Kaitlin Reinhardt had ventured out several days after she visited Michael at work, and he took her to the Fish Shack for a very nice lunch. Michael had to go back to work afterwards, and so Kaitlin had cut her visit short, feeling a little ... funny ... about being out on her own.
Of course she had been out on her own before. Heinrich had not made her a prisoner. But she had been very nervous and always went to where she was headed to do whatever chore she had and then quickly back home. The streets were dangerous, her husband had insisted.
But now Heinrich was dead and she could move wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted. In Alexandra, she had gone to the grocery and had not even been afraid when the nice young police chief has offered to help her home with her bags. Nor another time, when she'd gone on an adventure to the coffee house with the scandalous name Perkatory. She'd spoken to a lovely black woman from Trinidad, who did not mind talking to her about black people. Much of what Heinrich had told her had been so wrong, she found out. And then, she had not been afraid when a young man named Gareth had walked her until she was almost back to John's house.
Now she was in Cedar Point with Michael. Not as isolated as Alexandra, but ... her son was a police officer .. so she shouldn't be nervous about any of it. But she was. Soon she would be meeting Stephanie's family. Her mother and father and maybe even the other brother, Garrett. And before she did, she wanted to NOT embarrass Michael by asking the wrong questions about Asians. Or embarrass herself either.
The nice man, Yuki, at the Fish Shack had been very kind. She hoped she could speak to him and have him not get angry at her for being stupid.
But the shack was always very busy and going out after dark was still scary for her. She had gone to look every day since Michael had taken her, but there were always so many people, she had chickened out and gone to quieter places to calm herself. The only places she had not gone to were the sushi place and the Chinese place.
Now she stood beside the benches within site of the fish shack, looking at a morning crowd and wishing she could be braver, walk up and ask Yuki questions.
Yuki Tanaka was about to do something momentous and take a day off. He had been training a young man named Dane who could cover for him. Dane was proving to be absolutely great at the job. Yuki exited the shack and backed away joking with him "You sure you got this.....I've got my cell on me....don't burn the place down now or we'll have to cook outside like hobos...." He puts his phone in his back pocket and turned seeing Kaitlin standing by the benches. Yuki waved "Good Morning Kaitlin. Are you back for more halibut? Dane's figured it out, I promise. I'm off duty today."
Kaitlin jumped as if five spotlights had caught her in the act of spying. "No!" she exclaims and then makes herself relax. "I was ... looking for you," she confesses. "You're so kind. I was hoping I could ask you some questions. You see ... I ... oh ... I'm a bit foolish ... and I was hoping you could help me not to embarrass Michael when I meet Stephanie's family. I would hate to mess things up." already she is wringing her hands.
Yuki looks surprised by this at first but then seeing her so distraught he's overcome with kindness. Clearly this woman just loved her son to bits like he loved his own grown kids. Whatever it was, surely he could try to help. He gently puts a hand on her shoulder "I don't think you would, but if you need to talk about it, come for a cup of coffee with me? I was just heading to the Dandelion."
Kaitlin looks almost physically relieved at the news. "Oh I might. I'm not very smart." she contradicts him and then quickly adds. "I'm sorry." his hand on her shoulder calms her a little. "But Michael loves her and .. he hasn't had much happiness and ... yes. Please. Coffee. I like the Dandelion. So bright and cheerful." she agrees.
Yuki looks saddened by her saying she's not very smart but doesn't quite know how to counter it so he just smiles and starts walking with her to coffee "So how do you like this town of ours so far?" The snow has melted into a perpetual state of bone chilling misty rain "We do eventually see the sun." He jokes.
Kaitlin can't quite figure out the sad look, but she smiles when he mentions the town and its weather. "Oh, I DO like it here." she admits. "Michael has offered me his apartment to live in, and I might just take him up on it." she looks up. "Oh well ... I am a little fair skinned. Too much sun and I burst into flames almost." she seems very carefree. "Stephanie told me a little bout the town. That's really how I learned about your place. And you were so kind. I should spend my time around kind people now that Heinrich is dead." she seems to realize something. "You don't mind, I hope?"
