Three golden minutes
Back when you were a kid, you observed a very particular scene.
It was a fresh summer Thursday. Your Grandma was talking with mom in the kitchen, as she was preparing stew for dinner while both you and your sister were running around the living, your older brother and cousin were watching TV and Aunt Olivia was just vacating the bathroom.
Your sister took that chance to go and pee, and as you jumped around like a kid does, your eyes caught something as you passed near the window.
Out there it was dad’s car parking in the street. Auntie’s car was parked in the entrance, so you saw him turn off the car.
And yet somehow, he didn't get out of it. He sat in his car, took a deep breath and slumped. Was your dad mad? Sad?.
Yet as he got out of the car, you remembered his eyes meeting yours and his smile growing. Hand waving at his little boy, and you waving back because dad was happy.
You always chalked it up to him having a bad day
—----------------
Your car’s clock beeps announcing its 10 pm as you turn the corner, the residential area of Tokyo silently making way as you drive. Funny to think ten years ago you couldn't drive without music.
The car comes to a soft stop in the entrance to the house you had to fight tooth,nail and document in hand to get. The sole idea of living in an apartment nowadays just makes your head spin.
The security belt clicks and retracts, the cloth of your suit making that funny “fweep” as it returns, you turn off the car and the lights go off at the same time the motor stops rumbling. The street lights and those escaping the houses illuminate the night.
But light isn't the issue here. Its sound.
Without the motor rumbling, your car is in complete silence.
You take a deep breath and slump a bit, weary muscles softening a bit. You count to ten, relishing the feel of the car seat against your back.
You drink in the silence with closed eyes, the absence of sound. You feel your tired body whine.
Maybe a minute or two more. You are early today.
*THUMP*
You jump in surprise, hitting your head in the roof of the car and groaning as a muted laughter mocks you from outside the car alongside an elated squeal.
Ah pops…now you get it….
You’ll buy him a beer when you visit again.
You pop open the door with a smile, as the criminal attacking your door is trusted into your arms.
“DADA!”
“Hello angel! Dad is home!”
Her tiny hands grab your face and you smile, at least until she twists it with a delighted giggle. Oh yeah, those motor skills sure are working. You always forget the “hit and grab” phase.
“She saw your car through the window and started squealing. Was work fun?”
Your currently kneaded face locks onto the love of your life and mother of the small kid in a pink pajama with rat ears and red hair determined in making you putty.
“Shame old. Swame old”.
Bae giggles and tiptoes for her kiss, and you do so with gusto as your infant child giggles and frolics, just happy to be there. Just a pair of jeans, a white Shirt with little hand paints and an apron make up the retired housewife fashion of the sun in your sky.
Unlike you, who had started getting some gray hairs and even threw your back last month, Bae had an ethereal approach to aging. As in, while she hasn't changed one bit in the height and personality department (Miss i drew a ketchup dick in your lunch) there was now a layer of maturity permeating her, wisdom coming with age.
Added to that, Bae’s inability to stay put even years after her retirement had kept her figure healthy…even if know she was a bit softer due to pregnancy and age.
Soft…soft Bae…oh how the gates of paradise had opened to you when pregnancy made her already attractive figure somehow even more delightful..
“I can see you salivating, you know that right?”
Your daughter pulls your lips as you shake her a bit, while your wife gives you the “behave yourself” look.
“Boy im sho hunghy”
Bae’s tail smacks you in the leg, because violence is not allowed in your house, and she walks to the door putting a bit more emphasis on her hips as she walks.
Dammit! You were so tired!
“I'm a married man! Stop tempting me!”
Your daughter splutters as her mom disappears behind the door with a laugh, closing it in what’s a bit of a mercy.
You sigh,rocking your infant daughter in your arms.
You take a deep breath and walk to the door, entering before you get cold feet.
You don't notice how much you miss silence until it's time for cacophony.
The game playing on the tv, alongside the mashing of buttons is the first layer of sound, followed by the metal clinging and clanging of the kitchen. Complimenting this auditory banquet, the muffled sound of footsteps on the upper floor (a chase, most likely) is garnished with the distant music coming from one of the rooms in the lower floor.
Last, but not least, the element bringing this entire thing together is made clear: Your daughters are fighting.
