The Best Laid Plans

Chiyoko leaned over the oven, watching through a crack in the door as the top of her casserole crisped and browned. “I don’t know,” she said and closed the door again. “I don’t want it to be mushy.”

Daigo chuckled, gathering a few leather-bound books into her school bag. “It won’t be,” she promised. “At this rate, it’ll be overcooked. Now come on, let’s get it out of there before I’m late to class.” She shouldered Chiyoko out of the way—thankfully, because Chiyoko was wary of actually sticking her hands into the hot oven.

Daigo pulled the ceramic dish from the oven and set it on the stove top, grimacing at the charring around the casserole’s edges. She waved the oven mitt in the air above as though to help it cool.

“I just want it to be special, you know.” Chiyoko glided over to the coat rack by the door of Daigo’s student dorm room. She shrugged into her jacket. While the oven had made the room warm, the crisp fall air outside would make the walk back home insufferable without it. Snuggling the warm casserole to her chest would help keep the heat in too.

“Oh, it will be.” Daigo placed the oven mitt on the counter while Chiyoko returned to her side. Daigo wrapped her in a one-armed embrace, touching her temple to Chiyoko’s before motioning towards the dish. “That ought to be cool enough to carry in the blanket now.”

Nodding, Chiyoko retrieved the blanket from the nearby dining table, warmed by her best friend’s embrace more so than any jacket. She was incredibly grateful that Daigo had decided to return to Los Angeles for university after her family had moved to Japan years before. “Thank you for helping me make it.”

Taking the blanket from Chiyoko, Daigo said, “Any time.” She wrapped the casserole dish with the blanket and hefted the bundle into Chiyoko’s arms. Then she led the way over to the door, snatching her book bag off the table on her way by. “Tell me how your folks like it next time I see you.” She ushered Chiyoko through the door first and locked it behind herself.

“Of course,” Chiyoko beamed as they climbed down the stairwell side by side. The building spit them out into an alleyway behind a nearby busy street. It was a short walk towards the main campus one way and a slightly longer walk to Chiyoko’s childhood home the opposite way. “How’s Saturday?”

Daigo started towards the academic buildings and shouted over her shoulder, “Sounds perfect!”

Chiyoko waved and set a brisk pace down the sidewalk towards her family’s neighborhood. When she turned onto the block, she couldn’t help but think how she’d play with Daigo during the long hot California summers when they were younger. While she’d been homeschooled, Daigo had attended the local public school. Chiyoko used to be jealous and had never understood why she couldn’t go too. It was funny to think about now because Chiyoko wouldn’t trade home schooling with her momma for anything.

She passed by the house Daigo’s family used to live in—a young lesbian couple had seized the opportunity to move into the friendly neighborhood in their stead—and strode up the walkway to her front door. On the front porch, she struggled to get her key out of her pocket while trying not to drop the casserole. It didn’t need to be overcooked and smashed. After a few moments, she managed to unlock the door—the door is always locked policy due to her family’s background in criminal justice—and pushed her way inside.

“Happy homecoming!” She shouted. Chiyoko set the casserole on the side table near the door to lock it back up and remove her shoes and jacket.

“Thank you,” her momma, Ryunosuke, replied from the kitchen area.

Chiyoko grabbed the casserole and joined him. He gave her a hug that ended with pulling the dish out of her arms.

“I told you, you didn’t have to make anything.” Ryunosuke uncovered the dish on the counter. “We understand cooking isn’t your cup of tea.”

Chiyoko grabbed three plates out of the cupboard and moved to set the table. “I wanted this year to be special for you,” she said. “It’s been twenty-one years since you decided to make California your home after all.”

Ryunosuke grinned as he followed her over carrying the casserole. The ceramic dish now had a ladle sticking out of it. “Ah, it was quite the happy accident,” he said, “that you were born here over our vacation.”

Chiyoko retrieved cloth napkins and silverware from a kitchen drawer to finish setting the table. “What were you going to do if it hadn’t turned out this way?”

As he pulled glasses out of a cupboard, Ryunosuke said, “Why, we’d have returned to Britain, of course.” He filled each glass with seltzer water and carried them over to the table. “We were highly successful in the practice of law, me as an attorney and your father had finally become a prosecutor that he was comfortable with as himself, after his identity crisis you know.”

Laughter bubbled up Chiyoko’s throat. “Really?” she chided. “I had no idea!”

Ryunosuke joined in her laughter as Kazuma appeared from the living room.

“Honey, I’m home!” Kazuma said. He looked from Ryunosuke to Chiyoko and plastered a fake frown to his lips. “Now what’s so funny that I missed?”

“Nothing at all.” Chiyoko swept over to give her father a hug. “Happy homecoming,” she said into his ear. Then she drew away and waved her parents to the table. “Sit, sit, I will serve you.”

Ryunosuke dropped into his chair with a sigh. “There’s a treat.”

Kazuma stopped behind Ryunosuke’s chair to push him in and rub his shoulders. He kissed the top of his head. “I missed you today.”

Chiyoko spooned some casserole onto her momma’s plate.

Ryunosuke looked up at Kazuma with sparkling eyes.

She loved that, the way her parents looked at each other. Chiyoko was incredibly lucky to have grown up in such a warm, loving home. Selfishly, she was lucky to have been born in Los Angeles. Somehow, she doubted her childhood would’ve been as happy if both her parents had remained in their high powered, famous law positions back in Britain.