Yuki shakes his head and looks like he thinks he knows what she means "I'm sorry for your loss Kaitlin. I'm a widower too. It can be lonely and confusing at first. The mourning ....well it never stops...but it gets easier." He gestures to the crosswalk as he sees the cars clear "We're good now. So you don't mind the noise over that bar?" He asks with a little smile like he's trying to lighten the intensity. As they reach the door to the bakery, he opens it and holds it for her.
Kaitlin enjoys the short walk. "Well, I am a little lonely and confused, but ....." she crosses the street and sighs, looking at the bakery. "I don't know if you know anything about Michael's father, but ... our mourning ... is a bit ... different .. than most." she speaks carefully which, being married to Heinrich, she is an expert at. She looks around at the brightly colored walls, clearly delighted with bright colors and Dandelion is probably the brightest place in town.
Yuki stands with her in the short line for coffee "No, just that he passed. Was he sick for a long time? Rei was sudden. I'm told that's supposed to be worse but I think watching her suffer over months would have killed me with her." They get shuffled to the front and he stops talking about it with a small gulp and then smiles at the clerk like he does with his own customers "Hi Tara. I'll take a latte and a blueberry muffin....and..." He looks at Kaitlin "I've got the lovely lady's order too." The teen girl looks towards Kaitlin with a friendly smile. It's a friendly town after all.
Katlin stands in line and nods at his story. But she doesn't reply until she also orders. "Oh thank you, Yuki. A latte and ..." she seems a little overwhelmed, even thought the selection isn't all that large. "I'll just have what he'shaving." and then she bites her lip. "No." she proclaims. "I will have the strawberry granola muffin, instead." she proclaims as if its a great step forward. She smiles brightly at the girl and, when she gets her order is ready to sit. "Heinrich got into an argument and then a heart attack, so yes. It was very quick." she looks down into her coffee. "I ... try and be sad." she murmurs to the steam.
Yuki looks sympathetically at Kaitlin as he settles in and stirs sugar into his cup. Poor woman's probably getting her words mixed up. Grief was horrible. He sighs at her and says encouragingly "You're doing amazing considering. A week or two in I just wanted to crawl inside a bottle of Saki and drown myself." He looks out the window "This place helps. Everyone looks out for each other here Kaitlin. You chose the right spot."
Kaitlin brightens again. "Oh ... I went home, cleaned the house and put it on the market and went to tell my boys." she tells him. "John thought I'd thrown Heinrich out. That's been something the boys hoped for for years. And Michael ... at first all he could do was laugh." she sighs and blows on her coffee. "But considering their relationship, I can't blame him. But things DID get better once Michael became a police officer." she smiles and looks out of the window. "It IS wonderful here." she agrees.
Yuki stops mid sip as his eyes go wide. Her story was clearly very different than what he'd been through and now his sympathy shifted to what she might have been through before the man died. She seemed so sweet. He frowned "It sounds like he wasn't very nice. I'm sorry you had to live that. So you have the two sons? Michael and John?"
Kaitlin had delivered her story with a matter-of-factness that may have even been alarming. She sips her coffee and nods in agreement. "That is ...less than right ... on a good day he was not very nice. He was wonderful before we got married ... and then things changed." she sighs. "It was my life. I had no choice but to live it." Yuki mentioning her sons causes Kaitlin to brighten. "Yes. John was first. And then a dozen years later ... Michael!" she giggles. "A real Christmas surprise." she carefully removed the muffin top from the bottom, then divides the bottom into four pieces. "Were you happy with your wife? I mean ... it seems like you were. She must have been a much better wife than I was, but I don't thin that's very hard." again she is very matter of fact, but cheerful, as if simply stating facts like her son is tall and she is short.
Yuki listened looking sad for her again, for different reasons. He smiles knowingly about her gushing about her kids and then nods ruefully "Yeah, Rei and I were very happy...." He frowns again and then counters her negative self talk "Kaitlin, just because he was unkind, doesn't mean you deserved any of it. I'm sure you were a wonderful wife. He just wasn't a good husband, or a good person."
Kaitlin smiles and then considers. "You know, my boys always said that, too. But ... I was very young when I got married and ... everything I learned, I learned from Heinrich." she eats some of her muffin and swallows. "He ... kept me very close to him. But now ... I am learning that not everything he told me was right." she sips her coffee and looks at him. "Did you know not every person of African descent knows voodoo?" she asks, amazed. "I didn't know that until I talked to this darling Trinidad girl in Alexandra, where John lives." she sighs. "See, that is why I wanted to talk to you ... not about Trinidad people but about Japanese people. I'm afraid Heinrich let his hate ... well .. I don't think I know as much about the Japanese as I thought I did." she admits with a sigh. No wonder she feels like an idiot. It was like she'd learned from a haters point of view and knew almost no truths.
