[Hanako] Rejuvenation

Rejuvenation


Getting older sucks, you know?

I drive the same route every night, darkness fighting with my headlights as I stop at a red light. I sigh to myself and take a sip of coffee from my thermos, a bad habit I've never really been able to drop. It feels like time slows every night on my drive home from work. Work is a miserable thing, even though it's doing something that I love. Being pulled away from my family for anywhere from eight to fifteen hours is absolutely abysmal, to the point that I've had so much work related stress when I've walked in the door that I've just gone, taken a shower, and crashed on the bed.

It makes me feel terrible, you know? Not having the strength to stay up for a little and play with your daughter, cuddle with your wife, the usual things. I wake up every morning wrapped around Hanako, and it pains me every morning that I have to pry my arms away and go labor in a laboratory. I love what I do, but sometimes the workload kills me on the inside.

Being miserable during the week is basically how it goes for me, though. As soon as Friday rolls around though, and I walk through that door to my home, I'm ecstatic to spend time with the two most important people in my life. The trouble is, once it hits Sunday, the pattern starts again for the next five days, the monster of labor once again eating me from the inside out.

The light turns green and I hit the home stretch, only about five minutes away from a weekend of fun and relaxation. I sort of lose focus on the road for a moment, tears welling up in my eyes. A few harsh memories always hit me the hardest on Friday, knowing that my life is wasting away and I'm not given a lot of opportunities to spend time with my wife and kid. One memory, in particular, still stings the most of them all.

Four weeks after our child was born, just a little over three years ago, I started working my usual hours again. I woke up that Monday and treated it just like any normal work day; only there was a slight problem. As I pushed up, Hanako's arms wouldn't let go. She was having a nightmare, something that had become less and less frequent as we adapted to our life together. That morning though, she said a words that stick with me to this day, nearly breaking my heart everytime they pop into my mind.

"Please don't leave me! Please... please stay here with me!" She was whispering, sounding drowsy but desparate. She wasn't even awake, but seeing her in tears while hanging onto my body, begging for the person in her nightmare to stay with her was one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever been through. I gave her a kiss on the forehead and cuddled with her for a few more minutes, her mind finally becoming calm and her embrace finally loosening around my body.

Leaving her that day was one of the most difficult things I've had to do in my life, even if it was only for a few hours.

That night when I returned home, I practically tackled her with a hug when I stepped through the door, bawling and saying something close to 'I'm so sorry' repeatedly. She was confused and worried, as she obviously should have been, but she calmed me down. She rubbed my back, shushed me, wiped away my tears, all of the gestures that showed, even with my hefty schedule, that I still meant more than anything in the world to her.

I shake my thoughts away as I pull into our suburban neighborhood, whipping the vehicle around and parking in our driveway. I've got a huge grin on my face and a wetness on my cheeks.

Friday night, once again.

I fling my car door open and sprint up the door, fumbling with the knob before entering our home. I'm greeted with the sight of two angels; Hanako and Miyuki, sitting on the floor and coloring an image of a princess together as the TV flicks through international news. My smile widens as my daughter's eyes light up, jumping up and sprinting towards me.

"Daddy!" I pick her up into a hug, a much more difficult task with each day of growing. Hanako stands up and brushes herself off, smiling at the scene unfolding before her, before speed walking over and joining in, wrapping the two of us in a tight embrace.

"How are my favorite little ladies doing tonight?"

"Great, Daddy! Me and Mommy were just coloring and stuff, waiting for you to get home so we could all play together!" She's nearly bouncing out of my hold on her, the excitement in her voice very visible. I look at Hanako and lean down, planting a kiss on her lips. We linger for a bit as our daughter rambles on about how much fun she had at daycare today before Hanako got off from work, our lips touching a few times before we finally break apart.

"I-I missed you..." She trails off and I put Miyuki down, telling her to go color for a minute so that I could spend a moment alone with her mother. She skips off as Hanako trails her finger down my chest, her other arm still wrapped around my back.

"Not as much as I missed you." I smile and plant another quick kiss on her lips, ready to finally reveal my plans. I nearly laugh, as this is something I've worked towards for nearly eight years now, my seniority finally starting to pay off a bit at the lab.

"In fact, I've missed you so much, I'm not going to be leaving your side for two weeks." Her eyes brighten and her mouth opens wide, her arms wrapping my body into a tight embrace. I return the favor, picking her up and spinning her around a little bit.

"H-How? How did y-you manage to-"

"That's nothing to worry about. Just know that you'll wake up with me next to you for the next fourteen days. In fact, I was thinking maybe we could take a little trip to the beach?" She smiles in her signature fashion, her cheeks burning red at the tone of my voice near the end. She plants a kiss on my cheek and releases our embrace, finally heading back towards the living room to continue playing with our daughter. As she walks down the hallway, she practically yells out my favorite words in the universe.

"I love y-you, Hisao." I grin like I'm in high school again. Maybe that's what this vacation is about; it's about me rejuvenating my body and mind. I kick off my shoes and toss my suit off to the side, not even bothering to get changed as I head to the living room, a little hop in my step.

"I love you too, Hanako."