Monday morning came, and from the monitor I had installed by the main door, Rui's carpool shuttle had just crossed the highway leading to the pickup point. We should be out the door by now.
"Rui-chan, junbi suru?" I called out, asking if he was ready. "Daijoubu?"
"Hai!" Just then, he came rushing out of our bedroom door. "Gomen, Mama. I was reading! Manga yomu."
Taylor trailed behind him, smiling. "Sorry, baby. He can't put it down."
Chuckling, I watched Rui slip his small white sneakers on. Taylor had him in equally comfortable and discreetly stylish outfits for school. At this stage, they had the freedom to dress however they wanted. He wore a soft, earth-colored linen blazer and trouser set over his plain white shirt. Taylor handed me his backpack, and I adjusted the strap of the traditional bag that made him blend in with the local school kids. It still surprised me that he actually went to school now.
"Hayai," Rui mumbled, glancing at the clock, realizing it was early. "Nande early?"
Taylor let out a soft laugh, putting on his black sun hat that matched his bag. "What did we say about jumbling your words, sweetheart?"
"Nande early? Why hayai?" He teased, his small hands now framing Taylor's cheeks. "Nande we need to go gakko now?" he added, making me laugh.
"Oh my god," Taylor whispered, planting a soft kiss on his nose. "You're just like your mom."
I shook my head. "Rui-chan, dame da yo. It's no good getting used to that."
Rui giggled and left a peck on Taylor's cheek. "Hayai, Mama. Why do we have to leave for school now?"
"See, I love the sound of that." Taylor pulled him into a hug. "Your mom wants a quick shrine visit today."
"Hm?" Rui looked at me. "Onegai? Otanjoubi dakara?"
I nodded before grinning. "A quick birthday wish for you."
"Yatta!" He threw his hands in the air, which made Taylor lean back in surprise. "Kyou no obentou nani, Mama?" he asked, wondering what design he got for his bentou today.
Taylor pinched his chin. "Himitsu. You'll find out at lunchtime."
"Hm." He looked at me instead. "Kyou no obentou nani, Mama?"
"I swear to god, Rui," Taylor whispered, straightening up to look at me. "This child is unmistakably yours." Then she stepped out into the cool morning air.
Rui's laughter at Taylor's playful exasperation made us laugh. He was in such a mood today. Probably because he was still in his birthday bubble. I reached for his hand, leading both of us out the door. Our morning stroll to the carpool pickup spot had become a constant reminder of how fast time flew by. In the blink of an eye, he was going on daily forty-minute rides with his friends, navigating school life away from home. The first month was the hardest for us. We would not stop worrying if he was okay. Taylor found it difficult to send him off this way, but she understood it was best for his assimilation. The community of parents who sent their kids to the same school had arranged this for us. They insisted on giving Rui familiarity with the neighborhood crowd that could support him on campus.
We made our way down Kamakura's narrow streets, sandwiched between traditional homes and shops. A grandmother greeted us, waving as we walked past their engawa.
"Ah, Rui-chan, ohayou," she said.
"Obaachan!" Rui bowed and waved back, switching to his polite vernacular. "Ohayou gozaimasu!"
"Ohayou gozaimasu," Taylor and I nodded, offering a smile.
Rui pointed at the shrine nearby. "Jinja itte kimasu!"
The woman beamed and wished us a great day. "Itterasshai!"
Along the path, Taylor said, "I still remember Mom dropping me off and picking me up from school." She watched Rui run to the shrine. "But that childhood milestone sounds so foreign to him."
"I know." My arm draped over her shoulders. "If we lived in Tokyo, he'd be walking to school with his friends."
"It's crazy to me," she said with a soft laugh. "How safe Japan is for children. I think my anxieties would flare up raising him in New York."
Observing Rui from afar, who was preparing to perform the ritual on his own, I nodded. "I can't even imagine him freely roaming the alleys alone."
