CH 26

Apron Pockets

“Chinatsu, do you want to eat with us tonight?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ll make it all together.”

“Um, I was hoping you could teach me how to cook…”

I seemed to remember that we had made such a promise.

Could it be that she wanted someone to feed her a home-cooked meal?

“Boyfriend?”

“…No! I want to make this for my parents.”

“Why?”

“…I’ve never fed them before, and my dad’s been very insistent that he try my hand’s cooking for once.”

I see, it was a part of her filial piety.

I felt really bad because I made fun of her for guessing wrongly.

And since it was about her parents, she was very careful to whisper away from Saki so that she wouldn’t hear.

(When I first came here, I thought, “What’s this guy with?” but actually, Chinatsu is a very nice person.)

“Hmm, well, do you want to make hamburgers with me?”

“Mom and Dad like fish.”

“Like teriyaki yellowtail?”

“Would I be able to make that?”

“Well, we’ll just buy the fillets and toss them with the sauce, and I think we’ll be fine.”

“I’d like to learn at least one more dish.”

“How about meat and potatoes?”

“Do you think that would be easy?”

“Except for the seasoning, it’s just chopping and boiling.”

“I’m in!”

How was it made? I don’t know if I’ve ever put that much thought into cooking.

“Saki, do you want to have fish for dinner?”

“More fish? Omlette?”

“But you had an omelette for lunch.”

Saki kept looking at herself in front of the mirror on the side of the closet, as if she liked the makeup that Chinatsu had done for her.

I mean, why did she like omlette so much? Was it because it was with the children’s menu in the family restaurant?

If so, I would have to take her back sometime.

I suppose I could make an imitation at home, but I’m sure she’d be more than happy with the real thing anyway.

I asked Saki again, and she said fish would be fine for dinner, so Chinatsu and I went to the kitchen.

“Yes, I’ll do it… I can do it!”

“No, Chinatsu, it’s just chopping vegetables, you don’t have to be so enthusiastic.”

I was afraid because her hand was shaking so much while holding the knife.

I thought it would be okay to teach her how to cook instead of her teaching me makeup, but this might be harder than I thought.

But while I was working, Chinatsu took care of Saki for a long time, and I wanted to repay her.

And even though she was on paid vacation today, she came all the way to my house to check on me because she was worried about me.

So, as a thank you, I would teach her how to cook and send her back home.

As I was swearing such determination, Chinatsu took out one thing after another from her light blue apron pocket.

“Uh, Chinatsu?”

“……..”

Huh? I couldn’t hear her at all.

By the way, I heard that the apron was like a uniform they used at the nursery school, but they wore it even when they were on vacation.

Maybe it had a calming effect on the mind?

“It’s okay, Chinatsu. There are band-aids in case you need them, and juice in a carton if you get thirsty.

There’s also a phone to call an ambulance, candy to calm your mind, and chocolate if you need sugar…”

Yeah, this was not calm at all, and the way she was pulling things out of her pockets one after another made me want to say that she was some kind of cat robot.

What should I do? As I was thinking about this, the doorbell that rang during the day announced the sound of a visitor again.

“Hi, it’s Yuki. I bought some really good meat. We’re having yakiniku today!”

I was just about to teach Chinatsu how to cook, when this black gal showed up at the most inopportune time.

I thought about ignoring her and using the answering machine, but my little angel reacted to her voice.

“Sofu-chou!”

“It’s Yuki. Saki, it’s yakiniku.”

“Yakiniku!”

“That’s right. Open the door.”

Chinatsu, still trembling with her knife in front of the potatoes on the cutting board, made it look like it was going to be grilled meat today.

1“Sofu-choyaki nikyu!”

Saki, I don’t think it would taste good if you poured soft ice cream over barbecued meat.

A combination of the romaji of soft-serve and yakiniku (grilled meat.)