quickie

So sorry for the long absence!

Some updates:
- The book is finished and I did manage to trim it down to approximately 25,000 words
- Partly the reason for the edit was that I submitted the book to a publisher to be considered for publication
- However, I've been asked to change a few things that have resulted in the story morphing into something different; this is supposed to be a trilogy of books, one each for Ana, Kaye, and Tessa, but I seriously wonder if I don't have enough on my plate at the moment
- So in the end, I decided to post the original in it's entirety for purposes of posterity
- I'll try to post the whole thing soon! Only 2 more chapters to go!

hugs and thanks for your patience! Keep reading The Japayuki Chronicles

xoxoxo

Leave it up to fate: Chapter 28

Chapter 28

“That was some renegotiation.” Jon commented as he sipped champagne beside me. “When I saw you last, you guys weren’t even talking and now you’re engaged!”

I sighed. It didn't seem real to me either. The past two weeks had been a whirlwind. Everything seemed constantly on fast-forward … dinner with my parents, Takashi’s press release, the ensuing media interview, and finally, tonight. I almost laughed aloud. I was standing in the middle of a private function room at the ANA hotel—our engagement party was ongoing, people were congratulating us left and right, and yet I still couldn't believe this was actually happening.

Someone please pinch me. I actually said that aloud and Jon had complied. My side smarted from where he had over-enthusiastically squeezed.

“Ana?”

I glanced to see who had called and saw Dan standing nearby. As I smiled and greeted him, Jon politely excused himself.

“So I guess this means you aren’t coming to Texas with me, huh?” Dan asked.

I shook my head. “I’m really sorry Dan, the research sounds fascinating but…”

“I understand. You don't have to be sorry Ana. Science will always be here for you, but people …” He glanced at Ken, who was introducing my mom to someone. “Sometimes you have to hold on to people.” He smiled wryly. “I’m just sad I wasn’t able to hold on to you.”

Lordy, that was the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard Dan say. But why wasn’t I hyperventilating? Instead I smiled sadly at him. He smiled back, shook my hand, and then left.

“What did wonder-Dan want?” Kaye asked, sidling up to me.

“Nothing, he just said goodbye. He’s leaving for Texas soon.”

Kaye was silent for a minute. “It never would have worked Ana. You were never really yourself with him. Whereas with Ken…” she grimaced, “I’m not saying it’s a match made in heaven, but I’m glad you can be your usual cranky self with him. At least he knows what he’s getting.”

I gaped. “Does this mean you approve?”

“Does it matter if Kaye approves or not when you and Ken are so obviously in love with each other?” Tessa asked as she, Jon, and Yoshi joined us.

I stared at Tessa, “Oh, but we aren’t!”

Tessa rolled her eyes. “We aren’t blind. Ken adores you! Even Kaye agrees.”

“I’m not disagreeing.” Kaye clarified.

“You of all people should know that this is all just an act.” I protested.

Yoshi shook his head. “I hate to say this Ana-chan, but Ken isn’t that good an actor.”

“And that rock on your finger certainly doesn't look fake.” Jon commented. In unison, we all looked at the 2-karat solitaire diamond ring that glinted on the fourth finger of my left hand.

“It’s just a ring.” I said though I cradled it protectively.

“Oi oi, we spent half a day picking that out!” Yoshi reminded. At my mulish expression, he sighed. “Ma ne, I think you’ve gotten too used to version 2.0 these past few months.”

“Version 2.0?”

Yoshi nodded. “Sou sou, Ken-chan version 1.0 scowls and grunts, gives monosyllabic answers, freezes people with a look, and walks around with a haughty look on his face.” He paused and took a sip of champagne. “Ken-chan version 2.0 smiles and laughs more, he’s more patient with people, and for the past few weeks, when he’s in the company of a certain someone, he walks around with a stupid grin on his face.”

I started shaking my head.

“Dyosko Ana, you’re not usually this obtuse.” Kaye complained.

“Ano ba, the guy loves you!” Tessa hissed, rolling her eyes.

“The question is do you love him?”

“Jon!”

“Honey, someone had to ask.” Jon replied.

“Yeah, otherwise you’d be skirting the question until the next millennium.” Kaye snorted.

“Ne, ne, so do you?” Yoshi asked.

