Chapter Nine: Dirty Little Midnight Secret:

We looked up and saw a young woman walking towards us. She had on heavy garden gloves. This woman looked rather round in her yellow sundress. She gave Sappoto-san and I an odd look.

�Who are these girls?� she asked. Michael turned to her, smiling.

�These are the guesses I was telling you about over the phone, remember?� he replied. The woman blinked for a moment. Then, her face finally lit up.

�Oh yeah!� she said with a slight giggle. His girlfriend turned to us.

�Hi there,� she said. �I�m Julie Chamberlain, Michael�s girlfriend.� I bowed my head at her.

�How do you do?� I asked. �I�m Miho Shigi and this is Sappoto Uoya.� Sappoto-san hid behind me like a little child. I nudged her from behind.

�Stop that,� I whispered. �You�re too old to be acting like that!� She peeked out of my shoulder. Julie gave us an odd look.

�Is she okay?� she asked with a slight hint of a country accent. I smiled and nodded as I tried to brush it off.

�Don�t mind her,� I said. �She�s just a bit shy.�

�Ah,� Julie said with a nod. Michael clapped his hands together.

�Okay then!� he said. �Let�s go inside.� I nodded my head at him while Sappoto said nothing. We all just walked inside.

�Make yourselves at home,� Julie told us. Their house was rather nice. I felt as if I had stepped into a living room straight out of an American furniture catalog. Southern American charm was the only words I could think of for this place. Julie rushed forward to the living room.

�I�m so sorry that everything�s still a mess!� she gasped. �I hadn�t had time to clean.�

�It�s okay,� I said.

�No, no!� Julie insisted as she started picking up shirts off of the couch. �I�ve been so busy with the baby and garden lately. I hadn�t had much time for cleaning.�

�Baby?� I asked.

�Yeah,� Michael said. �We�re on month three of the pregnancy.�

�Oh, when are you due?� I asked.

�January,� the couple said.

�I�m hoping for a girl!� Julie added. I smiled and nodded at her. There it was again. I was thinking about my potential future with Andi. I can�t really tell if she wants kids or not. She keeps dropping hints at me that she does, but I can�t be too certain. My heart began to ache when I thought about Andi again. I wondered how she was doing now. Was Umiko driving her nuts as well? I hope she�s okay.

�Something the matter?� I heard someone ask. I looked up to see Michael�s face just inches in front of mine.

�Huh?� I asked. He looked a little concerned.

�You seem sad about something,� he said. �What�s on your mind?� I shook my head at him.

�N-Nothing,� I lied. �It�s nothing. Michael raised an eyebrow at me.

�You sure?� he asked.

�Yeah,� I said with a nod. He didn�t speak at first.

�Right,� our marine host said. �I�ll show you to your rooms.� Sappoto-san and I followed him down the hall. My traveling friend and I had rooms next door to each other. I was unpacking my backpack when I heard a small knock on the door.

�Yes?� I asked. I looked up and saw Sappoto-san looking at me in silence.

�What�s on your mind?� I asked. My friend shuffled her feet.

�How long are we going to stay here?� she asked in a small voice. I lowered my night shirt.

�By morning, why?� I answered. Sappoto-san pressed her lips together in an uncomfortable way. I looked upon her with understanding pity.

�Aw, it�s okay,� I said once again. �These people are nice. Not every foreign is an evil bastard, okay?� She looked at me with a trace of budding hope in her eyes.

�You mean it?� Sappoto-san asked. I smiled as I walked over to her. I patted her on the shoulder.

�Yeah,� I murmured. She only looked at me with small eyes.

�Aw, come here,� I said, softly. I hugged Sappoto-san like a mother to a scared child. �It�ll be okay,� I whispered. Sappoto-san went quiet and limp in my arms.

�See? It�ll be okay,� I whispered again. Right then, I heard someone clearing their throat ahead of us. Sappoto-san and I glanced up to see Michael standing at the doorway, staring at us. He was trying to look away.

�Did I� come at a bad time?� he asked. I quickly let go of my friend.