As Kazuma took his own seat, Chiyoko shifted to filling his plate before finally working on her own. No one touched the meal until she was able to sit down as well. Together, they clapped their hands in front of their chests and said, “Thank you for the food.”

“Now, let’s eat,” Kazuma added, scooping up his spoon and shoveling in a huge bite.

After everyone had taken a few bites, Chiyoko asked, “Do you like it?” though she was afraid of the answer. The edges of her serving were black and too crisp for a casserole while the innards remained like mush.

“It’s perfect,” Ryunosuke beamed. Which wasn’t really an answer at all.

Chiyoko laughed. “Okay! Homecoming tradition time!”

Kazuma exchanged a glance with Ryunosuke. “Ah now you hear the story every year. There’s nothing else left to tell.”

Chiyoko pouted. “That’s not true,” she said, spooning in more overcooked casserole. “You tell me different details all the time.”

Ryunosuke set his spoon down, the plate nearly empty already in front of him. It was a habit left over from being a busy man that he ate his meals quickly. “Twenty-one years ago, when we were expecting you, we both had a break between cases and so decided to travel to the United States. We had been corresponding with Mister Adwaid Mitchell of Los Angeles for sometime after he’d visited Britain.” He paused and turned to Kazuma, encouraging him to pick up the tail with slow blinking eyes.

“Huh?” Kazuma jumped with his mouthful. He hurried to swallow. “Oh, well, then we decided to take a month’s vacation so he could show us around the United States’ legal system. I was very interested in where the two differed, you see.” He shoved more food in his mouth.

“Because you really didn’t think I would be born in that month?” Chiyoko chided them.

Ryunosuke shrugged. “We weren’t entirely sure of the timing,” he said. He gave Kazuma a sideways glance. “And secretly I hoped you would.”

Kazuma grumbled around his food, “I believe it.” He swallowed and looked at Chiyoko. “After he’d moved into my terrible place in Britain, he’d been begging for a real family home.”

“No way was I raising our daughter in that bloody hole,” Ryunosuke said. “We were over at Adwaid’s home with his partner, Arata Mitsuaki, for dinner when I went into labor. Arata was a fabulous midwife.”

Eyes turned downward around the table as they all reflected on Arata’s lost life. Chiyoko never had the opportunity to meet her mother’s midwife as Arata had been murdered by a prosecutor named Duncan Chadwick a year after she’d been born. They had only recently won justice for Arata when Chiyoko had teamed up with her momma to fight against Duncan using trial evidence provided to Ryunosuke by Arata, who had been Duncan’s rival in court, shortly before his own death. Chiyoko had been told that Arata had predicted his murder using a precognition ability he’d been said to have. Regardless, Chiyoko mourned the loss of Adwaid Mitchell’s partner just as fiercely as her parents. It was as though he’d become a part of the family.

“Well, we had a discussion after that as to what was best for the family,” Kazuma said, trying to bring the light mood back. “Momma convinced me to give up our lives in Britain and move to the States permanently as it would be best for you. I told him to get established here while I returned to Britain on my own to tidy up our affairs.”

Ryunosuke finished the scraps on his plate and took a drink from his glass before speaking again. “Adwaid let me stay with them while I found us a home. He told me about this charming place in their neighborhood. We went to look at it and the property manager said I needed a job to pay the lease. Thankfully, Adwaid was able to offer me a part time position at his firm—part time because my goal was to raise you. Him and his partner helped us to move in before Father came home.”

“The end,” Kazuma threw out.

Ryunosuke playfully shoved him across the table. “I like to think of it more like the beginning,” he said with a small smile.

Chiyoko grinned.

Kazuma thrust his plate into the air. “Seconds please!”

Standing again to serve her father, Chiyoko looked toward her momma. “You?”

He shook his head. “I’m stuffed, but thanks.”

Chiyoko nodded and ladled more casserole onto her father’s plate. As she sat back down, Kazuma said, “Tell her about the restaurant,” with his mouth newly full. “This is really good.”

“He’s such a family man,” Ryunosuke chuckled, tossing his head towards Kazuma. “Early on a lot of Adwaid’s clients would comment to me that I should quit law and open one of those restaurants serving Chinese food because they wanted better access to Chinatown. I used to be offended by this because of their ignorance they didn’t know I was Japanese and not Chinese. But it is kind of funny now.”

Chiyoko gawked. “That’s horrible!” she exclaimed but both her parents were laughing so she couldn’t help but catch it too, their laughter being contagious. “But I guess it is kind of funny.”

Ryunosuke stood and started collecting their empty plates. Chiyoko joined him and gathered up their glasses. Kazuma intercepted her path to the kitchen and kissed her on the forehead.

“Thanks for dinner,” he said. “It really was special this time. I’m proud of the fine young woman you’re growing into.”

Chiyoko pushed into his arms, forcing a hug. “Any time,” she said. “Even after I move out.”

Kazuma withdrew with a big bellowing laugh. “Woah now, we both know you aren’t ready for that.”

Chiyoko nodded an agreement. “I thought maybe if I said it out loud, it’d feel right,” she said. But it didn’t. She was not ready to move out from the warm shell of her parents’ home to face the world.

Kazuma roughed up her hair. “Come now, let’s help Momma clean the dishes.”