Chapter Two - "Escape"

The Chikamori Legacy
Chapter Two: "Escape"

Two Weeks Later

Haruo had a grand total of §1,800,200.00 in his bank account after making some preliminary gemstone sales which came from pure dumb luck, that was after leaving his father §225,000 to survive on and frankly, that would be enough to take care of Grandma and himself and Mother if she was still going to be around with Yasunobu after he went ballistic on her for having chased Haruo out of the family home. It was enough to allow Haruo to figure out a plan of action to make a decent amount of money. It appeared that with his mother’s ghost on his heels, he chose to run as far as he could, potentially banking on an idea of becoming a gem merchant. Haruo’s mother had done her best to emotionally break Haruo as much as possible. Weeping psychological wounds on his person and not feeling as if he was capable of doing anything worthwhile, his self-esteem was at its nadir. So instead of staying and dealing with the ever-present sense of inadequacy, Haruo chose to run away and find himself some peace whilst remaining damaged. It wasn’t a pathway to healing, that much was certain.

Cape Garner Islands was a system of islands in the Juan de Fuca strait staring straight at Texada Island. It was quite a ways up from the Lower Mainland. It was northwest of Sechelt and Haruo felt a sense of peace for the first time in his life when he set foot on the island. His first plan of action was to get himself a place to live. With the kind of money he had at his disposal, he would have no problems in finding a place to set up himself on the island.

A quick call to the real estate agent got him started at looking at homes on Cape Garner.

If one wasn’t prone to sea-sickness, one could get started in a floating home. Haruo wasn’t sure that living in a houseboat was such a wise idea when the seas got rocky in winter-time. Then sleep would be impossible.

Another home that was suitable was a multi-storey country home. For a small family, it was nice and close to town; something Haruo didn’t want as he was looking for something much more private.

In the end, Haruo settled for a half-million simoleon home that was upscale and suitable for someone who had seven figures in his bank account.

It also came with a nice vehicle as Haruo had sold his pickup while he was still on the Lower Mainland and was now essentially vehicle-less. The color though was a horrid green. When he was finished the house tour, he wrote up a contract and was soon the proud owner of 20 Channel View Bluff. In quick order, he’d sold the SUV that came with the house for §85,000.00 recouping back 16.35% of what he’d spent on the house, which went back out in short order as he bought himself a Mercedes. Finally getting a chance to sit down in his newly furnished house, he took a deep sigh of relief.

But was this peace? And would he find it?

He took a brief moment to dash off an e-mail to his grandmother (who surprisingly was quite the technophile and quite savvy about computers for someone who was born in 1892 and was now 96 years old), he did let her know where he was and that he was settling into his house.

The house came with a baby grand piano, a six-footer. And Haruo went downstairs to practice piano which perversely offered some sort of comfort. It was his refuge when his mother decided to be a complete and utter spiteful witch. At least when he was practicing six hours a day, he was free from his mother’s kvetching about inconsequentials. J.S. Bach’s English Suites were a great disincentive for Mayumi to come annoy him. On one hand, practicing for six hours a day was probably one of the more boring things that non-musicians could think of; on the other hand, Mayumi couldn’t complain because her son was doing what was expected of him.

Now, with the background of an empty house, other than furniture, a tranquil place of solitude, he could lose himself in the music. The technical intricacies of Bach astounded many a listener, but to really get into the nuts and bolts of the music was a task known only to musicians. The notes of the book on the music rest on top of the grand piano were seen through Haruo’s eyes, understood by the brain, the fire flowing through his synapses from his brain to his fingertips, tranformed with Haruo’s light touch on the keyboard into audible sound. Bach...Glorious Bach. Letting the music flow through him, soothing Haruo and allowing him to lose himself to the auditory magnificence of the Great Master. It was just him and Johann Sebastian locked in an embrace of talent and desire for release from the tension that had plagued Haruo for the past eighteen years.

But music only soothes so far. And eventually, Haruo’s brain and fingers got tired. Going upstairs to his room, he conjured at the Lord Vladimir’s Conjuring Cauldron, which gave him a Sunstone, a Fluorite and a Quartz stone.

He decided to take a nap and when he was refreshed enough, it seemed that the best option would be to go out and eat. The kitchen that he had was quite nice, however, he’d left his cooking books back in Vancouver and he was loathe to make a trek back to go get them. It would mean running into River and that was yet another bridge he wasn’t ready to cross.

But what was Haruo to do with his newfound freedom and an enormous house that he had all to himself. He had no idea yet, but he was going to enjoy himself. Maybe take up photography and music collecting. Despite the joy that he felt in the newfound refuge of the island that he had moved to, there was still his mother’s endless recriminations ringing in his ears – you’re not capable, if you had freedom you wouldn’t know what to do with it. You were meant to be controlled and you’ll amount to nothing if you ever slip my leash. You’re a failure. Distance would never silence his mother. Because he carried her in his head.

Perhaps he needed to go to the bookstore and find some therapy books and while he was there he should also get some cooking books and perhaps a few recipes when he got up. He was more tired than he thought from all that travel and ended up asleep till around 2:35 in the afternoon.

Maybe I need to run over to the consignment shop and drop off those gemstones. I really should cut them into large spires. And maybe the quartz should be a skull to maximize profits. It was making certain that he thought about what cuts would bring him in the most money that would enable him to get to the stage where he wanted to get to.

One of the things he needed to do was to make some money. Sure, consignment of gemstones was alright, but where was he going to stick that money he earned. He would check and see what his twice-a-week bill payments were like on this half-million simoleon house then decide where to stick his money into investments. Maybe mutual funds, or maybe some fixed-income funds. He could get 7.21% out of a 30% Equity/70% Fixed Income Monthly Income Plan which would generate enough income to get by.

When Haruo managed to get out of the house, he headed first to the consignment store, where he dropped off the cuts that he’d managed to do with the expensive gemcutter. Discussing numbers with the clerk was clearly a definitive win as Haruo managed to get a good cut of his earnings back with the store only taking a small percentage of fee to cover the costs of consignment. This meant that he would have enough money to start investing. Having talked with a financial advisor, there was the distinct possibility of returns of up to 7.5%, he decided to invest with Fidelity. He would get a weekly amount of §5,407.50 which was quite considerable for the amount he’d decided to invest which was $1,200,000 leaving him only §296,074.00 to work with in his personal account. Everything else was being thrown into investments.

He also dropped by the bookstore and bought almost §4,000.00 worth of books which would keep him quite busy, if he ever got a chance to read them considering that he had a daily task of going hunting in the mornings and rustling up harvestables. The bookstore, for a small family-run shop had a rather sizable selection of tomes. And the owner said, that as the only game in town for books, he had to make sure that he brought in the latest publications and novels as well as anything literary of interest to the community.

When he was done at the bookstore, he headed to the diner next door as he was getting rather peckish and the hunger was starting to knot his stomach. There was quite a decent menu selection at the diner and Haruo was hard-pressed to figure out what he really wanted to eat. He just settled for a hamburger and a side order of fries. At least it would keep him going for what he had to do next.

After stepping out of the diner, he looked in his pocket to see a rather disheveled rainbow butterfly sticking its feelers out rather forlornly. That poor insect had come all the way from Vancouver and was still in Haruo’s pocket. He’d never gotten a chance to drop it off at the Vancouver Science World for the scientists there. “I guess I’m going to have to take you to the local science center and deposit you off. I don’t think you’re liking hanging out in my pocket.”

It wasn’t certain if the rainbow butterfly understood him, but it hopped out onto the dash of Haruo’s Mercedes and off they went. Evidently it was exceedingly rare and Haruo got nearly §1400.00 for it, even surprisingly in the condition it was in. The scientists were pleased as Punch though.

The fridge was empty and Haruo had a few things that he’d brought over from the Lower Mainland. It meant that he was able to cook something for breakfast. He figured flamefruit pancakes was the way to go. Then it was time for a pick-me-up at the bar in his home. Evidently the bar was well-stocked by the previous owner, something that figured into the expensive sale-price of the home. But hey, it was well-deserved after a fruitful accomplishment in one day from setting foot on Cape Garner Island and going from not having a home or a vehicle to buying a home and vehicle in short order.

After doing a round of conjuring to give him stuff to cut and consign tomorrow, Haruo, completely exhausted passed out on the bedroom floor. Luckily he didn’t scramble his braincells too much hitting the floor. Of course that wouldn’t do well for him in the long term, but at the age of 18 and worth over a million simoleons, what’s a few injured braincells? Right? They regenerate...via neurogenesis. Something to do with neural stem cells being assigned jobs to function as neurons. Only problem is: there’s a limited number of stem cells…and too many hits to the head will probably make Haruo run out of ‘em. Then he’s hooped. He did wake up long enough to plant his carcass in his proper bed.

