The Chikamori Legacy (The Sanitized Version)
Prologue - "Seeds of Dissent" Part I (Author's Note: "This is the clean, sanitized version with no links back to my blog - meaning no contraventions against rules) Vancouver, BC, Canada - 1988 ...
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Chapter One: “Love and Loss” - Part VIII
https://i.imgur.com/9525F1j.jpg
“There’s two bathrooms and I may put an outhouse for when it's too far to make a run for the washrooms in the trailer", Haruo informed her, ”
https://i.imgur.com/kGwwGoD.jpg
“Guess we should start by taking the bed in…” River said feeling somewhat mollified and chastised at the same time.
https://i.imgur.com/2zBjDrh.jpg
“Grab it by the end, squat with your knees and hips then straighten up. Don’t try to bend over or you’ll throw your back out. Heading to Richmond General will put a nasty crimp in the timetable.” His dry tone indicated just how irritated he was at the moment.
“OK.”
https://i.imgur.com/WdFii7r.jpg
Moving the bed in was a royal pain-in-the-hind-end. Having one’s face mushed against the frame of a box-spring while trying to wrestle it in one way and then the other was near joyful - the complete opposite actually. The mattress was even more of a swear inducing exercise in calisthenics and weight-lifting. “Jesus Christ!!!” Haruo let out a few more blue words as he accidentally mashed the back of his hand against the doorframe.
https://i.imgur.com/fp5rPXE.jpg
“Did you hurt anything?” River asked setting down her side of the mattress when it was in the door. The mattress was on one end. And they still had to get it in the door to his bedroom. The box spring was going to be a monster to get in. They would have to guide it in; inch by careful inch. The mattress could be bent a little but the box spring had little to no give and one could either pinch their fingers or tenderize their whole hand if mashed against the door frame while trying to maneuver it to just where you wanted it. But finally they managed to get the box-spring where he wanted it. And frankly it just made a nice thwack sound as it hit the floor and a dull thud as the mattress hit it not more than twenty seconds later. A quick adjustment and it was ready for sheets.
https://i.imgur.com/czu1uGW.jpg
River looked over at Haruo. He seemed so much older yet he was only older by 9 months. Yet she still had a year to go in school, a half year if she applied herself to her academics and got through everything with flying colors. So, what waited for her at the very end? A nice rolled up diploma stating that she’d stayed the course in the BC education curriculum. Then another four year stint in higher education where she would be expected to don graduation robes yet again then attend a fancy degree conferring known as a convocation. If truth be told, Haruo looked rather stressed and irritable; not surprising after this morning.
As they started bringing boxes in, River asked, “so…you’re practically a young adult.” She smirked; in her mind, she had forgiven him about Bebe. “So any plans on what you intend to do with yourself?
https://i.imgur.com/MfwOl4S.jpg
“No idea….Grandma did tell me that she would like me to try to go to university if I could. And part of me wants to since Grandpa sacrificed for me n’ my….mother.” He spat the last word out as if it was something distasteful.
https://i.imgur.com/nyVt8lj.jpg
“But I’m all school’d out. I just kinda wanna relax and do my own thing for a year. Maybe take two years off to really get an idea of what I wanna do.”
https://i.imgur.com/8RPjMpI.jpg
He dumped his box of clothes on the bed. And, I got bills coming so I have to have money for that. So maybe work for a year and see what happens. You got hundred twelve till grad, right?”
“Yeah,” River responded.
https://i.imgur.com/COCjtpI.jpg
Idly brushing away some lint that had fallen onto his pant-leg, Haruo commented, “Might meet someone you like good enough to go to university with him or maybe you might meet someone at UBC that you fit with.”
https://i.imgur.com/Bt2tdiJ.jpg
“Yeah, maybe….” River sounded subdued. Does he only think of me as a little sister type of friend? “What if I already think I’ve found the guy I want to be with?” She asked.
https://i.imgur.com/sebmMAo.jpg
Haruo raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” He looked at her…”Well, then, I guess congratulations are in order.”
https://i.imgur.com/byj1VBR.jpg
OMG, you dolt! She thought to herself with a huff of aggravation. She shook her head. “You don’t get it, do you?”
https://i.imgur.com/OVCx2MN.jpg
“What?” Haruo just sounded irritated as hell. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
https://i.imgur.com/WzucDEa.jpg
“It means, I don’t want anyone else…”.
https://i.imgur.com/04EGxTb.jpg
Haruo looked completely bewildered. First she said she had someone else that she was interested in and then she said that he didn’t understand what she meant. He thought that it had been clear enough to him. And then the I don’t want anyone else. That just confused the ever-loving daylights out of him. He raised an eyebrow in question.
https://i.imgur.com/V9dLuxN.jpg
“But…I thought…you had someone…and…well…in that case…you shouldn’t want anyone else….right!”
https://i.imgur.com/j0wu9hn.jpg
River almost let out a scream of frustration…she wasn’t sure how to gauge his reaction. Was he inexplicably dense or was he just toying with her and did she really want to consider a serious relationship with someone with the cognition abilities of a piece of granite? Aggravation wasn’t the word for this. Did she have to do this the caveman way to make him understand just exactly what she meant.
https://i.imgur.com/MXQHXnM.jpg
Haruo continued to stand there puzzled at why River looked like she was going to take a baseball bat and brain him. And that was frankly annoying to say the least. Do women know how to just come out and say what the hell they mean instead of playing word games and driving him completely out of his ever-lovin’ mind? Because he was just about to scatter his marbles all over the floor in another minute if something didn’t start making sense soon. After that to-do with his mother, he was plumb out of patience.
https://i.imgur.com/9525F1j.jpg
“There’s two bathrooms and I may put an outhouse for when it's too far to make a run for the washrooms in the trailer", Haruo informed her, ”
https://i.imgur.com/kGwwGoD.jpg
“Guess we should start by taking the bed in…” River said feeling somewhat mollified and chastised at the same time.
https://i.imgur.com/2zBjDrh.jpg
“Grab it by the end, squat with your knees and hips then straighten up. Don’t try to bend over or you’ll throw your back out. Heading to Richmond General will put a nasty crimp in the timetable.” His dry tone indicated just how irritated he was at the moment.
