Episode 27: Melody of A Family

"Daddyyyyyy!" a high-pitched, six-year-old female voice roused Kousei from his slumber. At first, the thirty-two-year-old pianist just rolled over underneath the thick white blankets, grumbling under his breath.

Then he remembered what always came next.

"No no no, wait—!" he cried, raising his arms to shield himself.

But he was too late, as Kaoto's small yet mighty form came crashing down upon the soft cushions of the blankets, shattering any last remaining comfort the bedding brought him and exuding an "Umph!" from Kousei's mouth. Her brother Gaku followed close behind, leaping onto Kousei's legs and pinning him down.

There was no escape.

Kousei was going to be showered with love first thing in the morning, whether he liked it or not.

"Good morning daddy!" Kaoto's beaming face said as she crawled across his torso to get to her target. "It's time for breakfast! Mommy said you and her are making something special today!"

Unlike her dark-haired brother, Kaoto had inherited her mother's bright blonde hair, and had her father's blue eyes. Gaku, meanwhile, had a more dark-indigo color in his eyes, similar to those of his mother. Both siblings took after their mother in terms of personality as well, though Gaku tended to be a bit more on the reserved side when it came to things like school functions.

Kousei tried to protect his face from the grubby, sticky fingers that pinched and pulled at his cheeks, but his efforts came to naught as his daughter smothered him with her overbearing love.

"I love YOU! I love YOU!" Kaoto chanted as she clawed and teared at her father's hair the way any lovable gremlin would. 

"Okay, okay!" Kousei laughed as he sat up and kissed his daughter on the forehead. "Just give daddy some time to change alright?"

"No fair!" Gaku interjected. "You always hurry us out of bed every morning when we need to go to school!"

"Excuse you, little man!" Kousei scolded in a gentle but firm manner. "Perhaps if you woke up on time, we wouldn't need to hurry so much."

"What's the big deal about school anyway?" Gaku pouted as he sank to the floor at the foot of the bed. "It's just a bunch of boring rules and work."

"Are you arguing with your father, little one?" another voice sounded. Both children's eyes turned towards the entrance of the master bedroom as Kaori poked her head through the doorway.

"No mom," the eight-year-old boy replied, his head hanging ever so slightly.

"Gaku, Kaoto, please come help set the table and let your father get ready, okay?" Kaori spoke in a patient tone.

"Okay mommy!" Kaoto said, giving her dad one last big smooch on the cheek before dashing off to the kitchen. Gaku ran after her, though with a somewhat lower level of enthusiasm.

"Did you have to leave the door unlocked?" Kousei groaned as Kaori walked over to the bed.

"Do you have to be so grumpy on a bright sunny Saturday like this?" Kaori replied, smiling at her husband as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"I had one hour left before my alarm went off, Kaori. One. Hour."

"And our children just couldn't wait another second to show how much they love you," Kaori chuckled, running her fingers through Kousei's frizzy bedhead.

"Alright, fine, fair enough." Kousei smiled in defeat as Kaori gave him a good morning kiss. Even in her simple garb of dark blue sweatpants and a black t-shirt bearing the label Nerima Community Orchestra in bold white letters, her gentle beauty would never cease to amaze him.

"I'll come help with the cooking as soon as I'm ready, okay?" Kousei said, and Kaori nodded as she rose from the bed.

"Better hurry," she warned. "Or Gaku and Kaoto will take all the leftover canelés!"

As Kaori exited the master bedroom, Kousei swung his legs out from under the covers at last. As always, he took just a couple of minutes to look around and admire the various pictures, music awards, and other memorabilia they had set up around the room. Directly in front of him was a large closet, with a sliding door that was presently cracked halfway open to reveal all of the different performance outfits stored inside. Behind him, on the left side of the bed, was the main bathroom which, though recently cleaned, currently required maintenance for the sink. At the front of the room, beneath the wall-mounted TV, stood a long brown set of drawers that almost reached the bedroom's entrance.

But it wasn't the drawer set that Kousei liked to look at.

It was the memories stored on top of it. In particular, four key photos that never failed to uplift his weary heart.

On the far-left side sat the photo where he and Kaori had crossed paths all those years ago, with his oblivious five-year-old self photobombing her in the back.

Next to it sat he and Kaori's wedding photo, with the two of them standing at the altar.

After that came the picture of Gaku that had been taken on the very night he'd been born.

And last but not least, was a picture of him, Kaori, two-year-old Gaku and wee little Naoto, whom Kaori cradled in her arms.

Kousei chuckled to himself. How quickly times had changed.

