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Monika’s words catch us both off-guard.Mochi: “A way to find Yuri’s house?”Monika: “Mm-hmm!”I look down at Natsuki. She looks back up at me, then over at Monika.Natsuki: “Well, what the heck are we waiting for? What is it?”Monika: “Come here, I’ll show you!”Monika hurriedly leads us up the stairs and out of the bookstore basement, and brings us over to the cash register.Monika: “Mochi, doesn’t this place have a membership program?”Mochi: “Uh, yeah, gives you access to dollar book Friday deals. Why?”Monika: “Can you pull up the list of members?”I step behind the counter and begin tapping at options on the weird tablet interface that neither I nor the manager like.Mochi: “Uh, I should be able to. What’s the idea, Monk?”Monika: “Well, it’s—did you just call me Monk?”Mochi: “Yeah.”Monika: “Why?”Mochi: “Because it’s close to your name, and you’re acting like a detective right now. You know, like the TV show Monk, where he’s a detective?”Monika stares at me blankly.Monika: “Mochi, I don’t watch TV.”Mochi: “Right, but I thought it would be like—never mind.”Monika: “I don’t watch any TV, I just don’t see the point.”Mochi: “Yeah—I know, I know, I just thought you might recognize it from its prevalence in pop culture, like Breaking Bad.”Monika: “Like what?”Mochi: “Never mind.”Natsuki: “Focus!”Monika: “Oh! Right! Um. The idea is… okay, PLEASE don’t question why I know this.”
Monika: “But the membership program database probably stores the person’s name and at least one other identifying piece of information.”
Monika: “You can use it to look up someone’s phone number and home address.”
Monika: “And, I mean, Yuri is here every Friday. You ring her up for dollar book Fridays, right?”Mochi: “Oh, shoot, you’re totally right.”Natsuki: “Dude, Monika, have you used this before?”Monika: “Did I forget to tell you not to question why I know it? Because you shouldn’t, please.”Natsuki: “That is so much scarier than if you’d just said yes.”Mochi: “Uh, I’ve got the list pulled up.”Monika: “Great! Can you find Yuri on it?”I look through the dozen or so names, and don’t spot it at first. But then, something jumps out at me:KITAMURA OANHMAYI crack a smile.Mochi: “I think I found her!”I click on her name to bring up her profile. As I look it over, I frown.Mochi: “Hmm. No address. Just the phone number and her PIN.”Natsuki: “What’s the PIN number?”Monika: “Natsuki, don’t.”Mochi: “So… I’m not sure that actually leads anywhere, sadly.”I put my elbows on the counter, rubbing my temples as I think.I stare down at the book that Yuri placed here to return. With a morose sigh, I open the front cover to start re-registering the book in our system.Natsuki: “Whoa, hey!”Natsuki picks up a scrap of paper that seems to have fallen out of the front cover. It’s covered in a sloppy, hurried scrawl written by a shaking hand.—Oanh May Yuri Kitamura
#-#-## xxxxxx, xxxxxx, xxxxxx
xxxxxx ###-####Back Patio 1am Saturday Morning
Talk Please—Natsuki: “Oh, crap.”
