Categories > Celebrities > Glay > ...As a Sign of My Love...
...As a Sign of My Love...
Shiira Megumi
Part One
"Good morning."
Jiro momentarily halted from his packing to look back at the owner of the sleepy greeting. "Good morning," he said back, a sunny smile on his youthful face present. He padded towards the king-sized bed where he had lain earlier, bent over at his waist to give his wife his usual morning kiss.
"You're up early," she languidly commented after his soft lips had left hers.
"Practice," he replied matter-of-factly.
Reiko finally sat up in bed, squinting her eyes to get used to the light. She groped for the gold watch on top of the side table and frowned. "It's only 8:17."
"As if you didn't know Takuro." The bassist of Glay returned his attention to his half-filled backpack, thinking what else he might've had forgotten and what else he could stuff in the canvas.
"I'd forgotten." She leaned back against the headboard. "I thought he'd be a little less stern now that he's married."
He threw his honey blonde head back to let out a soft laugh. "He's married to her and to his job."
"That's infidelity!" she cried.
Had Reiko been paying more attention, she would've seen how he stiffened in his place. Had her husband been facing her, she would've seen how he shut his eyes closed, as if trying to gather his thoughts together.
She never noticed anything. "Then again, I don't suppose Takuro could make a choice on that matter. He loves Seri. He loves his music. Nothing-/no one/-can ever get in the way of true love." Jiro remained wordless as Reiko stretched her body to get rid of a few kinks from sleep. "Have you had breakfast yet?"
"No."
"Oh, I'm sorry, honey." Quickly, Reiko got up and got the terry robe draped over the backrest of her reading chair to wrap it around herself. "I'll go to the kitchen to fix something," she offered while tying her hair up in a loose chignon.
"No, no. That's alright." Jiro zipped his backpack close and spun around to face his partner. "I need to be in the studio early, anyway. I'll just get some food to go from the fastfood or something."
Eyes as soft as a puppy's turned to him, something his Aibo could never do. "Are you sure? I could whip out some scrambled eggs or something."
"I'm sure." He grabbed his jacket in one hand while the other took his bag to sling it over his shoulder. "Just make some for yourself. I'll be alright."
"How about coffee?" Sweetly, she smiled at him. "Surely, you couldn't resist that."
Jiro feigned deep thought. Finally, he grinned at her, nodding. "Alright. You know what I want."
"Yay!" Reiko cried, jumping, hands clapping like a college girl who had just been pledged into a sorority.
Jiro found the act too cute. He dropped his bag and jacket where they had been earlier. He couldn't help it; he spread both arms and called to her. "Come here."
Reiko traipsed her way into the welcoming arms of the man she married and latched herself onto his body. In turn, he closed his arms around her, hugging his wife, their bodies swaying playfully, gently from side to side. He planted a kiss on top of her head. "You're cute, you know that?"
"You're cuter," she retorted. Still caged in his sturdy arms, she whirled around then propped her back against his chest. They both faced the sunlight flooding their room through the window. "How did I get to be so lucky?" she mumbled while smoothing the arms wound around her.
"I married you," he reminded. He released her from his hug and turned to face her. He groped for her hands and cradled them in his, then brought her hands to his lips and kissed them.
It was her turn to settle up the score when she held his hands, feeling the calluses on the pads of his fingers. Her eyes trailed to the network of veins visible on his arms down to his hands, proof of how his life was his hands. Studying each digit, she noted something amiss on his left hand.
The slight frown on her face didn't go past Jiro's eyes.
"Where's your ring?" she asked, feeling the spot where she placed a gold band in a legal ceremony a few years back.
"I'm having it resized," he said, not taking back his hands from hers. "Work must've made my fingers swell. It hurts to remove it and put it back on again."
"Why'd you have to take it off anyway?"
"I'm not used to playing with a ring," he admitted frankly.
She pouted, dissatisfied. "Sure you are. I've seen you wearing a ring on your right hand."
"I only use my right hand to hold the pick. It doesn't slide against the fret board."
"Then why don't you wear your wedding ring on your right hand?"
"I can't." Tenderly, he pulled her to him. "That's not where you put it."
Reiko smiled as she allowed herself to be drawn closer to him and welcomed the likewise tender buss he placed on her forehead. "That's so sweet of you to say."
"And speaking of sweet," he said smiling, "I want my coffee that way." She nodded, giggling back at him. Jiro's hand tapped his wife's behind. "I'll join you in the kitchen when it's ready."
As Jiro eyed his wife saunter out of their room, the smile on his face slowly faded. It was only when she closed the door did he let out a long deep sigh.
Fifteen minutes after and Reiko walked her husband to his car. "You seem to have a lot of stuff today," she commented, handing him one of his bass cases.
"Aside from practice," he answered, taking the black case from Reiko's hand, "Takuro also asked us to prepare new materials. We plan to release a new album."
"Oh," she mouthed. Her eyes fell to the ground, studying her fuzzy slippers. "I'd take it you won't be coming home tonight?"