I gulped. Yoshi, Jon, Kaye, and Tessa stared at me expectantly. Muttering something about needing to visit the lavatory, I turned away. As I fled, I thought I heard the four of them sigh in unison.

+++

“Oi, gaijin.”

I thought had the lavatory to myself when I heard someone address me. Hardly anyone ever called me a foreigner—at least not to my face—the Japanese were too polite for that. It was clearly meant as an insult and I turned around to see who had delivered it. I was surprised to see Ai, the woman from the concert after-party standing behind me. It wasn’t hard to recognize her—her clothes were just as skanky as the last time.

“Nan de? What are you doing here? This is a private party.” I told her as I turned to leave.

“Baka! He doesn’t really love you, gaijin.” She sneered.

“And I suppose he’s in love with you?” I asked derisively.

She laughed bitterly. “He’s still in love with Sakamoto-san. She’s back in town you know, that’s the only reason for this charade. He’s hoping she’ll be jealous and come back to him. I hope you won’t cry too much when he finally dumps you.”

“What I’m hoping for is that you’ll shut up.” I swear it took all my patience to leave without slapping her silly.

However, I felt my composure crack slightly as I walked back to the party. I’d almost forgotten about the issue of Erina. Ken never talked about her and I was too afraid to ask.

“Ah, Ana-san, Ken has been looking for you.” I looked up and saw Takashi heading towards me. No one had been more surprised to learn about our engagement than Takashi. Yoshi had joked that although Takashi was a good agent, he had the emotional range of a teaspoon (which kind of explained why he was still single).

I smiled and allowed him to escort me back to the party. Just before we were to enter, I stopped him. “Ano, Takashi-san, may I ask you something?” He looked at me questioningly. “Why did Ken and Erina break up?”

I could see that I had made him uneasy. He started mopping at nonexistent sweat on his forehead. “Etooo… I really don’t know Ana-san. Why don’t you ask Ken?”

“How long were they together?”

“Around 4 years maybe.” He scratched his head. “But he, Yoshi, and Erina were very good friends, so it may have been longer… Anooo, maybe we should go in now …”

I preceded Takashi back into the room, trying to hide how taken aback I was at his revelations. So Ken and Erina had been friends. They had been together for quite some time. And he did plan to ask her to marry him. That is, before she dumped him because she thought he had been getting it on with me. Were things really that simple? What had really happened? He couldn’t have forgotten her that easily, could he?

I rubbed my temples. Lordy. Did I really want to have ghosts in my bed even before I was even married?

Leave it up to fate: Chapter 27 EDIT

“Damn, damn, damn!” Kaye cursed, “Why did I have to go to the grocery just then?”

“Sou, sou!” Yoshi seconded. “Chikusho! I was only downstairs having a smoke, why didn’t I come up earlier?”

Tessa giggled. “Too bad, it was really something to see! Don’t worry,” she tried to console them, “Jon doesn’t even know about it yet.”

They stopped and turned when Ken and I walked back into the apartment. We had just seen my parents off in a cab. I nodded curtly to them, grabbed Ken’s hand and dragged him to my room.

Tessa, Kaye, and Yoshi looked at each other and smiled when I closed the door after us.

“C’mon guys,” I heard Tessa say, “Let’s give the newly engaged couple some privacy.”

+++

“Why?” At Ken’s raised brow, I said impatiently, “You know what I mean. Why did you go along with it?”

“Why did you say we were engaged in the first place?” He countered.

“I don’t know. It seemed the right thing to say at the moment.” I rounded on him, “But why did you go along with it?”

“It seemed the right thing to say,” Ken echoed, smiling maddeningly. “I thought you’d want me to back you up.”

“Well, I did but … but … but did you have to go so far as to arrange a wedding date?”

“We didn’t exactly decide on a date …”

“That’s beside the point!” I shrieked, “My mom is practically planning the wedding already.”

“Efficient woman, your mom.” Ken chuckled, “I like her already.”

“Oooh! We’ve got to do something,” I cried, “Have you got any ideas?” I buried my face in my hands. “Maybe we can just pretend to get married at the local city hall…”

“Baka. Your parents would see through that in a minute.”

“If we broke up …”

“No.”

“No?”

“It’s out of the question.”

