FANFICTION - Tell me how you lost me - Chapter 2
“Yes mama. Oyaji said I have to learn it so that I can talk to you in English when you come back.” He answered still not loosening his grip of my leg.
“Now this is getting out of hand. What’s your name?” I asked the little boy.
“Shinichi. Oyaji calls me Shin but mama calls me Ichi.” He proudly answered.
“Ok Shinichi, tell your dad that I really need to go to the hotel and I think you need to go somewhere too.”
“But mama you don’t need to go the hotel. We can go home to our house. Oyagi and I are going to Okinawa why don’t you come with us?” The little boy reasoned.
“No Shinichi. I told you I really need to check in the hotel right now. If they cancel my reservation, my tour will also be cancelled.” I could not believe I was trying to argue with a 4 year old as the Japanese guy shifted his gaze between Shinichi and me.
“But mama…”
“I thought you said that you are going to be a good boy from now on?”
“But…”
“Tell your dad that I need to go to the hotel right now. If you don’t then you are a bad boy.” I told the little boy although I felt really sorry for scaring him.
Reluctantly, the little boy turned towards his father and spoke in Japanese telling his father what I told him to say.
“Sou ka…?” the Japanese guy asked verifying if what the little boy said true.
Although I understood what he said I just shifted my stare from the guy to Shinichi as if asking the little boy to translate what his father just said.
“Is that so? Mama that’s what Oyaji said.”
I wanted to tell Shinichi that I knew what his father said but I held back.
Both boys started to talk in Japanese. Although I was catching a few words out of their conversation, I could not fully grasp what they were talking about because the anxiety that I was feeling regarding my hotel reservation was escalating.
“Excuse me…”
Shit! Here I go with my excuse me line again. I thought.
“Umm… I really need to go to the hotel right now. If they cancel my reservation I might end up sleeping on the sidewalk.” I told them sounding really desperate.
“Mama, it’s alright. Oyaji said we’ll bring you to your hotel. But I still think that you should come home with us.”
“Really? You’re bringing me to my hotel? You have a car? Can we go now? I have 15 minutes left before they cancel my reservation. How fast do you think we can get to the hotel? Is it just nearby?’ I asked the little boy continuously .
“ Ehhh!!? Mama slow down. I cannot answer all of your questions. Ask them again. This time one at a time.”
I wanted to kick myself. I forgot that I was talking to a four-year old. I heaved a sigh and asked again. This time slowly and one at a time.
“ Are you sure that you are bring me to the hotel?’
“ Yes Mama.”
“Do you have a car?”
“ Yes but it’s at home.”
“ If it’s at home how can you bring me to the hotel?”
The little boy turned his father and asked the same question.
“ Oyaji, watashitachi haikani hoteru ni kanojo wo tsure te kuru ka ?”
“Watashi wa kuruma wo chinshaku shitemoii.” His father answered.
“ We’ll rent a car mama.” The little boy said as he faced me.
“ Ok… Can we go now? I have… well… 12 more minutes before my reservation gets cancelled.”
“ Oyaji… we have to go now. Mama has to be at her hotel in 12 minutes.” The little boy informed his father as he grabbed him in one hand and grabbed me with the other and tried to pull us towards the parking lot.
“Shin… Matte. Hoteru no namae hadearu nani?”
“Ah… Mama what’s the name of the hotel that you’re going to stay in?”
“ Wait… I’ll get my reservation printout… Ahh here… it’s Shinagawa Prince Hotel. Can we get there in 10 minutes?” I said handing them my printout as we were walking towards the car rental booth.
“Ehhhhh?!!!! That is very very far…” The guy blurted out.
I stopped dead on my tracks. That did not sound Japanese. If my brain processed what I heard correctly, that was definitely English.
“ You can speak English?” I shrieked.
~continued...