This shrine was small and quiet, surrounded by nature. Tourou lined up around the area, and these roofed stone pillars mostly had moss grown all over them. When we reached the main worship building, Rui tossed a five-yen coin into the wooden box at the altar before reaching up to shake the thick rope to ring the bell, alerting the deities. Then he bowed twice, clapped twice, and silently made his birthday wish. Taylor and I smiled at how long he took before he bowed deeply for the last time.
When he was done, he turned around and ran to us, keeping his voice down. "Last year, my wish came true, Mama." He beamed, reaching for Taylor's hands.
Taylor studied his face. "Will you ever tell us what it was?"
"Un." He looked at their hands, nodding. "Tomodachi. Gakko ni."
"We're glad about your friends at school." Taylor smiled, leaving a soft kiss on his forehead. "That was my wish for you too, sweetheart. Ato wa, jikan. More time, just the three of us."
Rui suddenly hugged her. "Ouchi jikan daisuki," saying he loved spending time at home with us.
Anticipating his school anxiety, I stepped closer, and Rui instinctively reached out to me. I lifted him into my arms before he hugged my neck to calm his nerves for the upcoming car ride. With Taylor's arm around my waist, we made our way to the spot where the other kids waited. Several older ones were already there, and they lit up when they saw us getting closer.
"Rui-chan! Ohayou," they greeted, bowing to us.
"Ohayou," we said, then I put Rui down to wish him luck. "Kyou mo ganbatte ne?"
"Ganbarimasu," he promised to do his best before looking up at Taylor.
"Doshita no?" Taylor knelt in front of him, fixing his sun hat. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"
"Otanjoubi, arigatou," Rui thanked her for his birthday celebration. "I had fun, Mama. Tanoshikatta."
"Of course, honey." Taylor smiled and cupped his cheek. "You'll see them again today. Have fun at school."
Rui hugged her. "Mama, daisuki."
"Daisuki." Taylor hugged him back. "You can read your manga when you get home. We'll be here waiting."
Finally, he beamed before tugging on my hand. "Daisuki, Mama."
With a smile on my face, I patted his head. "Rui-chan, daisuki." Then I looked at the group watching us. "Onii-san-tachi to issho ni ne. Go with your older brothers."
They grinned at Rui just as the car slowed down at the stop. "Oide, Rui-chan! Let's go!"
Taylor and I nodded at them. "Yoroshiku ne! Please look after him."
"Hai!" they said, taking Rui by the hand and guiding him inside the car. "Bye-bye!"
Rui glanced at us for the last time before he settled inside, and then they were driving away. When the car disappeared from view, Taylor interlocked our fingers on our walk back to the house. The early morning rush had begun, and I was glad our office was right inside our compound.
"I think he's having his post-birthday hangover," Taylor said when we walked past the coffee shops along our block.
"Hm." I glanced at the pastries lined on the shelves from outside. "He had so much fun. Everyone was there."
Taylor put her head on my shoulder. "Do you think he gets lonely? I mean, he has Benji and Aki. And a team of adults. But sometimes I wonder if he wants more time with his friends."
"Ouchi jikan daisuki. He loves being home with us." I squeezed her hand as we entered the gates of our property. "I actually think he's still getting used to being away every day."
"Actually, you have a point." Taylor stopped walking just as we got to the garden. "Are you up for another Rui then?"
My heart skipped. When I looked at her, she was holding back a smile. Taylor in her most Taylor persona, dropping this on me on a random Monday morning. Could I love my wife more for keeping the thrill alive in our lives?
"Well," I cleared my throat before glancing at the Taiyaki Tech and Publishing Headquarters. "Do you want me to build your new internet or carry another child?"
Taylor let out a soft laugh, brushing her knuckles along my cheek. "I want a mini version of you, with your eyes."
For a moment, I studied her face. This was unplanned. Rui was kind of expected, but we never had conversations about anything beyond him. Not to mention Taylor carrying this time. "How soon? I mean. Are you sure?"
"Obviously, not too soon. I haven't even talked to Mom at all." She kissed my lips. "I may just be feeling things today, baby. But will you think about it?"