Changing out of his black bathrobe into his blue cargo shorts, red polo shirt and black sandals, Kousei sauntered into the large kitchen where his wife was cutting up a bowl of fresh fruit on the granite countertop. Behind her was the stovetop and oven, the once shiny burners now black with wear and tear following the preparation of so many meals. The white cabinets were loaded top to bottom with all sorts of sweets, spices, and other mouth-watering ingredients that Kousei had learned to utilize for various dishes over the years. A few feet to the right sat the microwave and coffee machine, though Kousei usually didn't prepare himself a mug of the caffeinated beverage until later in the afternoon. In the adjacent dining room, with its circular brown table capable of seating eight people, Gaku and Kaoto were setting the table, bickering over something trivial as usual.

"No, we should use the blue coasters!" Gaku snapped at his little sister. "They match the color of the chairs!"

"But it's spring, so the cherry blossom coasters would be better!" Kaoto stamped her foot.

Kousei sighed. Why on earth did little children care so much about what coasters they had under their kiddy cups anyway?!

"Let's ask daddy!" Kaoto added on, but Kousei was not about to be the tiebreaker for one of their tiffs yet again.

"Black coasters," he said simply as he pulled the eggs and rice out of the giant silver fridge.

"Oh come on!" Gaku said, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Children," Kaori chimed in. "Do as your father says."

Gaku and Kaoto would've protested their father's decision more, had the season finale of their favorite evening cartoon not been at stake. Walking into the kitchen in a dutiful manner, the two children located the correct drawer and acquired the black, square devices that their cups would sit atop during breakfast.

"Thank you," Kousei whispered to Kaori as he began breaking up the egg yolks for the omelet.

"Sure you don't need help watching them today?" Kaori teased, hugging her husband from behind.

"I'll be fine," Kousei insisted. "You handle the first half of the week, I do the second half. It'll be alright."

"I better not find any strawberry jam in Kaoto's hair when I get back."

"Kaori, for the last time, how was I supposed to know she would do that?!"

Kaori just chuckled as she kissed her husband's tensed up face.

"Still just as uptight as you were when we first met."

"I'm sorry, dear," Kousei sighed. "It's just a lot to handle sometimes."

"Don't apologize, darling," Kaori replied, returning to her task of cutting up the fruit. "I know you do your best every day."

In just a few minutes, Kaoto and Gaku's incessant badgering on whether or not the food was ready was silenced. As Kousei brought the plates of heavily seasoned egg omelet and rice, the faces of the two children lit up with unfettered delight. The sight of Kaori's delicious fruit salad was the icing on the cake...or omelet, for that matter.

"Your mother worked hard to prepare that for you," Kousei reminded his children. "What do you say?"

"Thank you mom and dad!" their voices chorused in unison. The kids dug in as soon as Kousei finished praying the blessing, Gaku gobbling down the plate in an animalistic manner.

"Gaku," Kaori chuckled. "We've talked about this."

"Moooom!" the eight-year-old whined with half an omelet bite hanging from his mouth.

"It's not good manners to eat like that, Gaku," Kousei said gently. "Besides, don't you know that to fully enjoy a French recipe you need to eat it slowly?"

"This is from France?" Kaoto interjected, washing down her fruit salad bites with some water.

"Yes!" Kousei smiled. "You were still a baby when we went, but I picked up a French cookbook back when your mommy and I performed in Paris!"

"Wow!" Kaoto said with a dreamy gaze.

The time came for Kaori to depart for the orchestra rehearsal, and she bid her husband goodbye with a kiss on the cheek.

"Have fun dear," she said as she closed the front door and walked out to the car.

"I wanna go ride the horsies!" Kaoto cried as she clambered over the armchair of the couch and jumped onto her father's back.

"I wanna go to the arcade and shoot all the aliens from that one game dead!" Gaku added on, yanking on Kousei's left arm.

"We can't do either of those because your mommy and I didn't plan that for this weekend!" Kousei reminded the insistent siblings.

"Then we get to have some ice pops!" Gaku proclaimed, stomping off towards the freezer.

"No, we get canelés!" Kaoto replied, jumping down to the floor and running after her brother.

"Oh no you don't!" Kousei laughed, bounding after the little twerps and scooping them up in his arms. "You two are gonna practice first."

"No! No we don't wanna!" the siblings both whined as they peppered their dad with soft punches. But upon their arrival to the piano room upstairs—still hanging from their dad's arms on either side of him—they knew there was no stopping him.

