Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Flame of Love ❯ Volume Nine, Chapter Sixty-One: Love Knows No Age ( Chapter 61 )

Love Knows No Age

The grandmothers at the engagement party began to remember their first loves.

Keiko and Makoto sat in the family, smiling like naughty little schoolgirls. They turned to each other with their plates of cake in their hands.

“I remember my Mamoru-kun,” Keiko, Hideki's mother, said.

“Oh?” Makoto, Michiko's mother, asked. Keiko put down her plate.

“We were fifteen,” she said. “It was junior high graduation at the time. I had seen him around, but we never personally spoke.”

“Why is that?”

Keiko shrugged and leaned back. “Different social circles I suppose. He liked robots while I was into the traditional arts.” The old lady smiled.

“He did try to talk to me a couple of times before then. But, something always got in the way. He finally got his chance during the graduation ceremony.”

“What happened?”

“I was looking around for my friends to say goodbye. I was going to high school in Tokyo. We were all scattered out in the crowd. I was about to go one direction when someone grabbed me by the shirt. When I turned around, there he was.”

Keiko chuckled. “He stood in front of me, panting. His face looked all red.

“`Yes,' I asked. I waited for that boy to catch his breath. He looked me in the eye and confessed.”

“Really?”

“Yes, he did.”

“So… what did you say?”

Keiko looked up at the sky. “I didn't know what to say. He just came out of nowhere. Looking back, it was kind of flattering. Back then, I struggled to reply. Because, it was random.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I finally said something, though.”

Makoto leaned in closer. “What?”

Keiko twisted her facial expression into an innocent, wide-eyed schoolgirl's. “Uh… Thank you?”

The other old woman tilted her head. “That's it?”

“I was so shocked at the time. You don't spring a confession on a girl like that. At least be romantic about it.”

“How did he respond?”

“I don't remember,” Keiko said. She rubbed her forehead. “It happened so fast. I think his friend had to pull him away.”

She smiled and tried not to laugh. “I guess it worked out. We were together for thirty-nine years.”

“Wow!” Makoto said. Keiko finished her cake.

“How about you?” she asked. “How did you meet Shinzo?” Makoto smiled over her tea.

“We met in college,” she said. “It was raining that day. I missed my train and breakfast. I was so hungry that I wandered around the city. I finally found this ramen shop.”

She took a bite of her cake. “I thought I was going to die. I had to drag myself over to the counter. I leaned over groaning.”

“Poor child.”

“Yeah. I heard someone ask, `Are you okay, miss?' When I lifted my head, there was a beautiful body behind the counter. My cheeks turned bright red. I could only nod my head. He asked if I was hungry.

“`Yes,' I said. That beautiful boy handed me a menu. After I ordered my food, we got to talking.”

“Love at first sight?” Keiko asked. Makoto tried not to laugh.

“More like I fell in love with his cooking,” she said. “Oh and I barely had any money to pay for my ramen. And you know what Shinzo said?”

“Goodbye?”

Makoto shook her head. “He said it was on the house.”

Keiko gave her a confused look. “You're kidding.”

“No,” her dear friend said. “Oh, my Shinzo could cook! Needless to say, I constantly went back to that ramen shop.” The old ladies laughed as they remembered their beloved husbands.

“Think our kids' marriage will last long this time?” Makoto asked.

“I hope so,” Keiko said. They looked at the party back in the living room.

Old Love Lasts