Naoki wished he knew how to cheer her up. Of course, she was sad when he met her all those years ago at the airport. Yes, Tammy was a lifesaver even if she didn't believe it. He'd been left at the airport when he was all of four. She'd been the one to find him and to take care of him.
He didn't know the whole story—her story because he didn't really know his own. He'd always called her Ma. And they were still together, even if she said he should move out to be on his own. He was in no hurry. He had a college degree in finance, and the job paid well, but he was in no hurry to leave.
"You might go back to Hawaii, then what?" Naoki questioned when they were fussing about what to eat at home.
"No, I won't. It's too expensive there," she'd say.
"It's expensive, everywhere."
But soon enough, they'd make fried rice and eat what she wasn't supposed to. She would chill with her wine and sometimes, he'd catch her mumbling about someone. Someone he didn't know.
"Why don't you go see these people you keep talking about?" He'd squint with a pout.
"What people?" She would look at him as if he was pulling her leg.
"Oh, Ma, why can't you say?"
That was the way the conversation went. Again and again. If he could just figure it out. "What if they come looking for you, huh?"
"They wouldn't?" She'd crack a smile and go on with eating.
"Just because we're in West O, and they aren't?" Naoki had a feeling they were around. Whoever they were. Family, he guessed.
She would shut down and not say another word. But other times, he could hear her talking in her sleep. Yes, she talked about them a lot, but it felt like a dead end. He knew he could do his research at work, but he was afraid too. Because she was his Ma and he liked it that way. Naoki wanted to be the only family she needed. He'd see to it she could retire without any great stress. He'd be the only son she'd ever need.
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