips explained the situation?” she asked as she sat down in the chair next to Kenji. His eyes followed her down, her slacks and sweater not hiding her hourglass figure. Suddenly his guilt kicked in for being preoccupied, checking out his daughter’s teacher, when they were here to discuss more serious matters.
“Not yet Colleen. I was about to begin when you walked in,” he explained. “So, Ken, will Christine’s mother be joining us?”
“No, she won’t. We’re divorced and she’s not in town at the moment. If there’s anything serious, I can relay that to her,” Ken replied.
“OK then. Well, we have ourselves a situation here. Christine’s behaviour today was concerning, but she also left school grounds without permission. Either would earn detention, so that would be a start, for at least two weeks,” he paused for a reaction from Kenji, and when all he got was a nod, he was surprised.
Usually, with many other parents, they would already be on the defensive. They would be blaming something other than their child, or they would be threatening the principal or the school. Kenji just nodded and took it in. Colleen took up where Jeff left off.
“Ken, I understand that Christine’s been struggling the last little while with your family situation. I’d also suggest that she speak to the school counsellor. It might help,” she offered as she placed a hand on Kenji’s forearm.
“It couldn’t hurt,” he agreed. “Well, thank you for your patience with her. I’ll be speaking to her about her behaviour and her punishment, both here and at home,” he assured them. With a nod to both the principal and Christine’s teacher, Kenji stood up and left the office to head home and speak to his daughter.
==========
ACT 3 – COLLEEN
COLLEEN MEEHAN WAS concerned about her student’s reaction today, and was worried that there were some deeper issues that needed attention. She thought back to when she first met Christine on her first day of class here in Toronto.
Colleen had just moved to Toronto in August, a 32-year-old divorcée with no kids, barely any savings, a teaching degree, and a deadbeat ex-husband. They were both from Halifax. Dartmouth actually, but she always said Halifax lest people think she grew up in some trailer park with a bunch of morons. She was always the one folks in the neighbourhood thought would go to university, while he was the easy-go-lucky cool kid who was good with his hands.
They were an unlikely pair, and she was happy to be with Edward. Most of the guys didn’t want to date the ‘tall girl’, but he said he found her attractive. While she went to school to get her college diploma, he ended up working odd jobs around town, whether at the harbour, or on a fishing boat for a spell. When Colleen ended up in teacher’s college in Edmonton, Edward saw it as a chance to cash in on the oilsands boom and decided to move to Alberta with her.
After a hasty wedding in front of a justice of the peace, they moved west to a small apartment near the university, not that Edward was there much. The work he was doing had him living in Fort McMurray, four and a half hours north of Edmonton, for a few months on and a few months off. The job paid very well, but with lots of spare time, much of it went to drink, drugs, and Colleen suspected, women by the hour.
After university, Colleen landed a job in a middle school on the western edge of town, near the mall. For a while, things were looking up. Edward seemed to be settling down, even though he and Colleen didn’t see eye to eye on having a family, the bone of contention being, he didn’t want one. Things began to fall apart when the bottom fell out of the oil and gas industry and Edward found himself unemployed, with little to show for his years. Deciding that he might have a better chance of finding work back in Halifax through his old cronies, he and Colleen moved back.
That hadn’t been a solution either, and Colleen found that not only was she working to support the both of them, but that she was also working to keep him and his friends in beer, smokes, and donairs while they though up improbable ways to make quick money. All of a sudden, her life was a sad approximation of a trailer trash TV sitcom. In the end, with no savings, no property, and no hope that their marriage would survive, Colleen filed for divorce and moved to Toronto for a fresh start when an opening for a teacher at a Senior Public School opened up.
Toronto was a slight culture shock, even though Colleen was teaching in a suburban school. The classroom was very diverse compared to Edmonton or Halifax, and the kids in Toronto expressed themselves differently than those in her past schools. In any case, kids end up tending towards similar behaviour wherever you are, so Colleen took it in stride once she saw there were few differences in the dynamics compared to her past experience.
Christine stood out for Colleen. First, for being your typical petite, blonde, blue-eyed, future head cheerleader with a distinctly Asian name. Second for an aura of sadness and bitterness that didn’t match with her cheerful demeanor. She was always helpful, and despite the fact that she could be Queen Bee, she was always nice to people.
Colleen, however, was concerned, and kept an eye on Christine, sensing that at some point, she would snap. Half way through the school year, snap she did. That was how Colleen met Christine’s father, and learned of her unique home life. Not that divorce was uncommon in the school population, but that she ended up in the custody of her adoptive parent in a bi-cultural household. Sure that she didn’t know the whole story, Colleen vowed to keep closer tabs on Christine, which was how she ended up volunteering to cover detention for the next two weeks.
Christine was resigned to her punishment: two weeks detention at school, and grounded at home until her birthday. Her first afternoon in detention, she pulled out her homework without being told and worked away quietly. By four-thirty, things had gotten dark. Colleen looked up and saw that Kenji was at the classroom door, waiting for Christine, and smiled.
“Hey Meg,’ he tousled her hair as she came up beside him, “how was prison?” he asked with a smile, unused to Christine getting in trouble.
“Meg?” Colleen asked as she followed Christine up.
“Yeah, Ms. Meehan,” Christine replied, “Dad calls me Meg sometimes, especially if he’s feeling bad for me. It’s short for Megumi, my Japanese name.”
“Huh, you’ll have to tell me how that happened sometime,” Colleen requested from both of them.
“Sure, Ms. Meehan,” Christine smiled cheerfully. “I love when Dad uses it. It means he feels guilty… maybe guilty enough to un-ground me?” she explained giving her father sad puppy eyes and a small pout.
“You wish, squirt!” Kenji retorted sarcastically, but with an affectionate arm around her shoulders. He spoke again, looking at Colleen. “Thank you again for suggesting Christine speak to someone. We’re gonna to be going to sessions as a family so we can all hash some things out.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Maybe if you could come a little earlier tomorrow, I could ask you a few things?” Collen asked.
“I’d be happy to,” Ken replied with a smile, then turning, after a moment’s pause, to head out to his car.
~ ~ ~
THE NEXT DAY, Colleen found herself looking over to the classroom door as four o’clock approached. A few minutes before the hour, Kenji looked into the window and waved. Colleen excused herself, making sure to let the kids know to continue with their homework.
“Hi Ken,” she smiled, slightly out of breath from the walk to the door, at least that was her excuse. “Thanks for coming in early.”
“Not a problem Colleen,” he replied. “Good to be the boss, sometimes,” he chuckled. “So, you had some questions?”
“Yes, I did,” she replied, motioning him to a seat in an empty classroom. “I’m a little worried about Christine.”