Yuki smiles at her and then has to give a little chuckle about the voodoo. He doesn't do it in a condescending way, but more in spite of the situation. He nods after with a sigh "So he was a racist too? Shit.....well what did he tell you about the Japanese? We're all spies...we're here to take your jobs?" He grins impishly to show he's facing it with humour and open to talking about it. He eats part of his blueberry muffin while he waits for her to reply.
Kaitlin nods, slowly. "Yes. But .. well you remember when I mentioned Mako? Like ... I loved him in M*A*S*H, but I never knew what kind of Asian he was?" she says it as if Asians are like ice cream and come in many flavors. "Now it was the Vietnam was, but he played others too. But clearly you don't all look alike. What kind of Asian was Mako?" she covers her mouth actually listening to herself. "See." she blinks and looks sad. "I can't embarrass Michael like this."
Yuki smirks and pats her on the back "It's OK Kaitlin. I've got a great answer for you about Mako. He was the best kind of Asian, he was Japanese." He snorts a bit "Don't say the first part in front of the Chen's though. They're Chinese. I think it would be more offensive if you didn't want to figure it all out. Do you have a computer? You could do some research if it makes you feel better. There are some common ties between Chinese, Japanese and Korean history, but then of course like every other place there were wars. I never finished high school so I'm not the smartest guy to ask about it all but I've read a few books and I listened when my parents told me and when Rei told it all to our kids. She knew a lot more because she went on to university. My Dad was a fisherman so it wasn't really an option. I just had to get off my ass and work as soon as I could. My father didn't trust white people after the interment camps. That part I get because it was horrible, but it was ALL white people. You probably met Nick, Michael's boss? He and Hiroshi and I grew up together s best friends. Hell we still are. We got in a lot of trouble together when we were young guys and my Dad always assumed it was Nick's fault. Token white guy..." He laughs "No offence. Nick took a fair bit of telling off from my Dad and never spoke back with anything but politeness so eventually my Dad softened on him and they got along. "He still called him the Token white guy until he died though."
Kaitlin nods and even smiles at the reply. "Michael and John got me a laptop. AND a phone that seems to do the same things the laptop does but it makes calls too." for her this is the height of technology. "I want to high school and graduated. Then became a secretary. Of course, I stopped when I got married." she smiles a bit about the whole token white thing. "I like Nick. And I am not a token white guy so I am not offended." she giggles. "I asked Heinrich why he married me once. And he told me it was because I was a nice demure Irish woman who wouldn't argue with him because I knew he knew better than I did." she sighs. "But my mother was also a housewife and ... the whole thing was about getting me a husband. Now I don't know how to do very much, but I am determined to learn." she nods. "Oh and I think its wonderful you being friends with white people. Some are awful. Heinrich was hoping that once that Trump man got rid of the Muslims and Mexicans ... well ... he had a list and hopes it would all filter up here." she blows out a breath. "These last weeks, I have been feeling .. like I am floating. Like .... like if you took one of those boats and cut its lines ... I'm not tied up anymore ..but I don't know how to be ... Kaitlin." she blows out a breath. "I wish I could make myself understood."
Yuki looks thoughtful "I've never been in your situation but I can imagine how confusing it would be. And I think we all do what we think is expected of us and learn later, for better or worse. I mean I made my parents happy by marrying a woman who was descended from Japanese parents too so there you go. Luckily I loved Rei but I know lots of Japanese people who married for a sense of duty...or even had an arranged marriage. We even gave our kids Japanese names to carry on traditions, Yoshi and Izumi. That's one Hiro and Sakura were more forward thinking with their kids. I mean not that there's anything wrong with carrying on names. And clearly your husband didn't know better and forgot to stereotype the Irish." He laughs "Are you all bad tempered alcoholics? You know I'm joking...." He takes a long sip of his latte and then unconscious pulls foam off his top lip with his bottom "You're all teched out and you're living in a very multicultural town. It won't take long. You can sail that boat Kaitlin, it doesn't have to drift."