�Oh, no, no!� I said. �There was nothing going on!� Michael only blinked at us in silence. �Oh great,� I thought. �He�s going to think I�m pervert now.�

�Anyway,� our marine host went on. �Dinner will be ready soon.� I gave him a quick nod and translated all of that to Sappoto-san. She nodded at me. I turned back to our host.

�Okay,� I replied. Michael nodded at us.

�Right�� he said. Then, he hurried away as quickly as he could. Sappoto-san just quietly went to her room. I was left standing there in a strange position. I sighed aloud. Maybe it�ll sort itself out by dinnertime.

Dinner was better. The issues had managed to push itself under the rug with juicy burgers and roasted sweet potato sticks. Best I had ever had! I looked up at the kitchen at Michael while he worked the stove.

�You do a good job with the burgers!� I cheered. He glanced up at me with a smile on his face.

�Thanks!� our host replied. �I prefer the work of my grill every chance I get.�

�It shows,� I said as I began to stuff more of my burger into my mouth. I glanced over and saw that Sappoto-san was happily munching on her fries. I smiled to myself as I chewed on the flavored, tender meat in my mouth. �She�s finally getting to this place,� I thought.

�So, where are you two from?� Julie asked us. I finished eating my burger to answer her.

�Tokyo,� I said. The hostess let off a low whistle.

�The main island!� she gasped.

�That�s right,� I said, almost cheering aloud. �I heard you liked to garden. What all do you grow?� Julie took a sip of her Pepsi.

�Oh, just the typical flowers. My personal favorite is the mum.� Sappoto-san�s eyes grew big.

�That�s our national flower,� she whispered to me as I drank my juice. I nodded at her. Julie looked at us out of curiosity.

�What did she say?� she asked. I turned to her with a little smile.

�She�s impressed by the fact that you grow our national flower,� I replied.

�Oh,� the mother-to-be said. �Maybe I could show you my garden after dinner.�

�Sure,� I said. �We�d love that.� Michael joined us at the table with more burgers. The rest of the night was spent talking and eating. That was a good burger.

After dinner, Julie showed Sappoto-san and I around her garden. I have to admit, it�s still a bit rough, but she has a pretty good start.

�I�ve been going to the doctor to check-up on the baby weekly,� the mother-to-be explained. �I had only gotten started on my garden four days ago.�

�I see,� I replied. Sappoto-san looked at the flowers in quiet admiration. She reached out to touch one of the small petals.

�Be careful with my babies,� Julie told her. I repeated what she said in Japanese to my friend. Sappoto-san only nodded and lightly touched one of the petals.

�Soft,� she murmured.

�Yes,� I replied. �And very colorful.� Julie smiled behind us.

�These are my babies,� she said as if she understood what we were saying. �I have raised them very well.� The mums and other flowers looked like a colorful blanket at our feet.

As the night continued to wind down, everyone went to bed. Yet, I couldn�t sleep. My mind wandered back to Andi. Knowing her, she is probably debating about whether to call me or not. She really worried too. I sighed to myself as I looked up at the dark ceiling. Andi. I definitely won�t hear the end of it when I get back. An angel like her doesn�t deserve any of my sudden departure, but I had to get away. She�ll understand, won�t she?

Out of the blue, a door closing roused my attention. I lifted my head in bed as I squinted my eyes. �Did somebody just come in?� I thought. Michael, Julie, and Sappoto-san were already asleep in bed. A possible break-in? It almost seemed impossible to me due to the fact that we were in military housing. My mind was running out of possibilities.

Curious, I quietly climbed out of bed and snuck out of my room for a look. As I walked down the hall, I noticed some soft whispering and then moaning. I squinted my eyes as I tried to listen in closer. I was hearing right, somebody was moaning in the living room. A man to be more exact. Now, I was really confused. �Is someone else here with us or�� I questioned myself. I tried to keep myself from giggling at that last part. Suddenly, naughty little schoolgirl within me roused her head and took over. I peeked around the corner expecting to see Julie and Michael getting it on in the living room.

I was� half right. Julie was on her knees sucking off a man. But, it wasn�t Michael. I blinked for what felt like ten minutes to separate reality and my imagination. No, all reality. Julie was having an affair with another Marine and I was watching. The color drained from my face as I stayed bit, unable to turn away.