I fell silent. He was right, if we broke up he’d be left in the same position he’d been in when we first met. Plus, it’d been my fault and I did promise to see it through. But damn, I had never envisioned things to get so tangled.

“Would being married to me be all that bad?” He asked.

Hmm, it actually wouldn’t be bad at all.

No, no, no! It would be a disaster! Gaga. Why am I even considering this?! I looked at Ken. “It just wouldn’t seem right. Marriage is sacred, but … you don’t … we’re not even …” I took a deep breath. “Well, it’s not as if we’ve suddenly fallen madly in love with each other.”

Or have we? The unspoken question seemed to float in the air between us.

“Do you still love Sato?”

I looked at Ken blankly, for a minute I had trouble remembering who Dan was. Ken patiently repeated his question.

“I-I don’t know.” I finally said.

“Then what’s stopping us from getting married?”

“A hundred things!” I cried. “And anyway, why would you want to marry me?”

Ken smiled mysteriously, “I have my reasons.”

After a few seconds, I prodded, “Well? What are they?”

He shook his head. “You’ll have to figure it out for yourself.” At my exasperated expression, he chuckled. “Don’t you want to get married sometime?”

“Of course I do!”

“Then why not to me?”

Yeah, why not? No, no, I had to be the adult here. “No Ken, we can’t do this.”

“Fine,” he said, “Call your parents and tell them that dinner tomorrow is cancelled and that you lied.”

I glared at him. Catch 22. That was something I wasn’t willing to do. I know that this is the 21^st century and that I’d just told my parents I was an adult with a life of my own, but if they found out, they’d drag me on a plane back home and chain me to the house until I turned 90.

“But Ken, you wouldn’t want to marry me!” I whined, sitting down on the bed.

“Why not?”

“Well… you’re you… and I’m … me.” I grimaced. Lordy, that line was trite, even to my ears.

“That seems to have worked out for us so far.” Ken sat down beside me and surprised me by pulling me onto his lap. “If we got married, it’d get your parents off your back and you could stay in Japan for as long as you wanted. And we do get along quite well…”

“What? We argue all the time!”

“Yeah, isn’t it great?” He grinned. I actually had to bite my lip to keep myself from grinning back. “Plus…”

“Plus?” I asked; distracted by the way he was looking at me.

“Plus, we seem to turn each other on.”

“Oh.” There was that.

“So is it on?” He asked huskily.

Tao lang po. Lordy, I was not immune to the soulful stare that had snared many a heart onscreen. The logical part of my brain was screaming no, but the hormone-driven sex-starved part won and I nodded.

Ken smiled. Then he stood up so fast I thought I’d land on the floor. He gave me a quick kiss and checked his watch. “I’ve got to go Ana. I’ve got some shopping to do.”

And then he was gone. I must’ve stood where he left me for a good 10 minutes before I crumpled to the floor.

Lordy, what just happened?

commercial break

Heehee.

I know I was supposed to post the last remaining chapters of Ana and Ken's story. I'm really sorry (I'm not flaking) but since the dawn of the new year, I've been swamped with work (which is not necessarily a bad thing, right?), and I just haven't had time.

Here's what I've been busy with.

Anyway, enough of me. I've decided to try and trim the whole thing down to 25,000 words --- no mean feat when I've got around 80,000+ to edit. Wahaha! It's been cathartic editing my own work; sometimes there are things that I would have written differently, or deleted altogether, there are also times when I mentally scream at myself to just shut up and get to the point. But I guess that's what editing is for, right?

So what's everybody busy with? ;-)

Leave it up to fate: Chapter Twenty-seven

CHAPTER 27

“We have to talk.”

Ken glanced down at Ana’s softly uttered request. They were standing side by side at the foyer of Ana’s apartment building, waving Ana’s parents off. Ana’s father had belatedly remembered that one of his Japanese business associates had invited them over for dinner, and so dinner with Ken had been postponed until the following evening.

Ken followed Ana back into her apartment. Excited voices were issuing from the living room, where Tessa was regaling Kaye and Yoshi with the events of the past hour.

“Damn, damn, damn!” Kaye cursed, “Why did I have to go to the grocery just then?”

“Chikusho!” Yoshi cursed at the same time. “I was only downstairs having a smoke, why didn’t I come up earlier?”

