episode_0137

There’s no Layla. There’s no Jane, Jake, or Rachel. From the fifth child onwards, after feeding and playing with them for a while, they quickly fall asleep.

So that’s the story?

Yasune Yas.

It’s time to upload the beer factory shots!

“… Don’t you like it too much, Mom?”

Did the stain show on your face? I cleared my throat and retorted to Layla with a calm expression.

“No? Why does Mom like it? She’s separated from our daughter.”

“It’s easy to combine mom and dad without me.”

Look at this. I bet this guy knows what a merger is.

Whether Layla knew it or not, this precocious 11-year-old lady seemed to be rife with distrust of her mom and dad.

So, even though I wasn’t sure if I could keep my promise, I held out my pinky and looked straight into Layla’s puzzled face as I made my promise.

“Laila, I promise you, Mommy. While you guys are gone, Mommy and Daddy will never merge.”

“… What if?”

“Hey, don’t you trust Mom?”

“I can’t believe it.”

Actually, it’s a bit funny that I expect Layla to trust me in this absurd situation where she has more siblings than her age.

“If you combine mom and dad, you’ll have a younger sibling, right? ”

“Ugh, uh… .”

“So if you have another sibling, I’ll understand even if Layla never sees her mom and dad again.”

“That’s, that’s what I hate!”

Laila suddenly started to cry and shook her head. I thought she was all grown up and didn’t need her mom and dad, but she was still a little kid.

How cute, my daughter.

I pulled Layla into my arms and hugged her tightly. Layla, who was hugged tightly by my large chest, grumbled and struggled as if embarrassed.

“Ugh! Breathe, breathe, Mom!”

“If you say you trust Mom, I’ll let you go.”

“Ah, woof, believe me, I believe you. I’ll believe you!”

After receiving the surrender, I happily buried my face in Layla’s soft cheek. “Hey, what the heck!” Layla’s grumbling, while not pushing away with all her might, was just cute.

“You said you trust your mom?”

“… I went there and came back and I’m going to be really mad if I have a younger sibling.”

“Okay, okay.”

If you hate it this much, of course Mom and Dad should make an effort.

…I definitely thought so.

In the end, all four of them disappeared to go on a retreat, so I fed the fifth through thirteenth children dinner, bathed them, and put them to bed. Then I changed the diapers of the remaining quadruplets and put them to bed quietly.

“… Hmm.”

“It’s our time.”

Another awkward couple time has come.

Lager pretended not to care, but he seemed to be secretly expecting it, and I, too, was trying my best to pretend not to care because of my promise with Leila, but I couldn’t help but twirl my hair and secretly check out the atmosphere.

“Because it’s like this, it feels like two teenagers are staying in a house without their mom and dad.”

Lager started making tea, saying such things to break the ice. We sat side by side in front of the TV, drinking tea instead of beer, and watching the news.

“Puberty makes me think of the old days.”

I took a deep breath as I savored the tea Lager had brewed for me. A smile spread across my face as my body warmed up.

“You know, Lager, when I was Eugene back then. Do you know that I imagined things like this once in a while?”

“What kind of imagination?”

“Just, what, marry you and have kids. Sometimes, after putting the kids to bed, we can have a beer together and chat about all sorts of things.”

“You’re drinking tea instead of beer.”

“The tea doesn’t seem too bad.”

“But do you still think about beer sometimes?”

“How could I not remember? I haven’t even touched alcohol in over 10 years because I’ve been raising children and giving birth.”

I grumbled, but then drank the warm tea and smiled bashfully again.

“I didn’t know I’d be the one giving birth, but it turned out just as I hoped.”

“Me too, um… .”

Lager took a sip of his tea with an embarrassed expression, then put his teacup down and looked at me.

“I’ve imagined similar things a lot.”

“For that reason, didn’t you reject me too harshly when I confessed?”

“No, that’s because you confessed too soon.”

“If you had confessed after you had served in the military and both grown up, would your answer have been different?”

“I only had you, but I couldn’t handle breaking up after meeting you like this.”

What’s the use of talking about old times?

Anyway, now we’re living happily together, only our genders have changed.

“Ale.”

I was quietly watching the news passing by on TV, drinking my tea, when Lager turned towards me as if he had made up his mind about something.

I was a little nervous, thinking that maybe he wouldn’t catch Yasukak in this atmosphere.

“Aren’t we happy enough now?”

What are you talking about?

I thought about it for a moment, but since it wasn’t a difficult question, I nodded quickly.

Lager slowly reached out his hand to me, took my hand, and stroked it gently as he spoke.

“Let’s just pretend the story about our baseball team never happened.”

“… Are you okay? You really wanted it.”

“We’re already happy enough, so I don’t think we need to expand our family any further.”

That was a really quick decision.

… I wasn’t in a position to criticize him, so I just nodded quietly.

“And we like beer, not tea.”

“That’s right.”

“Do you remember that? When we celebrated New Year’s, Dakota, Lina, and Yuju got together and talked.”

“It’s already been more than 10 years.”

At that time, Dakota was drunk and in a daze welcoming the new year. Lina and Yuju had made the same wish.

I hope that the five of us can gather safely like this next year too.

Fortunately, even today, 10 years later, we are all safe, but because I was so caught up in endless parenting, that day’s promise kept getting postponed day after day.

Now it’s time to keep my promise.

I’m starting to miss beer again.

It’s a night where I miss my nickname.

I need to finish breastfeeding quickly.

And for a happy family.

So as not to give Leila the impression that she is no longer a trustworthy mother.

Let’s not have children for the time being.

Because we are happy enough with just ourselves right now.

I made that promise while drinking tea.

I was a little dizzy at the thought of having to make such a desperate plan to ‘not have a baby’, but if I hadn’t kept that promise and my child had turned seventeen, I think it would have been time to feel desperate.

*

That day, we were lying side by side in bed and looking at each other.

We fell into a really pure and sound sleep, just holding hands.

Lager, who fell asleep before me, is sleeping soundly and not snoring like usual.

My husband, who was always so gentle, was sleeping so innocently like a son, and I found myself caressing his cheek with the back of my hand without realizing it.

It’s been a while since I’ve done something like this, so I feel embarrassed.

I leaned slightly closer to Lager, stuck my lips out, kissed his forehead, and whispered.

“I love you, honey.”

And I love you, my sons and daughters.

Now I have to become a trustworthy mother.

I kept my promise to Leila.

I’m proud.