Chapter
Forty-Two: Shopping Trip:
Two shopping trips took place today. Tsuzuki looked
around the apartment. He didn't like what he saw.
"Hey Anna-chan," he said. She glanced up at him a
magazine.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"This place looks too much like a bachelor's apartment,"
he complained. Anna looked around the living room.
"It's not that bad," she said.
"Yeah, but I want it to say that we're together."
"We don't have to."
"But I want to."
Anna blinked at him. "Okay� How?"
He gave her a goofy grin. "Come out with me today."
"Where?"
"Shopping."
�What?!" she asked. Tsuzuki took her by the hand and left
with her.
-------
Noon
Haruka, Sharon, and Viki got
off in Toshima. Granddaughter saw stars while her mother still looked out of it.
Grandmother searched for something or rather someone.
They are here, she thought. I
can feel her. She turned to her family.
"So," she said. "Where to go first?" Viki looked up at
her.
"I want an iPad," she said. Haruka turned to her
daughter-in-law.
"Well?" she asked. Sharon kept her eyes to the ground.
"Can't afford it," she mumbled. Haruka laughed.
"I've got the money," she said. "So, it's not a problem."
Sharon kept her head down.
"Okay then," the old lady said. "The iPad it is." Viki
smiled in victory.
"Thanks grandma," she said. The old lady smiled.
"Consider it as thanks," she said.
--------
"Now remember," Anna said. "We're just looking. We're not
buying anything today."
"Yes, yes," Tsuzuki said. First stop? Kitchen shop.
"Don't go crazy," Anna said.
"Look!" the man exclaimed. "Isn't this cute?" He held up
a ceramic black and white tea set. Anna smiled awkwardly.
"I guess�" she mumbled.
"Can we get it?"
"We're not buying anything, remember? Hang on." Anna took
out her cell phone and snapped a picture. "There." She showed him the photo.
"See? This will help us remember all of the things we looked at today. Good with
you?"
Her love smiled. "Yeah."
"Okay then, ready to keep looking?"
"Yeah!"
They headed further into the
store. Meanwhile, Haruka looked among the crowded walkways. She kept her
patience in check. Let the bees fly into
the trap.
"Are you hungry?" she asked.
"Yep," Viki said. Sharon didn't respond. Haruka smiled.
"Good," she said.
"So, where are we eating?" her granddaughter asked. The
old lady looked around for a moment. She turned back to her family.
"How about outside?" she asked. Viki broke into a huge
grin.
"Sweet," she said. Her mother bit on her hand.
"I found just the place," the old lady said. Outdoor
cafes are popular this time of year. Young couples taking in the warm air around
them and getting close and sweet with each other. It was the perfect place to
look. Haruka scanned her surroundings. Sappy couples couldn't resist this place.
Viki ate some shrimp pasta. Sharon sat there, dazed. Haruka took another sip of
her wine. Her granddaughter set down her fork.
"So tell me," she said. "What are you looking for?" Her
grandmother smirked at her.
"My prey," she said. Viki beamed in interest.
"And what would that be?" she asked. Haruka paused when
something at the doors caught her attention. Tsuzuki and Anna looked among the
tables to find an empty one. The old lady smirked to herself.
"Found them," she muttered under her breath. Mother and
daughter looked at the doorway. Viki sneered at the sight of Anna. Yet, that was
only the tippy top of the storm.
The couple walked over near their table. Sharon clenched
her fists.
"Mom?" Viki asked. Sharon lifted her head and turned to
her niece.
"You!" she screamed. Anna and Tsuzuki looked up. The
woman raced towards her niece and tackled her to the ground.
"Mom!" Viki yelled Haruka held her back and shook her
head. The granddaughter sat back down.
"You!" she screamed again. "Give him back! Give him back!
Give me back my husband, you bitch!" Tears flooded her cheeks as her shaking
fists struck her niece over and over. Her screams drew in a large crowd. Tsuzuki
tried his best to pry her off of Anna. Her niece didn't even fight back. She lay
there and took it. Sharon screamed and cried the whole time as her punches grow
harder and faster.
"Please give him back!" she begged as Tsuzuki and three other men pried her off. Anna lied there with a bruised and beaten neck, chest, and face as they hulled her aunt away.