Tessa giggled. “Too bad, it was really something to see! Don’t worry,” she tried to console them, “Jon doesn’t even know about it yet.”

They all stopped and turned when Ana and Ken walked in, but the look on their faces held back the barrage of questions that seemed to burn on their lips. Nodding to them, Ana went into her room. Ken followed and closed the door.

Tessa, Kaye, and Yoshi looked at each other and smiled.

“C’mon guys,” Tessa said, “Let’s give the newly engaged couple some privacy.” Kaye and Yoshi followed her, albeit reluctantly, out the door.

+++

Ken glanced about Ana’s room. It was much smaller than his, but it was tastefully and simply decorated in tones of white, blue, and brown. It contained a bed and a desk. Cabinet doors lined one wall. Ana motioned for Ken to sit on the bed and he did so, expecting her to sit beside him or on the chair, but she started pacing about the room. Ken kept silent as he watched her. He couldn’t be more pleased with how things turned out. Ana, however, seemed not to share his opinion. She looked like she wanted to start tearing her hair out. That thought made him chuckle.

Ana glared at him, “It isn’t funny.”

“C’mon,” Ken cajoled, “it’s a bit funny.”

Ana continued to scowl at him. After a few more minutes of pacing, she sat in the chair and faced him. “Why, Ken?” She asked. At his raised brow, she said impatiently, “You know what I mean. Why did you go along with the engagement?”

“Why did you say we were engaged in the first place?” He countered.

“I don’t know,” she said, “It seemed the right thing to say at the moment.” Then she rounded on him, “But why did you go along with it?”

“It seemed the right thing to say,” Ken echoed, smiling maddeningly. “And I thought you’d want me to back you up.”

“Well, I did but … but … but did you have to go so far as to arrange a wedding date?”

“We didn’t exactly decide on a date …”

“That’s besides the point!” Ana shrieked, “My mom is practically planning the wedding already.”

“Efficient woman, your mom.” Ken chuckled, “I like her already.”

“Oooh! We’ve got to do something,” she cried, “Have you got any ideas?”

When Ken simply smiled at her, she buried her face in her hands, “Maybe we can just pretend to get married at the local city hall to get them off our backs …”

“Baka. Your parents would see through that in a minute.”

“You’re right,” she agreed. “If we broke up …”

“No.”

“No?”

“It’s out of the question,” Ken told her.

Ana slumped in her seat and fell silent. He was right, she mused, if they broke up, he’d be left in the same position he’d been in when they first met. Ken’s career was important to him. And she had promised to see it through. But damn, she had never envisioned it to get tangled so.

Ken stared at her, “Would being married to me be all that bad?”

Ana stared back at him and considered the question. It actually wouldn’t be bad at all. In fact, a little voice inside of her kept urging her to jump at the opportunity. But she tamped down the giddy feelings that were threatening to burst forth.

“It’s just that it wouldn’t seem right. Marriage is something sacred, but you’re not … you don’t … we’re not even …” Ana gave a hollow laugh, “Well, it’s not as if we’ve suddenly fallen madly in love with each other.”

Or have they? The unspoken question resonated in Ana’s mind.

“Do you still love Sato?”

Ana looked at Ken blankly, as if she had trouble remembering who Dan was. Ken pulled her chair nearer, cradled her hands in his, and repeated his question.

“I-I don’t know.” Ana finally said.

Ken let out the breath that he had been holding and smiled, “Then what is stopping us from getting married?”

“A hundred things!” Ana cried, thinking of Erina, the buxom girl, and the fact that Ken didn’t love her. “And anyway, why would you want to marry me?”

Ken smiled mysteriously, “I have my reasons.”

After a few seconds, Ana prodded, “Well? What is it?”

Ken shook his head, “If you have to ask, then you’re sure as hell not ready for the answer. You’ll have to try and figure it out for yourself.”

He stood up and checked his watch. “I’ve got to go Ana,” he said, pulling her up for quick kiss, “I’ve got some shopping to do.”

+++

As Yoshi and Ken were mostly silent as they drove to Aoyama. A secret smile played on Ken’s lips as he thought about the events of the day. First, his best friend had walked in on him and the woman he loved while they were in bed. Then he had taken her home, met her parents, and then they had become engaged. Not bad at all.