Kaitlin nods. "Well .. I told you .. Heinrich wanted German names for the boys, but I thought Reinhardt was all the German they needed." she huffs and then giggles. "I don't get drunk, but I am a redhead. I used to be fiery, but ..." she offers a slightly shaky smile. "When you are small and your husband is large ... I was more like a flying redhead when I'd try and protect the boys." she knows she is bringing the conversation down so she tries to bring it back up. "I like it here. And I can go between here and Alexandra. Maybe even ON a boat sometime. Can you imagine ME? Driving a BOAT?"
Yuki has to close his eyes at the thought of a large angry man hitting this sweet little lady. He didn't have a violent bone in his body himself and the idea was beyond abhorrent, double the horror in his mind that he would have hurt their children. He had never laid a land on either of his in anger and neither had his wife. Without even thinking he reaches out and takes Kaitlin's hand and squeezes it in his own after he opens his eyes, with a look of pure anguish. Realizing immediately after that he may be pushing a boundary with her he also lets go quickly after and then grins at her "Have you ever sailed? I could teach you. But it might not be wise to sail my boat quite that far. It's little and if the wake of the waves is big we might have to swim partway."
Kaitlin is very touched by the hand holding and in a way misses it when it goes away, because she'd not had a friend of any gender really for more than 40 years. But she also notes the look in his eyes. Her sons often had it, but then they would get angry at their father. But she responds to the grin. "Never." she replies, happily. "I've been on a ferry but ...OH! If you could teach me, that would be wonderful. Of course I would pay you for the lessons. Your boat wouldn't reach Alexandra? Oh, that's alright. There's always the ferry." she smiles. "Is it one of those Japanese fishing boats? They're so pretty." she drops her jaw. "Oh I did it again didn't I?" she anxiously picks at more of her muffin.
Yuki holds up his hands "I refuse to be paid for something I do as a hobby. If I was a better sailor I might charge you but I'm a self taught hack. I wish it was a pretty boat." He laughs "It's the ugliest one at the docks but it was free and it doesn't leak. So if you can stand to be seen in a junker, you're on. Can you swim?.....I mean just in case..." He asks sheepishly.
Kaitlin nods and seems to consider. "Alright, but I insist on making ginger tea for our lessons so we don't get cold on the water. Fair trade." then she nods. "I learned to about ten years ago. Michael had gone off to collage and Heinrich said I was getting fat, so I learned to swim, which helped." she is in good shape for her age.
Yuki nods about the ginger tea "Alright, tea I can accept." He shakes his head about her husband "Clearly he didn't learn the list of things you're never supposed to say to your wife. I can't imagine you were." He looks her over and up and down and then realizes what he's doing and blushes and laughs "Sorry....that wasn't OK either. This is why I have more male friends....."
Kaitlin smiles. Fair trade, indeed. She giggles a little. "No, that was fun! No other man ever looked at me before. Besides you are my friend, right?" she finishes the bottom of her muffin and grins, happy to have a friend.
Yuki laughs at himself and nods "I'm glad you have a sense of humour about it. And yeah, I'd be honoured to be...... fellow sailor. Do you feel more ready to meet Hiro and Sakura? They also have a sense of humour so don't feel like you have to make a perfect impression. I mean your son fell through their patio window at Christmas..." He can't get through the sentence without laughing really hard but finally gets out "And they STILL want to meet you..."
Kaitlin nods. "A bit yes." Yuki continues and she can't help but laugh. "Well, I won't go through their window. That's unladylike." she giggles. "But some. Yes. I know Michael loves Stephanie and her son. And if she knows about his father." she sighs. "My sons deserve happiness and Michael is so late coming into his own ... I know it can't be perfect, but I want it as close as possible." she considers and then happens upon another scary thought. "I can't eat with those sticks!" her eyes grow wide.
Yuki looks reassuring "We're actually all born in Canada Kaitlin, so we don't always use the sticks. I mean for traditional foods yes. If you go to the restaurant they'll offer them to you there especially. But last time I had dinner with Hiro and Sakura at their place, we made tacos." He grins "But I can give you some tips on chopsticks. It doesn't take long to get the hang of it."
