Empress Visit
Around seven in the morning, Mai’s phone buzzed on her nightstand. She mumbled
as she reached for her phone.
“Hello?” she asked. The person on the other line didn’t have to say much before
the woman fully woke up.
“Mom?” she asked. Nikita lifted his head beside her.
“Huh?” he asked. He peeked up to see his wife looking so pale.
“How did you--?” his wife began to ask. “Oh. Oh. But…
Oh.” Her husband tilted his head. What the
hell?
“Who is it?” Nikita mouthed. Mai waved him off.
“When?” she asked in a shaking voice. “What? You’re going to here when? What?”
The woman looked so grim.
“Oh… Okay…” she said. “Goodbye, I guess.” Mai lowered the phone and turned to
her husband. He laid there, staring up at her.
“Oh,” she said. “You’re really awake.”
“Who was that?” Nikita asked. Mai lowered her phone and sighed.
“My mother,” she said, looking away. Her husband sat up with is eyebrow raised.
“Your what?” he asked. Mai rubbed her forehead and sighed.
“Takako must have told her about you and me,” she said. The woman climbed out of
bed. Nikita blinked for a moment.
“So… Is she coming for a visit?” he asked.
“Yes!” Mai said.
“Oh…” Nikita said.
“I don’t believe this. I don’t believe this,” she said repeatedly. The wife
walked around as she said this. Her husband frowned.
“That bad, huh?” he asked.
“Yes!” she said. Mai sat down on the bed and groaned.
“Oh my god…” she said with her hands over her face. Nikita put his hand on her
shoulders.
“There, there,” he said. “I’m here for you. We can get through this together.
How bad can she be?” Mai turned to him frowning.
-----------
Mai’s mother was coming to the house by noon. The couple sat at the dining room
table.
“Takako is picking her up from the airport,” Mai said, staring at the front
door.
“She’s still around?” Nikita asked.
“Yeah,” she said. The man frowned and puffed up his cheeks.
“Is your mom really that bad?” he asked. Mai slowly nodded. Her husband held her
hand.
“I’m here for you,” he said. His wife turned to him with a look of pity in her
eyes.
“What’s the matter?” he asked. Mai was about to open her mouth when she heard
the doorbell ring. She jerked her head to the door.
“It’s her!” she yelped.
“How?” Nikita asked. “It’s not even 11:30 yet.” Mai lifted her chin.
“She always comes early,” she said in a whisper. The doorbell rang again. The
couple looked at each other. There was no way out this.
“I’ll get it,” Nikita said. His wife’s face turned pale.
“No, don’t!” she said. She tried to grab his wrist, but Nikita already got up
and was walking up to the front door. He looked out the peep hole.
“Who is it?” he asked. A woman speaking Japanese answered.
“It’s us,” Takako said. Nikita rolled his.
Might as well get this over with,
he thought. The man unlocked the door and opened it wide. As expected, Takako
stood in front of him, frowning. Did she ever smile in her life? He had to
wonder about that.
“Hello, Takako,” Nikita said. His sister-in-law glared at him. The man tried to
stay pleasant.
“I’m doing fine, thank you,” he muttered to himself. That’s when Nikita turned
his head. His jaw dropped. Next to Takako was a shorted woman with large
breasts. She had a mole until right eyes. Despite the wrinkles, she looked young
in the face. Her dark purple kimono made her look like a rich foreigner. The
woman looked up at him.
“Are you Nikita?” she asked in her best attempt at Russian.
“Damn!” Nikita said at last. Takako rolled her eyes. Back at the table, she
rubbed her forehead and breathed hard. She could already see what was coming
next. The woman at the door put her hands on her hips.
“Well are you going to let us in or are we just going to be standing around all
day?” she asked. Nikita blinked at first.
“Huh? Oh! Yeah, yeah, yeah!” he said. “Right this way, ladies.” The Russian man
moved aside to let the guests into the house. Takako and her mother followed him
inside.