Not even Ana’s admonition that they should probably keep everything quiet for now could manage to dim his enthusiasm.

He was engaged to marry Ana. Damn if that didn’t feel good.

And he didn’t believe that she was still in love with Sato. As Ken came to find out, when it came to love, it’s either you are or you aren’t. Moreover, Ana wouldn’t kiss him back the way she had if she’d been in love with someone else. No, Ana loved him, he was sure of it. He was going to make sure of it.

Yoshi, noticing how happy Ken was, tried to be tactful, but he couldn’t resist a dig, “So did you have a nice day?” he asked innocently.

Ken gave him an exasperated look, but broke into a smile. “The best,” he answered. They drove in companionable silence for a while, then Ken suddenly asked, “Have you ever been in love, Yoshi?”

The car swerved dangerously before Yoshi righted it. “Are we having a real conversation here?”

Ken rolled his eyes, “Seriously, have you ever been in love?”

“I thought I was once…”

“Who was it?” Ken had never expected Yoshi to reply in the affirmative.

Yoshi shrugged, “Some girl from the past.”

Ken looked at him incredulously, “I never knew you were serious about anyone.”

“Are we really having this conversation?”

“What happened?”

Yoshi was silent for a couple of minutes more. Then he shrugged, “I … I guess I never realized what I had in front of me. I wanted different things … so she left.”

Ken was mentally trying to sift through all the girlfriends Yoshi had been rumored to have in the past years. Stumped, he asked, “Did you go after her?”

“I tried. As soon as I realized my mistake, I tried. But it was too late.”

“Do you still think about her?”

“Sometimes.” Yoshi answered offhandedly. He didn’t add that he thought of her every time he saw her eyes in her brother’s face. Every time he looked at his best friend. Every time he looked at Ken, he remembered Yuki.

They were both silent Then Ken, wanting to change to topic, smiled and said, “Yuki’s coming home for a vacation soon. I can’t wait for her to meet Ana.”

Yoshi almost grimaced. So it was that time of the year again. The time of the year when he invented a reason to avoid Ken for a month. A reason to avoid running into Yuki. “So is she bringing another one of her European toy boys back this time?” He asked.

Ken snorted, “She never did say,“ he still remembered the last ass she had brought home, Francois something or the other, and almost shuddered. ”So where are you running off to this time?” at Yoshi’s startled expression, Ken grinned. “Don’t think I don’t know that you and Yuki can’t stand each other. It was pretty obvious the last few times you met up.” Ken turned into his driveway, “I don’t understand it, how could you hate each other so much?”

Because I broke her heart, Yoshi thought. But to Ken he said, “Maybe she thinks I’m a bad influence on you?”

Ken snorted as he turned the ignition off. He glanced at his friend, “I’ll find out about it soon you know,” he said as he got out of the jeep.

Yoshi glanced at his best friend's back as Ken pushed open the door of a shop. He fervently hoped Ken hadn't seen the alarm on his face.

Taym Pers: Updates, updates!

Hi everybody! Thank you again for keeping up with Ana and Ken's story on The Japayuki Chronicles ;-)

If you've noticed, I've been able to update more in the past few weeks than I've been able to do in the past months. What brought on this literary coup you may ask? Very simple: I now have a yaya. Hahaha! Wow, I never really realized what a luxury having a few hours to myself would be. ;-)

The good news is that Ana and Ken's story is almost over, I have only about 6-7 more chapters to write and edit; that is if my characters don't go all loony on me. Heheh.

The bad news is that when I was cleaning up my files a week ago I mistakenly erased the files for the book's cover and graphics. Sad. I was so proud of that cover. Oh well, at least I was able to publish it here, so it's not totally lost.

Anyway, hope you all stay tuned for more chapters! Have a happy merry Christmas and a wonderful new year everyone! Cheers!

Leave it up to Fate: Chapter Twenty-six

CHAPTER 26

As they drove back to her apartment later that morning, Ana couldn’t imagine how she had survived breakfast with Yoshi and Ken. Although the three of had eaten breakfast as if it was something they did together every day, Ana still felt like the whole thing was like something out of the Twilight Zone.