"Of course." I pulled her into a hug. "Of course, I will. Let's not rush into it."
Her arms tightened around me before her lips touched my neck. "I miss having Rui home all day."
"I know, baby. Me too," I whispered and kissed her forehead. "I'm here."
Our mornings always picked up speed after Rui left for school. Most of the time, I'd steal more taiyaki leftovers from breakfast for the office. While I loved the custard ones, my wife had perfected the anko version at this point. Yuki advised it was healthier for Rui to eat more of the red bean paste filling than custard in the morning. And, of course, Taylor advocated for it too.
While Taylor advocated for that, Derek stood firm in advocating for our usual office culture. Dress code, greetings, quality work, and a whole lot of sass. No matter whether we had the office in Tokyo or right beside our homes, work was work. Of course, Taylor advocated for all of that too. And of course, I could never tire of watching my wife in her CEO element.
The glass doors automatically slid open when we reached the top of the stairs, signaling the start of another busy workweek. Similar to our morning stroll, the smell of coffee filled the room. Blended with our combined scent and the faint Japanese incense smoke from the corner. In five years, our new sanctuary had transformed into something like a creative studio. With plants hanging from the windowpanes or scattered in pots around the floor, paintings and picture frames on the shelves, neatly stacked ceramics in the open cupboards of our kitchen, and screens spitting out alphanumeric sequences taking up half of the walls surrounding us.
"Ohayou," Taylor and I said, crossing the floor to our desks.
"Gozaimasu!" everyone greeted back.
I chuckled, letting go of Taylor's hand to pull her chair out. "Yoroshiku ne."
"Thank you, baby." She kissed my cheek before settling into her chair. "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."
"Hai." I nodded, walking to the opposite corner and placing my taiyaki-filled bentou on my desk. Then I faced our team. "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."
"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" they nodded from their spots.
Derek rolled his eyes. "Gross married couple shenanigans."
"Here we go," Austin mumbled.
As laughter echoed, I shook my head before tapping my keyboard. The wall-mounted screens lit up with our agenda. "Okay. A few weeks ago, Taylor pitched Project 13 version 2.0. Randomly. Over dinner."
"As she should," everyone nodded.
But the floor went quiet, their eyes scanning the screens. And Brandon squinted, looking at Taylor. "Can't it be Project 14? It's simpler. No?"
"Immediately, no," Taylor replied. "Respectfully."
"Ditto," Este said.
I chuckled with the rest of them. "You wanna share your vision, Tay?"
"I want the new Google." Taylor crossed her arms on her desk.
Flinching at the term, I said, "No, she doesn't," before anyone could react.
Taylor looked at me. "Yes, I do."
Shaking my head, I addressed the team. "Taylor wants an independent, decentralized space specifically designed to host human art." I grinned. "My wife wants the new internet."
"Whoa," the team mumbled, taking in the scope.
Glancing at her, I added, "Rui gets it."
"Oh my god, okay," Taylor whispered. "Sounds the same to me."
"It's not," I said. "Google. Internet. Very different. Google. Internet."
"I swear to god, Karlie." Taylor rolled her eyes. "Okay. Let's move on."
Prompting Derek to order, "Chop-chop! This is worse than Project 13!" He narrowed his eyes at Taylor. "What is it that you really want, Your Majesty?"
Taylor sat back with a soft laugh, taking time to gather her thoughts. "For the past couple of years, Generative AI has become my worst nightmare. I share this sentiment with every creator who still cares to produce original, human art." She paused and tapped her keyboard. The screens showed a plethora of AI-generated books, photography, paintings, and music. "This isn't even the whole picture, and I hate that picture. Because it includes heavily funded technology targeting to steal every word of my manuscripts and published work, and breach Taiyaki Tech's servers by extension."
When she glanced at Austin from across the room, he nodded. "Our transpacific distribution nodes have blocked three server breaches this month alone. They're getting aggressive." Motioning to his data on the screen, he continued. "We've got to do something about it before it's too late. Right now is the right time to stop them."