“I am too, but I want understand how so. What’s your take?” Kenji asked her.
“Well, Christine is well behaved enough, and she’s doing very well in school, but there’s something there that just isn’t quite right. It’s like she has a wall built up and she’s keeping a lot of resentment inside,” Colleen explained. Kenji sighed.
“Yeah, I’ve noticed it too, since last September at least,” Kenji agreed. “When Karen and I, that’s Christine’s mother, when we split up, I was very worried about Christine. She seemed to adapt well though, making sure to be present for her younger brother, even checking in on me every once in a while. She has a nurturing nature about her,” Kenji explained.
“I keep trying to make sure that she understands that there isn’t anything that she needs to take over, you know? That she’s the child and I’m the parent,” Kenji continued. “She seemed to be fine until her mother came into town with her new boyfriend, and that didn’t go so well…” Colleen tilted her head in askance, brow furrowed. Kenji shrugged in response.
“She wouldn’t tell any of us what happened, but she became a bit withdrawn after that. It, sort of, blew up at Christmas dinner when she got a call from her mom. Seems that she can’t make it to Christine’s thirteenth birthday,” Kenji recounted. Colleen glanced over her shoulder at the detention classroom, a concerned look on her face.
“That’s quite sad. I know it’s not Sweet Sixteen, but your daughter’s going to become a teenager and her mother can’t be here,” Colleen empathised. “Ken, I don’t mean to be indiscreet but, would you mind if I asked you a delicate question?” Kenji nodded. “How did the separation… transpire?” Kenji thought for a moment.
“If you’re asking who left whom, Karen, um…, she left almost a year and a half ago,” Kenji confirmed. Colleen looked like she wanted to ask another question, so Kenji beat her to the punch. “And, well, she chose to give up custody,” Kenji sighed. “I’m trying not to be judgmental, but I am a little bit. I’m also happy she did, because that means I get to have my children with me all the time.”
“That would explain how Christine is feeling. When you start seeing the counsellor, they may want to explore feelings of abandonment,” Colleen suggested. The corners of Kenji’s mouth pulled into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Thank you for the suggestion, Colleen.”
“Oh my goodness, I’m sorry if I overstepped,” Colleen apologised, all flustered, misinterpreting the mirthless grin.
“No, no, not at all. It’s just a little overwhelming,” Kenji explained. “I thought we would be rounding the corner on this but it seems to be one step forward, two steps back, you know?”
“I actually do,” she replied. “Although, thankfully, no kids, so that was a blessing, really,” a small huff followed.
“Now it’s my turn to apologise, Colleen. I didn’t realise you’d been through this too,” Kenji responded.
“No, that’s alright. It’s still a bit fresh is all, especially since he didn’t want kids.” Colleen sighed. “I guess it’s a touchy subject for both of us. Why don’t we table this for another time?”
“Gladly,” Kenji ventured a small smile. “Same time tomorrow?”
“Sounds good,” Colleen said, returning the smile.
Over the next few afternoons Colleen teased out the circumstances of Kenji and Karen’s homelife and divorce and its impacts on Christine. It really hit home for Colleen in different ways, and she was determined to reach out to Christine and bring her out of her shell.
After Christine completed her sentence, there was no call for Kenji and Colleen to meet regularly, so their interactions went back to the once a semester parent/teacher conference. Colleen continued to work on Christine’s melancholy, while Katherine and Margaret worked on Kenji’s solitude. On the odd occasion that they could convince Kenji, he found himself on a blind date with one of Robert’s coworkers, or the daughter of one of Margaret’s friends.
~ ~ ~
THE SCHOOL YEAR was ending on the Canada Day long weekend, and Christine convinced her father to help chaperone the year-end barbecue at one of the local parks. That was where he reacquainted himself with Colleen.
“Hey stranger, long time no see,” Colleen greeted him with a sparkling smile.
“Hi Colleen,” he greeted her in return. “So how have you been?”
“Oh, you know, same-old, same-old,” she bobbled her head. “How did you get roped into this?”
“Christine,” was his one-word response.
“Yes,” Colleen nodded sagely. “That girl is a force of nature, once we got her out of her shell.”
“That she is,” he agreed. “Listen, Colleen, I want to thank you again for helping her out so much this year. I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t get my old Meg back. I don’t know how I can repay you.”
“We-ell, now that you mentioned it,” Colleen began hesitantly, “I was wondering what you were doing next Friday night?”
“Nothing really,” Kenji responded after a moment’s thought. “Why?”
“You see, by next Friday I’ll have wrapped up the school year and I won’t be Christine’s teacher anymore, and I was wondering if you’d like to grab a drink,” she explained. “And if that drink goes well, then maybe we go and have dinner. And if THAT goes well, then maybe we can get together again for another meal, and so on…,” she shot him a vulnerable look.
“I…, well…, I never thought that…,” Kenji got out, surprised and flustered. Looking at Colleen, and seeing disappointment creeping into her eyes, he realized she was putting herself out there, and that he was sending the wrong message. “That is, I am very pleasantly surprised, and I would really like to take you up on that,” he accepted with a smile.
~ ~ ~
COLLEEN AND KENJI’S first date went very well, well enough that they repeated it the next week. Over the summer, Colleen and Kenji would spend every Saturday out enjoying one of the many music, neighborhood, or cultural festivals in Toronto, often with his children along. At least once a week, Kenji and Colleen would see each other for dinner and drinks.
Christine already knew Colleen from school and thoroughly approved of her dad’s budding relationship with her erstwhile teacher. It took a few awkward outings before Christine got comfortable with calling Colleen by her first name, instead of “Ms. Meehan”. Bradley again amazed his father by taking to Colleen very quickly, charming her thoroughly.
By the fall of that year, Margaret wanted to meet the woman that had pulled Kenji and Christine out of the doldrums. Colleen was invited to Thanksgiving up in Waterloo, where she would meet all of Christine’s extended family and pass muster with the grandparents, and pass she did. From singing along with the band at Oktoberfest to keeping her composure as one of the horses from the hayride at the farmer’s market in St. Jacobs took a dump right beside her, Colleen won the approval from Kenji and Christine’s family.
“They’re quite protective of you,” she said to Kenji on the way home as she reached for his hand. Colleen glanced back at the sleeping children in the rear seat.
“They took me in with open arms when Karen and I married, seeing as my parents are half the world away,” Kenji stated by way of explanation. “And they want to make sure that whoever I end up with gets along with the kids and the family, you know?”
Colleen smiled smugly at Kenji, “So we’re ‘ending up’ together, eh?”