Natsuki: “Well, there’s her address.”Mochi: “Sheesh, we almost missed this. I guess she must have a plan of her own.”Monika: “Well… what time should I pick you guys up tonight?”Natsuki: “Uh, well, that’s not very far, right? 12:30, maybe?”Mochi: “Yeah, you can pick us both up at her place. I was gonna spend the evening, anyway.”Natsuki huffs, embarrassed, while Monika giggles.Monika: “Okay, you two try to have fun! I’ll be around then!”She steps backwards and out of the bookstore, carrying the scrap of paper with the address.Once she’s gone, Natsuki gives me a gentle shove. She speaks affectionately.Natsuki: “You didn’t need to volunteer that information, dorkus.”Mochi: “Oh, sorry, was that supposed to be a secret?”I poke her nose, making her flustered. She pushes my hand away.Natsuki: “Ghh—chill out, Moch! Jeesh, you just embarrass me with all the showing us off and stuff! It’s like you’re, like, bragging or something.”She can’t stop a light blush and a smile from crossing her face.Mochi: “Well, I’m proud of myself for talking to you. That’s cause to brag, right?”She rolls her eyes, crossing her arms as her blush turns her face roughly the color of her hair. She looks off at one of the old-fashioned posters lining the walls.Natsuki: “God, you big doofy dork-a-saurus rex! Yeah, you should be proud of yourself for bagging me, dummy.”She starts to head out the door, then turns on her heel, reaching her arm up to tap my nose with a periscoping motion like she’s shooting a basketball.Natsuki: “See you soon!”Mochi: “Yup! Love you!”Natsuki: “Love you, dweeb.”She turns back on the same pivot foot and struts out the door.…Natsuki and I played a few rounds of rhythm games before we collectively admitted that the weight of our upcoming meeting was heavy on our heads.Yuri has to have a plan, right?But, what if Yukio catches us? With how paranoid he is about us, who knows what he might do.I feel my body trying to tense up, but it’s kind of easy not to start panicking, because Natsuki is resting her head on my shoulder and rubbing my bicep.If she feels it start to tighten, she hugs me a little tighter, and the pressure relaxes me.Neither of us can make small talk with everything on our minds. It feels too awkward.Instead, we just check our phones obsessively, watching the clock get nearer and nearer.At exactly 12:30, we get a text from Monika.Monika: outside! :)We laugh with each other, trying to suppress our nerves.Natsuki: “What the heck?”Mochi: “She had to have been waiting outside to send that.”We put on our shoes and head out to her car, which is sitting with its lights on and its motor running. We both hop into the backseat.Monika: “Alright, girls, this is it. Let’s see what Yuri wants to tell us.”Mochi: “Why’d it have to be so late at night? I’m kinda tired.”Natsuki: “Probably because Yukio will be asleep. Hopefully.”Mochi: “Yeah…”All three of us are awkward and silent as Monika drives us to the written address.It’s in a suburb on the opposite side of town from Monika’s apartment, and the building is a two-floor house.We park on the side of the road and sneak (it feels like we need to sneak) around the house to its back, which bears a stone patio with a few chairs and a table.Shortly after we arrive, the light illuminating the patio turns on, and the back door opens quietly and cautiously.Yuri sneaks out, her hair shining under the warm incandescent bulb. She closes the door gingerly, then creeps out to us.Yuri: “Thank you so much for coming. And—and all three of you, wow.”She smiles weakly.Yuri: “You really do care. Thank you.”Monika: “Of course!”Natsuki: “Duh!”Mochi: “Yeah!”She sits down in one of the chairs.Yuri: “I… you three have been so wonderful to me since we reunited.”
Yuri: “Even though I left you all on such sour terms, and you would have been in the right to never talk to me again…”
Yuri: “You welcomed me with open arms and forgiving hearts.”
Yuri: “And you have done more than you realize to help me feel safe and at-home, which is more than I can say for my husband.”
Yuri: “I’m sure this comes as a surprise to none of you, but I do not feel safe in this house right now.”She glances up at a window on the second floor.Yuri: “He has a history of refusing to let me talk to my friends, especially if I am more talkative around them than I am with him.”
Yuri: “It is only one of several things I have decided to put up with as punishment for my recklessness and impulsivity in marrying him.”
Yuri: “But…”She turns to me.Yuri: “Mochi, I thought about what you told me, and I believe it helped me to realize that I was not acting unilaterally to bring myself into this situation.”
Yuri: “I know I made a mistake in dating him… but he chose to take advantage of that mistake and escalate things.”
Yuri: “I recognize these actions now not as karmic punishments, but as tactics he is using to control me.”
Yuri: “So I am done absorbing punishments. I wish to leave him.”Natsuki pumps her fist, celebrating silently.Yuri: “I feel the need to be away from him as soon as possible… so…”
Yuri: “Please forgive the short notice, but would any of you have the ability to host me at your home?”
Yuri: “I will need lodging once we divorce. The house will belong to him, as I am…”She glances down at the stonework.Yuri: “…between jobs, and money is tight.”She looks back up at us.Yuri: “So, if there is any way for me to live with one of you… I can easily take care of housework for you in order to earn my stay. I am a good cook.”We’re all hesitant to speak up. I finally offer:Mochi: “My parents have a guest bedroom, but I’d really need to clear the situation with them first.”