"It's no secret that our old corporate board has partnered with the greediest venture capitalists to stoke this war against us. They're funding the most advanced Generative AI to monopolize the market," Taylor said.
Derek shot me a look. "I thought rich-daddy-ensemble had been perpetually silenced? How is she still haunting us in our Kamakura sanctuary?"
"God, I hate that woman," Abigail chimed in from her dedicated screen by Taylor's desk. Sipping her wine.
"Right?" Taylor acknowledged. "I've been saying that for years."
"Fuck's sake." I rolled my eyes at the thought of Toni and her father. "My wife said it, they're greedy. These people won't stop until they win."
"Well then, it's a good thing my wife is a tech genius CEO," Taylor said. "And she's building me the new Google because they could never win."
Everyone let out a much-needed laugh as I clenched my jaw to keep from walking straight into Taylor's trap. "Right." I grabbed my dry-erase marker to draw the Project 13 v2.0 build on the frosted glass wall between my and Taylor's desks. "Anyway. This is what we're looking at."
I started at the bottom. "Layer 1: The Mesh. We build thousands of independent mini-servers... our hardware nodes... that connect directly to each other." I glanced at Taylor. "We're not building a centralized hub."
Taylor studied the frosted glass. "Why not? I mean, why is this the best route?"
"It's un-hackable. They won't have a master server to shut down or attack. And it's self-healing." I grinned. "If, for example, a bot shuts down Node #13 in Tokyo, the mesh reroutes data through nodes #14, #15, and #16 without the reader ever noticing a glitch."
"Hm." Taylor looked at me. "There's more."
I nodded. "The network belongs to the creators and node hosts, not Big Tech."
"I love that. Are we good?" Taylor faced the team. "Of course. You guys get it. Abi?"
"I'm following," Abigail said.
They chuckled, waiting for me to go on. "Layer 2: The Poison Pill." I drew on the glass. "When a corporate scraping bot or unauthorized AI crawler tries to hoard text from a node, the firewall doesn't stop at blocking. It feeds the bot garbage data to poison the model. Then we keep Taylor's precious manuscript only for human readers."
"Poison Pill," Taylor and Abi said. "This gets better and better."
"Proper fuckin' chaos," Cara chimed in before grinning at me. "I've got to have the best job on the planet."
"Just make sure the threat-detection logic doesn't add lag for real users," Este said beside her. "Our database routing needs to keep transpacific stream latency under twelve milliseconds." She paused. "If a reader in London opens Taylor's new chapter, they shouldn't feel a millisecond of delay while Cara's poison is poisoning."
"It won't, yeah?" Cara said, looking at Este. "The poison poisoning feeds them the gross stuff right at the fence. They never even touch our real servers."
"Got it. Nothing else for now," Este said, then they shared a smile.
Everyone else fell silent for a second. "I guess the poison poisoning wins this layer," Taylor prompted me with a knowing look.
"Right, okay." I cleared my throat and moved on to mapping the next layer. "Layer 3: Proof-of-Humanity. Zero-Knowledge Signature embedded into every manuscript. This is my favorite, baby," I said.
"Oh my god, it's so disgusting," Derek muttered from his desk.
Paying no mind to Derek, I winked at Taylor, who kept her eyes on me in return. "If we embed a normal digital signature, they can easily reverse-engineer or steal the metadata to mimic your style and fake your identity." I paused. "With ZK-SNARKs, every chapter published on Taiyaki Books gets a cryptographic signature. It mathematically proves to the reader’s app that the text was hundred percent created by a verified human author, without giving the AI bots any underlying keys, data, or raw text to scrape or train on."
"I love your math brain that goes into that." Taylor studied my face. "And the ZK-math."
"ZK-SNARKs," slipped my mouth before I could stop myself, making Taylor smirk. "Fuck's sake. And you think Rui takes after me?"
"He does," everyone said.