“Yeah, that’s the plan,” Kenji responded with his own grin.
~ ~ ~
THINGS WERE NOT as rosy in Vancouver. After a few more recurring appearances in one more season and a short run to close off an arc in another, Karen was cut from the show. Fans complained of her acting as being one dimensional. Ultimately the show was cancelled.
Fortunately, Karen was still doing some part-time work for her former firm in Toronto, representing the company at some castings in Vancouver. It was fortunate because she was not landing many roles, with the odd bit part and some screen and print advertising. More fortunate because Brock seemed to view her as a source of financial support as well as pestering her for the inside track on roles he thought he would be “perfect for”.
Despite his dependence on her, Brock was back to his old ways. He was still chasing younger skirts, and he wasn’t as successful as he thought he was at being discreet. Karen chalked it up to his “creative temperament”, and excused his behaviour.
Sometime after Colleen’s successful visit to Waterloo, Karen and Brock showed up in Toronto for some casting calls. This time there were no invites to film festival events, or downtown hotels. The couple were staying at a chain motel in the Markham area just north of Toronto’s suburbs. Christine was again invited to lunch with her mother and Brock, this time at a dim sum restaurant in the vicinity of the motel. Kenji again dropped Christine off, on this occasion with Colleen in tow for moral support.
“Hey Chris, text us when you’re ready to go, OK?” Kenji gently instructed his daughter as Colleen squeezed her hand. “We’ll be close by, alright?” Christine nodded with a shaky smile and got out of the car to walk over to where her mother was waiting with Brock.
“Who’s that with your dad?” Karen asked her daughter as Kenji drove away.
“That’s his girlfriend,” Christine informed her mother. Christine smiled when she noted the small frown that marred Karen’s face.
“Wow, your dad got lucky with her!” Brock exclaimed, not taking his eyes off of Colleen until the car left the small parking lot. Christine noticed that her mother’s frown got bigger.
In the year since Karen and Brock had seen Christine, she had begun to develop a more womanly figure. With her pretty face and her budding figure, Colleen, her Aunt Kathy, and her grandmother agreed that she would be a complete knockout, and coordinated to have “the talk” with her soon. Karen noted the changes but Brock definitely noticed. Even though it was mature women that had kept Brock in champagne and caviar, young, preferably very young, women were what excited him.
No amount of knowledge that Christine could be his biological daughter was deterring Brock from leering at the young girl. Although young, Christine was prescient enough to sense when someone was openly lusting after her. She didn’t know exactly what that meant other than it felt wrong. When Brock went to the washroom, Christine spoke up.
“Mom, Brock is creeping me out!” she told her mother. “He’s been giving me these gross looks. I don’t like it!”
“Oh Chrissy, you’re overreacting!” downplaying Brock’s inappropriate behaviour. “Brock is an actor and an artist. Creative types like him are able to see and assess beauty objectively. That’s all he was doing, appreciating your beauty. It’s a compliment really. Brock knows about beautiful women. He works with them all the time. Now have a dumpling,” Karen said, moving away from the topic.
Christine’s stomach churned with helplessness and anger. When Brock came back and distracted her mother, she quickly texted her father to come and pick her up.
“Mom, I’m not feeling so hot. Would you mind if we cut this short?”
“Why honey? We’ve only ordered six dishes,” Karen fussed.
“Women trouble, Mom. It’s that time of the month,” Christine mumbled under her breath. Karen was taken aback.
“Oh. Are you…? I mean… is that where we’re at with you now?” Karen whispered, surprised that she had missed that her daughter was going through puberty, even though it was hard to miss. Christine just nodded knowingly, looking her mother in the eye. “OK then, well, it can’t be helped,” she said as she signaled for the bill, pulling out her wallet. As always, Brock made no move for his.
As they were leaving, Christine let her mother and Brock walk ahead. Remembering her science classes earlier, she quickly grabbed Brock’s chopsticks and wrapped them in his napkin and dropped them into a resealable bag that she had brought in her purse.
At the door, Christine hugged her mom as she saw her dad’s car pull up. “Come visit me in Vancouver this summer, OK?” Karen requested. Christine murmured something noncommittal. When Brock came in for a hug, Christine extended her hand, forcing him to pause and backtrack to receive her handshake.
Chrstine opened the back door to the car and slumped into the back seat, obviously upset. Kenji caught his ex-wife’s eye, gave her a tense nod and started to drive away. He looked at Christine through the rear-view mirror and knew he had to dig in.
“So what’s wrong Meg?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she answered. Kenji and Colleen exchanged a look.
“Honey, tell us what happened to make you so upset,” Colleen gently probed.
“I don’t wanna talk ’bout it,” Christine answered quietly, but firmly.
“OK then, sweetie. If you won’t tell me or your father, will you tell your Aunt Kath?” Colleen asked. Christine shook her head and looked out the window vacantly. “How about your counsellor? Will you tell her? It’ll make you feel better in the long run, I promise, OK?” Collen pleaded softly. After a moment, Christine nodded as she watched the scenery pass by. “OK then,” Colleen returned her nod and exchanged another look with Kenji.
~ ~ ~
AS CHRISTMAS APPROACHED Kenji and Colleen continued to spend more time together. Despite a long dry spell for both, they had decided to take things slow, deciding not to let a physical relationship overshadow the process of getting to know each other on a deeper level. That was not to say that they didn’t get amorous, but they both stopped short of having sex until they could both be confident in their commitment to each other.
One mid-week evening in November Kenji walked into his house after work to find the children at the kitchen table doing their homework. He saw Amelia in the kitchen preparing dinner. Shifting his gaze to the breakfast counter he saw Colleen working on her lesson plan and all of a sudden, he felt a sense that everything was the way it was meant to be wash over him. He walked over to Colleen, embracing her from behind and placing a kiss on the side of her neck.
“Hey hon,” she purred softly. “Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?’
“You know I love you,” he said softly into her hair, inhaling her scent of orange blossoms and jasmine. Colleen froze and slowly turned in his embrace so that she was facing him. Her eyes were shimmering, tears threatening to fall.
“I had a feeling you did, but it’s nice to finally hear it,” she said softly as the tears rolled down her cheeks. “If it helps, I love you too, very much.”
“I want you here every day Colleen,” Kenji said.
“I almost am Ken,” she laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Yeah, but I’d really like you to live here with us, with me,” Kenji clarified. Colleen’s hands flew to her lips with a gasp and the tears started flowing in earnest as she nodded.
“Dad, how come you’re making Colleen cry?” Bradley asked as only a child with no filter would.