Mochi: “I think they’d be fine with it, but they’re already doing an awful lot for me, and I don’t want to test their hospitality without warning.”Natsuki sighs.Natsuki: “I live in a studio. It’s only got the one room. I couldn’t really host a second person, there’s just not space to go around…”Monika pauses for a little longer, then offers:Monika: “I think I could make things work. I have a spare bedroll. My apartment’s only one bed, but it’s still twice as big as Natsuki’s.”Yuri clasps her hands over her chest, hopeful.Yuri: “And I would not be imposing by staying there?”Monika shakes her head.Monika: “It sounds like this is the least I can do for a friend in need.”Yuri sighs in ecstatic relief.Yuri: “Monika, you have no idea how happy you’ve just made me. Thank you so m—”The back door opens. We all freeze.The man who steps out wears a tank top and boxer briefs, and a pair of slippers.He’s not wearing his shades, and his hair is in a bonnet, but we recognize that scrappy beard.It’s Yukio.He looks over and spots us, and erupts.Yukio: “What the hell is going on?! You followed us to our house?”Yuri stands up, and her hands immediately go into that beggar’s pose I noticed earlier. She makes a concerted effort to get her voice out before he can talk over her.Yuri: “Y-Yuki—”Yukio: “I’m not hearing it. Yuri, these people are deranged. Stalkers. Why are you out here at midnight talking to them?”
Yukio: “Get back inside.”Yuri is silent, but she stays where she is.Yukio: “I said get back inside!”He punctuates that order with a loud clap right in front of her face, making her flinch and hurry back to the door with her hands on both sides of her head.We all stand in stunned disbelief. Yuri’s escape plan was going up in smoke right in front of us.Suddenly, Natsuki speaks like there’s fire in her lungs. I’ve never heard her so angry.Natsuki: “You don’t talk to her like that.”Yukio scoffs, tilting his head. Under the patio light, we can see that his eyes are a dark orangish-red.Yukio: “She’s my wife. And you’re never talking to her again. I’ll talk to her however I wan—!!”In the time he’s taken to boast, Natsuki has covered the distance between them and punched him in his chest.Monika: “Natsuki, hey!”Yukio takes the blow and stares her down.Yukio: “Stupid bitch—”He grabs her by her shoulders.He’s much larger than her, and I start to rush in to try and pry them apart.But Natsuki grabs the straps of his tank top, pulls him forward with her foot stopping his ankle, and drops him to the ground in one smooth move that looks like a judo throw.He hits the stone patio hard, and grunts at the impact. Natsuki lands on top of him, and wheels her arm back to throw a punch at his face.But before she can let it fly, he jabs her in the eyes with his index and middle finger.Natsuki: “GAH—!!!She flinches away, grabbing her face in pain. Yukio uses the opening to roll her over, pinning her to the patio.He shakes her shoulders, smacking the back of her head against the stonework and releasing a cry of pain from her chest.Yukio: “You think you’re tough, huh? Think you can beat me up and steal her away? She’s mine!”I look over at Monika, who is frozen by indecision. Then, I realize she’s not even looking at the fight. She’s looking past it.I follow her gaze, and notice what she notices.A second later, Natsuki sees it too, and the way she looks right past Yukio and his wound-up fist makes him pause.He looks over his shoulder to see Yuri with a kitchen knife held over her head. She had been prepared to drive it down into his back.Yuri and Yukio stare at each other, both frozen in place by the tension of the moment. So are the rest of us.Finally, Yukio slowly rolls off of Natsuki, into a sitting position. If Yuri plunged her knife down now, it would carve right into Natsuki’s abdomen.Yuri’s arms relax, and she re-grips the knife to hold it in a fencer-like position, pointing it at Yukio.Natsuki scrambles backwards and gets up to her feet, stepping back to let Yuri confront him herself.Yukio: “Yuri… what’s going on?”Yuri keeps the knife trained on him, and her gaze just as sharp.Yuri: “I am standing up for myself.”Yukio: “But… you were gonna kill me.”She nods with surprising conviction.Yuri: “I side with the literature club.”She charitably allows him a gap to speak. He doesn’t take it, seeming too shocked.Yuri: “Yukio. This is not working. This has not worked for a long time.”
Yuri: “The foundation of our marriage is a series of empty promises I made during a mental nadir in high school.”
Yuri: “I—”Yukio: “But you—”Yuri waves the knife, her eyes wide. Yukio cuts off, then speaks again, more sternly.Yukio: “Yuri.”
Yukio: “Put down the knife.”She doesn’t. Her hand sways unsteadily.Yuri: “You made me part with all of my favorite knives. I will not relinquish this one.”