Of course that didn’t last more than two and a half hours since his burglar alarm went off. Evidently this particular burglar was exceedingly stupid or had a desire to be terminated since Ms. Robocop came in armed with a nasty looking rifle. Yeah, might be a good idea to just get down on your hands and knees, don’t move a muscle and pray to whatever deity you believe in that she doesn’t happen to have an itchy trigger-finger. Haruo was particularly happy that the cop had everything in hand. Since he’d just bought the place and didn’t relish the idea of losing any of it. Hey, next time, all the good stuff’s upstairs. And by the time you get around to doing another heist on this place Haruo probably might have a Rottweiler protecting it too.

November, 1988

“River, you’re almost done with your schooling. You’ve managed to do an entire year in half a semester.” River’s mother enthused, excited for her daughter’s prospects in university. “And you’ve kept an honour roll status doing it.”

“Yeah, Mom…” River sighed, “It just doesn’t seem the same…” she looked out the window as she trailed off. For six months after the acrimonious split in friendship between Haruo and River, River had been disconsolate; instead of going out with friends, she had poured her heart and soul into her schoolwork and painting and she’d had a unhealthy fascination with heart-break songs. She’d joined choir in high-school to feel closer to Haruo and his interests. Yet, Haruo had tossed all his interests out the window and had buggered off to parts unknown and if the Chikamori family knew where Haruo was, Yasunobu wasn’t telling. Fiona couldn’t help but be sad for her daughter. She had aged up into a young adult and she had blossomed into a beauty, wearing her hair stylish, long and flowing. River had started applying makeup and that had attracted the attention of many of the males at school but she had no interest in any of them. Even though Bebe and Fiona encouraged her to move on, she refused.

They don’t understand. I’ve lost half of my soul.

“Are you going to university?” Bebe asked.

“I don’t know…” River prevaricated. “I want to take the other half of the year off...I’ve put too much effort into getting through this schooling quickly because I just don’t want to deal with the school gossip, y’know.”

Bebe rolled her eyes, “Look, you can’t put your life on hold for him.”

River snapped in exasperation, “I’m not ready to put Haruo in the rear-view mirror; NOT without a fight!” she looked angrily at Bebe, “I’m prepared to fight for him, if that’s what it takes. Plus, I’m spent, I don’t have another drop of my energy for studies to go straight into university. I want time to recoup what energy I put out to get through Grade 12 in half the time it takes to complete it.” Nobody bothered correcting her that she had only taken a quarter of the time that it took to complete the school year. They knew what she meant. She was zapped, completely wiped out: mentally, physically and emotionally.

“So what do you plan to do?” Fiona asked.

“I’ve been thinking about traveling Vancouver Island and the surrounding islands just for something to do. Maybe take a few weeks in each place and take in the ambiance. I’ve always wanted to see the islands.”

“I’d love to join you…” Bebe said, “But work hails. The only time I can get off is professional education...namely university and that’s a straight four year run plus my undergraduate courses that I can complete in an year. So it looks as though you may have to go solo if you’re gonna go…”

River didn’t want to say the real reason why she was going out to the islands. She was planning on tracking down Haruo and getting an answer out of him once and for all. And it’d better be one that I see reason for. Saying he’s not good enough for me isn’t a good enough answer. Nor is any answer that can be helped through therapy. River had never wanted to hurt Mayumi so much insofar as the way that Mayumi had treated her son. It was the reason he ran away rather than faced his own demons. And if Haruo didn’t face his demons, he wouldn’t be able to become a success. His mother’s voice would always fuel his perceived inadequacies and would haunt his very footsteps hindering any chance at getting past the deep emotional wounds that were always present.

...and he didn’t seem to want to do anything about it. A deep pit of despair opened up for River McIrish as she wondered what it would take to get through to the man that she loved deeply. Whatever plans she had in life had always included him and she didn’t want to do those things without him. I’m not giving up on him, he means too much to me.

But she also saw the path that decision would lead her to. And such was why she intended to give it her best to convince him to do what was necessary to heal himself so that at least he could have some semblance of a normal life. The simple fact was that he needed to break out of the self-recrimination and the constant Mayumi-inflicted mental tapes that kept running in his head. And the only thing that River knew was a potential solution was to convince him of the need that he needed therapy to heal and live a normal life.

The simple fact was that she didn’t know where he was and where to start looking. Her gut feeling was that he had headed for the islands. The only problem was that she didn’t know which one. The big main island of Vancouver Island was far too crowded and full of people for that to be a potential place for him to settle in. Haruo did not like being around people. He wasn’t social in the slightest and having to be around people was a source of absolute discomfort for him. The reason behind that was that he was highly suspicious of others and what they could potentially do to him. It wasn’t surprising after someone who supposed to unconditionally love him had treated him the way that Mayumi had. River suspected that Mayumi had absolutely no mothering instincts at all. Haruo had just been an achievement for her; a way to gain stature and recognition in the community. And once that was finished, she couldn’t care less about whether Haruo’s emotional needs were met.

I’m just going to have to track him down, island by island. She had no idea what it would take or how long her limited funds would last in order to search for him. She had maybe forty thousand simoleons, but traveling would take a large chunk of that and food and accommodation. She needed to pick the islands that seemed to have a small community, yet not too large.

Her sleep was getting seriously disrupted these past few days. She could overhear loud arguments coming from upstairs. Most of it was Mayumi bitching about her son and it reached a crescendo last afternoon. It appeared that Yasunobu was absolutely fed up with Mayumi’s behavior. He was tired of the way that she had treated his son and took out his anger on her.

There was finally an explosive shout in English, “GET OUT!!!”. It was a male voice and it was definitely Yasunobu’s, followed by a flurry of Japanese “Shuppatsu shita, modotte kitara koko de anata aitaku nai!!!”, a slammed door and then deathly quiet. Even the sound dampening built into the floors and walls had failed to silence the screaming and yelling coming from upstairs.

River could hear the truck starting and she glanced out the window to see Yasunobu driving off. The flurry of colloquial Japanese words had set her on edge and that had translated into River’s unsettled frame of mind. Yasunobu’s returning late that evening had resulted in another major argument.

“Doko ni ikeba desu ka?” Mayumi had asked, her piteous tone just an Oscar-winning performance by an actor.

Yasunobu’s reply was chilling cold, “Sukina tokoro ni, Mō kinishinai” River didn’t catch a direct translation, but the meaning was clear – it meant that Yasunobu was done with the relationship. That was how pissed off Yasunobu was.

There was another flurry of words, that River hadn’t caught because it was muffled by two walls and a floor upstairs as well as several walls and a bathroom and a clear slamming of the door and Mayumi was the one leaving this time, dragging along a suitcase headed towards the Skytrain. On the next day, Yasunobu could be seen hauling his wife’s stuff to the back of his truck and he also drove off presumably to hand over the rest of her clothing and things that she couldn’t take with her.

River knew that Yumiko was Mayumi’s mother and wondered if that had any fallout for her as well, but she felt an overwhelming sense of relief when she was outside the next day later that morning after that current conversation with her mother and Bebe and saw Yumi consoling Yasunobu. “Moshiwakearimasenga…giri-no-haha…mo kanojo no sonzai ni tae raremaendeshita...kanojo no sei de musuko o nakushita.” Yasunobu had a defeated look on his face.

“Musuko yo, watashi wa anata ga nani o shinakereba naranakatta no ka shitte imasu.” River could see Yumiko patting her son-in-law on the back in comfort. How torn must she be or had she seen too much of Mayumi’s behavior towards her son to feel any shred of sympathy towards her daughter? “Naze kanojo ga sono yona taido ni natte no ka watshiniha rikai dekinai. Soshite, Mayumi no...Haruo ni taisuru taido tsukete wa ryoshin tekida wa nakatta.” River couldn’t understand what Yumi was saying to Yasunobu, however Grandma Yumiko’s amicable and caring posture towards Yasunobu meant to River’s understanding that she sided more with Yasunobu’s actions than bearing any sort of sympathy towards Mayumi. Yasunobu’s stoic putting up with all sorts of crap from Mayumi had finally reached the apex of what Yasunobu was capable of enduring and he’d finally told Mayumi to get the hell out...and preferably stay the hell out.

Yumi turned to see River. “River…” She smiled gently as she motioned for River to come closer.

River approached her and Yasunobu. “Is everything alright…”

Yumi nodded and embraced her. “Everything ok...now…You...ok?”