“Sweetie, these are tears of happiness,” Colleen responded to the boy. “How would you guys like it if I moved in with you all?” Christine’s head popped up and she gasped. Bradley shrugged and went back to his homework.
“I don’t get it,” he asked as he scribbled with his pencil.
“Don’t get what sweetheart?” Colleen queried tentatively, worried that the kids wouldn’t like the idea of her moving in.
“I don’t get why you haven’t already,” he answered matter of factly. “That’s what you’re s’posed to do,” he explained and continued with his work. Colleen looked over at Christine and saw her nodding and crying. She then stood up from the table and ran over to Colleen for a long, hard, tearful embrace.
“About time,” she whispered to Colleen, which set them off again.
~ ~ ~
COLLEEN MOVED IN over the Christmas break, bringing over mementoes and decorative pieces to help make the house a home for her as well. Katherine and Margaret had strongly suggested that Kenji replace all the furniture and bedding in the master suite. Not one to ignore their wise advice he went and did that a week before Colleen moved in.
Their first night at home was a sentimental one for Colleen, Christine, and Kenji. Bradley just looked around the table and said what was on his mind. “Wow, it’s like we’re a family again!”
breaking the heavy mood that was beginning to settle.
An uncomfortable silence descended later that evening between Colleen and Kenji in anticipation of spending their first night together. After the kids went to bed, Colleen and Kenji were sitting at opposite ends of the couch, pretending to watch TV. Colleen looked over at Kenji and snickers and giggles began to bubble up at the absurdity of the situation: two previously married adults avoiding bedtime because they were nervous about their first night together! Kenji caught her mood and before long they were laughing, enjoying the humour in the situation.
“This is ridiculous Ken, we’re adults!” Colleen said between laughs.
“C’mon hon, let’s go to bed,” Kenji stood up and extended his hand to Colleen.
Once in the bedroom, their mood again shifted to discomfort, circling each other shyly as they both got ready for bed. Kenji got ready in the room while Colleen got ready in the ensuite. Colleen emerged from the washroom as Kenji was turning down the bedding. He looked up and saw her standing in the doorway, fresh faced, her copper hair flowing over her shoulders, dressed in a green plaid flannel nightshirt.
Colleen was worrying the hem of her sleepwear, which came down to mid-thigh, and biting her lower lip nervously. Her long legs were bare and Kenji could not help his gaze travelling up from her long, smooth feet, untouched by polish, up her long, pale legs and wandering over the curves of her hourglass figure, barely obscured by her shirt. His eyes continued up, noticing she had left enough buttons undone, leaving an enticing valley visible, to her face, with a look of worry and anticipation.
“Colleen, you are just absolutely beautiful!” Kenji exclaimed softly, bringing a deep blush all the way to the roots of her hair.
“Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself,” she offered back as she surveyed his trim and muscular physique in just a pair of boxers, his arousal very evident.
Kenji made his way around the bed towards her and gripped her shoulders softly, drawing her close and softly touching his lips to hers, backing away to look into her face. Colleen’s eyes were closed and her lush, pink lips were slightly open as she exhaled. Kenji’s hands moved from her shoulders down to her soft, rounded hips, caressing over Colleen’s ribs and trim waist. He drew her closer, pressing her to him, his touch drawing a small groan from Colleen, her heightened sensitivity yearning for more.
“Ken, please,” she breathed out, bringing both her hands up between them to caress his chest.
Kenji circled his hand to the small of her back, pressing Colleen even closer, running his other hand up to the back of ther neck and drew her in for a deeper kiss. He drew her lower lip in, suckling it, nipping it lightly. Colleen let out another groan, parting her lips, allowing Kenji’s tongue in to explore. Their kiss deepened and their breath merged, both heaving and hearts hammering. Colleen sucked on his tongue hungrily, growing desperate for more.
“Ken, please, now,” she begged. Kenji stepped back and gathered the hem of her nightshirt, drawing it over her head, Colleen raising her arms so he could slip it off. Her nightshirt bunched in his hands, Kenji could only marvel at how stunning Colleen was in all her bare glory.
While she was tall, and nothing about her could be considered “dainty” she was the Birth of Venus personified. Her figure proclaimed her womanliness. Her breasts would have been very large on a smaller woman, but were perfectly proportional to her, standing high and proud, nipples and areola pink and puckering in the cool air. Her stomach was flat but gently curved towards her centre where a small strip of red hair formed a small arrow pointing to her pink nether lips, slick with anticipation.
“Wow Colleen!” Kenji said breathlessly. “You are just…, wow! I just can’t…,” he trailed off.
“You’re a bit overdressed, my love,” she pointed out to him. He quickly tossed her nightshirt onto a waiting chair, and just as quickly shucked his own boxers and drew her back in for a scorching kiss. Skin on skin, Colleen pressed herself into Kenji, feeling the silky hard evidence of his excitement pressing against her pubis. Blood flowed to her core and engorged her labia and caused her excitement to flow. She could feel her pulse in her centre as she felt his gently beating against her skin.
Colleen gently trailed her fingertips down Kenji’s muscled chest and grazed his stomach to rest on his erection. Lightly gripping it, she reveled in its silky smoothness and its iron hard core warming her palm. She caressed it lightly with her fingertips, drawing a grunt from Kenji.
“Not yet Colleen,” he instructed, slowly walking her back towards the bed. He lay her down gently and drew her knees up, leaving her open to his hungry gaze on the edge of the mattress. Kenji lowered himself to his knees, bringing his face level to Colleen’s pussy. He breathed in her clean scent, with just a hint of musk in her arousal. His gaze took in the soft pink lips peeking out of her puffy cleft, shining with moisture while her small button peeked out from its hood in excitement.
Kenji lowered his face and ran his tongue from the base of her sex, up through her lips and captured her clit between his lips, squeezing lightly. Colleen gasped and bit her knuckle, her breathing shallow and her heart racing, moisture flooding her core. Kenji suckled her clit, teasing it with his tongue and bringing his finger to her entrance to tease her essence from her folds, slowly working his middle finger into her, seeking the bundle of nerves inside the face of her vagina.
Colleen grunted when he found his target, groaning when he fluttered his finger agains her g-spot. Pressure built at the base of her gut as the sensations from her g-spot and her clitoris began sending tingles down her nerves from the crown of her head down to the tips of her toes.
Kenji reached his other hand up to cup her breast and tease her nipple, adding a shock of sensation down to her centre and a ball of tension into her chest. Colleen grasped her other breast, pulling on her nipple, relishing the combination of pleasure and pain. Kenji took his pinkie and teased the outer surface of Colleen’s pink rosebud, circling and pressing into her back channel lightly, and all hell broke loose.
