ALL NOVEL chapter 98
98: “Too Sweet”
They say that those born in April are the strongest.
In this society where the fiscal year starts in April, there is a significant difference in specs between those born in “April” and “March”.
Of course, through “education”, that difference is reduced, and by the time they reach the age to take university entrance exams, the intellectual and physical specs are almost equalized.
However, the physical spec difference during infancy is still significant and cannot be ignored.
My Sarah was born in May.
I actually wanted her to be born in April, but I made the decision to adjust it to May because it was difficult to take time off for childbirth in April.
Well, the plan for her to be born during the consecutive holidays didn’t go as expected…
Anyway, Sarah is strong.
Being strong is also inconvenient.
Especially when there is a significant difference in physical abilities compared to classmates, even a small thing can cause harm to others…
If only I could make her understand this with just a few words, how much easier would it be?
As Sarah turned two, she started saying “no” a lot.
Whenever I say something, she denies it right away. When Mirim says something, she thinks for a while and then denies it. She even knocks down the blocks she has built and throws books away in dissatisfaction after rearranging the contents of the bookshelf…
I understood it in theory, but now I’m starting to understand it through experience.
“Children have their own obsessions.”
It’s an illusion to say “Children are obedient.” It’s also an illusion to say “Parents’ words are absolute.”
Children have their own aesthetics that adults cannot understand at all.
Children are “individual personalities” who act based on aesthetics.
So, you must make preparations to deal with an individual personality.
And today’s guest who took the time for that reason is Sheila.
Nice to meet you.
“…No, it’s fine.”
This quiet and small café is a place I often use when consulting Sheila about legal matters.
To tell the truth, Sheila’s current occupation is a lawyer.
She has been working as a lawyer for a while and is on the path to eventually inherit her parents’ business and become a politician.
It’s a life on the rails. I envy her, but it seems that Sheila doesn’t feel the same way, so it has become an unspoken rule between us not to touch on that subject.
As June approached, the temperature was showing a significant increase compared to previous years.
We ordered cold coffee and juice for Sara at the café.
Sara was quietly sitting on Milim’s lap… Yes, she is a well-behaved child who knows how to hide her violent behavior at home when in front of unfamiliar people.
“Why did you come to me for parenting advice? I don’t have any experience.”
I don’t want you to share your parenting experience.
I want you to share your experience from being born in April.
I want to know what considerations you had when you were a toddler and why you thought of having such considerations.
“Well… I don’t remember…”
It’s only about 25 years ago, right?
…Oh, seriously? Is it already that long?
I feel like I was a toddler just a few months ago, but I’m about to turn thirty. I said it myself and was shocked…
I’m already 28 years old.
“Um, can you stop shocking yourself and me by saying it out loud? It’s shocking for me too, to be shocked by someone of the same age… Anyway, it doesn’t matter. About Rex, you came to me for advice based on some strange idea, right?”
Apparently, among friends and acquaintances, I am strongly supported as “someone who has strange ideas.”
What on earth have I been doing for the past 28 years, trying to live a normal life…
“Shouldn’t you ask someone who has experience raising children born in April rather than the person born in April themselves?”
In other words, Sheila’s parents.
However… I search my memory while looking at Sheila’s bouncy red hair.
Sheila’s parents… I don’t even remember their appearance. Or did I ever meet them? Although her spirited facial features, strong red hair, and tall stature must have been inherited from her parents, I can’t recall them at all just by looking at her.
“Well, they weren’t the kind of parents who would come to school events, and you might not know. Besides, due to adult circumstances, it seems like they didn’t approve of her getting closer to the students at that academy. There seemed to be factions based on the students’ alma maters…”
I didn’t know much about it at the time, but it seems that Sheila’s transfer right after completing elementary school was related to her father, who is a politician, switching political factions.
“…Well, even if you went to our parents and asked them suddenly, ‘Please teach me about raising children,’ they’d probably just turn you away. So, you guys should do your best on your own. I can’t be of much help anyway.”
Sheila said with a somewhat dismissive attitude.
However, Sara seemed to want to convey something to us every time she took a sip of orange juice, so I was busy dealing with that and couldn’t even delve into Sheila’s inner thoughts…
Sara, why do you look like it’s your first time tasting orange juice?
Or is the orange juice at this café really that delicious?
Maybe I should order some too… No, I might have too much…
I said to Sheila – Sorry, I didn’t hear the second half of what you said.
“…I said I can’t be of help.”
Sheila said bluntly.