Yuri: “As I was saying…”
Yuri: “I only invested myself in you because you were reading a Duskbell novel, and I assumed we shared a niche interest.”
Yuri: “With time, I have come to realize that even on that assumed front, we are diametrically opposed. You are…”She giggles, a disconcerting grin splitting her face.Yuri: “…intolerably stupid, with horrible taste… and far more regressive views than you seem to believe.”
Yuri: “And the only way I can keep you from talking over me and making my decisions for me is by holding you at literal knifepoint.”
Yuri: “You have no redeeming qualities in my eyes. So I am leaving you, and you are going to sign off on the divorce. Understood?”Yukio’s expression is concerned, or maybe just confused. He seems genuinely not to understand.Then, it seems to soften, and he tilts his head affectionately. His voice is softer and more level than I’ve ever heard it.Yukio: “Yuri… I’m glad you’re finally speaking your mind.”
Yukio: “But who’s going to take care of the baby?”
Yukio: “I know you can’t do it yourself.”Yuri recoils slightly, her grip on the knife tightening. Through the light reflecting off of the blade, I can tell her hand is shaking.Yukio: “Maybe we’re not the best fit for each other’s interests…”
Yukio: “But are you really going to try to raise a child as a single mother with no home working part-time jobs?”
Yukio: “What’s the plan here?”A look of terror has painted itself over Yuri’s face. Her eyes drift down to the stonework of the patio. She doesn’t have an answer.I think about her poem from last week. He’s hitting on a really sore spot for her, and it looks like she’s about to buckle under the pressure.I can’t stand to watch this…!Mochi: “I-I’ll help raise the kid.”Yukio and Yuri both look over at me.Immediately, I’m astonished by the promise I’ve just made. I still live with my parents! What am I going to do to back that up?But before I can recant, Natsuki joins me.Natsuki: “Me too. I’m great with kids. We’ll help ‘er figure out being a mom, right, Monika?”Monika reacts with surprise, but resolves quickly.Monika: “That’s right.”She steps forward, taking a deep breath through her nose for confidence.Monika: “Yuri, we’ll help you find a home and raise your kid.”
Monika: “Each of us has a job, and if we pool our funds together, we can probably find a townhouse or something to move into.”Natsuki: “Co-signed.”Mochi: “Me too.”Monika smiles back at the two of us.Monika: “So… you’d be away from Yukio, and you’d have three live-in nannies to help you with the burdens of motherhood.”
Monika: “What do you say?”Yuri is overwhelmed. She holds her hand over her heart, then out to the three of us, as tears begin to fall down her face.She looks over at Yukio. He looks at the knife, still held up to his face.After a couple of seconds, he closes his eyes and shakes his head incredulously, with a baffled sigh.Yukio: “Sure, whatever, go live with your cult.”
Yukio: “Just get out of my house.”
Yukio: “Fuckin’ pulling a knife on me. Jesus.”Yuri gently sets the knife on the table, then steps over to us, beginning to break down in tears of relief.Yuri: “Y-you meant that…?”Well, we hadn’t set out with this plan in mind…But it’s clear now that it’s what feels right. I nod my head.Mochi: “Absolutely. Whatever it takes to make sure you and the baby can live.”Yuri collapses into a hug with me. I fully extend my arms to wrap them around her waist, rubbing her back as she sobs breathlessly into my shoulder.Yuri: “Thank you, thank you, thank you…”Yukio takes the knife and slinks back into his house, hanging his head. A moment later, the patio light turns off.Still crying, Yuri lifts her head to look at the three of us.Yuri: “We should leave… please?”
Yuri: “I would like to see your apartment, Monika…”Monika: “Oh, good idea.”
Monika: “I think we all need to get some rest.”
Monika: “I’ll drop Mochi and Natsuki off at Natsuki’s place, then head back home with you, okay?”Yuri: “Mm-hmm…”As we start to head back to the car, I look over at Natsuki, rubbing her shoulder.Mochi: “Are you okay?”She nods with a noncommittal grunt.Natsuki: “I can see fine. Head hurts, but I don’t think I’m, like, concussed, or anything.”Under the light of a streetlight, she pries open both of her eyes for me. I verify that everything looks fine. Thank goodness!We pile into Monika’s car and chatter about our new-found future plans all the way home.