All the sensations from her nipples, her button, her g-spot, and her anal star combined to burst into one of the biggest orgasms Colleen had ever experienced. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, stars bursting behind her eyelids, her body shuddering, ripples coursing down her belly to her vagina, a deep flush running from her chest and touching her cheeks. Kenji placed his hand on her belly as she arched her back and bucked her pussy into his mouth, while he continued to minister to her lips.
Tremors continued through her body as she blacked out for a few seconds. Kenji continued to run his tongue up and down her folds, spearing her entrance with the tip occasionally. Colleen came to and grasped his head, pulling his face up to meet hers. Kissing him deeply, she tasted herself on his lips.
“Hon, that was amazing!” she enthused. “Ken, love, I swear I’ll make it up to you, but right now I NEED you inside me, like NOW!” Not one to disappoint, Kenji chuckled and seated his arousal at her entrance.
“Your wish, is my command, love,” he said as he slowly entered her tight channel, feeling every ripple and fold as he advanced into her. Every advance triggered a small shudder from Colleen, who had yet to come down from her first climax. As Kenji slowly entered her, she murmured her ecstasy, feeling his pulse join with hers inside. Kenji felt her vagina’s searing heat gripping him tightly until their pubic bones met and Colleen let out a breath, feeling almost gut punched.
“Oh, good grief Ken! You fill me so well! This feels amazing!” she gushed as she ground her clit onto the base of his cock. Colleen rocked her hips into him, urging him on. “Ken, make love to me later. Fuck me NOW!” He obliged, pulling back, bringing a whimper from her. He bore back down, his pubic bone mashing her clit again and sending sparks up to her chest. Kenji continued the rhythm, drawing back, and changing the angle occasionally to run his cock along her g-spot, driving Colleen wild.
The pressure began building for both of them, hearts hammering and breaths becoming short, a sheen of sweat forming on them. Colleen circled Kenji with her arms and legs, locking her arms around his neck and her ankles behind his back, pulling him closer. As their climaxes built, Colleen pulled him in for a hungry, passionate kiss. Kenji continued to piston into Colleen when he tensed and drove into her, the head of his cock kissing her cervix, triggering her second climax of the night.
Colleen screamed into his mouth as fireworks burst in her head and shudders wracked her whole body. Her arms and legs squeezed, slamming Kenji into her. Her pussy pulsed, gripping Kenji and triggering his own release as he swelled and flooded her with his essence. He pulsed a few more times and, spent, rested his forehead on hers as they both rasped for breath.
Nudging him onto his back, Colleen followed, ending up on top, his cock still inside her. She ground herself onto him a few more times, eliciting another tiny climax from her. She raised her hips and drew herself off of him, their combined fluids running out of her. Colleen moved down until she faced his semi-hard erection, glistening with both him and herself. She ran her tongue along the bottom length of his penis, pausing to tease his glans and tasting their juices. She engulfed the head of his cock, and lovingly ran her tongue around the crown. She sucked and bobbed her head cleaning him off. When she was done, he was breathing hard again and was on the way to being revived. Satisfied that he was ready for another round, she stopped and crawled back up.
Sweating and sated, Kenji laid back as Colleen laid her head on his shoulder, snuggling up to him. “Merry Christmas my love,” she murmured before she kissed him softly on his chest.
“Still a bit early, but I get your drift,” he chuckled. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, think we can stop walking on eggshells?” Colleen raised her head and gave a wicked grin.
“Only if you’ll use what I cleaned off, maybe two more times tonight?” she requested, one eyebrow cocked and worrying her lower lip again.
“I might be able to promise one,” he offered with a sheepish grin. She received the two she was asking for.
~ ~ ~
THAT CHRISTMAS WAS a much happier and calmer one than the year prior. Karen again opted out of the festivities in Toronto. She chose instead to stay in Vancouver and schmooze the myriad directors, producers and casting agents stuck there over the holidays at the many parties being held. Her mother and father did miss her but it seemed the rest of the family had moved on, and Colleen tried her very best to make sure that Christmas Eve dinner at the Suzumuras was the highlight of the holidays.
Karen did call again to greet everyone over videoconference and was taken aback that Colleen seemed quite at home in her former house and with her family. Jealousy welled up as she saw her husband and children treat her like a wife and mother, which was Karen’s rightful place! The icing on the cake was the obvious approval Colleen had garnered from her own mother and father. It was not a merry Christmas at Karen’s apartment that year.
Later that evening the combined clan decided to take a walk through the neighbourhood in the crisp winter air. There hadn’t been a white Christmas in Toronto in a few years so when the snow stuck around for the 24th and a soft flurry started coming down they couldn’t resist a walk to look at everyone’s decorations in the snow.
“Dad?” Christine said sidling up to Kenji as he brought up the rear of the group.
“Yeah, Meg,” he responded as she looped her arm through his.
“I know you and Colleen already got me a Christmas gift…, and um…”
“And um?” he urged his daughter to continue.
“I was wondering if I could ask for three more gifts?” she asked as she looked up at her father with puppy dog eyes. Kenji laughed.
“That’s cheeky! OK Chrissy, what’s up?”
“Well, two of them aren’t really for me, and the last one is kinda, but not really,” she clarified.
“OK, shoot.”
“OK, well, the first one is really for all of us,” she started to explain. “I know you love Colleen, and the squirt and I are getting to really like her too… You think maybe you could ask her to marry you? Make us a family again?” Kenji’s eyes grew moist. He realized what had been missing in their family dynamic, long before he and Karen had divorced. His mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and Amelia had tried to fill the missing void Christine and Bradley’s absent mother had left. That Christine could see Colleen filling that role pleased him immensely.
Sniffing, her urged her on. “OK, what’s number two?”
“You think we could all make it out to Japan next year? I miss seeing Obaasan and Ojiisan,” she continued. Kenji chuckled.
“That shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Your mother has to agree though,” he warned.
“OK, OK. And this last one is gonna sound a bit weird…,” she hesitated. “Do you think you could get me an hour with our lawyer? No questions asked?” This request took Kenji by surprise, and it showed in his face. “I promise, it’s not something bad or anything. I just want to tidy up some loose ends.” Kenji stayed silent as he mulled things over. “I promise Dad! Nothing bad or anything!” Kenji sighed and they continued walking.
“OK, but I reserve the right to have him tell me if anything you’re asking for is something I would consider wrong, OK?” Christine nodded and put her head on her father’s shoulder.
“Thanks, Dad. Merry Christmas.”