Jiro heard the tinge of hurt in her voice. "No, I'm afraid I won't." Even before they got married, Jiro had admitted to her that he won't be giving up the apartment he lived in as a bachelor. It wasn't anything personal, he assured her, just that he needed the atmosphere of his old home to be able to concentrate on his music, be it for Glay or for his side project The Predators. He did try working on some new songs inside the mansion where they moved in since the wedding, but the muse just wouldn't visit him.
"Okay," replied Reiko, her voice faint. She still didn't take her eyes off her feet.
Jiro felt her silent pain. He walked towards her and reached out a hand to her chin, raising her head gently. His eyes probed into her sad ones. "You understand, don't you?"
"Of course," she said, her tone sounding of fighting back her tears. "Of course, I understand. Music is your life. Glay is your life." A bitter smile found its way to her lips. "It just gets lonely."
Jiro held her close to give her comfort. He identified with her sentiment perfectly. He knew how it felt to be lonely. It wasn't once that he lived through that depressing state of not having the one he loved beside him at night. Swallowing hard, he tried to push that thought out of his mind.
"Hey," he broke the silence, "what do you say we do something when I get back?" To further cheer her up, he squeezed her shoulders. She merely nodded weakly. It was all she could do.
Acknowledging her agreement, he kissed her. A second after, he released her, put on his new sunglasses and hopped into his car. "I'll call you tonight." She nodded another time, conceding to the idea. Whenever her husband would be staying at his old apartment for work, she knew she wasn't supposed to call him unless it was an absolute emergency. Distraction was the last thing he needed and she believed it. Deep in her heart, she knew there was nothing to worry but loneliness itself. Jiro always called whenever he said he would.
Reiko hugged herself by the arms. "Be careful, okay?" she called out once the engine had come to life. She smiled when he gave her a thumb-up. Then she watched him drive off, to wave back at the hand that snaked out of the car's window to bid her goodbye when he'd gone a few feet away.
Jiro's mobile phone rang the moment he'd exited from the estate he'd worked hard for. Glancing at the screen, he smiled in recognition of the name that registered on his caller ID. After tucking the earphone into his ear, he pressed the speaker button.
"Hey...Yeah, I'm already on my way...I'm driving..." Jiro checked his rearview mirror. "Yeah, I'll be there in time for practice...I'll just grab some breakfast...No, I haven't eaten yet...Okay, I'll see you there. Bye!" He pressed a button to end the call but let the earphone stay on his ear. Momentarily, he smiled...that refreshing cheeky smile of his then hummed his way to practice.
Shiira Megumi
Part One
"Good morning."
Jiro momentarily halted from his packing to look back at the owner of the sleepy greeting. "Good morning," he said back, a sunny smile on his youthful face present. He padded towards the king-sized bed where he had lain earlier, bent over at his waist to give his wife his usual morning kiss.
"You're up early," she languidly commented after his soft lips had left hers.
"Practice," he replied matter-of-factly.
Reiko finally sat up in bed, squinting her eyes to get used to the light. She groped for the gold watch on top of the side table and frowned. "It's only 8:17."
"As if you didn't know Takuro." The bassist of Glay returned his attention to his half-filled backpack, thinking what else he might've had forgotten and what else he could stuff in the canvas.
"I'd forgotten." She leaned back against the headboard. "I thought he'd be a little less stern now that he's married."
He threw his honey blonde head back to let out a soft laugh. "He's married to her and to his job."
"That's infidelity!" she cried.
Had Reiko been paying more attention, she would've seen how he stiffened in his place. Had her husband been facing her, she would've seen how he shut his eyes closed, as if trying to gather his thoughts together.
She never noticed anything. "Then again, I don't suppose Takuro could make a choice on that matter. He loves Seri. He loves his music. Nothing-/no one/-can ever get in the way of true love." Jiro remained wordless as Reiko stretched her body to get rid of a few kinks from sleep. "Have you had breakfast yet?"
"No."
"Oh, I'm sorry, honey." Quickly, Reiko got up and got the terry robe draped over the backrest of her reading chair to wrap it around herself. "I'll go to the kitchen to fix something," she offered while tying her hair up in a loose chignon.
"No, no. That's alright." Jiro zipped his backpack close and spun around to face his partner. "I need to be in the studio early, anyway. I'll just get some food to go from the fastfood or something."
Eyes as soft as a puppy's turned to him, something his Aibo could never do. "Are you sure? I could whip out some scrambled eggs or something."
"I'm sure." He grabbed his jacket in one hand while the other took his bag to sling it over his shoulder. "Just make some for yourself. I'll be alright."
"How about coffee?" Sweetly, she smiled at him. "Surely, you couldn't resist that."
Jiro feigned deep thought. Finally, he grinned at her, nodding. "Alright. You know what I want."
"Yay!" Reiko cried, jumping, hands clapping like a college girl who had just been pledged into a sorority.
Jiro found the act too cute. He dropped his bag and jacket where they had been earlier. He couldn't help it; he spread both arms and called to her. "Come here."