River had held Yumi tightly – she felt as much a grandmother to her as Yumi was to Haruo. “I don’t know, Ba-chan…” she said the last informal honorific in Japanese; she heard Haruo use it and it felt right to her – evidently it felt right for Yumi too as she brought River in closer to her.

“After Haruo left...I…” A tear spilled from her eyes and Yumi enfolded her in an embrace. Hakujin so emotional Yumi thought to herself. Japanese stoicism would never work in North America amongst a mixed family which Yumi hoped that River would be part of some day. “I...I’ve felt so lost…I miss him…so much.”

“Hmmmm…” Yumi let out a sound of commiseration. “Haruo need go...find self...be happy…he go...from my daughter...she not good for him...”

“I know...Grandma, but I can’t be happy...if I’m not with him…” River looked thoroughly miserable.

“He send letter...to me...I give you...envelope…” Yumiko smiled gently, she could see how emotional River was, how much in emotional pain she was. Haruo was stubborn and prideful, two of his most Mayumi-like traits; this was a private letter but River needed closure or a way to help him and heal herself. She loved River like a grand-daughter and it hurt Yumiko to see River in pain emotionally – especially from a wound inflicted by her grandson that she loved dearly. She didn’t want to see him go down Mayumi’s path of being emotionally toxic. “You go find…you make him see sense.”

“I don’t know if I can...Ba-chan, He’s so damned stubborn.”

“I...know…too much like Mayumi...so much like Yasunobu…too.” River understood immediately. Yumi was understandably referring to the fact that Haruo could be harsh as well as gentle too. She resolved that she needed to bring back out his gentle side; the side that made River fall deeply in love with Haruo; the side that had gone into hiding due to the multiple wounds inflicted by Mayumi.

Grandmother Yumiko went back into the house, going up those stairs must have been hell on her...because she motioned to River to follow,

“I stay in house...after...I...old...stairs too much…”

“I’m so sorry, Ba-chan...I shouldn’t have made you do that…”

“No...no...I outside with Yasunobu. He and I go...see Mayumi...tell her...don’t come back. So I come back to house... comfort Yasunobu...that why I outside...I now come back inside...” she smiled, gesturing to take in the entire room and then looked at River with an amused look,

“Home now.” she stated, she thought for a long moment and then gently put her arm around River and gently said looking deep into River’s eyes as she handed an envelope to River that held clearly the return address: 20 Channel View Bluff, Cape Garner, “Your...home...with Haruo…you go find home…”

“I hope he’s willing to listen, Ba-chan…”

“You...my grand-daughter…from different daughter…” Yumiko gently smiled at the young woman she loved so much. “No matter...what…”

“I love you...Grandmother…” River embraced the Japanese woman who she felt was her true grandmother, even if she wasn’t biologically. She’d loved Fiona and River like family for so long. There was something deeply troubling in those eyes of her grandmother, but she was not ready to spill that, if ever.

Over the next two days, River prepared.

She knew that she had to travel light since ferries taking foot passengers would be limiting luggage and she didn’t want to weigh herself down with too much. So she packed stuff that was light for summer time, a bikini; she knew that she had the body for it, two changes of clothes, five panties, five pairs of socks, a light jacket for rain, and a pair of moccasin boots that could fold down quite handily to fit into a pocket in the backpack. She didn’t know how far of a distance that she would have to cover and made sure that she was wearing athletic shoes...and not fancy heels. She also put in a romantic slip...into her backpack too. It wasn’t too much of a weight that she wanted to forego feeling as if she was feminine and romantic. Perhaps if I can reconcile with Haruo she thought to herself.

It was as she was shouldering her pack and stepping outside, that Ba-chan came out on the veranda and said, “River...come here...you walk to island? No...no...no...you take my car…maybe cheap...walk on...your feet end up hurt...take car...drive over...” Grandma had a big boat of a 70s car. It was a Pontiac GTO.

“Ba-chan, are you sure?” River was astounded as she walked up the stairs to the veranda to keep Yumiko from having to walk down the stairs.

“Hmmm…” Grandmother Yumiko nodded. Man, this car was going to be hell on gas but River didn’t relish the idea of walking and was grateful for the generous offer. Grandma Yumiko put the keys in the palm of River’s hand and covered her hand with hers. “Go...find Haruo…” she stated; the trust in her eyes evident as she knew that River would take care of her car. “Key...garage…” she said pointing out the key to the garage so that River could take the vehicle. Fiona had made sure that River learned to drive earlier in the fall. River looked at Yumiko, frail but with a constitution of steel having gone through some of the toughest events of the 20th century. At 96 she was still here, still caring for those who relied on her wisdom. But like Haruo, River knew that she wouldn’t be here for much longer. She felt a pressing need to find Haruo, not only for her, but for Yumiko.

“I love you, Ba-chan…” River enfolded the lady in a tender hug which was just as equally reciprocated by the little Japanese lady...then River made her way down the stairs, inserted the key in the garage door, and opened the garage to reveal the large vehicle.

Putting her back pack in the back seat, River placed her purse in the shot-gun seat and settled herself behind the wheel. Turning the ignition, she could hear the low growl of the 302 4.9L V8. Pulling down the drive selector one notch into reverse, she eased the big car out of the garage.

Checking the rear-view she eased into the road-way.

She could see Yumiko waving at her. So she waved back then another two notches down on the lever to put the car into drive. And then she was on her way.

Haruo’s home, 20 Channel View Bluff, Cape Garner

Haruo had made himself at home, easing comfortably into a routine over the next four and a half months It was July when he left the Lower Mainland.

Breakfast was usually a plate of pancakes, followed by a glass of orange juice. Mornings were a relaxing time for Haruo since it took him a while to get going.

He would then head out and hunt to put meat into the fridge. He’d become the terror of small animals on the island. But the alternative of getting chicken or beef at the grocery store at §8/100g was insane. Hunting for meat was a bit more economical. But eating lizard steaks was interesting on the palate. His hunting area wasn’t limited to the main island of Cape Garner either, he was able to have a quick ferry taxi to the other islands that were close to the main island and...

...thus he was able to find a rather large porcini that he was going to use as a potential start to a small mushroom farm for personal use. After all nothing hit the stomach like a porcini risotto and if the haul was good, he could end up being able to sell the rest for simoleons.

After getting back to the main-island, Haruo headed to the consignment shop to drop off his cut gemstones. In fact, he found out that the consigment shop was also the elixir shop. Since the hospital was clear on the other side of the island, for small ailments, an elixir shop was quite convenient.

Heading home, Haruo enjoyed the Mercedes E-class’ handling ability as he drove the winding roads leading back to 20 Channel View Bluff. The roads weren’t treacherous, but you had to stay alert because the last thing you wanted was to miss an S-turn and end up planted into the trunk of a tree.

When he got home, the enjoyment of owning a new home came with the denoument of receiving bills. Holy Watcher, geez...§6,118 simoleons in taxes??? Are they freakin’ kidding me? Oh well...ouch…

And...he’d be getting another one on Thursday. So that was the reason why the mansions on Cape Garner were unoccupied; most anyone with incomes under seven figures couldn’t afford them.

He remembered he had a load of wash in the dryer and went to get it. After all, if laundry left in the washer could end up stinking pretty badly from mildew if forgotten about and he’d put a fresh load in this morning. So retrieval of the dried laundry and a transfer of the wet from the washer into the dryer. Otherwise, he’d have to buy fresh clothing and that was a particularly disgusting waste of money.

Looking out the back, Haruo gazed happily at his driving range set up that had come with the house he’d bought; two buckets of golf balls were permanently placed out there and he picked up a Number 1 wood driver leaning against the wall inside the house and gently swung it, it was well-weighted – he didn’t have a full set of golf clubs so he didn’t have anything else to test – maybe that was something else to get. One wasn’t about to be able to retrieve the balls from the channel between Cape Garner and Texada Island so this golf driving range was going to get pretty expensive if he was going to replace the balls. The water was pretty deep and US and Canadian submarines traversed that area quite frequently headed to and from Nanoose Bay test range both on the surface and submerged. But Haruo was keen on trying out his new driving range.

“FORE!!!” he yelled to no-one in particular and belted a particularly long one off the rubber tee that curved nicely and ended up with a sploop in the channel. Thankfully he didn’t hit a sailboat that was going by at that particular moment...however the descending golf-ball that got hit into the channel continued its descent into the murky depths and...

...eventually made contact with the USS Pennsylvania, an Ohio class that was training in coastal waters, plinking the side of the hull with a clank heard by the sonar operators. It didn’t dent the hull, the water had slowed its descent and speed to the point where it was going at a rate of speed that was even slower than if it rolled down a set of stairs.

