“Oh my sweet Emily, how did we go this long, apart? I’ve missed you so much.”
He leaned in and placed his lips gently on mine. I didn’t move away this time. I couldn’t move away. I felt delirious to his touch. His lips tasted sweeter than I remembered them. During the kiss that I never wanted to end, I began sobbing quietly at the prospect of being with Jake again.
He paused his embrace and looked into my once dejected eyes. My body burned with sensations from affliction, to hope, to elation.
“Emily?” he lovingly called my name. “You still love me, don’t you?” his voice unsure, his eyes begging one last time.
I wrapped my arms tightly around him and prayed he would never let go of me again. “Jake, you know I do!” my voice broke. “I never stopped loving you. I’m sorry too for hurting you. This was my fault as well. I’ve missed you so much!”
Several times the door to our room opened and closed. The fourth Takiawase course of simmered meat or fish and vegetables, either sat cold or became overcooked, from the server’s many attempts to deliver our meal. My emotions bounced this time from euphoria back to insecurity and then to curiosity.
I broke out of our embrace.
“What’s the matter?” Jake asked. “Why do you still look so sad? Don’t cry, Love,” he said while wiping away my tears with his hands.
“You really still love me?” I had to ask. I couldn’t trust reality sitting in front of me.
“Emily, I love you,” he reassured with gentle kisses.
“I just can’t believe it.” The tears wouldn’t stop.
“Believe it, Sweetheart. I’m here to be with you, and we are never separating again!” he adamantly stated, but it still felt like a dream—possibly a nightmare if it were a dream.
I kissed him one more time. It tasted even sweeter the second time around.
“You’re not leaving me anymore?” I whispered meekly, just in case I might be in trouble for doubting again.
“Never,” he quietly answered and held me in his arms. Yes, this felt like home again. I was where I belonged—in Jake’s arms.
I perked up from Jake’s body with a question that nagged since he got here. “How did you find me in Kyoto?”
An agitated grimace colored his face. I knew that I would be in trouble soon. Before he began, our kimono-clad servers found the chance to drop all nine of our dishes that waited while we reconciled. We had everything but the mizumono, or dessert. This probably wasn’t the correct kaiseki protocol, but the servers didn’t care. In their own genteel way, they displayed great annoyance with us. Laughter frolicked in our eyes.
“Emily, I wasn’t kidding when I said I looked high and low for you. My dad called me the minute he saw you in our driveway. I begged him to keep you there, but when I arrived, you were gone. Then I ran into Max and he told me you would be at the wedding the next day, and when I went to look for you, you had just left. I asked about you at the hotel, but they said you had checked out already. I went to every possible airline that had a flight leaving that night, but I couldn’t find you. Ugh! I was so frustrated I had lost you again.”
His story became even more animated as he flailed his arms up in the air while huffing and puffing. Before any more wrath fell on me, I stole a moment and enveloped my arms into the arch of his body hugging him longingly. Since parting, my body had always felt cold. Finally, Jake filled my body with warmth. He stopped grumbling and just held me.
Contentment.
No other word better described our state of being.
Even with my body in tow, he continued his soliloquy. “Max and Jane both came to me with your address, so I flew here late Thursday, only to find that it was too late to take the train into your village. I waited another day and trekked all the way to your home and of course, you weren’t there. Do you see a pattern to this story?” He pulled himself away to look at me while asking that last question.
“I still don’t get how you found me here.”
“Well, it wasn’t easy—like the last five months of our relationship. Your students went back and forth trying to explain who I was and why I was standing at their door pleading for your whereabouts. Thanks for talking about me to your Japanese family,” he retorted sarcastically. “Mr. Suzuki thought I was some loony waiting for a chance to kidnap you.”
“So how did you get him to divulge my location? Was it your charm or your good looks?” I attempted an impish smile.
“It was Yuki who finally came to my rescue. I’ve got to remember to buy her a nice gift while we’re here. She told her dad that she saw you write me letters daily…then throw them away. How could you send me only one letter when everyone else got copious letters?”
“Jake. One reprimand at a time, please. I can’t keep up with all my wrongdoings. Back to Yuki.”