~ ~ ~
CHRISTMAS BREAK PASSED quietly for the budding new family, with some awkward moments as everyone got used to living together. Christmas flowed into New Year’s with Kenji and the kids taking Colleen through traditional Japanese traditions, cleaning out the house before New Year’s Day, noodles before midnight, the special Osechi meal on New Year’s Day, and little gifts for the kids. Colleen was fascinated with all the traditions and determined to keep them up for as long as the children were at home.
School started up for Colleen and the kids and new routines were developed. Valentine’s Day and Christine’s birthday approached. When Kenji asked her what she wanted for her birthday she reminded him of her additional Christmas requests, which prompted a family outing, sans Colleen to pick out an engagement ring, and another family request.
“Dad, don’t you think we should go out and meet Colleen’s family in person this summer? You know, seeing as you want to marry their daughter?” Kenji thoroughly agreed.
A few nights later Kenji brought up a trip to Dartmouth to Colleen, which thrilled her immensely. While Kenji had already met her parents over video conference, this would significantly solidify the status of their relationship. They quickly called her parents to confirm that they would alright with Kenji and the kids coming up with Colleen the first week of summer break. In true Maritimer fashion, her parents were more than welcoming to the idea of visitors. The video call that night also had an ulterior purpose.
Earlier that day, Kenji had called Colleen’s parents to ask her father’s permission for his daughter’s hand, and was happy to get their blessing. As Colleen was nattering away with her mother, Kenji went to their room to get the ring from his dresser. When he came back on camera, Colleen’s mother Brenda, called out to get her husband back on camera.
“Randy, get on back on here! Kenny’s ready to do ‘de ‘ting!” Colleen was confused as her father, Randall, came back into frame.
“Wouldn’t miss it fer d’world,” he confirmed.
“What’s going on da’?” Colleen asked. Randall just pointed past Colleen’s shoulder to Kenji on his knee with the jeweler’s box open and Christine with her phone, filming the event. Colleen jumped up and yelped. Tears quickly filler her eyes as she nodded even before Kenji could ask the question, which quickly had Christine crying as well.
“Well, ‘magine ‘dat sweetheart!” Brenda exclaimed cheerfully, “We’ll haf’ta put on a right big to do when the children come visit ‘dis summer!” And like that, Colleen and Kenji were engaged.
“About time Dad!” Christine cheered. Bradley figured adults were weird but it was cool that he’d be getting a new mom.
~ ~ ~
SUMMER ROLLED AROUND and Kenji and the children enjoyed their visit to Dartmouth with Colleen’s family. As the week wore on, Colleen’s well-regulated teacher’s voice became gradually accented by the Maritime speak with which she grew up. By the end of the visit both kids were picking some expressions up as well, the PG-13 ones to the chagrin of Colleen.
The end of the visit was tinged with sadness. For Colleen, it was departing from her family again, but Kenji promised frequent visits. For Christine, it meant that she would be flying on from Toronto to Vancouver to visit her mother.
In the past few years, Karen had taken her two weeks of summer vacation with her children in Waterloo so she could also visit with her own parents, as well as have them as support for babysitting. That summer, she couldn’t make it to Toronto since she got a guest spot on two episodes of a sci-fi series, so Christine would fly out, while Bradley would see her for the week when she flew back to Ontario at the end of the summer.
Karen was waiting for Christine as she came out of the baggage claim, taking her back to her rental in Surrey, just outside of Vancouver. She had a one-bedroom and a den, which was where Christine would be sleeping on the pullout. Brock was in there sitting on the recliner with a beer watching old videos of himself when they came in.
“Well look at you!” he said without rising, a smarmy smile on his face. “Don’t mind me. I’m just doing a review of my work to prep for some auditions.” Directing what he said next to Karen, he raised his bottle, “Hey babe, did you run out to BCLS to pick up a two-four?”
“No, I did not Brock! I was at the airport picking up my daughter,” she hissed at him. “You know, you could get off your a…ah, you could always go and get your own beer.”
“Aw babe! You know I’m in between gigs right now,” he whined. “I’m good for it. I’m perfect for this next part! I’m a shoo-in!”
“Well, you’ll just have to wait until Christine goes back. I’m gonna be busy with showing her around and filming,” she explained firmly. “Maybe you might even get a part if you’re sober, or maybe take some time to do some real prep!”
That awkward moment kicked off an increasingly uncomfortable visit for Christine. She could sense Brock staring at her, which would raise the small hairs at the back of her neck. She made sure to be fully clothed when around him and begged to accompany her mother to wherever she was, uneasy with being left alone with her biological father.
What made things more awkward was the way Brock was sponging off of her mother while he lounged around “reading scripts” or “on the phone with his agent”, which was code for flirting with his other women. Near the end of her weeklong visit, Christine was fed up with the whole situation. She cornered Brock on the one day when her mother was at a casting on behalf of her employer.
“Hey Brock. Have you ever thought about marrying my mom and having kids?” she asked him.
“Not really sweetie, although why wouldn’t I want to share these genes with the world, amiright?” Brock joked. His endearment made Christine cringe.
“Funny you should mention your genes…,” Christine broached the subject. “You know that genes can tell who someone’s parents are, right?”
“Sure, sure, honey, but that was what the dorks in school were working on. That had nothing to do with me. Why do you ask?” he asked warily.
“Well, you see Brock, we can get DNA from saliva, like from a chopstick from a dim sum restaurant. Your DNA. To match with mine… are you starting to get the gist, Brock?” Christine asked to Brock’s confused visage. “Let me explain Brock. We got YOUR DNA from YOUR chopsticks, and it proves that YOU are my bio-dad!” Christine mocked Brock, imitating a trashy daytime talk show.
A few months before, Christine had visited their family attorney, the same one who helped Kenji adopt her and who also helped Kenji with the divorce. She asked him what it would take to establish someone as her biological father, and what rights she had as a child. He had suggested a DNA test, which Christine produced, having sent the sample to a lab and the $250 fee, which she cobbled together from her allowance and New Year’s money. The report proved that the sample was 99.99% a match for Christine’s biological father.
A few hours on internet search engines and actor databases the night before also bore fruit, giving Christine Brock’s real name – William Davis. Armed with the DNA test and the name, the attorney was able to put together a petition to establish William Davis’ paternity and file claim to child support. These were the documents that Christine produced now.
“So, Brock, or should I say Bill, or maybe ‘Dad’ would be appropriate here, eh?” Christine began her calculated attack. “Looks like you are my biological father, although Mom didn’t put your name on the birth certificate. No problem. The DNA test came back positive that you’re my dad,” Christine announced as she put the document in front of Brock.
“What? No way I’m your dad!” Brock began to protest, looking at papers he couldn’t understand.
