#26

Disneyland in Orlando, Florida, is the largest Disney theme park. It was a short drive from the airport, and it dazzled the children from the very entrance.

And it was crowded.

Tennessee stared blankly at what was in his hand. It was a Minnie Mouse headband. The ears were so large they looked like they might get caught in a door.

“That one, that one,” the child had pointed, and when Tennessee gave him the money, the child had returned this to him. As he looked at it, Amber insisted that Tennessee wear it. He said you absolutely must wear one when you come to Disneyland.

“Do you want to see me feel awkward?”

“Yes.”

With a smirk, Tennessee wore the headband without any hesitation.

The child wrinkled his nose. Wearing black jeans and a white t-shirt instead of a suit, the Minnie Mouse headband surprisingly suited Tennessee. It was different from his usual intimidating aura. Perhaps because he had a faint smile and looked a bit more relaxed, it suited him even more.

Tennessee, who already drew attention occasionally, now attracted many women who scanned him up and down with suggestive smiles after he put on the headband. Women who looked like tourists gathered together, covering their mouths with one hand and pointing at Tennessee.

This wasn’t the plan.

The child became grumpy and tried to snatch the headband back from Tennessee.

But for an eleven-year-old, the wall that was Tennessee was too immense. The child, who had tried to snatch it only to be caught by Tennessee and forced to wear the headband, had a face that froze over.

I’m eleven. You’re really putting this on me right now?

Though the child’s expression had gone cold, he was once again captivated by Tennessee’s satisfied smile. Tennessee’s smiles were rare, and as such, they possessed something that made them impossible to forget.

There really are a lot of children.

Tennessee looked back to see if he had ever been surrounded by this many children in his life. He was flanked on all sides by lower-elementary school students.

Some of them were dressed in Disney princess gowns or character costumes. It seemed the child was half-right. Most of the crowd consisted of tourists and families.

Fortunately, the child spent the entire time bouncing around. He would shout “Tennessee!” at the top of his lungs, urging him to hurry up.

Tennessee willingly let himself be led wherever the child pulled him. It was a commotion that didn’t feel unpleasant.

After Disney World came Universal Studios. Surprisingly, it wasn’t far. They had only spent half a day at Universal Studios, yet Tennessee and the child were half-soaked.

They had ridden a boat attraction on the water, and it had splashed more than expected. After buying towels from a stand, Tennessee and Amber dried their hair and clothes.

Time flowed so quickly it was impossible to gauge. He had never imagined he would visit places like these. It wasn’t somewhere he had even thought about as a child. His ears ached from the noise and he developed a light headache, but time flew by regardless.

He felt as though they had arrived early in the morning, but before he knew it, the sun was setting. The Florida sky was clear. Amber leaned back against a bench and let out a satisfied sigh.

“Next time, let’s go somewhere you want to go, Tennessee.”

The child spoke to Tennessee, who was sitting beside him on the bench drinking water.

Next time. Next time… Should he tell him now? Tennessee deliberated.

His schedule was already set. He wasn’t expected to return to the States for at least another two years. However, seeing Amber looking so happy with a flush on his cheeks, Tennessee postponed the task, acting out of character.

Tennessee gazed at Amber.

The child was shaking out his half-wet bangs. Boyhood. On the face of Amber, who had entered the threshold between childhood and adolescence, there was a natural triangular flush. Perhaps because of the heat, his ears were burning red like midwinter. The flower-like bloom of color made the child look somewhat shy.

Because of his wide, clear mouth and sharp eyes, that shyness seemed to be sublimated into playfulness.

He was a boy through and through. Tennessee sensed it. The childhood of Amber that he could remember would end here, three months ago—no, this moment. Eleven and a half years old.

The fingers that stretched toward him like unfolding wings. The index finger, thin but with a blunt tip, just as a boy his age should have. The unhappy image that Tennessee would remember as the last would end here.

“Tennessee?”

Feeling the gaze directed at him, the child called out with wide eyes. Tennessee shook his head, indicating it was nothing.

* * *

The four-day, three-night trip ended as quickly as the dawn.

Tennessee brought the car to a smooth stop. It was late afternoon, past lunchtime.

An elegant three-story house was visible right in front of them, but instead of getting out, the child tore open some packaging. It was fast food, with a bratty girl’s face printed on the wrapper.

As a growing child, Amber got hungry nearly every three hours. Even though they had eaten lunch at the airport, he said he was hungry on the way home.

Since they had time to spare, Tennessee tried to stop at any nearby restaurant, but the child shook his head firmly. He insisted on fast food.

He mentioned that Elizabeth, being a doctor, never bought him fast food. Once or twice is fine, the child had said, pointing toward the fast-food joint.

“If we go inside, she’ll stop me from eating it.”

I have to eat it here. With that, Amber offered his chicken sandwich. Tennessee shook his head.

And in what felt like exactly ten minutes, the child had already devoured a hamburger, a chicken sandwich, two orders of fries, ten chicken nuggets, and two Mountain Dews. And he hadn’t even eaten greedily.

Tennessee was reminded once again of the child’s projected height of 6 feet 8 inches.

Having eaten cleanly without a single crumb left on his lips, the child finally stepped out of the car. Tennessee stepped out with him but stopped in front of the front door.

