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Yayoi heard the keys snapping inside the lock just as she finished brushing her wet hair. She opened the bathroom door and stepped out, immediately shuddering at the shift of temperatures, and followed her partner into the kitchen.
“Did you enjoy your bath?” Kashiwagi set the grocery bags down and kissed her flushed cheek. His lips were slightly cool against her heated skin after his walk in the cold outdoors. He lingered there, taking in her fresh, soapy scent.
She nodded, snaking her arms around his waist. “Oh, you know me. Nothing like lazing around in hot water with scented candles and piano music. And what about you? How was the…ohh, is that my favourite wine? You’re spoiling me, Osamu.” The woman kissed the scarred cheek, then began helping him unload the grocery bags.
Judging by the bottle alone, Yayoi knew he had a fun evening in mind: the “dinner date” kind. Before she fully retired and moved in with him in Ijincho, they usually only had these kinds of dinners whenever she came to visit him on weekends. Wine, various snack skewers, possibly some sushi… Oh, she was going to be spoiled tonight, that’s for sure.
“Hey, what’s this?” She picked up another bottle he brought. Her nose scrunched up a little as she checked the label. “Are we out of paint remover?”
A stark contrast to everything else they had in the pantry, this was the cheapest kind of whiskey she saw in the supermarkets. Whooping teenage Daigo’s ass after he drank a whole bottle of that cheap sewer water was a part of motherhood experience that she didn’t really miss.
“Remember when you suggested getting some luxury stuff just for display?” Kashiwagi’s arm slid around her waist, drawing her closer. His voice dropped to a velvety whisper. “Well, that’s a work in progress. I ran into a gold mine the other day.”
She rested her cheek against his shoulder. “And your gold mine is…this?”
“No. Check this out.” He released her and reached into one of the cupboards, out of which he pulled out a very expensive-looking bottle. Very-very expensive. Yayoi’s eyes shot wide when she saw the label, and he chuckled at her reaction. “Don’t worry, it’s empty.”
“No, I can see that…” Yayoi looked at the cheap Poppo bottle, pieces clearly clicking together. “So you’re just pretending to have a bottle of Legend Malt on your shelf.” She finally peeled herself away from her man, giving him space, and went to fetch a cutting board.
“Exactly.” He proceeded to unscrew the cheap booze, then set the Legend Malt bottle down and began filling it.
“Alright, looks more convincing this way. But what if someone orders it?” She spun a knife in her hand, then began laying out the ingredients before her.
“No one will order it. Come on, do you know how one glass normally costs?” He sealed the bottle and made sure it didn’t look like it was even opened in the first place, carefully checking the cap and all.
“No, I know it’s very high-end, but what if someone walks into your bar who has that kind of money? I know people can come in looking for specific expensive drinks, and if the Legend Malt rumour spreads…” Yayoi trailed off, already busy with cutting up cheese slices.
“Hrrrmm.” He clicked his tongue. “Just gonna tell them it’s not for sale.”
“Come on, love. You need to do better than that.”
The man looked at the bottle from different angles, clearly satisfied with the result, then put it back onto the shelf for now. He quickly wrote himself a sticky note memo on the fridge (“Don’t forget Legend Malt!”), then washed his hands and joined Yayoi in preparing the bite-sized sandwiches.
“You’re right. But right now I’m completely out of ideas. Maybe I’ll just tell them my wife told me not to sell it.” He gave her a cheeky smile.
“Everyone knows you’re not married.”
“Ex-wife..?” He put his knife down with a hum, ready to brainstorm. Yayoi didn’t stop doing what she was doing, finding it easier when she multitasks.
“Maybe ex-wife. Ah, heavens, it doesn’t even have to be a wife. Maybe someone you loved. Hear me out,” Yayoi said, holding up the knife. “She dreamed of trying Legend Malt with you one day, you got the bottle, but it never happened. Maybe she dumped you or something.”
