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Sodachi was still getting ready when she heard a knock on the door downstairs. She called out, “Can one of you get that?”
She heard footsteps running to the door. Since she didn’t have much time left, Sodachi hurried up. She raced through her makeup, then grabbed her coat and purse before heading downstairs. By the time she was on the stairs, she heard light conversation.
Once she entered into the living room, Sodachi greeted Tsukihi with a wave. “Thank you for being here…” She and Tsukihi hugged briefly, before Sodachi started explaining.
“I’ve left some money if you want to order food. If not, I have some leftovers in the fridge that you can warm up. You know the house rules already. Call me if anything happens…” She was running down her mental checklist. “If I’m out past ten, put the kids to bed for me. Don’t let them talk you into letting them stay up.”
As Tsukihi nodded, there came a cry of complaint from behind her. “Mooom…” Reiko whined. “We’re literally in middle school now. We’re teenagers. We don’t need strict bedtimes.”
Sodachi looked over Tsukihi’s shoulder. “You two are growing girls who need your sleep. You’ll thank me when you’re my age and you never get enough sleep.”
There was a silent groan of “ugh, whatever,” from the girls, but they didn’t fight their mother any further. Sodachi suspected that the minute she was out the door, they would start conspiring to ensure that their aunt would let them stay up later. That’s how it always went. Still, there was nothing she could do, especially with how little time she had left.
Sodachi pulled her phone out of her purse, then groaned. “Alright, I have to go. Have fun, kids! I’ll see you when I get home.” Or possibly in the morning, but it wouldn’t sound as good to add that.
A few more words of goodbye were traded before Sodachi had to rush out of the house.
Thankfully, her bus was on time, so Sodachi arrived at the restaurant with no delay. In fact, she was a minute or two early.
Even if she was technically early, her date had still arrived before her. She was seated in the restaurant’s reception area. She was on her phone, so she didn’t see Sodachi when she came in. Sodachi felt awkward having to catch her attention, but once she did, the woman lit up.
They had met on a dating app, but they had exchanged pictures so that they would recognize each other. They had also chatted a little to ensure that they really wanted to give things a try.
The other woman was a fair few years younger than Sodachi. The age gap wasn’t enough for Sodachi to become uncomfortable, but only barely. A decade was her limit. She liked to say that as long as they had the same first number in their age, it was fine, but in a few years, she would hit 40. She would have to find a new rule.
At least the other woman didn’t have issues with Sodachi being older. She also didn’t have issues with Sodachi having kids. Sodachi always had to clear that ahead of time, because in her dating efforts, it had been an issue far too many times. Even when she had warned her partner ahead of time, they didn’t always realize what it meant until they came home. People seemed to have a lot of expectations for what “single mother with two children” meant and when reality didn’t align with their assumptions, they got upset.
As a result, Sodachi knew to clear every possible hurdle ahead of time. It reduced her dating pool, especially among men, but she wasn’t left without options. Besides, anyone who didn’t make it to the first date under these standards wouldn’t have made it to a second date regardless. It saved her the disappointment down the road.
The two were led to their table by the waiter. As they flipped through the menu, they made small talk. It wasn’t much more than confirming things they had already said in the app. Things like their jobs, habits, and hobbies. The information was already out there, but saying it aloud again was a chance to branch off and start deeper conversations.
There was an interruption when the waiter came by to take their order. Once he left, the other woman decided it was her chance to bring up the elephant in the room.
“You mentioned you have kids, right?”
Sodachi lit up. “Oh, yes. Twins. They’re in middle school.”
The woman nodded. “Right, right. If you don’t mind me asking, their father…?”
Sodachi laughed awkwardly. “Ah, that’s a complicated story. To put it short, he’s alive and involved, but we’re not together. He has a wife and kids, so you don’t need to worry about him.” Sodachi felt that was a strange thing to say, but she knew the follow-up questions she would get, so she had learned to offer the information before it was asked.
“Ah, are you divorced, then?” The woman had an unreadable expression on her face.
“No. Like I said, it’s complicated. The easiest way to describe it would be an affair.” That was the most awkward part to bring up. There was context, yes, and Hitagi in the end didn’t hold it against her, but people heard the word affair and assumed that she would be unfaithful. “It was a mistake we both made when we were younger, but he and I paid our dues to make up for it. If it helps, his wife has played a large part in the raising of my children.”
The woman took in what Sodachi just said. She nodded, then shrugged. “Well, it’s not my place to judge. As long as you’re not unfaithful to me, it doesn’t really matter, now does it?” She laughed.
Sodachi let out a small laugh to play along. It wasn’t very funny, but she was just glad that the other woman wasn’t more judgemental.
“So is it joint custody between you and their father? Or do you have custody full time.”
“Full time. He has his own family, after all. The thought of joint custody never came up.”
“I see, I see.” The woman paused for a moment. “If they’re middle schoolers, I would imagine they’re at an age where you can put more trust in them.”
“Yes and no. They’re more trustworthy, but I worry about them a lot. If I leave them alone, who knows what kind of trouble they can get into. When they were younger, the worst worries I had were if they would hurt themselves. Now, they’re at an age where they know how to spend money.” She laughed. The other woman laughed alongside her.
“I can imagine.”
Their food arrived, which interrupted the conversation. Once the waiter left, they went back to small talk. Sodachi preferred that. There was an uncomfortable vibe to dates where her children came up too much. She rarely got a second date when that happened. Sometimes, it was her own choice.
The twins came up here and there, though. Sodachi found it difficult to talk about her life without bringing them up. Even when she tried to do things without them, they were still on her mind. When she got back from the date, she would stop being a single woman looking for a partner and would return to being a mother.
All in all, the date went well. Sodachi wasn’t sure if there would be a second date, but she hoped there would be. If they made it to a third date, Sodachi would bring her home to meet the kids. Still, she didn’t want to rush talking about that, so she avoided the subject entirely. Instead, they exchanged phone numbers, bid their farewells, and went their separate ways.
Once Sodachi was on the bus headed home, she texted Tsukihi. She wanted to know if the kids were already in bed. It wasn’t that much later than their bedtime, but really, this was a warning. If they weren’t in bed yet, it gave them time to do that before she got home.
Whether they were in bed or if they were staying up, Tsukihi told Sodachi that they were in bed. Either the girls had their agent giving Sodachi false information or she was telling the truth. It didn’t really matter one way or the other.
Finally, she got home. Tsukihi was sitting on the couch, browsing TikTok on her phone. The kids were nowhere to be seen, presumably in their room.
Tsukihi gave Sodachi the night’s report. It hadn’t been particularly notable. Tsukihi also insisted that the girls had gone to bed on time. She wasn’t a very good liar, but Sodachi still chose to believe her. The kids were in bed and that was what mattered.
Sodachi was tired from her date, so after bidding Tsukihi farewell, she undressed as quickly as she had gotten ready.
It had been a good evening. Whether or not there would be a second date, Sodachi was satisfied.