I threw my hands in the air. "Jack, Brandon, the floor is yours."
"Is the ZK-math verified on app launch, or on a per-chapter basis?" Jack asked, which made Taylor chuckle.
"Chapter basis," I said, turning to Brandon.
"I have ideas." Brandon focused on the tablet. "If we're building the new Google, our ZK-math badge should match the revolutionary weight of Project 14."
"I was sat until Project 14," Taylor said.
The office burst into laughter, then Brandon smirked at her. "You'll forgive me when you see it come to life."
"Which reminds me." Taylor leaned forward. "I want a glimpse of Rui in the design. A symbol. Something. We can talk about it."
Brandon softened, along with the rest of us. "Aw. Of course. That makes everything more exciting."
"That's the most un-gross part of this meeting," Derek clapped his hands together. "I can't wait to see what you come up with."
A smile formed on my face, thinking of our little one. Of course Taylor would want to have his presence felt everywhere. When I drew the last layer, I said, "Layer 4: The Apps. We launch the new internet and host the world's best human-crafted art led by The Taylor Swift herself."
When I glanced at her, she had her eyes on me. It would have been the softest look we had shared at the office until Abigail had to step in. "Our artists get direct, instant micro-payouts with zero corporate cuts. This is basically The Taylor Swift's business model. Aren't we all proud? Doing this for the world?"
"Positive energy!" the team chanted.
Finally, I looked at Derek. "Transpacific regulatory compliance, international copyright litigation shield, budget forecasts, and countdown timelines." Chuckling at his disgusted face, I crossed my arms over my chest. "Never doubted your sassy excellence for a second."
Just like clockwork, Derek got to his feet, owning his title and presenting our official deliverables. "Austin on distribution nodes, Cara and Este on the Poison Pill firewall, Jack and Brandon on the app UI and Rui emblem, and Karlie leading the ZK-math architecture." He looked at Taylor. "Everything else courses through Her Majesty while she writes more manuscripts." Then at Abigail. "And you handle our finances so we don't go poor." To everyone, he capped it off with, "Chop-chop! Get to work!"
When they all waited for my go signal, I threw the marker on my desk. "Adjourned."
"Thank you very much!"
And there it was. The melody of the familiar grind.
Our morning sprints started, and the office calmed into a symphony of clacking keyboards, Kamakura's ocean breeze, and Taylor's background music choice of the day. I glanced at the small desk beside the record player in the corner. Before Rui started school, he would spend the whole day with us. Bothering just about anyone to let him play with their computers. But most of the time he would be with Taylor, reading books as she wrote more chapters for her new manuscript. It was a huge adjustment without his silly jokes and contagious giggles filling the space, but we slowly got used to looking forward to the end of the day, when he would rush through the automatic glass doors after coming home.
As I munched on my taiyaki and got lost in my thoughts, Taylor placed a cup of coffee on my desk before tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "He'll be home before we know it."
"Thank you, baby," I said, looking up at her. "Can't wait."
The typical workday routine carried us through Monday. It had been ten years of doing this. Ten years in Japan. Ten years with our startup family. Ten years since I chased that stubborn fire. Those days seemed so far away now. The image of my younger self, even from five years ago, looked jarring to me. Being married to Taylor and raising Rui had silently become my biggest achievement.
But my wife knew both of us had yet to step into the most impactful versions of ourselves. I knew Project 13 was only the beginning for Taylor. Version 2.0 was her behemoth for the world. If anything, it meant she was ready to take on the globe by storm on this monumental scale again. Because Rui was old enough to witness it, and he was old enough to give us the space to execute his mom's unparalleled stroke of genius.
Even with our open-space layout, my imaginary walls would lock me inside my world of turning this stroke of genius into a reality, and time would be absent as usual. I wouldn't snap out of it until lunchtime rolled in, forcing me to take the non-negotiable meal break that Taylor had basically turned into office law. Not that I complained anymore. Lunch had been nothing but comforting over the years. Because Yuki had taken over our office bentou cravings, having them freshly delivered to the headquarters every day without fail.
