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Aki unlocked the door to her family’s home and called out, “I’m back!” The scent of freshly cooked rice was like a warm hug after being out in the cold.
“Welcome home, Aki!” her father responded from the kitchen. The rhythmic sound of vegetables and meat being quickly stir fried and the scent of caramelized oyster sauce made Aki’s mouth water. “It wasn’t too cold outside was it?”
“Nah.” Aki hung up her scarf and coat by the door. As she fixed the collar, her fingers brushed over the enamel rose pin that Sherry had stuck through one of the buttonholes earlier that day. Pink, lavender, and blue petals supported by dark green leaves. It was so vibrant compared to her cream colored coat. The pin was so small but it may as well have been a massive neon sign, displaying her bisexuality for all to see.
With a quiet sigh, Aki unpinned the rose and carefully stored it in her coat’s breast pocket. She couldn’t risk her parents seeing it. After washing her hands and changing into sweatpants and a loose t-shirt, Aki joined her parents in the dining room.
“Could you grab the tea cups?” Setsuko asked Aki, her hands full with chopsticks and two rice bowls. Aki stacked the three porcelain cups and set one in front of each of her parents at the circular dinner table.
Stewed tomato and egg (sweet, just like her mom liked it), stir-fried green beans and beef, steamed choi sum with fried garlic, crispy pork belly, and a whole steamed black sea bass sprinkled with julienned ginger and green onions — the perfect dinner with a large pot of jasmine tea.
“Did you have fun staying over at Sherry’s last night?” Setsuko asked, carefully digging out the cheek meat of the fish and setting it on her husband’s bowl of rice.
“Oh, uh, yeah, I did,” Aki answered. “We watched a movie, had dinner, and went to a bar for a bit.” She poured some tomato and egg over her rice, picking out a large chunk of garlic.
Hideo looked at his daughter warmly. “I know it sounds silly but I felt quite emotional thinking about you having a friend you can spend time with.” Aki blushed. “You’re an adult now. My little girl is going out drinking…” He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
“Dad, it’s not that big of a deal,” Aki insisted. She picked up the tea pot and poured a cup for each of her parents, an act she would’ve considered insulting when she was a teenager.
“My only worry is whether or not you’ll ever end up having children,” Hideo continued.
Setsuko gently hit her husband on the arm. “Hey, don’t bring that up now,” she chided. “We weren’t exactly young when we had Aki. Besides, our counselor told us to not speak of that..” She turned to her daughter, giving the second cheek of the fish to Aki. “Don’t worry about getting married or having children, dear. You are your own person. You choose the speed at which you live your life.”
Aki’s heart felt fuzzy. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t heard this before. The kind and gentle words that she really needed to hear as a child, though late, made her feel safer as an adult. “I’m taking my time with dating,” Aki lied. She hadn’t introduced Sherry as her partner but she didn’t feel the need to mention it right now. “Haven’t had any guys catch my eye either.”
“Ah well, you’ll find a good man soon,” Hideo comforted. Aki made a noise of agreement while taking a bite of her rice.
“Or a good woman,” Setsuko added. “Aki is bisexual, after all.”
Aki’s eyes widened in shock and she coughed violently as rice entered the wrong pipe. “Oh my god, honey, are you alright?!” Hideo exclaimed, getting up from his seat to check on his daughter.
“I’m- cough I’m good- cough just rice,” Aki managed to say, her face beet red from embarrassment and lack of air. “How… did you two know?”
Hideo and Setsuko looked at each other and then back at their daughter. “Aki, you’re not exactly subtle about who you like,” Setsuko explained with a shrug. “You should’ve seen the googly eyes you had for Yusei a few years ago. It was adorable.”
“Augh, don’t remind me,” Aki groaned, covering her face with her hands.
“And now you have the same googly eyes for Sherry.” The helpful addition from Hideo only made Aki even more embarrassed. “Ahh, it’s so similar to how I gazed at your mother-”
“Let’s just eat dinner already!”