Kaitlin looks fascinated. "Tacos......" as if she is trying to imagine someone eating them with 'those sticks'. But he does reassure her. "I can try." she bites her lip. I've never had Japanese food. Mostly it was German or Irish ... burgers." she makes air quotes. "Normal food." she blows out a breath. "Whatever that means." she eats a bit of her muffin top. and murmurs softly, although Yuki may hear you. "Goddamn you, Heinrich Reinhardt."
Yuki realizes what a kept woman she's truly been. Sushi was almost fast food now. You could get it at food courts in malls and in the take out fridges at supermarkets. It was barely what you'd call ethnic anymore. He nods at her "Well that's another part of life you get to explore now, the food of other cultures. There's a lot of food in the world, a lot of good food. Have you had Chinese food? The Lucky in town's pretty good for Northern Chinese."
Kaitlin sighs, but also shakes her head. "No. Nothing like that. It wasn't trusted. Nothing .. foreign." she looks at him, as if really seeing things. "How can it not be ethnic if we'r not in Germany and Ireland and ... My goodness." she covers her mouth. "I'm like a little child." she bites her lip. "Thank you for being a friend. I think I'm going to need one." she smiles, a little anxiously. "Is Chinese food good? Oh I'm sure it is. Whats the difference between Northern and Southern Chinese?" she holds up a finger. "More for me to research. I haven't had much time, but my granddaughter and her friends suggested I look at that Your Tube place for videos of everything."
Yuki looks very patient about it all. It wasn't her fault after all from the sounds of it all. "Do you get married right out of your parents place? And yeah, Chinese food is pretty tasty I think. There's some variation in the dishes between the north and the south. I'm sure Ireland's the same way with stuff like that. The soy sauce is different than Japanese soy sauce, just a little too. You should walk around town and grab the take out menus. Most places deliver even, cept me because I don't drive..." He laughs "Don't even have a licence. We've got a bus station anyway that takes me to the sky train and all the city routes, sea bus..." He shrugs. "and YouTube....well you can get sucked in..." He grins.
Kaitlin blushes. "Our town was very small. I always thought if it as a fairy glen. So the restaurants and pubs were all local fare. When I graduated the high school, I got a job locally." she sighs. "But you're right. I need to do that and experiment. I've just been cooking for myself." she smiles. "I don't drive, either!" for her it is a pleasant common thread. "After Heinrich died the hotel and hospital helped me get back home. I took a cab back to the house and one of Heinrich's friends helped me get the house ready. And then he helped me get to Alexandra. He gave me very specific directions and I followed them and it worked." she nods and corrects herself. "YouTube. Yes." she pops in another piece of muffin top. After she swallows she says. "I feel like I just woke up."
Yuki smiles at her "It sounds like you did. Listen, I could give you my cell number...if you want that? You can call me with questions or if you need help with anything. I work most days but not everyday so that way you can track me down. But no pressure on that. It'll be good to meet Sakura too. She's a good person to befriend, not that Hiro isn't. He's the best of them, but if you want to chat with someone...you know...female too. Rei was her best friend growing up and Hiro was, and is one of mine, so we're almost family. You don't have to be self conscious around them. They're really nice people Kaitlin. Your son made a good choice falling for Steph." He pulls out his phone, ready to exchange info with her if she wishes for that.
Kaitlin nods and begins searching her purse. "Please. Michael says text so if he is busy I don't interrupt him. And I know you're busy so yes ... same for you I would imagine." she fins her phone. "I do feel much better about it. I am hoping Michael just ... out and told them how hard it's been for me. He doesn't like to talk about his father ... maybe even to help me."
Yuki opens up his contact and thinks and then says "Do you want me to tell them in case he doesn't? Steph might have already. It's a close family." He watches her for when she's ready to type his info and will take hers too if she offers.
Kaitlin looks very relieved. "Oh yes please." she nods. "And .... my number is ... oh .. here it is ..." she gets ready to exchange.
Yuki trades info with her and then slides his phone back in his pocket "I'm glad you came to ask me questions. And there are no dumb questions OK? You got a bum deal is all. But it's going to get better."
Kaitlin smiles. "So am I, Yuki. Thank you." she nods at being told there no dumb questions. "I hope so. I really hope so. My boys are very patient with me ... but they often get mad at Heinrich, which makes sense. I know I was isolated. And they couldn't help me. But I'm free now ... and I have to learn to take care of myself."
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