Reiko traipsed her way into the welcoming arms of the man she married and latched herself onto his body. In turn, he closed his arms around her, hugging his wife, their bodies swaying playfully, gently from side to side. He planted a kiss on top of her head. "You're cute, you know that?"
"You're cuter," she retorted. Still caged in his sturdy arms, she whirled around then propped her back against his chest. They both faced the sunlight flooding their room through the window. "How did I get to be so lucky?" she mumbled while smoothing the arms wound around her.
"I married you," he reminded. He released her from his hug and turned to face her. He groped for her hands and cradled them in his, then brought her hands to his lips and kissed them.
It was her turn to settle up the score when she held his hands, feeling the calluses on the pads of his fingers. Her eyes trailed to the network of veins visible on his arms down to his hands, proof of how his life was his hands. Studying each digit, she noted something amiss on his left hand.
The slight frown on her face didn't go past Jiro's eyes.
"Where's your ring?" she asked, feeling the spot where she placed a gold band in a legal ceremony a few years back.
"I'm having it resized," he said, not taking back his hands from hers. "Work must've made my fingers swell. It hurts to remove it and put it back on again."
"Why'd you have to take it off anyway?"
"I'm not used to playing with a ring," he admitted frankly.
She pouted, dissatisfied. "Sure you are. I've seen you wearing a ring on your right hand."
"I only use my right hand to hold the pick. It doesn't slide against the fret board."
"Then why don't you wear your wedding ring on your right hand?"
"I can't." Tenderly, he pulled her to him. "That's not where you put it."
Reiko smiled as she allowed herself to be drawn closer to him and welcomed the likewise tender buss he placed on her forehead. "That's so sweet of you to say."
"And speaking of sweet," he said smiling, "I want my coffee that way." She nodded, giggling back at him. Jiro's hand tapped his wife's behind. "I'll join you in the kitchen when it's ready."
As Jiro eyed his wife saunter out of their room, the smile on his face slowly faded. It was only when she closed the door did he let out a long deep sigh.
Fifteen minutes after and Reiko walked her husband to his car. "You seem to have a lot of stuff today," she commented, handing him one of his bass cases.
"Aside from practice," he answered, taking the black case from Reiko's hand, "Takuro also asked us to prepare new materials. We plan to release a new album."
"Oh," she mouthed. Her eyes fell to the ground, studying her fuzzy slippers. "I'd take it you won't be coming home tonight?"
Jiro heard the tinge of hurt in her voice. "No, I'm afraid I won't." Even before they got married, Jiro had admitted to her that he won't be giving up the apartment he lived in as a bachelor. It wasn't anything personal, he assured her, just that he needed the atmosphere of his old home to be able to concentrate on his music, be it for Glay or for his side project The Predators. He did try working on some new songs inside the mansion where they moved in since the wedding, but the muse just wouldn't visit him.
"Okay," replied Reiko, her voice faint. She still didn't take her eyes off her feet.
Jiro felt her silent pain. He walked towards her and reached out a hand to her chin, raising her head gently. His eyes probed into her sad ones. "You understand, don't you?"
"Of course," she said, her tone sounding of fighting back her tears. "Of course, I understand. Music is your life. Glay is your life." A bitter smile found its way to her lips. "It just gets lonely."
Jiro held her close to give her comfort. He identified with her sentiment perfectly. He knew how it felt to be lonely. It wasn't once that he lived through that depressing state of not having the one he loved beside him at night. Swallowing hard, he tried to push that thought out of his mind.
"Hey," he broke the silence, "what do you say we do something when I get back?" To further cheer her up, he squeezed her shoulders. She merely nodded weakly. It was all she could do.
Acknowledging her agreement, he kissed her. A second after, he released her, put on his new sunglasses and hopped into his car. "I'll call you tonight." She nodded another time, conceding to the idea. Whenever her husband would be staying at his old apartment for work, she knew she wasn't supposed to call him unless it was an absolute emergency. Distraction was the last thing he needed and she believed it. Deep in her heart, she knew there was nothing to worry but loneliness itself. Jiro always called whenever he said he would.
Reiko hugged herself by the arms. "Be careful, okay?" she called out once the engine had come to life. She smiled when he gave her a thumb-up. Then she watched him drive off, to wave back at the hand that snaked out of the car's window to bid her goodbye when he'd gone a few feet away.
Jiro's mobile phone rang the moment he'd exited from the estate he'd worked hard for. Glancing at the screen, he smiled in recognition of the name that registered on his caller ID. After tucking the earphone into his ear, he pressed the speaker button.
"Hey...Yeah, I'm already on my way...I'm driving..." Jiro checked his rearview mirror. "Yeah, I'll be there in time for practice...I'll just grab some breakfast...No, I haven't eaten yet...Okay, I'll see you there. Bye!" He pressed a button to end the call but let the earphone stay on his ear. Momentarily, he smiled...that refreshing cheeky smile of his then hummed his way to practice.
Sign up to rate and review this story