"Gaku, you first," Kousei said as he finally set them down. "Let's hear those Haydn exercises!"

The next two-and-a-half hours were filled with lots of scales, transposition exercises, and musical mentorship as Kousei guided his children through their rehearsal. While Gaku was hoping to play like his father one day, Kaoto's instrument of choice was her voice. As such, her rehearsal was structured a little differently, but Kousei was more than proud of his daughter's determination.

"Daddy," Kaoto spoke up at one point. "I know you and mommy both play instruments, but I just like singing. Is that...is that...,"

"Yes, sweetheart?" Kousei said.

"Is that okay?"

Kousei smiled as he picked up Kaoto and set her on his lap.

"Dear daughter, of course, that's okay!" he assured her, patting her small head. "You know your mother and I are always proud of you. We'll always be cheering you on, whether you take up an instrument or not!"

Kaoto's eyes watered as she hugged her dad.

"Thank you daddy," she almost squeaked.

After their lunch break, Kousei gave them some time to play in the backyard before their next bout of practice. Kaoto asked her father to push her on the swing once again, and Kousei happily obliged. Following the end of their practice, the trio decided to end the afternoon by spending some time playing in the living room. Before long, the sky began to take on shades of red and orange, the sunset announcing the close of yet another wonderful spring day.

"It's almost dinnertime," Kousei said as the three of them took turns scooping the miscellaneous Lego bricks back into the box. "You guys both did great today, so how about a movie after that?"

"What movie?" Kaoto asked.

"How about a movie your mommy and I watched many years ago, during our time in college?"

"Sure," Gaku approved.

"Alright then! The Princess Bride it is!"

"What?! Oh come on!" Gaku protested, but it was too late.

Upon seeing a text from his wife that the orchestra rehearsal would run later than expected, Kousei made sure to keep the two siblings occupied as he prepared the Onigiri and Miso soup. Much to his relief, dinnertime went off without any food fights or other conundrums, and he had the movie ready to go before long.

"But why this movie?" Gaku grumbled, scrawny arms folded across his chest.

"Would you prefer an early bedtime?" Kousei winked.

Gaku and Kaoto had no reply. For once.

"I didn't think so," Kousei smiled back. And with that, the father and his two children reclined back into the dark green sofa as the movie began to play.

At first, Gaku's expression stayed sour and grumpy. As the movie went on though, Kousei saw a smile flicker across his son's face out of the corner of his eye. By the time the movie reached it's climax where Inigo Montoya was fighting Count Rugen, Gaku was flailing his tiny fists in wild appreciation for the fight.

"Get him! Get him!" the little boy growled.

"The six-fingered bad guy is a big meanie!" Kaoto squeaked in agreement.

The movie night turned out to be an ingenious choice, for by 8:30pm, both kids were tuckered out and ready for bed. Ensuring they both brushed their teeth properly and changed into their PJs, Kousei read both of them their favorite bedtime story before tucking them in. For all of their differences, Kousei's children had one thing in common.

They both had Go Fireman, Go! as their favorite bedtime story.

At long last, Kousei was able to change into his own bedtime attire, and relaxed on the sofa as he sipped some tea. He recalled how his former therapist, Haru Hayashi, had prepared him a perfect cup of green tea at his first appointment, and smiled at the memory.

"I wonder how he's holding up," Kousei mused to himself. Just then, he remembered that his wife was soon to arrive home, and got to his feet to make preparations.

At around 10pm, Kousei heard their car pull into the driveway. Perfect. Rehearsal hadn't gone on too long. Opening the door right as his wife walked up, Kousei ushered her in and hung her black jacket in the nearby coat closet once she took it off.

"Everything go okay today, sweetheart?" Kousei said as he led her over to the sofa.

"Yes, we're sounding a lot better. Thanks for asking."

"Of course, dear," Kousei said. "Wait here for just a minute."

Kaori leaned back into the sofa, exhaustion overtaking her body as she succumbed to the billowy cushions. She became even more grateful when a familiar scent reached her nose.

"Kousei, you didn't!"

"Oh yes, I did," Kousei said back in a mischievous manner, handing her a small plate of her favorite treats.

A wide smile came across Kaori's face as she munched on the warm chocolate canelés. She breathed a sigh of relief as Kousei's massaging of her shoulder blades released the tension in her body. 

"You know me too well, don't you?" Kaori teased.

"Um, Kaori? We've been married for eight years now."

"Know-it-all," Kaori scoffed, and the two of them laughed.

"Help, help, HELP!" Gaku's voice suddenly cried out. Kousei and Kaori exchanged a worried glance and hurried up the stairs to their son's room.

