Chapter 37 Fake Parent-Child Relationship

Fake Parent-Child Relationship

——The pace on the way home was slower than when we went to the supermarket.

“Takumi-kun, is it heavy? I think two big bags are too much for you…”

“W-what…if it’s only this much, it’s fine.”

It’s heavy. It’s really heavy.

I have a big bag in each hand and it makes my muscles pretty tired.

But I thought it was good exercise. I’m thin, so I think it’s good to exercise my muscles like this.

“Can Aunty have one?”

“No, it’s fine. But stop calling yourself Aunty…you’re not that old, you’re still young.”

“Araraa…Takumi-kun, it’s embarrassing if you say that…”

Despite saying that, Hana-san seems happy.

I’ve always felt that…Hana-san has low self-esteem. She underestimates herself…so I wanted to correct that.

Well, aside from the fact that I just want to see her reaction because she gets unusually shy when I praise her honestly.

“Ufufu~ Boy is so strong after all.”

It was completely different from when we went to the supermarket earlier, this time Hana-san walked with me at a slower pace.

Meanwhile, whether because she was trying to distract me from the weight…or because she was overlapping her past with my present, Hana-san mumbled something like this.

“…I used to shop like this a lot in the past.”

There is no “with whom” part.

But I can clearly tell from the context that she meant that guy.

It seems like Hana-san remembers Takeshi.

“Well, it was a long time ago…so, umm——”

Then Hana-san tries to change the topic, looking nervous.

Did she intentionally not mention Takeshi’s name?

But my mental health has recovered to the point that I don’t think anything of him anymore.

“Takeshi was very close to Hana-san until he was in elementary school, right?”

I want to get over Takeshi bit by bit.

I want to become so indifferent that I don’t feel anything when I mention his name.

Hoping that this would happen, I dared to mention his name myself. I showed that Takeshi’s name was neither forbidden nor a gaffe.

Hana-san seemed a little relieved when I mentioned Takeshi’s name.

“…Yes. When he was in elementary school, he always followed me when I went shopping. He did his best to carry my heavy luggage, but every time we went, he begged me for candy and other treats…”

Even as a child, Takeshi was a selfish naive little shit.

But unlike the scruffiness he has now, he was adorable, or at least…he was very sweet to Hana-san, and I think he was a lovely son to her.

But that was——before he went through puberty.

“He stopped following me when he got to middle school. He stopped spoiling me and complained a lot every chance he got…I miss those times because his separation from me came earlier than I expected.”

Takeshi’s character became rougher and rougher after junior high school.

I can describe him as more men-like at best, but it’s true that he lost the openness he had in…elementary school.

It seems that Hana-san was saddened by this more than anything else.

“I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t say this in front of Takumi-kun…but I was happy. It was fun to shop with you like this.”

…I’m not sure if that’s why she was in such a good mood.

Hana-san, who is very devoted to her children, still cares a lot about them even though they are getting older. So she probably appreciates this kind of communication more than anything else.

She seems to get the same pleasure from me.

“Let’s go again next time. Shopping, I learned a lot and had fun too.”

“…eh, really? Okay, let’s go again——definitely, let’s go, okay?”

When I promised the next time, Hana-san smiled very happily.

Seeing that smile made me…happy too.

Even if I was just overlaying the past Takeshi on the present me.

For me, who has no parents, Hana-san, who treats me like a mother, is an irreplaceable presence.

I know this is a fake parent-child relationship.

But it’s enough to make me happy…Maybe I’m just starving for the love of my immediate family——