Resolution

Oh yes, there’s still another couple to fix. Don and Miyukizi are stuck in a limbo. They don’t know how to talk to each other. It looked like they needed help from an unlikely outside source.

Mami walked up to the volunteer center in the middle of December. She hummed as she opened the doors.

“Good morning!” the woman said in a sing-songy voice. But then her face dropped.

“What the hell?” Why was everyone so bummed out? Mami wrinkled her nose.

“Did somebody die or something?” she asked. No one made eye contact with her. Mami looked disappointed.

“Damn…” she said. The woman pressed her lips together. Right…

Mami walked up to the front desk and rang the bell. The receptionist walked out of the doorway.

“Oh, it’s you,” she said. Mami raised an eyebrow.

“Is everything good?” she asked. The receptionist hesitated. Her eyes shifted back and forth.

“Mika?” Mami asked.

“Uh…” the younger woman said. She took a step back.

“Come on… Talk to me,” Mami pressed. She leaned over the counter with a curious look on her face. Mika’s eyes shifted back and forth as she trembled. She clenched her fists by her side.

“Alright, fine!” she yelped. The receptionist broke down and told her everything. Mami listened transfixed.

“Wow!” she said at last. Mika breathed out as the people in the room were staring at the women. The receptionist looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her up. Mami rubbed the back of her head.

“So that’s it,” she said with a whistle.  Mika’s face looked so red.

“Is Don in his office right now?” Mami asked. Her serious tone threw the receptionist for a loop.

“Uh… yeah, yeah!” she yelped. The older woman gave her a gentle smile.

“Thank you,” she said. Mami bowed and headed down the hall.

“Wait!” the receptionist shouted. The other woman was already gone.

---------

Mami marched up to Don’s door.

“Don!” she shouted as she pounded on the door. “Get out here! We need to talk!” She barked up when the door opened. Don looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Had he been crying?

“Geez! What happened to you?” Mami asked.

“What do you want?” Don asked.

“Heard what happened to you and Miyukizi,” she said. “How bad is it?” The manager said nothing.

They sat in his office moments later. She sat across from his desk.

“Talk to me,” Mami said. She didn’t take her eyes off of him. Dan looked ready to bolt out the door. He shifted in his chair.

“She confessed to me.”

Mami raised her eyebrow. “And?”

“And?”

“What did you say?” She looked ready to eat him. Don reeled back in his chair. He sighed and dropped his head.

“No.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well how do you feel about her?”

Don froze. The serious look on Mami’s face made him shiver.

“Mami?”

“Are you stupid?”

“What?”

She slammed her hand down on the desk. “Don’t do this to her! Miyukizi is too pure for head games. You know that, Don.”

He struggled to say something but the words didn’t form. Why was she saying this? Didn’t she have a crush on him for over two years? Why did she even care?

“I don’t get it.”

“Get what?”

“Why are you so invested in this? What do you stand to gain if I tell Miyukizi how I feel?”

Mami sat back and lowered her head a bit. A little smirk came across her face.

“Oh,” she said. “I’d rather steal you from her than that floozy you’ve been pining for for years.” Don’s face went flat. Oh…

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

“Brady-san?” Miyukizi asked on the other side.

“Um…” the boss said. He looked over at Mami. She had a catlike smirk on her face.

“Do it,” she mouthed at him. Don lifted his chin.

“I could come back later,” Miyukizi said.

“No!” Don yelped. “No. It’s fine. You can come in.”

“I’m coming in,” his secretary said as she opened the door. She poked her head inside.

“Oh, I didn’t know that Akabane-sand was here,” she said. “Did I come at a bad time? I can come back later if you want.” Mami stood up.

“No, it’s okay. I was just leaving,” she said. “Good day.” She gave Don a wink before she walked out of the office. She smirked as the door swung closed behind her. Don and Miyukizi just looked at each other.

They were left alone with the awkward elephant in the room. Don nervously laughed.

“Did you need something?” he asked. Miyukizi shifted in place where she stood. She opened her mouth to speak.