The child was humming a tune. From the backyard pool, the faint sound of splashing water and laughter could be heard, likely Amber’s younger siblings playing.

With his hands in his pockets, Tennessee watched the child. Just as the child reached for the doorbell, he turned around.

“When can I see you next?”

Tennessee didn’t answer for quite a while. The expression on the child’s face, who had asked lightly, slowly vanished. The humming song disappeared along with it.

Please… Sensing the meaning of the silence, the child spoke as if pleading.

“Please. How long is it this time? Three months? Six months?”

Tennessee uttered, “Two years.”

…Two years? Two years?

Amber looked at Tennessee in bewilderment, unable to believe it.

The child began to calculate step by step.

It was almost his birthday, which meant he would be twelve. He had been homeschooling for the past three months. In another nine months, he would be in seventh grade. By the time Tennessee returned, he would be entering eighth grade.

It meant he wouldn’t see Tennessee until he was around fourteen. Two years was too long. It was a vast amount of time. In two years, when he turned fourteen, he would even be able to drive. It was a future that distant.

“Where are you going this time? Afghanistan?”

“Several places. Currently, Iran.”

The child felt a sense of disillusionment toward a reality he could not control. It was always like this. Being passive, struggling to react whenever something happened. Preparation or coping mechanisms for reality were luxuries for the child.

Two years…

He couldn’t help but be angry. Until just now—literally ten minutes ago—he had been so happy, yet Tennessee took that happiness away without a shred of mercy. The very happiness he had gifted. He was a cruel man.

“What the…”

Amber let out a sigh mixed with a sob.

“Then what about after two years? You’re not going anywhere then? That’s not true.”

Tennessee was brutally honest. He did not say words that couldn’t be handled.

“Why are you going to Iran? Are you still doing that work? That… that work.”

“No. I’m working with the FBI.”

Amber’s expression became ambiguous.

“Then you’re not that kind of person, right, Tennessee? A rat?”

“…Where did you learn a word like that?”

“Megan.”

“Don’t keep in touch with her.”

Though showing his indignation, Amber nodded.

The child buried his face in one hand.

Still, many changes had occurred for Amber over the three months. Part of it was that he had become immune to the first parting, but he was able to accept this farewell more composedly than before.

The slight consolation was that Tennessee owed him a debt, and that he would not be able to cut ties with him easily.

12 – Chapter

“I’ll call you.”

“You bought me a phone and then barely ever called.”

“……I will.”

“……Really. Make sure you do.”

Two years……. It had been two years.

“Watch a little Netflix.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t drink too much Mountain Dew.”

“Elizabeth and David don’t even buy it for me.”

“You have that hundred dollars I gave you.”

“How long ago did I spend all of that?”

At that, Tennessee pulled out some cash. It was three hundred dollars. The child looked at him, dumbfounded. When the child didn’t take it, Tennessee misinterpreted the hesitation and pulled out another three hundred dollars.

“Have you still not fixed that terrible habit?”

When they were apart for three months, he bought a phone; now that they were apart for two years, he gave cash. Amber knew he didn’t mean it in a malicious way, but it kept irritating him.

Tennessee needed to learn how to make amends through methods other than material rewards. Perhaps because he had so much money, he kept trying to solve everything financially. Even the wealthy Elizabeth and David hadn’t gone this far.

“Tennessee, you should smoke less, too.”

Amber was sincere. When he barked this at Tennessee, who was just about to take out a cigarette, the man simply chuckled.

“Do you know? They say marijuana is actually less harmful to the body than cigarettes.”

Is this what he’s learning while being homeschooled? Lighting his cigarette, Tennessee squinted one eye.

“Marijuana is less addictive, too.”

“No thanks.”

Recalling Tennessee’s distaste for drugs, the child nodded.

“But do you know this?”

“What now.”

“Alcohol is a drug, too. It’s just a difference between legal and illegal; alcohol falls under the category of drugs.”

“I know.”

“Then you shouldn’t drink alcohol either.”

Amber thought of Tennessee occasionally drinking beer.

“……I compromised on that part for myself. Go inside.”

The child tapped his sneakers against the ground. Hearing a presence emerging from the house, perhaps having seen Tennessee’s car, Amber realized time was running out. No, whenever he was with Tennessee, time was always insufficient.

“Bye, Tennessee.”

“Bye, Amber.”

It was a farewell, albeit a brief one. It felt more so for Amber. He had no way to contact him, no way to convey these complicated feelings.

“Oh, Tennessee. Do you remember? You said you’d answer one thing for me.”

As if not even bothered by the parting, Tennessee turned away without lingering. Amber raised his voice toward his retreating back.

‘When you return, I’ll answer one question you ask.’

Remembering his own words, Tennessee nodded.

“……What is your name?”

Not Tennessee, but the name given by his biological parents at birth.

“Leandre Blake Johns.”

For something he had kept so tightly hidden until now, Tennessee answered far too easily.

It’s a more normal name than I expected. A subtle expression crossed Amber’s face.

“I’m going.”

Goodbye.

The child muttered. He was now accustomed to Tennessee’s retreating back. It was an unwelcome adaptation.