“What the hell was that?” remarked the CO of the boat. “Jonesy...did you get anything on that clank.”

“Yes...sir. We just got hit.”

“By what!?”

“I wouldn’t go to battlestations, sir…”

“Why the hell not?”

“It wasn’t a dud mine, sir. We just got hit by a Titleist.” Jonesy remarked, “Evidently somebody up on the surface is using the Channel as a driving range. We can’t nuke him for that.”

“I don’t suppose we can, right, Jonesy, we don’t want to piss off the Canadians.” the CO chuckled, “They might demand we stop using their Nanoose Bay testing range to test our torpedoes and keep us from traversing the Inside Passage between Vancouver Island and their mainland. That would be a terrible loss…and I certainly don’t want a JAG inquiry as to why one of our specials got loose and took out this small island and half of Comox. There might be questions.”

After about fifteen minutes of knocking golf balls into the channel and...

...scaring the bejesus out of a few passing boaters seeing golf balls curving out of the driving range and sending up little splashes, Haruo was bored of that form of entertainment. He would have to go down to the local pro-shop and pick up a bag of used golf balls to refill the bucket which was down about half-way. One of the things that he wanted to do was to head down to the local bookstore and pick up a few skill books, He really wanted to improve his cooking and his gardening, but of course, it was winter and he really couldn’t plant anything. But perhaps the main thing was to figure out where he could put in a garden so that he could grow his own vegetables.

There really was nothing much else to do other than go around the house and do a bit of cleaning and admire the expansive new house that he owned. He could only conjure a few rocks at a time and hope by chance that he got something valuable. Because conjuring took energy from him and even though he had a moodlet manager device, he didn’t want to use it if he didn’t have to, mainly because that device could zap him just as easily as it could cure his fatigue and he didn’t want a concussion after passing out because the device took every bit of energy out of him. But frankly, it was easier for the device to sense a cure and do the proper thing if he was completely, utterly falling-flat-on-his-face exhausted.

So again, he opted to play the piano...and when he got bored of that, he turned on the stereo, dropped in a compact disc and sang along to that. One of his favorite CDs to sing along to was the Messiah by Georg Frideric Handel mainly because there was always a few nice tenor airs to sing.

As he was washing dishes, he sang, “Comfort ye...Cooooooooomfort ye...my pe-e-ople… Saith your God…saith yo-oo-oour God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem...speak ye comfortably to-ooo Jerusalem...And cry u-u-unto her...that her wa-a-rfare...her wa-a-arfare is accomplished...that her iniquity is pardon’d. That her ini-iquity is pa-ardon’d.” Haruo had a moment of reflection as a plausible thought crossed his mind: Maybe I should get my degree. UVic (University of Victoria) does have a decent music program. Classical music had always been a refuge for Haruo...as equally a refuge as the gym where he would work out his frustrations with his mother’s overbearing behavior towards him. If he was angry, he’d go to the gym and his physique represented that frustration. He was now absolutely ripped and part of that was that he wanted to intimidate those who weren’t close to him mainly because he didn’t want those who weren’t close to him to become close to him since the more people in his inner circle, the less he could trust them. Hence there was only about four to six of them that he e-mailed on a regular basis.

Thanks to AOL (America On-Line even though he was Canadian). This being 1989, it was an interesting procedure to get online in any form – (AN: it was mostly through online bulletin boards back then – known as online graphical chat environments – much like a text form of Second Life for those who aren’t familiar). Haruo’s friend Noel, was quite the computer genius so he set up an online BBS that would allow his friends to talk to him on the computer. And that was all done in BASIC since Windows 1.0 and 2.0 operated in BASIC, there were rumors that Bill Gates was working on a Windows 3.0 that was going to have cool graphic windows and things like clickable icons. Haruo’s computer cost nearly §8,950.00 this year (1989) and all he could do with it was write stuff on Word for Windows and that particular program cost him nearly §500.00. That was an eye-opener. Most people were still using typewriters. But Haruo had money and he wanted the latest tech so he bought himself a computer; his wallet smarting at the impact and he also bought Word for Windows and nearly had a heart-attack at the cost. But what else could he do, everything was going computers at the time and what other options were there.

Anyhow, spending time on the computer playing games like the offering of SimCity by Will Wright from Maxis was enjoyable at any rate and Haruo was happily spending his time engrossed in building up his city. Though of course his stomach pretty much told him that was probably not going to be an option once he got to the point where it was about to eat his interior lining. So he sighed, saved his game and headed downstairs to make dinner.

He decided to make some goopy carbonara. It was cheap and it was filling. That’s all that mattered. Maybe tomorrow he might make some grilled cheese instead. He made 8 servings and...

...stuck the left-overs in the fridge. Considering the price of the house, it was an advanced fridge and the food wouldn’t spoil as quickly so at least there was that – it meant he had food for several days, at least until he got sick of goopy carbonara and decided to make something else. Haruo also was wanting to make certain that he learned how to cook well. Being able to do so would enable him to eat well...and that was something he enjoyed.

After eating dinner, he headed out to the bookstore and picked up the book for Cooking Skill Volume 2. That way he would have something to read before bed. And he would conjure at least a little bit so that he could have at least another gemstone to cut in the morning that he could take with him over to Aleister’s.

He gazed out the window as the shadows lengthened and the purple of late evening gave way to the darkness of night. He conjured a gemstone, took a shower and went to bed.

Next Day, River’s GTO

River found out that there wasn’t a direct ferry to Cape Garner from the Lower Mainland. She would have to drive to Tsawwassen, she had originally gone to the ferry terminal Horseshoe Bay in North Vancouver – that was effing annoying – (AN: well, they didn’t have Google Maps back in those days). The direct ferry to Cape Garner was from Victoria so not only would she have to take a ferry from Tsawwassen to Victoria, then she would have to get in the line up, hopefully not packed, of people going to Cape Garner. It was frustrating, but she stopped by a McDonald’s to grab herself a bite to eat, before driving down, taking the Trans-Canada Highway until she hit Exit 27, merging onto Rupert Street, she headed to Knight and took that straight down until she was able to get onto BC-99 and from there to BC-17. BC Ferries fares for vehicles were about §27.00.

Plus on top of that the fares at the terminal required those who had no prior booking by telephone to wait for those who had reserved prior to board first before loading. This required waiting one sailing wait since the ferry that was at the dock was currently overbooked. That turned into two sailing waits and a run to the nearest washroom. Then she had to sit for those who had booked that sailing to board first. Then she was able to get her vehicle onboard. She headed up to the observation deck and wandered about. Food prices were expensive so she didn’t bother with eating anything during the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay and who knows if they had anything there. She’d probably have to wait until she got to Cape Garner to buy any sort of meal. She thanked her lucky stars that she’d had the foresight to get a decent number of burgers at McDonald’s on the way down. So she dug into her meal and ate the now relatively cold fries – since she wasn’t really able to divert her attention from the road while driving such a large car. The crossing took about an hour and a half and at about 10 minutes to docking, River heard the announcement to return to her car which she did. It was about half an hour after they docked that they managed to get rolling onto the ramp off the ferry and up towards Swartz Bay’s line up. She went down about six point two miles to the local McDonald’s and pulled in. Getting another round of burgers for the road, she drove back to the ferry terminal and paid for the trip to Cape Garner. She wasn’t going to waste any time sight-seeing around Victoria, she was a woman on a mission. And that mission was to nail down the man she wanted to spend her life with even if she had to drag him kicking and screaming into therapy.

This particular ferry wasn’t as heavily packed and she was able to get on easily. This was going to be a hell of a sail because of BC Ferries. If one wanted to go to Texada Island proper, one would drive up all the way to the Little River terminal and take a ferry from there to Powell River and then from Powell River to Blubber Bay, but if one wanted to go to the lesser known islands of Cape Garner, then they would have to take a ferry direct for 6 and a half hours pending sea conditions from Swartz Bay to Cape Garner Ferry Terminal. What a royal stinkin’ pain-in-the-heiny. Because for some reason, some scheduling genius decided that there wasn’t any need for local ferry service to Texada Island or Powell River or even to Courtenay/Comox. Good ol’ Cape Garner was happily cut off from anywhere but Victoria, BC. By the time she was able to load onto the Cape Garner bound ferry, she was well and truly pissed off. At least gas prices were cheap and she was able to fill up her tank for a little over twenty-five dollars.