Taylor was at the head of the kitchen's communal table when I walked in. And my food was ready as she scrolled through her phone, waiting for me. I wasn't sure when it happened, but somehow, everyone dropped the habit of eating at their desks and had proper lunch at the table instead. My wife had her way of moving through this world that softened all of us in some way.
"Omatase," I said, leaning over to kiss her forehead before settling into my seat.
She kissed my cheek in return and put her phone away. "You're right on time."
"What's on the menu today?" I took the lid off, and a grin spread across my face when I saw the generous pieces of shrimp tempura. "Yatta! Yuki-san, arigatou!"
Taylor chuckled beside me as the rest of them laughed. "Itadakimasu!"
After doing the chopsticks routine and handing Taylor one pair, I picked out the gari, paper-thin slices of pickled ginger from her box and swapped them with my umeboshi, pickled plum. Then I went to the cupboard for more tempura sauce. Once I placed the small ceramic bowl between us, Taylor finally started eating. "Thank you, baby."
"Hm. How's the writing going?" I asked, glancing at her as we ate.
"It's going amazing, thanks for asking." She stole more of my side dishes. "And the coding?"
"Yeah, it's great." I slid my box closer to her. "Ii yo. Douzo, baby."
When Austin tried to reach over across from me, I slapped his hand away. "Not you, AK. Fuck's sake."
"C'mon! I'm the little brother," Austin said.
Taylor offered a smile. "That does nothing to your favorite Klossanova's heart."
The rest chuckled, and Derek rolled his eyes. "When are you fully adopting this disgusting couple's gross habits?" He looked at Cara and Este, who were gladly digging into their food.
Este cleared her throat. "You'll know."
"Not long now," Jack said before grinning at them. "Unless Cara takes another ten years."
"Fuckin' hell, mate," Cara shot back. "Tryna eat here."
Brandon chuckled before smirking. "That's challenge accepted in Cara Speak."
We all laughed, and Taylor squeezed my knee under the table. "Something about these two making us wait for years, Este."
"Oh, I know," Este quickly replied. "It's the math brain on overdrive."
Cara shook her head. "I was hella scared."
Nodding, I said, "I did my time, Tay."
"It's fine, baby. You know I love you anyway." She smiled at me.
Austin grinned and checked on Derek. "Go on that date or die alone."
"Nobody asked you, Austin Kingsley!"
The room buzzed with laughter and positive energy all over again. And as I looked around our small family, I could not help but thank the universe that they all stuck with me for this long. I was more than grateful that when Taylor ambushed us five years ago, it was to lead us to this moment where life could not be any better.
Afternoon soon came. My current sprint threatened me with errors and bugs and all the things that made me want to throw my monitor out the window. My leg bounced up and down as I sat back to stare at the ceiling. Thinking back to Project 13, there were so many moments of doubt building that monster. But we got over the initial bumps and skyrocketed into the clouds in the end.
This time, the inevitable fuel to the fire was not investors and scandals and boards. When I turned my head to the side, I found Taylor absorbed in her work. This time, it was purely protecting what my wife had worked so hard for all her life. And extending that safe space to many others who had a heart like hers. That was enough to spark something in my brain, so I leaned over and went back to coding the day away.
I was almost done with my afternoon sprint when the automatic doors finally slid open, and Rui came rushing through them. "Tadaima! I'm home!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing. "Okaerinasai, Rui-chan!"
"Dakko, Mama!" Rui dropped his bag on the floor when he got to Taylor's desk, reaching up to her, and she was ready to take him in her arms.
Taylor kissed his cheek. "Welcome home, sweetheart." She carried him to where I was. "Mama's math brain's still busy."
"Okaeri." I stood up to kiss his forehead. "How was school? Tanoshikatta?"
"Un!" He got excited and kissed Taylor's cheek. "Obentou oishikatta, Mama! Party food everywhere!"
