Author's note: inner voice/thoughts are denoted with asterisks, e.g. I was surprised versus *Holy crap that's surprising!*
Chapter 2: Mayumi
Asa Mayumi, known to those familiar with Japanese culture as Mayumi Onee-san, was 28, single, and smoking hot. She was not, however, particularly outgoing. A homebody by habit, a homemaker by interest, and a caretaker by temperament, Mayumi was a gentle, studious, supremely kind older sister. Except, she didn't actually have any siblings, though she had always wanted a little sister.
A modest girl after your traditionalist parents' hearts, Mayumi was very good at making and maintaining social relationships-as long as they were at someone's home. Thus, she was especially good about greeting neighbors. This habit of hers led to a meeting with a couple of siblings who changed her life.
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Several months after affirming our incestuous feelings, I found a better job in a different town, and neither Mia nor I had many attachments to our old place. Mia even managed to transfer to a university close to my new workplace. So I found a nice 3-bed, 2-bath house in the suburbs, a short train commute from both my work and her school.
The move had gone well. No hiccups, no damaged furniture, and nobody died.
Not that I was expecting anyone to die just because we moved homes...I just needed a third thing for my list. Rule of threes. Whatever. Moving on...
The day after moving, there was a ring at the door. I answered it before Mia could make her cheeky self known, and nearly failed to keep my jaw from dropping as I opened the door to reveal an absolute bombshell of an asian woman. Before I could even say hello, Mia crashed into my back and peeked her head out to see who was there.
The woman's expression was cheerful before, but as soon as she saw Mia, her smile brightened into barely restrained joy. "Hello! I'm Mayumi, I live next door, welcome to the neighborhood!"
"Hiya! I'm David and this is Mia, thank you so much! It's good to be here!" Noticing that she seemed to be carrying some sort of food container, I acted quickly, "Here, come on in! We just got all our stuff settled, there shouldn't be any tripping hazards other than Mia."
Mayumi giggled, and it sounded like bells chingling. I was instantly enamored. 'Could this woman get any more amazing?' I thought as I led her inside, Mia somehow managing to stay halfway behind me the whole time, sneaking glances at our visitor. When we got to the kitchen, Mayumi revealed that she had brought japanese-style curry rice. It smelled heavenly. I thanked her sincerely just as Mia decided to cut in, "You're really really pretty, Mayumi!"
The impromptu and sincere compliment caught Mayumi off guard. She looked shy for a moment as she looked down and blushed. She squeaked out a "Thank you" and Mia was apparently sold, because she turned and discreetly whispered in my ear, "Yup, she's a keeper".
I was a little surprised. Mia had never indicated any possessiveness for me-she was just needy for my attention-but I never would have predicted her actively supporting my attentions with another girl. I made a mental note of it and got back to try and keep the conversation from stalling.
"So Mayumi, how long have you lived here?" I asked.
"About 4 years. I moved here after college to be near my workplace, but now I work from home. Well, except for visiting project homes-I'm an interior designer."
"That sounds like fun, have you always wanted to do that?"
"Well, I got my degree in Graphic Design, and started working for an ad agency, but working in the office was...um, not for me. I never felt welcome there. Don't get me wrong, the people were nice, but the building was just so uncomfortable. After making some suggestions to my coworkers on how we could spruce up the place, someone joked about me being "Miss Interior Designer". I realized after that that not everyone seems to be as...affected, by a building's decor, as I am. After looking into it a bit, I realized the job was perfect for me. I could spend my time making people's houses feel like homes. Working with colors, textures, shapes, and furniture placements all day. And I can frequently redecorate my own home to use it as a model and show off my style to potential clients. It's really a dream job for me." Mayumi's eyes shone as she expounded on her clear passion.
"Wow, that's awesome! It really is nice to have a job you enjoy, huh?"
"Yeah! ...oh, but I'm just going on and on about me! How about you? What do you, um, do?"
"I teach English at the local high school." Mayumi smiled as I continued. "Just started teaching, actually. Previously, I worked in the medical device industry, and while it was lucrative, it didn't really give me any sense of purpose in my life. I wasn't really helping anyone. It also got pretty boring after I proved to myself that I could be good at it. So I thought about taking a whole new career path. After being asked to tutor some of my cousins, I realized that I found teaching to be immensely rewarding. So I thought: teaching. I'm gonna need an education degree to be a regular K-12 teacher, a Masters or PhD to become a college professor...what can I teach without getting a whole new degree? English. At the time, I had already been planning a long trip to Japan. So I took the two ideas and combined them: teaching English in Japan! And here I am."
"That's so great! The world always needs more good teachers. Have you had to deal with any troublemakers?"
"Haha, this is Japan! The "troublemakers" here wouldn't even be noticed back home..."
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Mayumi and I talked for a while, covering all the little things. Family, career, home life. Occasionally, Mia chimed in with either a well-placed relevant addition or a totally random complement, always leaving us guessing as to what she might say next. Mayumi seemed to like my sister's cheekiness though, as she either beamed, blushed, or giggled at everything the girl said.
Eventually, it seemed we were about to run out of discussion topics, so I decided to start closing the conversation. "We have some more work to do this afternoon, but I'd love to see you again. We should have a party or something-"
"Oh, oh, we should do it at my house!" Mayumi blurted out. She looked surprised at herself and then blushed. "Um, I mean, I like hosting dinner parties, so um, if you want, you should come over..."