Tsuki! - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

     On the last day before they had to return to Japan, Hannah brought Toshihiro shopping. Her father was holding a “small” and “informal” gathering, which meant that Hannah needed to buy Toshihiro some formal wear.

     “Why couldn’t he have told me that he had a gala planned?” She muttered as she drove her Jaguar convertible to the nearest metropolitan area with top fashion designers.

     Toshihiro hadn’t learned how to drive a car since he couldn’t afford one even if he could drive, and was amazed to see his wife handle her car so skillfully; yet another thing about her he hadn’t known. 

     They arrived at their destination a short while later, and Hannah handed her car over to a valet. She led Toshihiro into a shop that sold the hottest fashions for men, and he had to submit to the overly friendly hands of the staff. They measured him, and ran their hands over his body. They ooed and ahed over him, and generally made him blush.

     He had to admit that the girls were pretty, but the guys all seemed to be flaming gay. This normally wouldn’t have bothered him, but he had no way of knowing if Hannah was encouraging their advances.

     They eventually had him wearing an expensive silk suit that was either a smoky dark blue or black, depending on the lighting. It fit him better than any piece of clothing he had ever owned, and he had to purposely not think about how much it must cost.

     Hannah looked at him with a thoughtful grin, and realized that her plan to wear one of the feminine yet business-like suits in her closet just wasn’t going to work. She needed to wear something that complemented what he was wearing. She motioned for him to take the suit off, and paid for it as he was putting his previous clothes back on.

     Then, she slipped her hand into her husband’s and led him to the same type of shop, but for women. She decisively vetoed almost every outfit, until she saw a dress that nearly matched the smoky dark blue of the suit. It was also made of silk, and was meant to be worn over a complementing shift of either white or black, as it was fairly transparent.

     Hannah decided to try it on without the shift underneath, and instantly loved how it looked on her. The shop’s staff spent a few moments groping her – er ah checking the fit of the dress – and Hannah loved the way their hands felt over the fabric.

     She turned to smile at Toshihiro, seeking his opinion. The amazed and slightly lusty look on his face told her immediately that it was the right dress for her. She grinned at her husband like a lovestruck fool, and kissed him as if no one was watching.

     “I think my husband likes the dress as well,” Hannah informed the staff a moment later, and then proceeded to change back into her previous clothes.

The couple had plenty of time to bring their new clothes home, make love, bathe, and dress before the party.

*******

     Hannah knew her father would have preferred to have Hannah at his side greeting guests as they arrived, but Hannah far preferred to wait until most of them were there before making her entrance. She checked the lay of both of their outfits one last time, smiled and kissed Toshihiro, and led him to the party.

     They stopped at the top of the stairs briefly so that Hannah could give Toshihiro a few moments to adjust to the fact that he was about mingle with about a hundred or so people that he didn’t know, and couldn’t communicate with. She kissed him.

     “Hannah,” her father said after he had signaled for the music to lower in volume. Most of the guests had already spotted the couple by this time, and quietly waited for her to join them. “So nice of you to finally join us. Please, come down here and introduce your husband to our guests.”

     Hannah knew that most of the guests were used to seeing her in business suits, and that almost no one had ever seen her in a dress. The half wall at the top of the stairs made it difficult for anyone to see what Hannah wore, and she suffered a brief moment of self-consciousness before squaring her shoulders, and leading her husband down the stairs.

     She blushed as she heard the quests whisper about how gorgeous they both were, and how good they looked together. At the bottom of the stairs, Hannah gave her father a brief kiss on the cheek, and smiled at their guests.

     “I am very pleased to see all of you again,” Hannah informed them. “I know that most of you have probably heard of my marriage by now, and this handsome man here is my husband, Hero. He doesn’t speak English, so you will have to forgive him if he doesn’t answer any of your questions.”

Hannah and Toshihiro slowly greeted each of the guests, and were surprised to discover that most of the guests wanted to give them wedding gifts in the form of checks. Well, Hannah was surprised; Toshihiro figured that they were collecting money for a fundraiser of some sort. He wished he could figure out how much money was being collected, and what it was intended for. The way Hannah blushed and gushed thanks, he figured that it must be more money than he had ever seen before in his life, and he thought it was extremely unfair that there were people so wealthy that they could literally give away more money for some cause than he would probably earn in a month.

     Life was so unfair, and Toshihiro was beginning to realize that he was being extremely selfish. What right did he have to keep Hannah with him? She belonged here, to this world of wealth, not with a poverty stricken college student.

     Toshihiro’s face suddenly lost all color, and he almost fainted. My child… What right do I have to insist that Hannah’s child live a life of poverty with me when he or she could and probably should live this life of luxury?

     “Hero?” Hannah was concerned by her husband’s sudden pallor.

     Her father placed a hand on her arm. “Why don’t you continue to mingle with our guests while I bring Toshihiro to get some air, and something to drink?”

     Hannah wondered why her father was being so nice, and frowned slightly.

He knew what she was thinking, and gave a short laugh. “Don’t worry; I simply plan to have a chat with him. I am going to call my translator, and see if I can figure out what’s wrong.”

     Hannah nodded, and watched as her father led her husband away. Then, she accepted a dance invitation, and tried not to worry.

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