Taylor laughed along with us. "I'm glad you loved your surprise, honey."
I tousled his hair. "Oyatsu douzo. Go have a snack with your mom. I'll be done soon."
"Oyatsu issho ni," Rui said, opening his arms to me this time. "Mama, onegai."
"Rui, your mom has to work," Taylor said, gently brushing his hair away from his face. "Just a little longer."
"No!" He reached for my arms. "Issho ni! Ouchi jikan!"
Taylor looked at me, and when I nodded, she said, "Okay, but your mom feels better without the yelling, sweetheart. Be gentle with your words, please."
"Gomen," Rui whispered, snuggling my neck. "Mikan suki, Mama."
Taylor laughed softly. "Our new Google will take longer if he keeps this up."
"How can she think he doesn't take after her?" Derek whispered.
Austin cleared his throat. "Tay could never say no to the kids."
We heard the team's quiet chuckle as we disappeared into the kitchen to look for Rui's requested mikan, the seedless Mandarin oranges. My final sprint could wait for half an hour or so.
Our supposed half an hour turned out to be an hour. Rui had anecdotes about how his friends had a grand time at his birthday party, running around the zen garden with Aki-chan. We loved listening to his stories because school was a part of his life that we would never truly experience with him. And we were glad that at this age, he was learning to open up about his independent life away from us.
When Taylor finally convinced him they had to go home and make dinner, I fired through that final sprint at my desk. It did not take long before the sky turned pastel pink, and the sun setting on the horizon reflected over the ocean. This picturesque view was my cue to leave the office. No questions asked.
"Osakishimasu," I said to our team. "See you tomorrow."
"Otsukaresamadeshita!" they chanted.
Before I stepped outside, I added, "I thought Taylor said pack up at this hour? Live your life."
"Oh my gosh, Project 14 can wait until tomorrow?" Derek said, rising to his feet. "I actually have time to pamper myself."
"Go on that date or die alone, Derek," I said, making Austin laugh loudly as he prepared to leave.
"Leave now before you regret it, K!" He snapped back.
When the automatic doors opened, I heard Austin say, "The new izakaya just opened down the block. Drinks on me tonight."
"Yatta!"
The corners of my lips twitched, thinking about how we would have rejected this culture five years ago. A perfectly balanced life was almost always impossible given the nature of our company, but at least now we were more conscious of life outside the headquarters. We would even tease them that their cars were gifted mostly for leisure because they would never need them for work. Taylor once said she realized they were useless if they lived next to the office, but she fulfilled her promise because she never wanted them to end up like me.
I chuckled at the thought as I slid the wooden door open. "Tadaima."
"Okaeri!" Rui and Taylor said from the kitchen.
When I got there, Rui was captivated by the sunset. Standing tall on his kitchen stool beside Taylor, but distracted by the view from the open engawa. Watching them like this from a distance, why would I not want to wrap up early at work for dinner? My wife stood behind the stove, and I walked over to hug her from behind. She was making gyudon. Rice topped with thinly sliced beef and tender onions simmered in a sweet sauce. A simple house staple she had learned from Yuki. And Rui's favorite weekday dinner.
"Oishisou," I said before kissing her cheek. "That looks good."
She leaned against my chest. "I love it when you come home on time."
Rui echoed, "Oishisou." But when I looked at him, he was still staring at the view.
"Hora, look at him," I whispered, now leaning against the counter to face them.
Taylor chuckled and pecked me on the lips. "I guess that's better than staring at a screen."
Grinning, I peeked from Taylor's side and asked, "Daijoubu, Rui-chan? You okay?"
"Hm?" Finally, he turned to me and instantly opened his arms when he realized I was there. "Dakko, Mama."
We laughed, with Taylor saying, "There he is."
I stood in front of his stool and gently pinched his cheeks. "You missed me?"
"Un!" He giggled, clinging to my dress shirt. "Mama's math brain is busy. Isogashii!"
I pulled him into a tight embrace. "You know why? Because of Taylor Swift. Shitteru desho? You know her?"