Ana fiddled with a button of the borrowed shirt she wore. Ken had thoughtfully rummaged in his sister’s drawers for something for her to wear, as the gown of the previous night was quite ruined. Ana was now wearing jeans and a white button-down shirt of Yuki’s.

When Ana had emerged from the bathroom, she found Ken, who had also showered and changed, deep in discussion with Yoshi over how to bring Ana home. She had blanched at the idea that this whole episode could be blown out of proportion by an enterprising reporter who could be camped outside. In the end, it was decided that Yoshi would drive and Ken would sit in front, while Ana ducked in the back until they were well on their way. Ken had wanted to wait for Takashi to bring the van over since the van’s windows were dark, but Ana had balked, not wanting his manager to know that she had spent the night.

It was early afternoon when they finally got to her apartment. Yoshi dropped them off at the foyer while he found a place to park. Ana and Ken were silent as they rode the lift up to the Ana’s floor.

When they got to her door, Ana, who was rummaging in her bag for her keys, started when Ken suddenly turned her to face him.

“You’ve been awfully quiet.” He observed.

She shrugged, “It’s just that this whole thing has gotten so surreal …”

“Really? Which part?”

“Don’t tease,” Ana said, frowning.

She looked so adorably irritated that Ken couldn’t resist gathering her in his arms for a hug, “Well, life with you is never boring at any rate.”

“Ha-ha.” Ana retorted, though she didn’t resist the comfort of his arms, “I keep expecting the sky to fall next.”

“Pessimist.” Ken teased as he leaned back to look at her, “Ne, what else could happen?”

“Hey Ana, is that you?” Tessa called as the door suddenly burst open, “Where have you been? Guess who I found downstairs…”

Still in Ken’s arms, Ana whirled around and was floored to see the identically shocked faces of her parents, behind of course, the equally shocked face of Tessa. She looked up at Ken, pushed him away abruptly and turned to face her parents, “Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?”

“These are your parents?” Ken inquired.

“Yes, they are, uh…” Ana began “Mom, Dad, it isn’t what you’re thinking…” she began.

Her dad’s reddening face resembled a volcano that was about to erupt “Really now? Then kindly explain to us what we ought to think. Two days ago, a Japanese reporter turned up at our house in Cebu. They’ve apparently been doing an investigation on you.”

“They what?” Ana and Ken both got out.

“Yes, and they were quite insistent to find out what we thought of your relationship with…”

A slight cough made them all pause and look at Ana’s mother. “Why don’t you two come in,” she invited in a placid voice, “I don’t think this is a discussion that should be held at one’s doorstep, don’t you think?” She turned and walked back into the living room, followed by her husband, Ana, and Ken.

“Ana?” Her mother said as they sat down on the sofas, “You have not yet introduced us to your companion.”

“Oh, mom and dad, this is Ken Nakamura. Ken, these are my parents,” Ana managed to get out, wringing her hands worriedly. She shot a glance at Tessa, who was still standing at the genkan, her mouth still a perfect little O. No help from that quarter.

Ken stood and shook hands with her mom and dad. “I am very pleased to meet both of you.” He said.

Ana’s father kept a firm grip on Ken’s hand as he tried to size him up. “And who are you exactly in relation to my daughter?” he bit out.

“Dad!”

Ken’s smile broadened as he began to answer, “Actually I’m …”

“He’s … he’s … he’s my fiancée.” Ana suddenly announced.

It was suddenly so silent that you could have heard a pin drop. Tessa, Ana’s parents, and Ken simply stared at her.

Then suddenly as if on cue, Ken turned to her dad, “I am sorry you had to find out this way. Ana and I had planned on flying to Cebu next weekend to formally ask your permission, but I guess the cat’s out of the bag.” He said and smiled amiably.

Ana’s parents’ expressions thawed slightly at this. Her mother looked back and forth between the two of them, before finally glancing at Ana’s hands, “But she doesn’t even have a ring!” she exclaimed.

“That’s because we had to get it resized.” Ken explained quickly as he reached for Ana’s hand. “You’ll see it tonight,” he continued, “As I’m hoping you’ll do us the honor of dining with us.”

This, apparently did the trick for Ana’s mom suddenly burst into tears and came to hug both of them. “Oh we would love to! This is wonderful news, isn’t it darling?” She nudged her husband. Hard.