“Yup, that’s what that paper says. Here’s another piece of paper establishing my rights as your daughter,” Christine explained as she put another document in front of Brock. The lawyer explained that her petition for back child support would probably hold no weight and may not even be enforceable, but he had produced a draft copy for her anyway, not that Brock knew anything about these sorts of matters. “This document says that you owe me fourteen years of back child support, and that you’re also on the hook for the next four years until I turn eighteen. Then there’s the fun part about university tuition,” she enumerated, almost with glee.
“I…, but…, what…,” Brock sputtered. His face took on multiple shades of purple, red, grey, and green. He knew Karen joked about him being Christine’s bio-dad, but he didn’t really take it seriously. THIS was as serious as a heart attack. He decided he had to leave, again. “Listen, Christine, I’ve got an appointment that I forgot about…, you’ll be OK on your own?” he asked distractedly. “OK,” he responded to his own question before Christine even answered.
“Go ahead Brock. I’ll just watch some TV until Mom gets back,” Christine offered. Brock rushed into Karen’s bedroom while Christine sat on the couch watching TV with a self-satisfied smile as Brock tried to stealthily pack as much of his important belongings into a hockey bag and sneak out the door. “Bye DAD!” she yelled when she heard the front door open. The slam of the door set her off giggling.
“Where’s Brock?” Karen asked when she came back home. Christine shrugged and went back to watching TV. “He just up and left you alone?”
“Mmm hmm,” Christine indicated in the affirmative. “He said he had an appointment.” That was the last anyone in the Suzumura or Fischer families saw of Brock for a very long time.
~ ~ ~
THE DAY AFTER Labour Day both Colleen and Kenji accompanied the children to their first day of school. For Kenji, seeing Christine head off to high school was a bittersweet day. His little girl was growing up. Never mind that he obviously wasn’t her biological father, he was the parent that was the lasting influence in her life.
Despite the short time together, Colleen felt the pang of separation when both Bradley and Christine walked away from the car. As Kenji dropped her off, she turned and grasped Kenji’s face between her hands and looked him in the eye.
“The day we get married, I’m coming off the pill and you’re going to be a very busy man! You and I will be joined at the… um… until you put a bun in THIS oven!” She blushed deeply then gave him a big kiss and went off to her first day of class. “Oh, my ovaries!” she muttered before she walked off. Kenji just chuckled, looking forward to all the work he’ll be putting in.
~ ~ ~
VANCOUVER CONTINUED TO be unkind to Karen. Her prospects continued to dry up and the money that Kenji signed over buying out the portion of their house was running out. Unfortunately for Karen, she had given Brock access to the funds, and he promptly used it like it was his own. Now she didn’t even know where he was. Last she heard age had caught up and he just wasn’t attracting the calibre of divorcée or widow that could keep him in the lifestyle to which he aspired, and was working dinner theatre cruises in around the geriatric community of Victoria.
In the last month and a half since Christine’s visit, she had not been able to book an acting job. Her agent, the one who convinced her to leave her family, wasn’t even taking her calls. Alone, nearing broke, and feeling unappreciated, Karen finally began regretting her choice to leave everything behind and move to BC.
~ ~ ~
MEANWHILE IN TORONTO, wedding plans were well underway for a Christmas wedding. This was in deference to Colleen’s schedule as a teacher and would allow the family to head back with Kenji’s parents to experience New Year’s celebrations in Japan. As the date approached, Colleen’s parents and siblings arrived as well as Kenji’s parents, and surprisingly, Sam and his wife.
At Colleen’s insistence, Karen’s parents and Katherine’s family were invited to the wedding, not that Kenji thought to exclude them at all. Since her family was attending, Kenji had debated inviting his ex-wife but Margaret put that to rest at one of the planning dinners.
“Ken, I think it’d be best if you didn’t invite Karen,” his ex-mother-in-law recommended. “It would be like bringing a cop to a bush party. It’d just be a downer. That, and I don’t think things are going that well with her right now. This would just be a reminder of what she gave up.”
“But she’ll find out and freak,” Kenji protested.
“You let me handle her, OK,” Margaret offered. “And honey, she already knows, remember? She had to sign her permission for the kids to leave the country,” she reminded Kenji. “She’s just in denial. Now you be a smart boy and don’t piss off your new wife by bringing around the old one to her wedding, alright?” she smiled as she patted him on the cheek.
“Thanks, Mom,” Kenji returned her smile.
Things were awkward for a few moments after all the families got together, but once the beer, rum, and sake started flowing, everyone got along famously. The highlight of the night were the three mothers huddled together in the corner laughing up a storm. Even though Kenji’s mother’s English was a bit rusty, alcohol and good food are always good translators. His two mothers-in-law made sure they took his mother in hand, and all got on like a house on fire.
The day of the wedding came and the small group of family and friends witnessed the joining of Colleen and Kenji. Kenji’s son was his best man and his daughter was Colleen’s maid of honour. When Colleen walked down the aisle on her father’s arm Kenji’s heart skipped a beat. He felt only love for, and coming from her. He knew deep down that she was the woman he would be spending the rest of his life with.
The newly minted Suzumura family flew out on the evening of the 25th with Kenji’s parents. For the first few days, Colleen and Kenji enjoyed time alone at a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn, in the countryside with a private onsen, a natural hot spring, in their room. They enjoyed the wonderful food, the excellent hospitality, and they eased their sore bodies in the hot spring – sore from the couple’s nightly efforts to see their family grow.
Colleen was endlessly fascinated with Japan, experiencing it in the bosom of a native family. “We’re going to be coming back here often, OK Ken?” she made him promise, determining to learn Japanese so she could connect with her new in-laws and children better. The trip came to a close with tears and promises to return.
~ ~ ~
NOT MUCH CHANGED for Colleen, Kenji, and the kids, having settled into domesticity long before the wedding. Increasingly Colleen’s interactions with the children became more maternal. The first time Bradley called her “Mom”, Colleen burst into tears, confusing him.
“Am I in trouble?” he asked as his head swiveled between his father, sister, Amelia, and Colleen. Colleen gathered him into her arms and hugged him tightly.
“No honey, you’re not in trouble at all. I love you, you know?” she said to him.
“I know,” Bradley acknowledged with an embarrassed shrug. “I love you too. So, I’m not in trouble?”
The relationship between Colleen and Christine was not as clear cut. There was a mutual fondness that was growing into something deeper. Colleen was cautious of overstepping her role with the teen, while Christine was battling a feeling that she was being disloyal, despite her strained and absent relationship with her mother.
“Colleen, can we talk?” Christine asked one Sunday afternoon about two months after getting back from Japan.