Sara took a sip of orange juice and looked back at us.
What’s wrong? What do you want to say… Sara can manipulate words to a certain extent, but perhaps because she’s not very adept at it yet, her eyes speak louder than her words.
Our Sara has big, round eyes, so when she opens them wide, they really look big. She looks like a heroine from an anime or something. Or perhaps she could be a princess.
Unable to endure it any longer, I finally said – Give me a sip of juice too, Dad.
But Sara shook her head. She shook her head with a surprised look on her face. Lately, whenever Sara hears what I say, she just shakes her head. Is this the teenage rebellion phase? Isn’t it a bit early? Or maybe our child is just developing quickly…
In shock, I asked – Sheila, were you rebellious at an early age too?
“That’s because I told you I don’t remember, didn’t I!? Listen to what I’m saying!”
Why is she getting angry… Sheila has a bad habit of getting irritated at points that I don’t quite understand. It seems like it’s not something that can be easily corrected, and conversations with her always feel like navigating a minefield.
In an attempt to placate Sheila, I said to Sara – Sara, strike a princess pose! Sara struck a princess pose.
Sara, who tends to resist what I say, would always strike the princess pose she saw in an anime, no matter who told her to do it.
But when I asked for juice again, Sara shook her head once more.
I started to feel sad. Soon she’ll probably start saying things like, “Don’t wash the laundry with the same washing machine as Dad.” I asked Sara – Um, princess, may I hug you?
The princess moved from Milim’s thigh to mine. I hugged the princess. The soft, warm body of the still chubby infant made me feel the warmth of life.
“Rex always starts doing strange things while leaving the person he’s talking to alone, doesn’t he?”
I wanted to make you feel better…
“Why does it have to be like this?”
It seemed that Sheila was not easily comforted by just the “princess pose”; she had a stubborn heart.
There’s no helping it…
I stared into Sarah’s big, pitch-black eyes. Princess, please stay away from that person with red hair…
I currently believe that most problems can be solved through Sarah’s soothing effect, so I believed that Sheila’s irritation would also be cured by Sarah’s influence.
Luckily, Sarah-san nodded unusually in response to my instructions. So, I handed Sarah back to Millim for now, and Millim carried Sarah to Sheila’s place.
However, Sheila started acting strange.
“I-It’s fine with kids. I don’t really know how to interact with children…”
If she genuinely hated it, I would have given up with a “Well, then, there’s nothing we can do.” But it was clear from her gaze that Sheila was very interested in Sarah.
Parents become more sensitive to the gaze directed at their children than the gaze directed at themselves. Lies and deception won’t work…
After a few back-and-forth exchanges, I successfully entrusted Sarah to Sheila.
Sheila hesitantly touched Sarah. Sarah was well-behaved because she had a good appearance. Or rather, she seemed to think it was her job to make herself adorable. At that age, she recognized that she had a role to fulfill and she carried it out. She was a genius.
“…Ah, I just remembered one thing.”
Sheila made a slightly displeased face.
“It’s not a story from when we were little, but back in elementary school, you know, I used to clash with Rex a lot. It’s because of our parents’ influence.”
Rather than saying it was from elementary school, it was more unusual for there to be a time in my life when I didn’t clash with Sheila.
“I was told to be the best, but you were always in my way… Well, yeah, I remembered that I didn’t like you. …Yes, if I were to give you a lesson from that, it would be to ‘not force yourself to be the best.’ Whether you can be the best or not depends on who else is there in the same era.”
There’s no need to force it; Sarah is already my best…
I won’t tell her to be the best. Because she already is.
“…I guess I really don’t like kids.”
Sarah returned.
Sheila drank the untouched coffee.
“I need to become more mature; it’s still bitter, after all.”
Put some sugar in it…
But I didn’t say that. Somehow, it didn’t seem like a comment about the coffee.
“Well then, see you later. I don’t need a consultation fee, but the cost of the coffee is on you.”
I had prepared myself to pay a consultation fee since I had called the lawyer here on my own terms, but she skillfully avoided it.
It wasn’t a wasted expense for me, so I wanted to insist on paying, but Sheila acted swiftly. Before I could say anything, she handed Sarah over to Millim and left the shop.
I continued to gaze at the remaining coffee and then shifted my gaze to the orange juice.
“`
Give it to Papa, please.
After repeated requests, Sara finally gave in, and I succeeded in drinking orange juice.
The coffee I drank afterward was strangely bitter, and I thought to myself, “Put some sugar in it.”