Ana glanced at her father. His face could have been set in stone. He looked stonily at Ken, “What do actors make nowadays?” He asked baldly.

“Dad!” Ana wailed.

But her father ignored her, “I came over here with the intention of paying off the sleazy actor my daughter got involved with,” he said, “I do wonder if you’re the type that could be bought.”

Ken recovered his composure, “I’m not.” He answered.

“Dad, how could you even …”

“When I die, Ana will come into quite a fortune of her own,” her father told him, “Were you aware of that?”

“No I wasn’t,” Ken answered, “I’m not marrying her for her money.” He assured the other man with a smile, “Please don’t worry, I’ve got enough to support us both.”

“Have you slept with my daughter?”

“Daddy!”

“Ana, I am your father and I have the right to ask him this,” Ana’s father shot back and then barked at Ken, “Well, have you?”

Ken smiled yet again, “If I did I wouldn’t tell you. It is entirely our own business. But please rest assured that I only have the highest respect and affection for Ana and that I really do intend to marry her.”

“Daddy!” Ana shouted as she got up and faced her father, “Now you listen to me, you have no right to interrogate Ken like this! I’m not a child and you can’t fob me off on your friends’ sons anymore. I am of age and I will marry whomever I want! Now if you don’t like that, you can get back on a plane to Cebu right now because I’m not talking to you until you stop treating me like this!”

Everyone was staring at Ana again. Ken even had the audacity to wink at her.

Her father stared at Ken for a long minute before harrumphing and said, “I don’t believe in long engagements.”

“Da-ad!” Ana wailed yet again, but Ken grabbed hold of her hand and urged her to sit next to him.

“I don’t either,” Ken answered. “I was hoping to convince Ana to marry in two months’ time.”

“Wha- what?” Ana turned disbelievingly to Ken, she was glad he was game, but this was taking the farce more than one step too far.

“Two months? Oh, that’s not enough time to plan everything,” Ana’s mother protested. “We have to call the caterers and photographers, have the gowns and invitations made, and inform all our relatives.”

Ken turned to Ana and smiled, “Well sweetheart, I’d rather not wait, but if you’d really like a grand wedding…”

“No! I mean yes I do want a nice wedding but…” Ana wailed, “Mom, Dad, why don’t we talk this over first. Our schedules are both quite packed at the moment…”

“I’d be happy to clear my schedule for you,” Ken said and Ana gave him a murderous stare.

“Oh, alright. We have two months at least,” Ana’s mother declared. Then she suddenly stood and reached for her bag. She walked over to the couch, emptied the contents of the bag on it, and then hurriedly rummaged through the spilled contents.

“Mom, what in the world are you looking for?” Ana asked, still trying to think of a way out of this situation.

“My phone,” her mother explained as she found it and turned it on. She looked through her planner and began dialing a series of numbers.

“We don’t have to tell everybody about it yet…”Ana protested, but trailed off when her mom lapsed into Cebuano. Ana felt the blood drain from her face as she realized that her mom was arranging for the Cebu Cathedral and the ballroom at the Mariott in Mactan to be blocked on a weekend roughly two months from today. She was also directing Coring, her secretary, to contact photographers and couturiers and caterers and to Fedex a bundle to them tomorrow. She even had Coring call both her sister and Ana’s godmother to tell them the news. “There, that’s that.” She said as she ended the call. “Coring will arrange everything with the church and the hotel…” she explained, “…and between Auntie Jackie and your Ninang Mildred, everyone in Cebu will be notified by the end of the week.”

Ana was close to panic, “But mom…”

Her mom turned to face her suddenly, “Don’t tell me you didn’t want to get married in Cebu?” she asked.

“Of course I’d rather get married in Cebu, but…”

“Is there a problem with having the wedding in Cebu?” she asked Ken instead, “Would you rather have a traditional Japanese wedding?”

“I would rather that Ana be able to celebrate it with the people she loves,” he replied.

Her mother beamed at him, “That’s lovely. Now let’s all sit down and get to know each other. Ana,” she gestured to her daughter, “where are your manners? Get us some coffee and biscuits. Come Dad, enough of that glowering,” she admonished. “Now dears,” she said as they all sat down, “Have you given any thought as to the theme?”

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