Then going up to the main deck; it was too cold to go out onto the observation deck so she enjoyed the view from the windows near where the walk-on passengers were seated. The seas were calm for winter. Though of course, the ferry captain did say that there were going to be some rough patches with winds gusting up to fifty-eight km/hr and some choppy water. That was going to make some of the 6 hour journey tough. Gale force winds ramped from forty to ninety-five km/hr and well, 58km/hr was a pretty nasty clip. And BC Ferries usually cancelled their sailings if the wind was between 70-95 km/hr because then the likelihood of swamping and potentially capsizing could occur. It was interesting seeing very little land on either side and it seemed almost like open ocean, but you could still see some faint pinpoints of land on either side that told one that they were in a strait and not the open ocean.

River nearly fell asleep in the chair but halfway through the voyage a couple of persistent young men kept pestering her and it was only after she called the Chief Steward on them for harassment, that they got the message that she was not in the slightest bit interested in any of what they were insinuating she might be interested in. Guess some people don’t get the message very clearly unless it is read out to them like the riot act. At least, to her pleasure, she was left alone after. She had no desire to talk to other people. And she had only one goal in mind in going to Cape Garner, and that was to get it through that thick skull of Haruo’s that she was not going to treat him like Mayumi did and that she loved him and that the best thing for him to do was to get with the program. And she was not leaving until he did.

It was near 7PM and nearly dark when she got off the ferry at Cape Garner and...

...noted the hotel along the main drag. Luckily the diner was still open and she was able to get something to take the edge of her hunger that four cheeseburgers from McDonald’s wasn’t able to cure.

Then checking in, she went about taking a luxurious bath with some bubble bath, then thoroughly drained from her day of travel, she headed off to bed; the travel clock on the night-table reading 9:15PM.

Morning seemed to come too early as she heard the alarm go off at 7:00AM. It was not the best wakeup she ever had – stiff and sore from a backpack and tossing and turning making sure that she went over where she’d parked. There was an underground parkade under the hotel, but since the vehicle had only been lent to her, she wanted to make sure that it wasn’t stolen. And a GTO would fetch a considerable amount on the black market. And that would not go over well.

Waking up and taking a nice long shower, she washed her hair which was feeling rather grimy from the travel yesterday, and wrapped it up in a towel while she picked out her clothes to wear for the day. She was heading up to 20 Channel View Bluff and come hell or high water, she and Haruo were going to have it out, once and for all...and she was going to walk out of there the victor – with him in tow...whether he was going to be bound and gagged or walking freely was completely up to him.

But first, she was going to stop by the diner and have breakfast. Things always worked out better on a full stomach. At least that was the way that it seemed to work out for her. And well, there was no reason to change a good thing. So once her hair was just damp, she towel-dried her hair and took a loose comb to it. Then she used a curling iron and gave her hair some waves. Applying her eyeshadow and eyeliner, then blush, then putting some lipstick on, she gave herself a good look in the mirror. She was dressed and made up to the nines...and she was planning to make sure that Haruo was definitely going to think twice about saying no.

The diner had some nice breakfast; bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, sausages and River was pretty full by the time she finished her meal. Of course, half of it went into a doggy bag...so that she could eat it later and she went to put it in the fridge that was provided for her in her little suite at the hotel.

She then steeled herself, got directions to 20 Channel View Bluff and got in her GTO.

The road wasn’t too challenging though there were some parts where the road got pretty close to the trees, but she managed to negotiate it. Luckily the gate was open so she pulled in. She shut off the engine and got out of the car.

Striding to the door, she eschewed the doorbell and knocked loudly on the door; banged on the door would be more accurate. If there was somebody dead in the house, they’d probably sit up going “What the hell was that!!!?”

“What the hell???” was the loud exclamation from the interior of the house.

As the door opened, she glared at him, “I want to know what the fuck that was back there!!!”

“What? River...what are you doing here?” His eyes fell on his grandmother’s car and the keys to it hanging off River’s finger. Evidently she had driven that old car all the way up here. It was almost as old as he was.

“I want an answer to my question. What in the fucking hell was that SOLD sign all about?” Nope...this confrontation from River's point of view was all about his making a blatant effort to disrespect everybody on his way out the door. The ultimate I’m gonna take my ball and go home play. This was no teenager that Haruo was dealing with any more. This was five-foot six inches of enraged female young adult and she was demanding answers.

“I told you...that I wasn’t wanting a relationship...” Haruo started...

...but was cut off with an emphatic wave from River.

“Oh...and you think you can make that decision unilaterally especially after we’ve been practically housemates and friends for 16 years?? After I was the one who you leaned on emotionally for years while your mother was being her usual bitch-self...and making me think that there was something there between the two of us?!” she growled, narrowing her eyes and glaring at him. “Let me in so that we can have a discussion. I don’t need the neighbours thinking that there’s a fight going on.”

“There’s no neighbours for over a mile.” Haruo’s alarm bells were going off like a red alert on a submarine. If she set one foot across the threshold she wasn’t going to leave until she said her piece and that was going to go over like a stick of dynamite in a pool of fish. He wasn’t going to hear the end of it from her.

“Do I particularly give a shit!?” was her acid reply. “I don’t want to discuss this outside. Now let me in...or did your dad not teach you any manners?”

“Evidently your mom didn’t teach you about coming over to someone’s house before 9:30 in the morning.” Haruo replied sarcastically, but stepped aside so River could step in and then closed the door behind her, slammed it more accurately.

“Nice place; I mean...nice...hiding place.” River snidely amended as she looked around the living room.

“It serves its purpose.” Haruo tried to sound just as sarcastic, but he couldn’t stop looking at River. She was tall, only about an inch and half shorter than him; long reddish-brown hair, glossy pink/red lipstick, eyeshadow...eyeliner...and she looked absolutely hot and his body was playing absolute traitor to what his mind wanted; his mind wanted peace and quiet and that meant River should leave but there was no way in hell that she was going to...

...because she sat herself down on the nearest couch and made herself at home. His body on the other hand wanted her and he was having a realization that he might end up having to stand behind the kitchen counter or she’d know everything about what she was doing to him. So he moved behind the couch...and River sat knowing just how much disquiet she had instilled in him with her appearing on his doorstep.

“I wondered where you were for half an year, while you were happily hiding away here not giving a shit about anybody other than what you wanted – yeah, yeah...I know, peace and quiet…” she raised a hand cutting off his snarky reply;

...standing up to glare at him. “Not that you gave a shit about how much peace and quiet I got…with you leaving. I had to go through my last year of high-school studies not knowing where you were or...whether you’d completely left the country. I was lucky to get the marks I did.”

“I told my grandmother and father not to tell anybody where I went to…” he sounded very irritated.

“And your grandmother saw how much it was eating away at me and gave me your address so that I could have it out with you once and for all!” River snapped as she got up out of her chair and. “Your leaving didn’t just affect you...solely...y’know. So you’re just going to go through life letting your mom’s mix tapes run in your head, convincing you that you’re not worthy of being in a relationship with someone who loves you? I think that’s pretty fucking stupid, y’know.” Stalking over to stand clear in eye-view of him, she glared at him.

“So...well, if you know everything.” Haruo snapped sarcastically “Then tell me how you go about extinguishing those tapes running rabid in my head, telling me I’m not good enough for anybody. Tell me how to make my mother shut the fucking hell up!” he paced around the room, “So how am I supposed to dig those tapes out of my head?! Out here, I’m able to tune them out, bury myself in my work that needs doing on my property or play the piano or sing karaoke to myself if I feel like it. This is my refuge and at least out here, I don’t have to be anyone to anybody else. People leave me the fucking hell alone and I only go into town when I need to.” He pointedly glared at her. River glared right back at him.

“Tuning out’s not the same as getting rid of the mental tapes entirely. Your mom’s still yapping off at you inside your head and she’s not going to get out unless you cut her out and you need to get help to do that. Do you really want your Mom to keep living rent-free in your head?” River told him; her sigh audible. Her friend she grew up with was stubborn as a goat. She wanted to beat him over the head because she was so fed up with his cantankerous attitude and yet she wanted to take him into her arms and never let go. I love him. Why does he have to be such an ass!?

“Docs just tell you to get over it. They don’t do anything to help…” Haruo growled. “Or they ply you with chemicals to just numb your pain. I want to feel, I don’t want to be sedated for the rest of my life. I want to feel something even if all I feel is anger and pain.” he sat down in the chair opposite her, trying to stay as far away from her as possible. He didn’t understand just how much pain that was giving River. He put his face in his hands trying to massage away the burgeoning mother of all headaches.

“So you’re just gonna not do anything about it? You’re just gonna let yourself carry your Mom’s lies about you around in your head?” River asked, her eyes narrowing in anger. half-turning out of frustration; she wanted to beat on something but there was nothing in range.