“Sure sweetie. Want some tea?” she offered Christine, who nodded. Christine toyed with the handle of the mug as she screwed up the courage for the talk. Sensing that the girl needed time, Colleen stayed silent, sipping her tea.
“Do you think that I’m a good daughter?” she asked, not lifting her eyes, tears forming on her lashes.
“Oh sweetie! Of course, you are!” she reached over to place her hand on Christine’s forearm to reassure her. “Where’s this coming from Meg?” Colleen asked, having taken Kenji’s habit of calling the girl by her Japanese name. One of the corners of Christine’s lips lifted shakily at Colleen’s use of the same endearment that her father did.
“It’s just…, well…, my mother is so distant,” she paused to stifle a sob, and got herself under control before continuing. “And I…, I don’t really know where we stand, y’know?” she looked at Colleen and quirked the corner of her mouth.
“What do you mean, hon? We get along, right?” Colleen probed.
“I mean, we do,” she agreed. “And I like you. I think you like me too, right?” she asked, seeking assurance.
“Of course I do, sweetheart! I love you as if you were my own,” she confirmed.
“Then how come you don’t want to be my mom?” the girl sobbed and started crying in earnest. “I just want a mom!” Christine cried. Colleen got up quickly and knelt beside Christine’s chair, enveloping the girl in her arms, letting her cry it out. When Christine’s crying jag was reduced to sniffles, Colleen lightly cupped Christine’s chin and lifted the girl’s face gently.
“Sweetie, I didn’t know how you felt about that,” Colleen let her know. “There’s nothing more that I would like than to be your mom, if that’s OK?” Christine nodded and started crying again. Colleen, tears streaming down her face as well, embraced the girl rocking and soothing her.
Kenji chose that moment to walk into the kitchen, and witnessing the tableau before him started to move towards the women. Colleen looked up and saw him, smiled at him and shook her head. He stopped and backed out of the room, resolving to get an update later.
From that day forward, Colleen was “Mom”, a title she cherished and wished to add to in the next few years. Karen became “Mother”.
~ ~ ~
BY THE TIME Christine was well into grade ten and Bradley in grade four, Karen chose to move back to Ontario. Vancouver had not been the happy hunting ground that she had thought it was, and without Brock, Karen was quite alone. There were the occasional dates, and the odd casting couch that she had to endure, but ultimately, she was lonely. Lonely and broke.
Even living in the outer suburbs, her part-time salary from her employer in Toronto and the few gigs she could land were not covering her costs. She ended up moving back to her parent’s place in Waterloo. After fifteen years away, she landed right back at the community theatre where her plans were derailed, this time as their office manager.
Early on, Karen had entertained the notion of moving back to Toronto and taking back up with her former employer at the casting agent. Unfortunately for her, her leaving for Vancouver meant having to find someone to do her job, so Karen ended up being redundant. Unable to get her old job back she thought there might be a chance that she could get Kenji back and be a housewife and mother until she could find a new job, his new wife be damned.
Showing up, unannounced, one afternoon at her old home disabused her or that notion. It irked her that she had to ring the doorbell like a stranger to her own home. The door was opened by a tall, stunning redhead who was very obviously pregnant. Any hope that she had of reconciling with her ex-husband drained away.
“Hi there, how can I…,” Colleen started to ask before her voice trailed off and her eyes widened in recognition. “Karen, what a pleasant surprise! Why don’t you come in?”
“I don’t know… Colleen, is it? I was just hoping to see Ken and the kids.”
“Well Ken’s not here right now. Funny enough, he’s at the Waterloo office today. Why don’t you come in?” Colleen offered again.
“Well, if it’s no trouble…,” Karen was saying before being interrupted by a voice calling out from the kitchen.
“Hey, Mom! Who’s at the door?” Karen could hear Christine yell out.
“Meg, it’s your mother! Why don’t you come and sit with her for a spell! She’ll want to visit with you!” Colleen turned to yell back. She turned to face the open door once more to ask Karen in, but saw that she was already halfway down the walk, crying as she hurried toward her car. Colleen was going to go after her when she felt Christine come up behind her.
“Hey, Mom, I thought you said my mother was here,” Christine said as she stuck her head out the door to take a look.
“She was Meg, looks like she was, but she had to leave.”
“Hmmm, how come?” Christine asked.
“Lots of things changed while she was away, sweetie. She’s just trying to come to grips with it. She’ll come around,” Colleen explained as she watched Karen drive away. “Now, how about we get back to looking for those pickles to add to my ice cream?”
“Eeww, Mom! That’s just gross” Christine laughed while Colleen closed the door.
==========
ACT 4 – GRADUATION
ALMOST THREE YEARS later, the family found themselves gathered at the school’s large auditorium cum basketball court for Christine’s high school graduation. Kenji sat along the row of family with one of their two-year-old twins, Siobahn Midori, on his lap while her older brother by five minutes, James Kaito, sat on his Obaasan‘s lap. Colleen sat at the end of the row, beside Kenji, so she could get as many pictures of their new graduate.
The family cheered as Christine Megumi Suzumura went up to get her diploma; one of the other things Christine had asked the lawyer to help her with was to have her surname legally changed from Fischer to Suzumura when she turned eighteen. Christine was going to be going to university in town with her boyfriend, Jackson Chime, a nice boy who was extremely intimidated by the swords mounted on the rear wall in Kenji’s study.
Christine was going to be studying International Relations with a minor in East Asian Languages. She was planning to spend at least a year of university living with her grandparents on exchange in Japan.
Karen looked on from her seat in the row, marveling at the poised, mature, and radiant woman walking along the stage to receive her diploma. In the intervening years, Karen had re-connected with her children, proximity making it easier to visit with her children since Kenji was very liberal with visitation. Only, she was now “Mother”, Colleen assuming the mantle of “Mom”.
Karen stayed at her job at the theatre and had moved to an apartment in Kitchener. She was still landing bit parts on shows filming in and around Southwestern Ontario, aptly many times as the “neighbourhood Karen”.
As Karen watched her family interact with each other and with Christine, she was overwhelmed with pride at the woman that she had, and would, become. In that moment, she realized she had little right to be proud. While she and Brock combined to give Christine life, her own selfishness had meant that Christine became who she was despite her absence. The love, care, and attention that her parents, her sister, Amelia, her ex-in-laws, Colleen, and Kenji had shown meant that Christine had grown up to be the wonderful woman she was today. Christine would go on to do amazing things, and Karen had chosen not to have a hand in that.
A tear formed in her eye as she watched Christine throw herself at Kenji, her father, for a long and tearful hug. Karen turned and walked away knowing that Christine was no longer her daughter, that she was someone else’s daughter.
END