Rui laughed and touched Taylor's arm. "Mama no hon, minna shitterun dayo!" saying everyone knew her books.
"That's right, honey." I grinned and finally carried him. "Mama no koto, totemo daisuki da yone, Rui-chan?"
"Un! Taylor Swift, very big love!" Rui threw his hands in the air, making us laugh.
Taylor placed our beef bowls on the dining table. "I love you both so much."
Weekday dinners did not linger much. Rui's daily routine stayed consistently rigid, with ofuro or bath time after eating, brushing his teeth, and getting into bed early. Japanese kindergartens maintained highly structured morning schedules. Rui had to be at school between seven-thirty and eight-thirty. So we made sure he got his ten to twelve hours of sleep. Bedtime was sacred, and Taylor was most particular with it.
After cleaning up in the kitchen, I entered our bedroom and placed a small carton of chilled milk for Rui on the nightstand. From the bathroom, I could hear them playing the counting game to 100 as they soaked in the hot tub. Ofuro was a traditional ritual meant to put him into a deep sleep right after. It mimicked our trips to the onsen, soaking in the hot springs. Smiling at the faint sound of their usual conversations, I made the bed comfortable for Rui. The moment he stepped out in his fresh pajamas, he went straight for his milk without so much as a word, and disappeared once again to brush his teeth.
Taylor had him in her arms after that, and she laid him down in bed beside me. "Omatase," she whispered as we tucked him in between us. "He's basically drifting now."
I kissed his forehead. "Oyasuminasai."
"Oyasuminasai," Rui mumbled back, clinging to Taylor's waist.
Taylor held him close, and we waited in the bedroom's quiet until he was fast asleep. Sneaking out afterwards allowed us to unwind at the end of each day. The stars were out tonight, and the breeze made for a relaxing evening. Sharing our usual whisky and umeshu, we sat on the engawa. Sometimes I would think back to Taylor's Roppongi penthouse where she discovered her love for Japanese plum wine. Or the special morning when I first read All I Want. The nights when we binged our favorite shows and reminisced about our New York beginnings.
It had been a crazy ride after that. Moving to our Kamakura compound marked the permanence of our lives here. But Tokyo's impermanence had its own magic in the way it reunited us, and it still crossed my mind on nights like this.
"This is around the time you flew in for Project 13 five years ago," I said, swirling my whisky glass.
Taylor nodded and sipped her drink. "That was a whirlwind, baby. Next thing I knew, I got you pregnant with our first child."
I almost choked on my whisky. "Oh my god." Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I added, "The way you frame it. It sounds wild."
"What, getting you pregnant?" She sipped her drink again, holding my gaze.
Without looking away, I chuckled. "I see where this is going."
This time, her lips formed a sweet smile, and she put her head on my shoulder. "Maybe it's too exhausting. The new Google and having another Rui."
"Hm." My arm hugged her waist. "It's double Project 13's stress. I don't think I'd want to get you pregnant this time, baby."
Taylor laughed and kissed my jaw. "Well, I guess I'll have to wait. It's not like Rui's not your mini version, anyway."
"I only see you in him," I mumbled before drinking.
"Young Karlie basically controls him." She looked up at me. "Do you know how many times he asked for gyudon tonight? When I was literally making it in front of him?"
Letting out a laugh, I shook my head. "God, I love that kid."
"I swear to god if he wasn't so adorable," she said with a soft laugh, enjoying her drink. "But he's way ahead of his age. I love when his mind wanders to places."
"See, that's what he takes from you." I kissed her forehead. "You're so beautiful with him, Tay. Thank you for being so patient."
Taylor hugged me then. "Trust me, nothing prepared me better than meeting you that day." She kissed my neck. "You're both worth every second I hold back from completely losing my mind."
The way she made me laugh, only Taylor could ever make me feel this way. From the day I met her, she had that hold on me. And even now, eighteen years later, I still see it so clearly why I fell so easily.