“Guess you didn’t take law.” Haruo said sarcastically, “Opinions aren’t indictable.”

“It’s not about taking her to court. Haruo…” River stated coldly , “It’s about getting you to the point where you’re not dealing with the shit your mom laid on you and healing so you can live a normal life without reacting to negative things in a negative way and hurting people who don’t deserve it. It’s not so that you can stop hating your mother. You don’t have to forgive her. If I was you, I wouldn’t. Not after the way she treated you.”

“…and what if I just want my mother to pay for what she did?” Haruo’s growl was pure agonizing anger ripped from the shreds of his battered soul. He looked up from his hands to affix River with a look of complete utter rage and hate within him that shook River to her core. The fact that he was suffering so much emotional hurt made her want to run to him and hold him, to comfort him and offer him succor, but she sat still because right now, he didn’t want it. “…to suffer the way I did…to feel the agonizing pain of every hurtful word that she threw at me for 18 years. I want her to feel the desolation I felt when she made it clear that all I was to her was her ticket to gaining acceptance from my grandfather. The fact that she doesn’t die from that pain she inflicted, reflected back at her…is an insult to my very existence…THAT is the hate I feel for her! And I don’t want my thirst for her destruction to spill over into any relationship, which is why I’m staying away from relationships altogether!”

Haruo clenched his fists, his eyes nearly obsidian with pent up fury, the direction of his gaze locked on River from under his eyebrows. It was as though something dark and filled with rage was inside him and it scared her to her core. He needed help and he needed it yesterday.

At this point, River realized that the only way for Haruo to actually heal was for Mayumi to drop dead (of natural causes). For the abused; some needed closure in the form of apologies, which they would never get, that they would end up having to forgive the abuser themselves and move on. And for some of the victims of the abuser, the death of the abuser was the only thing that would help them move on. Haruo’s wish was to dance on his mother’s grave. And you know the old saying about; the good die young, but evil just keeps going and going. It couldn’t be helped. River wished for Mayumi to get struck down by a heart-attack. But if wishes were fishes, they could swim. Unfortunately life just doesn’t work that way and Mayumi just kept on going to everyone’s disgust.

“So what exactly do you want me to do…” Haruo snarled sarcastically; tempt the beast, will she? Does River truly understand the beast being held at bay within? The deep down rage that is held taut, straining at the ropes to be released? What does she think will happen if the rage gets released? “Do you think talking about it is going to make all these wonderful experiences just up and disappear? That I’ll be magically healed or something?”

“No…but at least getting it in the open will actually force the issue to the surface and maybe the therapist will be able to actually do something about it so that it doesn’t wreak havoc in anything else you do.” River looked at him, “You won’t be magically healed, but at least you won’t be hurting as badly as you do now.”

“So who’s gonna see me? Waiting lists are six months long, thanks to BC Health.” Haruo dryly muttered giving River a sarcastic look, with an eyebrow raised in disbelief, “By that time, I’d be completely fed up with the whole waiting game.”

“Really...that’s the excuse you’re going to use? Because wait-lists are so long, you’re not going to bother getting treated so that you can live better…so that at least you can live life without having to deal with all the psychological baggage that you’ve been carrying around for the entirety of your life? Waiting at least six months is far better than if you never bothered getting on the waitlist at all!” River said archly. She wasn’t going to let her friend back out of it. “You need to get this done for you if not for anyone else. You deserve a good life; not one constantly haunted by the words of someone who doesn’t give a damned shit about you.” River glared at him, “The right way is to go actually go and get some therapy so that you’re not having to deal with these constant tapes running in the back of your mind.”

“OK…ok…” Haruo tossed up his hands in frustration, looking away from River. “I’ll do it…” he glared at River. “...if it makes you happy…” he looked as though he didn’t want to do it. He strode past her and sat down in the armchair; a single seat where it looked as though he wanted to be left alone. River wasn't about to do that. He sat and put his head in his hands trying not to be overcome by the bitterness and anger he still felt coursing through him.

“It’s not doing it for me, it’s doing it for yourself.” River told him as she got up and walked over to him, sitting on the armrest of the chair that he was sitting in and putting her arm around him and leaning her head against his. He didn’t move to avoid her so that was a promising sign. “Your mom doesn’t deserve to have any more control over you! You deserve to have a life free of her constantly in your head telling you that you’re not good enough.”

She seized his hands, “You are good enough to be loved…I wish you could see that…” she looked deeply into his eyes trying to project her love for him through her eyes so that he could see it for himself. “I won’t ever hurt you...Haruo. You mean too much to me.” she whispered into his hair.

He looked up at her...the deep pain in his eyes...the questioning glance that asked her if she was indeed telling him the truth. He looked into River’s eyes and saw the emotion welling deep within her and his own heart betrayed his better judgement.

“Help me…” he whispered, his eyes full of deep-seated pain that River could feel with her empathy, “Help me to feel again...help me to not feel like a ball of aching hurt.”

“You’ll go if I get you that doctor’s appointment? And do what you have to do in order to get better?” River fixated on him with a firm look.

Haruo nodded. He realized just how much time he’d spent with River and as much as he wanted to protect her from his own anger towards his mother and at the world in general, he still, deep down in his heart, loved River if he was even the slightest bit honest with his own emotions. He did love her...deeply and that’s why he’d left, to protect her from his mother who would do anything to destroy any bit of happiness he ever had. But instead, he’d hurt River as deeply as anyone could have ever hurt her. And he couldn’t even begin to undo that sorrow and pain that she would carry. But she also had a much more forgiving heart...than he had. She understood why he did what he did. She understood his pain, she wanted to be his shield and walk life’s road with him.

“I’m stronger than your mother ever could be. And I protect those I love…” She whispered caressing his cheek. “She tries anything, it will be the last thing she ever does.”

Haruo had so many objections to this. It wasn’t safe for her. His mother would use any and all means to separate them… that she herself would be his mother’s next target, that he couldn’t bear it if his mother made it so difficult for them that she wouldn’t be able to take the abuse and opt to leave him

“I won’t.” was River’s response… “I won’t ever leave you.” she answered his unspoken questions. “We can keep this house if you want...it will be OUR refuge instead…but I need to go to university, UBC specifically…maybe not for a half-year yet, but...I want us both to go to university, preferably the same university...and achieve our goals. It’ll make what she said about you insignificant. And prove to you that you can do it...to succeed in what you want. You love the arts, right? We can take arts together. I’m thinking of taking voice as well as the visual arts – getting a double major...” she trailed off.

River was lost in the deep dark brown eyes that her friend, now was it boyfriend…had locked on her green ones. She lifted his head up to meet hers in a deep lingering kiss that spoke of intimate promise. “I love you…” she whispered against his lips.

“I…love you too…” the words seemed like they were torn from his very innermost core, the only place where hope appeared to still exist; he didn’t know where to turn in order to get help and trying to negotiate a potential course of therapy was overwhelming to the point where he was frozen – where to start even going about trying to get any sort of help; who to talk to, who to even open up to trying to find out how to even get started on the road to healing. Hoping against hope that if he opened up, he wasn’t about to get hurt again. Yet that couldn’t be for certain. Opening up oneself opened one to being hurt.

“Promise me in words now that when we find you help, you’ll go through with it? Don't...please don't give up hope that it's gonna happen.” River pleaded,

now getting emotional because she’d heard those words she’d wanted to hear from him for so long; she wasn't going to give up on him, nor was she going to let him give up on himself. “I’m gonna phone my mom and get her to help me get you that help. Plus, she’s going to flip...but I don’t care…I’m staying here…” There was no objection. River had come in like a whirlwind and turned his life completely upside down.

“If you can find me help, I’ll take it.” Haruo admitted looking at River with an expression of hopeful expectation yet still had a sense of futility; he didn't know what would happen or whether anything regarding therapy would happen but he could only cling to a tiny flicker of hope, “but I doubt it will happen by this year though.”

“Well, my mom and I are not going to give up on getting you help.” River’s face took on a determined look. She wasn’t about to take no for an answer and she’d knock down doors until she found someone that would give her the right answer.

Haruo got up out of his chair...and held River’s hands. “I should object to this...but...I can’t…” he looked deeply into her eyes… “I…” he stammered. “Are we…” he looked at her with pleading eyes.

“I don’t know…” River looked at him with an expectant gaze and a lopsided smile on her face, “You tell me…”

He pulled River into his arms and gave her a passionate kiss. “I…” he couldn’t complete any sentence, words escaped him and his mind was reeling. He’d just been blitzkrieg’d to the point of being utterly speechless. His brain was still at the door trying to figure out what the hell just happened after he’d slammed the door.