Kashiwagi breathed out a chuckle. “What an evil woman. No, it’s a lie I could spin, but you know how men can be, especially the rich ones. Certain types might insist on getting over her and drinking this shit out of spite.”
Yayoi put her knife down slowly, staring off into space for a moment; she looked like a lightbulb finally went off in her head.
“Grief.”
“Grief? Do I need to kill my ex-wife?”
“Yes, you need to kill your ex-wife.”
He snorted. “I don’t want to kill my ex-wife, Yayoi. Spare the poor woman.”
“Oh, but you know they’ll buy it. People eat grief up like apple pie if it’s served to them with a heartbreaking story.”
“Hm. You’d know that, wouldn’t you?” His lips quirked upwards again. “If I didn’t know better, I’d have bought into your “poor grieving wife” story, too.”
That part was true. Both she and Kashiwagi used to play roles in the world they both were involved in; that was also something they’d bonded over. For Yayoi, “loyal wife” was a good mask that worked for so many years; “grieving widow” was an even better one to keep things stable for a while, until she could finally retire and disappear along with Kashiwagi.
People ate it right up, and that’s what mattered. It’s not like it was a completely false story either; there was more truth to it than lies. But hiding her hate for Sohei was easy enough when it needed to be hidden. Hiding her own affair took a little more effort, but both her and Osamu knew how to play the game, and they managed to play it safely. If anyone even found out, they were smart to never talk about it.
“So, hear me out,” Yayoi suggested, leaning back in her chair. “That woman of yours? Gone. Been gone for a while. Illness, car accident, you pick the story. But!” Her face shifted into a sad expression, and she even placed a hand over her heart. “The bottle that you got just for her is a reminder; she’s gone but the Legend Malt remains and so does the memory.” She even followed the suggestion up with a dramatic voice to add to a sad face of a lonely woman watching her first melodrama; and even the way she popped a single grape into her mouth was dramatic as hell.
Osamu watched that little performance of hers, entertained, and didn’t bother to hide just how lovestruck he was.
“Alright, this made even me feel bad that the bottle isn’t real. Heh.” He stood up and went to uncork the wine. Who’s to say they can’t start enjoying the drink while preparing the meal? “They’ll buy into that crap, I just know it. You’re a genius, honey.”
“Thanks, I know,” Yayoi replied in a sing-songy voice.
“What would I do without you…” He huffed a laugh, pouring out the wine in two glasses. It’s been so many years, and sometimes he still feels the electricity when their fingers brush against each other as he hands her a drink. Just like now.
“Run a not-so-presentable bar with cheap drinks, that’s what.”
[Present day…]
“What, is it my birthday already? I completely forgot,” Osamu admitted, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes. There were already a couple of gift bags on the bedside table next to him.
“It is, so relax. Iroha-chan will handle things at the bar in your absence, don’t worry.”
“Alright, alright.” He grunted, slowly sitting up; his shoulders ached, and Yayoi was already on it, climbing back into bed behind him and rubbing that tension out. “Mmmm…that’s the spot, love. So, can I open it?”
“Of course you can.” Her thumbs pressed into the back of his neck and he hissed in pleasure. He picked up a smaller bag first; it was narrow and tall, the kind of bag people usually gift bottles in. A peek inside had him freezing in disbelief.
Slowly, he turned his head. Even with the corner of his eye he could see her victorious grin.
“You can’t be serious.”
Yayoi stopped massaging his shoulders and lowered herself to hug him from behind. “Why, yes, I can. I had enough of seeing that fake bottle, so I wanted to try the real deal with you.”
“What, are you roleplaying my dead ex-wife now?”
“Not really. First of all, I plan to live forever, now that I’m living the happy life I wanted. Second…” She leaned in, kissing his cheek, then resting her chin on his shoulder and embracing him from behind. “We’re actually opening this one. I don’t want it to just stand there.”
He sighed, chuckling and shaking his head in disbelief. “As you wish, my lady.”