The Daydreamer Detective Returns a Favor by S. J. Pajonas

Author:S. J. Pajonas [Pajonas, S. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Onigiri Press

Chapter Nineteen

Sunday mornings were my favorite. Oshabe-cha was closed on Sundays and Yasahiro didn’t have to be at Sawayaka until noon, so this meant we could sleep in, eat a decadent breakfast, read, or do whatever we wanted. Mom was hopeful I would devote my Sunday mornings to her and the farm, but this was a tradition I refused to give up. Everyone needed a day off from work. I didn’t like working long hours at the office when I lived in Tokyo, and I wasn’t going to do the same with my life in Chikata.

“Here you go,” Yasahiro said, sliding a plate stacked high with fluffy pancakes in front of me. My mouth watered as I watched the steam rise and melt the pat of butter on top. “I have more coming, so eat up.”

I brought my small bowl of maple syrup to the side of the plate and picked up my knife and fork, ready to do some damage. These pancakes were doomed. “It’ll be a tough task, but I’ll endeavor to eat them all.”

“That’s the spirit,” he said, yawning and rubbing his messy head of hair. “You didn’t say how the Girls’ Night Out went last night.”

“That’s because I was in bed and asleep before you ever got home.” I sliced off two layers of pancake, dipped them in syrup, and shoved them into my mouth like someone who hadn’t eaten in ten years. My word, they were delicious.

“Sorry.” He yawned again, the spatula in one hand and a coffee cup in the other. “During my mid-afternoon break, I drove by a few places we should look at later today. I think a few of them are promising, especially since the land itself is so cheap.” He flipped a pancake, and my stomach went along with it.

My mind latched onto my original dream of renovating the family house and living there. Over the past few months, the plans had dominated my daydreams. I had built and re-built the house many times over in my head, adding stories and decks and bigger bathrooms and on and on. I’d wanted a big bedroom with an attached bath for Mom and another for Yasahiro and me, a big bedroom for our kids. At one point, I’d even imagined a huge play gym in the backyard, one where my nephews and my own kids would play all day without worry.

It was hard to let go of something I’d wanted with all my heart.

“Oh yeah? Did you want to go today during your time off between shifts?”

He must have heard the hesitation in my voice because he paused and stared directly at me.

“Yes, I’d like to go today and get the ball rolling on this. Are you having second thoughts?”

I delayed by eating another slice of pancake. How could I explain this in the most humble way possible?

“I’m having trouble believing my brother has taken over my place at home.” My voice broke over the word “home,” and I wished it hadn’t. “It’s not that I’m having second thoughts about you and me.

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