When they got dressed again, Haruo sighed as he looked over at River who was putting on her clothes.

“I need to bring my backpack and things from the hotel, I was staying at and check out.”

“We can do that.” Haruo ventured. What I can do is move my car out of the garage and well...I guess you’re driving my grandma’s car?” He realized somewhat belatedly that he’d tacitly agreed to River moving in with him. While his common sense was saying How the hell did that happen, his libido was going. Oh...yeah...I want this…

“Yeah, that’s Ba-chan’s car…” River informed him, “She lent it to me to use. I’m sure she’ll be wanting that back. So I’m going to take it back to her next week.”

“Are you coming back?” Haruo asked – there was no mistaking the hopeful tone in his voice. And after this he definitely wasn’t throwing her out of the house. He had realized he’d gotten seriously out-maneuvered and River was his always...and it didn’t feel wrong at all.

“Of course...one of the things Ba-chan said to me was your...home...with Haruo…you go find home…” River stated as she pulled Haruo close to give him a tender kiss,

“oh…” she grimaced, “I think I may have to get a package of pads.” It appeared as though she had some discomfort.

After they had gathered up the change of clothes she’d brought with her, they headed back down to the living room to sit down on the couch.

“You won’t have a way back, you’d have to take the bus and walk-on to the ferry. Do you want me to follow you back to Vancouver with my car then we can come back together?” It was a suggestion.

“Would you come with me...or would you feel too uncomfortable?” she asked.

“I don’t know what was going on before I left, but your dad threw your mother out of the house.”

“He...what?” Haruo’s jaw nearly hit the floor. “Well...that’s a start, isn’t it…” He blinked, “Do you know what brought that about?”

“I have no idea. The best thing would be to ask him yourself.” River stated. “All I know is what Ba-chan told me – that he got fed up with your mother and tossed her out.”

“I’m figuring that she pissed him off one too many times. He wasn’t too happy about my leaving the house because of how uncomfortable my mother was making me feel.” He said, sighing as he sat down in the chair. “A husband in Japanese society has to support his wife no matter what...and when he saw what she was doing to me, he just couldn’t. He tried, but he couldn’t. I have no sympathy for her. I can’t. Not after what she did to me. She could be on the street somewhere and I’d turn my back on her. There’s some things that you can’t forgive.” he put his face in his hands, taking a deep breath and trying to calm his emotions, “I guess that makes me a bad person…” he uttered from between his fingers.

River wrapped her arms around him. “I know...and I agree with your stance. And I don’t think it makes you a horrible person, just a human one. She’s done horrible things to you. Just...don’t take your anger towards her out on me, any more...OK? Don’t run away like you did.”

Haruo enfolded her in a tight embrace. “I’m sorry…” he said softly in her ear. “I was wrong.” He tightened his embrace and River snuggled into his arms, feeling for the first time like she was really home.

“There may be times that you’re angry; or that you feel that you can’t take it any more...don’t hold it in...just talk to me.” River told him. “That’s what I’m here for. The only thing I won’t take or condone is any of the abuses: physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or psychological. As long as you don’t do those things to me, I’ll stay by your side.” She leaned up and kissed him, “Just remember...I love you.”

“I don’t know how touchy I’m going to be while I’m undergoing therapy...so you and I should probably have a safe-word when you feel that I’m getting a bit too keyed up, and want to tell me that I should go into a room and cool down.” Haruo suggested. “I may slip up and I don’t want to do anything to hurt you...ever again.” He looked at River with a deeply penitent look, “The stuff they go through with me may be very anger-inducing...and I don’t ever want to take it out on you. The anger I feel inside scares me. That’s why I was scared of being with you and I wanted to be alone so that I could just live with it.” He turned away in shame.

“Well...you’re not going to have to live with it alone. I want to help you...I want to be there by your side while you deal with it. And know I’m not Mayumi. I won’t ever hurt you.” River caressed his cheek.

“Even when I deserve it?” Haruo asked, “Like being monumentally stupid...after all...we guys tend to do stupid shit...a lot.”

River gave him a steely-eyed smirk, “How about we cross that bridge IF we get to it? As long as you don’t abuse me or cheat on me.” she raised an eyebrow, arms crossed, tapping her foot on the floor.

Haruo shook his head, “No...once I commit, I don’t ever cheat.” River smiled and kissed him.

“I guess that means we’re a committed couple.” River stated. She still felt the sensation of him and it was a feeling that wasn’t comparable to anything she’d ever felt before. But then again it was their first time.

“Yup, some people would say I should be committed.” Haruo quipped as a slow grin crept over his face and River snickered at the secondary inference of the word, “I guess you’re stuck with me forever.”

“Well...that’s not a punishment.” She smirked at him.

“Let’s go get your stuff.”

“And I need to give my mom a call and tell her that I’m moving to Cape Garner for half a year before university and then we’ll figure out where we go from there, in terms of my university schooling...and hopefully yours too.” River ran down the itemized list on her fingers. “She’s gonna flip…I’m looking forward to it.” She looked over at him with an irreverent smirk on her face, rubbing her hands in anticipation of the furor she was going to foment.

“OK…” Haruo was more than happy to let River take the lead and followed her out to the car. They opted to take Haruo’s car.

And River’s eyes widened as she saw the three-pointed star of the Mercedes logo. “Wait...what? You got a Mercedes?”

“Yeah…got a deal on it…”

“Wait a second...how much are you worth that you can afford one of these?” River’s mother couldn’t afford one of these Mercedes E-classes even if she worked for the rest of her life.

“Oh...nearly ten…” Haruo said flippantly, “Give or take...a few more days and a few more rocks…I sell…” he opened the door for River. It still smelled like a new car. The leather interior was luxurious and the wood-panelling on the dash and sides of the interior spelled opulent. “...million…” he dropped that last word quietly.

River’s jaw dropped open. “Oh...my...Watcher…” she said quietly as she sat and took in the vehicle as he plugged in a CD of classical music – baroque to be exact. It was his car so well, she didn’t complain about the music, in fact, she rather liked it. And if she was going into classical voice training, she’d be hearing a lot of it.

“Well, maybe I should take classical voice too, along with piano…” Haruo said casually, pondering over what his mother had said regarding him being a complete failure. “How much is your program cost?”

River aimed a confused look at Haruo. “What?”

“How much does the Bachelor of Music and Art cost?”

“Almost §60,000 combined for the entire degree program. When I match up electives that will work for both Music and Visual Arts so that I don’t have to do a double-dose of electives.” River replied, looking quizzically at Haruo as he drove the winding roads towards town.

“Have you paid for it yet?” Haruo asked, still watching the road.

“Depends on when I start.” River replied, “Payment for the semester is at registration which is usually a day before class commences. So until I figure out when I’m going to university, I probably won’t be paying for it yet. Which gives me a little time to get a job maybe and save up.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll cover it as well as my own.” Haruo replied, resolving that he was heading back to school when she went.

“Are you kidding me? You’ll cover my tuition?” River was astounded.

“Told you I had almost §10M. It’s a drop in the bucket and the other money you have left can go to cover your expenses like books and maybe give you a bit of breathing room.” Haruo said; he looked rather smug.

River gaped. Since when did he consider §60K a drop in the bucket. But if that’s what he wanted to do, then River wasn’t going to raise a protest. Plus she had ways of thanking him that were going to leave him wrung out and wanting more.

“Let me...that’s my way of telling you I love you outside of directly telling you…” Haruo said.

“I do like the verbal way…” River caressed his hand as they turned onto the street the hotel was at. Pulling to a stop in front of her hotel, Haruo asked River if she wanted him to come in and help her bring her things down from her hotel room.

River placed her hand on his caressing it gently and nodded, “Yeah, I threw several changes of clothes in there and didn’t realize just how heavy the pack was going to be.

So Haruo locked the car doors after they exited the vehicle, making sure the parking sign meant valid parking and they both walked towards the hotel. River slipped her hand, fingers intertwined with his fingers into his hands evoking a startled look of surprise from him.

She smiled at him in response, whispering, “I love you…” then reached up to bring his face down to hers for a lingering passionate kiss.

He said hoarsely, the sound coming deep from his throat, “Keep doing that...and we’ll spend the rest of this day in bed…” he trailed off as River gave him a suggestive look. She had wrung him out both emotionally and physically and he was just barely starting to get used to an intimate relationship with her.