The steps above intensify as they reach the stairs, both twins descending the stairs as fast as humanly possible, shaking a notebook
“That's Mine!”
“I Just wanna see it!”
The older twins, at almost 17, don't register your six year girl passing through, bowling over her and sending her straight to the floor, a pair of round glasses soaring in the air.
And of course, the waterworks open instantly
“BWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH”
The pots in the kitchen clang, probably being organized as Bae tries to exert control from there.
“HANAI! BE NICE TO YOUR SISTER!”
“IT WASN'T ME! IT WAS KANA!”
“IT WASN'T ME! IT WAS HANA!
“BWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH.”
You step in and grab the glasses in the air, the game from the living room stops, as one voice booms while the other snickers
“It was Kana! I saw it! She hit Ruri!”
Aaah…the age of the snitch and the age of the brat…Were your girls eight and twelve already? Oh how time flies…
“Oh you are FUCKING dead!”
Kana untangles, leaving her twin to deal with the bawling sister and rushes like an arrow straight into the living room. Another yelp can be heard.
“OUCH! OUCH! MOM SHE’S PULLING MY HAIR”
“HAHAHAHA! SO LAME!”
“MOOOOOOOM MIRA IS RECORDING MEEEE”
“HANA STOP THAT! RIGHT THIS INSTANT!
“IT WASN'T ME! IT'S KAN-OOOOW WHY ARE YOU BITING ME!”
You leave your shoes in the door and loosen your tie, handing it to the toddler in your arms who is just happy to have something in her hands. Your feet carrying you to the middle of the house, the place that connects the stairs, the living room and the kitchen
“MOM! RURI IS BITING- OOOOW- BITING ME!”
“HEEEEEEEEEELP”
“GIRLS BEHAVE!”
“BGWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH”
“OWWW IF YOU ARE GONNA BITE ME STOP CRYING AT LEAST!”
“HAHAHA-WOWOWOWOWOW STOP STOP IT HURTS!”
Both sides sport a ball of limbs way too focused on biting, pulling, kicking and screaming to notice your presence.
The chaos in the house is at its most critical point. And so, you have come to put it to an end.
And so you clear your throat. The silence is instantaneous, with the exception of Mana who keeps making her toddler noises.
“Ah pops…i get it now” You think “Those three minutes of silence…they were your paradise”
“Hello girls”
You love your dad. Your bond with the old man is the bond of a son and his dad, and all the fishing and sport watching that implies.
But let's be real. The term Daddy’s girl exists for a reason.
Your five remaining daughters join the toddler in the exercise of demanding attention from their dad
—----------
Bae had seen a very curious image when she was a kid. It was that of her mother breathing and slumping in the sofa with a smile while they got ready for a walk out of the house with dad.
It had been a weird thing, and it stuck with her.
Now, Bae watched as her husband was swarmed by the six lovely, lovely fruits of their love and allowed herself to slump a bit for the first time ever since the morning as they all fought for a tiny piece of his attention. They could have their father for what remained of the day.
She took her three golden minutes with gusto.
OMAKE
“Hey there father in law”
The gigantic man locks eyes with you as the grill cooks the meat, in the distance your girls play around under the watchful eyes of mother in law and Bae. Visiting the great outback always made her take the role of the guide. It was a bit of her aussie pride
“Don't call me that”
“Whatever you say dad.”
The man’s eyes harden, as he turns around a patty with more rage than necessary. He’s one petty mother fucker
“I fucking hate you, you know that right? You cunt”
You sip your beer, looking into the distance.
And so are you
“I love you too, dad”
His jaw clenches.
“Mana wants her patty well done, she’s five now and feels bad for the cow if she sees blood”
He looks into the distance. Probably softening a bit as he realizes how much his family has grown.
Only a bit.
“I should have killed you when i had the chance”
You take a loud sip and smack your lips. Boy it rules to be the winner.
“Well…It's been swell talking to you dad.”
You walk away a few steps, lifting your arm in his direction with a closed eye. Too close. You walk five steps more and nod satisfied
“Oh by the way, Bae is pregnant…again”
You break into a sprint, as the man jumps over the grill, screaming with murderous rage.