“OK.”
https://i.imgur.com/WdFii7r.jpg
Moving the bed in was a royal pain-in-the-hind-end. Having one’s face mushed against the frame of a box-spring while trying to wrestle it in one way and then the other was near joyful - the complete opposite actually. The mattress was even more of a swear inducing exercise in calisthenics and weight-lifting. “Jesus Christ!!!” Haruo let out a few more blue words as he accidentally mashed the back of his hand against the doorframe.
https://i.imgur.com/fp5rPXE.jpg
“Did you hurt anything?” River asked setting down her side of the mattress when it was in the door. The mattress was on one end. And they still had to get it in the door to his bedroom. The box spring was going to be a monster to get in. They would have to guide it in; inch by careful inch. The mattress could be bent a little but the box spring had little to no give and one could either pinch their fingers or tenderize their whole hand if mashed against the door frame while trying to maneuver it to just where you wanted it. But finally they managed to get the box-spring where he wanted it. And frankly it just made a nice thwack sound as it hit the floor and a dull thud as the mattress hit it not more than twenty seconds later. A quick adjustment and it was ready for sheets.
https://i.imgur.com/czu1uGW.jpg
River looked over at Haruo. He seemed so much older yet he was only older by 9 months. Yet she still had a year to go in school, a half year if she applied herself to her academics and got through everything with flying colors. So, what waited for her at the very end? A nice rolled up diploma stating that she’d stayed the course in the BC education curriculum. Then another four year stint in higher education where she would be expected to don graduation robes yet again then attend a fancy degree conferring known as a convocation. If truth be told, Haruo looked rather stressed and irritable; not surprising after this morning.
As they started bringing boxes in, River asked, “so…you’re practically a young adult.” She smirked; in her mind, she had forgiven him about Bebe. “So any plans on what you intend to do with yourself?
https://i.imgur.com/MfwOl4S.jpg
“No idea….Grandma did tell me that she would like me to try to go to university if I could. And part of me wants to since Grandpa sacrificed for me n’ my….mother.” He spat the last word out as if it was something distasteful.
https://i.imgur.com/nyVt8lj.jpg
“But I’m all school’d out. I just kinda wanna relax and do my own thing for a year. Maybe take two years off to really get an idea of what I wanna do.”
https://i.imgur.com/8RPjMpI.jpg
He dumped his box of clothes on the bed. And, I got bills coming so I have to have money for that. So maybe work for a year and see what happens. You got hundred twelve till grad, right?”
“Yeah,” River responded.
https://i.imgur.com/COCjtpI.jpg
Idly brushing away some lint that had fallen onto his pant-leg, Haruo commented, “Might meet someone you like good enough to go to university with him or maybe you might meet someone at UBC that you fit with.”
https://i.imgur.com/Bt2tdiJ.jpg
“Yeah, maybe….” River sounded subdued. Does he only think of me as a little sister type of friend? “What if I already think I’ve found the guy I want to be with?” She asked.
https://i.imgur.com/sebmMAo.jpg
Haruo raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” He looked at her…”Well, then, I guess congratulations are in order.”
https://i.imgur.com/byj1VBR.jpg
OMG, you dolt! She thought to herself with a huff of aggravation. She shook her head. “You don’t get it, do you?”
https://i.imgur.com/OVCx2MN.jpg
“What?” Haruo just sounded irritated as hell. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
https://i.imgur.com/WzucDEa.jpg
“It means, I don’t want anyone else…”.
https://i.imgur.com/04EGxTb.jpg
Haruo looked completely bewildered. First she said she had someone else that she was interested in and then she said that he didn’t understand what she meant. He thought that it had been clear enough to him. And then the I don’t want anyone else. That just confused the ever-loving daylights out of him. He raised an eyebrow in question.
https://i.imgur.com/V9dLuxN.jpg
“But…I thought…you had someone…and…well…in that case…you shouldn’t want anyone else….right!”
https://i.imgur.com/j0wu9hn.jpg
River almost let out a scream of frustration…she wasn’t sure how to gauge his reaction. Was he inexplicably dense or was he just toying with her and did she really want to consider a serious relationship with someone with the cognition abilities of a piece of granite? Aggravation wasn’t the word for this. Did she have to do this the caveman way to make him understand just exactly what she meant.
https://i.imgur.com/MXQHXnM.jpg
Haruo continued to stand there puzzled at why River looked like she was going to take a baseball bat and brain him. And that was frankly annoying to say the least. Do women know how to just come out and say what the hell they mean instead of playing word games and driving him completely out of his ever-lovin’ mind? Because he was just about to scatter his marbles all over the floor in another minute if something didn’t start making sense soon. After that to-do with his mother, he was plumb out of patience.