“I like the sound of that…” River trailed off, a low purr in her voice, batting her eyelashes demurely at him. She hoped that he wouldn’t get scared and run. The therapy was going to take a lot out of him. Deep down in his heart, River knew that Haruo still held out hope...that his mother would come to the realization about the pain that her treatment of him was causing him. No matter how angry he was, he still clung to the hope that his mother would come around. River wasn’t that optimistic about the chances of Mayumi realizing that her behavior was toxic. The likelihood of Mayumi coming to that realization and coming to Haruo, on hands and knees to grovel for forgiveness was on the order of chance of pigs suddenly sprouting wings and throwing themselves off the nearest cliff to soar magnificently with the eagles and other creatures of the air...in otherwords...zero.

River didn’t want to destroy that hope. She kept those thoughts to herself. Let the therapist help him to come to that realization. And he would be angry; oh, Watcher he was going to be angry. Quite possibly breaking personal things level of angry.

They walked up to the hotel and River headed to her room as Haruo followed. Her things were there on the little loveseat that was provided in the room. She dialed the hotel room phone with a calling card and dialed long distance, “Thank goodness for calling cards…” she muttered. “Otherwise I’d be paying this call off for the next three months.”

Her mother picked up, “River...where are you? You weren’t home yesterday afternoon…”

“I’m in Cape Garner, Mom.”

“What?!” Her mother’s voice was shrill, a note of fear in her voice. “What are you doing there?”

River paused for a long moment. “You remember I told you that I needed a bit of time to think things through and get some relaxation before heading off to university and that I had about §20,000 to earn before heading off to university.”

“I told you that I would cover the discrepancy...honey.” Fiona stated from her end of the phone.

“Somebody else is already taking care of that, Mom.” River informed her. “All §60,000 of the tuition. He’s telling me to…” she was quickily interrupted by Fiona.

“Wait...who?”

“Haruo.” River said briefly.

“WHAT?!” Fiona did not sound happy. Especially after what Haruo had done – breaking River’s heart. And then to slither back into River’s life like that. She was not in the least bit pleased in the slightest. “How did you end up communicating with him?”

“I found him in Cape Garner.”

“I certainly hope you know what you’re doing, River. Because after he broke your heart, he’s not going to be in good condition physically if he breaks your heart again. I’ll see to that.” Fiona promised direly.

“Mo-om…” River rolled her eyes; she knew her mother would behave like this. Fiona was protective of her daughter and would go completely Mama Bear on Haruo if she saw him. River started to wonder if she was wise in bringing Haruo back to see his grandmother when she was dropping off the car, but she needed Haruo’s Mercedes to help her bring back all her belongings to Cape Garner. To River, Fiona sounded over-protective. “Mom, he needs help; psychological help from all the mind-twisting that his mother did to him.”

“...and you think you can help him?” Fiona sounded skeptical. “I think you’re biting off more than you can chew.”

“Nobody else will help him…” River said emphatically. “I’m the only one who can get him to counseling.”

“Are you going to stay with him?” Fiona sounded reluctant, that she thought River was getting herself into a bad situation.

“Yes, Mom.” River’s response held a note of finality. “There’s nothing that will stop me from staying with him.” she paused for a long moment. “He needs to know that I’m not going to run when the chips are down.” River stated, “He’s hurting, Mom. You don’t know what his mother did to him.”

“Well...considering we lived in the same house as his family…” Fiona trailed off. But she wasn’t the one that was being attacked on a daily basis. Her daughter was right. Haruo had deep psychological wounds. “I can’t say I like this, but I know you’re going to do it regardless of what I tell you. You are still going to university on the same time-table, right? I don’t want you neglecting your education to help him.”

“I won’t, Mom. The plan is that we’re both going to university.” River replied, “My hope is that him successfully completing university will silence the mental voice his Mother had hardwired into his head; and show him that he can accomplish anything he puts his mind to.”

“Well, I can’t say I approve, but I’ll go along with what you have planned. Nothing I say is going to stop you from doing what you intend to do.” Fiona said resignedly. “Just...don’t get pregnant, whatever you do.”

“Mom, I know…not until I get through university and get married…” she rolled her eyes, wondering if her mother would ever stop with her own nagging. The difference was that River’s mother nagged out of concern. Mayumi nagged out of spite. “I’m going to be coming back to return Haruo’s grandmother’s car to her that she lent me. Try to be nice to Haruo while he’s out here – he’s just coming out to see his father and his grandmother.”

“I suppose he’s driving you back to the Island.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Just don’t make me have to tell you, I told you so. River.” Her mother stated. Her tone was resigned to the fact that River was a young adult and ready to make decisions for herself in life. Outside of this conversation, Fiona trusted her daughter and this conversation would not come up again. But she still didn’t trust Haruo; not after how he had treated River and it would take a long time before she felt inclined to be civil to him again. “OK...I’m sure you’re using a calling card...anyone else you want to talk to here?”

“Not particularly right now. I’m sure that Bebe doesn’t get home until later tonight.”

“That’s right.” her mother informed her.

“I’ll see you in about next week.”

“Did you want me to pack your things?”

“No, I’ll do it myself, but thanks, Mom for offering.” River really didn’t want her mother to see some of the things that she was planning on taking with her to the Island. She would prefer to pack those herself; to stave off the inevitable questions that she would get from her mother if her mother saw those items. She’s not going to want to hear what I ordered a few times from the local shop. If she saw them she’d probably throw a fit. No parent wants to know that their daughter is growing up and becoming a young woman...with womanly needs and wants. “So, I’ll see you next Tuesday.”

“Just be careful, the weather says that it’s going to snow.”

“I will…it seems like snow’s a bit early...right?”

“Earliest we’ve had it was October...but it was just flurries and it didn’t stay.” River’s mother commented casually. “I don’t know what the weather is going to be like on Tuesday, but just be careful coming back...since the roads will probably be slippery.”

“I’ll be careful. And I’ll let Haruo know too about the snow. I’ll check the tires and see if she has winters on them. It was lucky that Grandma Yumiko lent me her vehicle, but I’m not sure how safe it is in snow.”

“Grandma Yumiko lent you her GTO? Be extra careful...that’s a lot of power in that car for a beginner driver.”

“I don’t think Grandma was expecting it to snow.” River exclaimed. “Haruo has a TV. We’ll watch the weather forecast tonight and see what’s slated for next week.” she felt a tap on her shoulder. “Just a minute, Mom...Haruo needs to tell me something.”

“I’ll put winters on Grandma’s car tomorrow. If it’s going to snow, I don’t want you driving with summer tires on. If it fishtails coming off the ferry ramp at Tsawwassen, you’re going to be in the water before you even know what happened. Nope. I’ll put winters on them. If I remember correctly, that thing has been in the garage since last year.” Haruo informed her in a no-nonsense, no arguments...tone of voice. “So it hasn’t had a change of tires since that time and it’s most definitely running on summers.”

“OK...Mom…” River patted Haruo’s hand, caressing it. “Haruo says he’s putting brand-new winters on for me so that I can drive it back. We’ll put her summers in the trunk.” she turned around to whisper at Haruo, “I love you...sweetheart.”

“He’s paying for your tuition...he’s also paying to put good snow-tires on the car...how much money does he have? §65,000 doesn’t just grow on trees, y’know.” River’s mother exclaimed.

“Um...I’m not naming a figure...not in a public place. Suffice it to say…” River told her mother, “...he’s not going to have any financial difficulty...unless something seriously unseen happens. You’ll understand when you see the type of car he drives up in on Tuesday.”

“Oh…”

“Mom, I gotta check out of the hotel and grab my stuff...I just wanted to call you and let you know that I was OK...ok?” River told her.

“Alright...you’re staying at Haruo’s place, right?” she paused, “Are you sure that’s a wise idea? What’s his landlord got to say about that?”

“Well...uh...mom. He doesn’t have a landlord…”

“So where does he stay?”

“His own place. He owns it.”

The note of disbelief in River’s mother’s voice was palpable, “C’mon, River, are you telling me, he graduated a year ago and he now owns his own home? I worked my tail off and still can’t buy my own home. You’re telling me he’s made enough in one year to own a home on the Island?”

“Yes...and it’s a nice one too.” River remarked, “Lots of glass windows and a swimming pool and everything. Gotta go, Mom...love you.”

River still got the feeling that her mom didn’t believe a word of what she was saying when she hung up.

“If it makes her feel any better, we could have told her that I was living out of a little hovel in the forest.” Haruo quipped as he picked up River’s backpack and got her food left-overs from the fridge.

River gave him a disbelieving stare for a long second before she smirked at him, “And have her chew me out completely for getting together with you? I got an earful enough from her as is. She’d go nuclear if you were homeless.”

They were both grinning as River signed herself out, paid for her room usage and got a refund for the days not being used and they both headed to the car.