Opening the door, they found their son squirming under the covers, whimpering in fright as he struggled to resist whatever malevolent force was encroaching in on his dreams. Kaori and Kousei took up positions on either side of the bed, gently shaking their son to wake him up.

"Gaku, Gaku!" Kousei whispered. "It's okay, it's okay, you're safe!"

Gaku opened up his teary eyes, curling up into a ball at the feel of his parent's hands. Upon seeing his mother's kind face illuminated by the night light, Gaku buried his face in the pillow in shame.

"Go away!" he whined, his voice muffled by the pillow.

"Gaku, please!" Kaori comforted, taking her son into her arms. "Don't push us away! You were having a nightmare. We came to help."

Gaku sniffed and cried as he hugged his mother back, not wanting to leave her protective embrace. By now, Kousei had come around to the other side of the bed, and was brushing his son's hair with a light stroke of his hand.

"Are you okay, little buddy?" Kousei asked in concern.

"I'm fine," Gaku muttered. "Just a bad dream."

"We're here for you, son," Kaori comforted him, laying him back down and covering his small body with the blanket. "You don't need to be afraid, okay?"

"Okay mom," Gaku nodded. But there still seemed to be some last request yet to be spoken by him.

"Son? Do you need something?" Kousei coaxed him.

Gaku was silent for a moment. Then he spoke.

"Can you guys sing me something?"

Kousei and Kaori looked at each other, a happy glimmer in their eye. They knew just what to do.

"Twinkle twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are!

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky!

Twinkle twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are!"

The song had the desired effect, as Gaku was once again sound asleep, this time with a smile on his face. As Kousei and Kaori went back to their own bedroom, Kousei saw some tears in his wife's eyes and asked her what was wrong.

"He's gotten so big," Kaori said, referring to Gaku. "It feels like just yesterday he was running to me after he scraped his knee."

Kousei hugged his wife in a tender embrace, empathizing with her sentiments.

"I'm sure there will be many more times when our children still need us, Kaori. And we'll be there for them. Always."

..........................................

So So So, Me, Do Do! So Me-Re-Do-Le-Do So!

So Le So Fa-Fa-Fa, Do! So Le So Fa-Fa-Fa, Te!

As Kaori's long, slender fingers guided her bow across her violin to play the opening phrase of Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor, the audience gathered inside Towa Hall was rendered speechless yet again. Many of them had already heard Kaori perform several times through the years, and yet the result was still the same!

Kaori rendered them helpless with her spell!

In the front row seats, Kousei, Kaoto and Gaku looked on in wonder and glee as Kaori swept the audience away into a glorious journey. As always, Kousei found himself mesmerized by his wife's beauty. And who could blame him?

Even after all these years, she was still as beautiful as ever.

And her masterful emotional expression every time she played her violin remained unmatched.

"Play, my darling virtuoso!" Kousei cheered her on. "Play, play, play!"

And play she did, bringing the entire twenty-six minute piece to life as she did so. By the time the Nerima Community Orchestra's performance was over, Kaori's body dripped with sweat and her hands shook from the sheer joy of her performance.

Her ears were then bombarded by sounds of loud, grateful applause.

"Wonderful as always!" one attendee shouted.

"Well done!" said another.

In the lobby, Kaori gave her children a big squeeze as some other key concert guests walked up to her and Kousei.

"That was so amazing, Kaori!" Tsubaki congratulated, handing her friend a large bouquet of purple flowers.

"Yeah, no kidding!" Watari said, fist-bumping Kousei.

"I want to learn to play like that!" Watari and Tsubaki's son Hiro spoke up, his brown hair bouncing up and down as he jumped.

Takeshi and Emi presented Kaori with a bouquet as well, while Kaori's parents and Kousei's father gave their now-adult children a tight hug.

"Thanks for coming, all of you!" Kaori said as she wiped away her happy tears. "It means a lot, really!"

"Of course, Kaori!" Ryouko said, kneeling to give her granddaughter a high-five. "Now, let's head over to Ma Fille, shall we?"

The next few hours were filled pastries, desserts, and small talk as Kousei and Kaori caught up with their friends. At one point, Kaoto embarrassed her father by revealing his blunder with the sprinkler system that had occurred just three days ago, and everyone had a good laugh.

Kousei's first instinct was to try and defend himself. But as he looked around the café, and saw everyone's smiling faces, he too smiled and allowed himself to relax.

What a wonderful gift this was.

Life, friendship, music...

And family.