The silence on the other end of the line was agonising.
“I’ve wanted to tell you this for a long time, almost forever, but…”
“We know,” his mother interrupted.
“Okāsan, I’m so sorry… watashi o yurushitekudasai… please forgive me…”
“It’s OK,” interjected his father.
“Otōsan, I… I’m…”
Yoshi, lost for words, snapped on the inside, sobbing down the line.
“You’re bringing a boy to meet us, aren’t you?” his mother asked quietly.
“Hai,” replied their son.
“It’s OK,” his father repeated. “We don’t understand, but we accept. Maybe you can help us understand.”
“Kare wa nihonjindesu ka?” asked his mother.
“No, Okāsan, he’s not Japanese, he’s Australian.”
“That’s OK too.”
“Aishiteimasu, ryōshin,” sobbed the emo.
“We love you too,” replied his mum.
*
The mechanic invited Yoshi around for dinner on Thursday night. After leaving the garage for the day, he went to the supermarket. He purchased some tofu, some broccolini, some stalks of asparagus, a couple of red chillies, and a pouch of teriyaki sauce. Under normal circumstances, he would’ve loved the challenge of making the sauce from scratch, but time pressed. He already had plenty of rice in the pantry.
The emo rocked up wearing a pair of black boots, a pair of long black shorts, a pair of stripy socks, and a cap. Everything as expected. Except for one thing.
“What the fuck’s that t-shirt?” quizzed Mack.
Yoshi shrugged. “What? It’s just a black t-shirt. I’ve got a million of ’em.”
“But this one’s got the fuckin’ Brumbies logo on it,” frowned the mechanic.
The emo smiled curiously. “Fuck, I love winding you up with this Canberra shit. Rugby is done for the year, it’s nearly cricket season, and yet you’re still fixated.” He paused for a second, moving a little closer, lowering his voice. “What did the Brumbies do to you? You can tell me, I’m a trained professional.” He wished he had a doll handy so he could say ‘show me where the Brumbies touched you’.
The mechanic turned away comically, folding his arms. “I don’t wanna talk about it,” he pouted.
Yoshi hugged his host from behind, knowing he was joking. “What’s for dinner?”
The mechanic spun around and melodramatically placed his hands on his hips. “Oh, right, so you just assumed I was cooking dinner for you, did you?”
The emo narrowed his eyes and scanned the kitchen. “Well, yeah, so there’s a packet of firm tofu on the bench, some greens… yeah, so I guess I assumed.”
Mack smiled. “Make yourself at home, punk. Put a record on or something, dinner won’t be long.”
Yoshi browsed through the mechanic’s vinyl collection. He found the spine of Moscow Olympics’ album ‘Cut The World’ and held it up in complete surprise. “No fucking way. You’ve got this record? There are only two hundred copies of this record in existence. This is, like, the coolest, yet most obscure and unknown band in the known universe. They aren’t even on Spotify. You’re into them?”
“One of the best records I’ve heard in ages,” concluded the mechanic. “Drop the needle. I’m gonna cook us some dinner.”
Filipino guitar-pop filled the room as the mechanic browned cubes of tofu with crushed garlic and chopped chilli. He ripped open the pouch of teriyaki sauce and poured the thick liquid into a deep, wide saucepan. (He didn’t own a wok; this was the next best thing.) Before adding the broccolini and asparagus, he added a small splash of cold water to dilute the sauce. Steam billowed.
The emo sat on the couch examining the rare album cover. “Smells awesome,” he commented. His tummy rumbled.
A few moments later, the mechanic served dinner in two deep bowls, adding a generous scoop of steamed rice to each. Yoshi turned the record over before they sat down.
“How the fuck do you know this band?” the emo asked between spicy mouthfuls.
“I dunno,” replied the mechanic. “Internet, I guess. I was surfing youtube one night and they popped up. They’re fucking good, hey?”
“Yeah,” agreed Yoshi.
The record ended and the room fell quiet. The emo spoke quickly, forcing the words out. “Hey so I told my parents about you.”
Mack’s eyebrows raised in the form of a question.
“Well, some things.”
Mack remained silent.
“I told them you were an Aussie bloke, but I didn’t tell them anything about… anything about… umm… your age.”
The mechanic took it on the chin. “Well, at least that’s something to work with.” He ate thoughtfully. “And they were OK with that?”
“Yeah,” replied the emo, “they were. Let’s just say I was pleasantly surprised.” A tear ran down his cheek. “I can’t wait for them to meet you.”
*
The emo met Amelia for coffee in the CBD late on Friday afternoon. “Hey, I need to tell you something,” he said.
“What?” she asked.
“I’m taking Mack to meet my parents on Saturday.”
“Sounds official!” exclaimed the goth, clapping her hands with glee. “Oh, and by the way, I’ve started seeing someone. You might know him. Josh, from your theory tutorial at uni.”
“Yeah, he’s sexy cute,” opined Yoshi. “He’s suitably darkwave, too. Have you done the nasty with him yet?”
“A girl doesn’t tell,” she replied, daintily touching the corner of her lipsticked mouth with a fingertip.
The emo recognised the gesture. “OK, well, have you blown him?”
“Yeah,” came the reply. “He’s got a nice dick. We’re going out to watch a band on Saturday night, so who knows, a girl might get lucky later.”
Yoshi beamed. “I’m so happy for you, babe.” He sipped his coffee.
“And I’m thrilled for you too,” Amelia replied. “But I have to ask, do your parents know you’re bringing a dude to meet them?”
The emo exhaled, flicking his hair away from his face. He nodded. “That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. I rang them and said I’d like to bring someone out to meet them. I don’t know for sure, but I think they thought I’d met a girl, but I told them it wasn’t. I was worried they might respond badly, but they were extremely chill. Mum basically said that they weren’t surprised.”
“I don’t know how or why, but mums just seem to know,” replied the goth. “Women have a kind of sixth sense for this kind of shit.”
“But what really surprised me was when dad said he was cool too. Even though he was born here, I still feared the stern ‘Japanese dad’ phenomenon. He’s quite progressive by Japanese standards, but even so… like… you never know in advance how people are gonna respond, hey? Especially when it’s your own parents.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he accepted, but didn’t understand, but that hopefully I can help him understand. It was probably one of the most surprising things I’ve ever heard him say.”
Amelia smiled. “Your parents sound awesome, dude.”
Yoshi took another sip of coffee. “Yeah, but they probably think I’m gay now, so now I’m gonna have to explain what bisexuality is.”
“Maybe give them the benefit of the doubt,” counselled the goth. “Maybe it won’t be too hard for them to grasp.”
The emo half-smiled, unconvinced. “Yeah. Maybe. I guess I’m gonna find out soon enough, hey?”
They finished their coffees and went window shopping in the mall, just for fun, like best friends forever.
*
Saturday morning arrived. Yoshi slept at his own place last night, but he rose early and walked the shortish distance to Mack’s place in the next suburb. The day was sunny and warm. He walked slowly, in no particular hurry, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of Brisbane on a warm Saturday morning. He walked past fitness freaks going for morning cycles and jogs, and couples and families seated at outdoor cafés enjoying breakfast in the sunshine.