Chapter 10 Secret Meeting without Telling My Daughter
#Papa to Kekkon SuruSecret Meeting without Telling My Daughter
My work day was over.
Normally, I would’ve gone straight home, but today I had an appointment, so I stopped by the cafe where we were supposed to meet.
“Let’s see… there.”
I looked around the cafe and spotted a blonde who stood out.
She was the person I was supposed to meet.
"Sorry, I’m late!”
I hurried, but the time for our meeting had passed.
As I rushed up to the person I was supposed to meet, she looked at me slowly.
Her face is as expressionless as ever.
It’s not that she is in a bad mood. She is always so unsociable.
“…It’s okay; I didn’t wait that long.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s only about two hours.”
“…Two hours?!”
No, I mean, I’m only 10 minutes late from the meeting time, right?
Sophia-san, I think you are too early… No, it’s not right to point this out when you’re late.
The right thing to do is to apologize properly.
“Sophia-san, I’m sorry.”
I bowed my head and took the seat opposite her.
The person I was supposed to meet—Sophia-san—is looking at the menu instead of me.
“Itsuki-san, I want this cheesecake and the shortcake.”
“…Okay. I’ll pay for it as an apology for being late.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. I’m not asking you to pay for them… It’s just that I’m so busy raising my kids that I can’t afford to eat out, and now I can afford to eat out. But I don’t know how to order….”
Sophia-san looks young, but she is actually older than me. Her three children have reached adulthood. She never told me her exact age, but I think she’s in her early forties.
“Oh, I see. If you press the call button there, a waiter will come to you; just tell him the name of the product, and you’ll be fine.”
“…I see. So the waiter wasn’t ignoring me….”
After I told her, Sophia-san timidly pressed the call button.
It’s like a toddler touching an animal for the first time… Eh, Sophia-san? You don’t have to press it several times, you know?
“Yes, yes! Sorry. Miss. Are you ready to order?”
The waiter came out, looking panicked, as Sophia-san kept pressing the call button.
“Well… a seasonal limited-calorie cheesecake set, please!”
Sophia-san said the product name with great force.
Hey, you don’t have to use that much force, Sophia-san.
“Okay, sure. It’s a seasonal cheesecake set.”
(… Sophia-san, you also don’t have to mention its full name.)
No, I don’t want her to get mad at me.
Sophia-san seems embarrassed that she said the long product name. She covers her blushing face with both hands.
“…and a coffee, please.”
“Yes, sir. Please wait a moment!”
After I gave my order, the waiter walked away as if running away.
I don’t know why. Was he afraid of us?
As I watched him go, I asked Sophia-san something that had been bothering me.
“By the way, didn’t the waiter come right after you got to the cafe? You should’ve ordered then.”
“It had been a while since I had eaten out, so I was nervous. Also, that flashy boy started talking to me earlier, so I said, ‘Get lost’.”
Arara. So that’s why the waiter didn’t approach her.
She seems to have done a lot of things wrong.
But maybe it can't be helped.
Because it looks like Sophia-san hasn't eaten out in a long time.
“In the past, I couldn’t afford to eat out, so no wonder I forgot how to order….”
She mumbles absent-mindedly while looking out the window.
“We were poor, so I couldn’t even take Satsuki in with me, so I left her with you… I am sorry. And thank you too.”
This time, she bowed to me instead.
No, no, that’s not true. There’s no need to apologize or be grateful.
Sophia-san did nothing wrong.
“If anything, I’m the one who’s more grateful. I’m really grateful that you adopted her at all, even if it was just on the family registry.”
Sophia-san is Sasha’s cousin.
In other words, she is Satsuki’s blood relative.
And she’s also Satsuki’s mother on the family register.
“So… Satsuki-chan, is she healthy?”
“Yes. She’s very healthy… Actually, I think she’s a little too energetic.”
“Ufufu. That’s very good. Kids should be a little energetic.”
We started talking right away. The conversation is about Satsuki, of course.
Sophia-san and I had a regular meeting to exchange information.
She is a mother of three children and a resilient, amazing woman who raised them all by herself.
So I got a lot of advice from her about raising children.
Today is the day of the regular report meeting.
And this was also a secret meeting, without telling my daughter Satsuki——