How to Enjoy Delicious Coffee: Acidity and Bitterness, Episode 10

"Yes, this is Teishoku Manabe. Yes, Tomio is my father, but..."
"Actually, Mr. Tomio has been taken to the hospital. If possible, we would like a family member to come."
"What...?"
"He collapsed at the golf course. My name is Saito. Mr. Manabe is currently undergoing a detailed examination."
"Is my father going to be okay?"

Shota, who heard what I said on the phone, rushed to my side, anxious to hear the rest of the conversation.

"He is currently being examined, so I cannot say for sure, but is it possible for you to come?"
"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Which hospital is it?"

When I asked, the location was in the next prefecture, quite a distance away. It made sense, as my father had collapsed while golfing. He must have been taken to a hospital near the golf course.
Noticing that I was shaken, Shota took the receiver from me.

"I'm sorry, we'll head over by taxi now. Yes, yes... I understand. Thank you."

Shota had written down the hospital's name and phone number, and was now calling a local private taxi.

"Sorry to bother you on a Sunday, this is Sakai. Yes, it's Shota. Actually, it seems Mr. Manabe has collapsed, and I'd like to request a taxi from now. Yes, I have the hospital's name and phone number written down. Yes. In 15 minutes, then. Thank you. Ritsu and I will be boarding from the Manabe house. I appreciate it."

After the call ended, Shota looked at my face and said, "It'll be okay, that old man is tough," forcing a smile.

"Shota, are you coming too...?"
"Of course. I wouldn't let you go to a hospital that far away all by yourself after hearing that your father collapsed."
"But what about the shop? The hair salon is busy on Sundays, right?"
"Don't worry about it, I'll figure something out."

Honestly, if I had been alone, I think I would have been crushed by anxiety.
Shota called his aunt, who seemed to be at home, and told her only that he was going to the hospital with me and explained the situation.

"She said to stay close to Ritsu. The taxi should be here soon, so let's go outside."
"I'm sorry, Shota."
"If you can, say thank you instead of sorry."
"Thank you, Shota."
"Yeah."

Shota ruffled my hair roughly.
Then we went outside the shop together. A white private taxi arrived in front of the shop immediately, and a neighbor we knew well called out from the driver's seat, "Hey! Shota! Ritsu! Let's hurry!"

＊

"Did your father have any underlying health conditions when he collapsed?"
"I don't know..."

I hadn't been aware of my father's poor health.
Even though there might have been something wrong with him.
Maybe I was just afraid to know.

Afraid of being left all alone in this house.

In reality, since we were living as a father and daughter, I should have been the one managing his health.

"Ritsu, don't blame yourself."
"But..."
"Anyone can have something happen to them at any time. It's not your fault that your father collapsed."
"I suppose you're right."

Thinking that I was on my way to see my father who had collapsed, I felt reassured and grateful for Shota's presence.
After all, Shota is family to me.

＊

We arrived at the hospital after a 40-minute taxi ride. It seems we arrived quickly because the roads were relatively empty on a Sunday morning.

I headed for the entrance of the large general hospital marked as the night and holiday emergency center.
It looked like a back entrance, and the waiting area was crowded with other people who also seemed to be accompanying patients.

I looked for a man around my father's age, hoping to find Mr. Saito, who had called me.

"Excuse me, I'm Manabe. Is Mr. Saito here?"

When I raised my voice, there was no reply. Urged by Shota, I sat down on a sofa in the waiting area.

"Once we meet your uncle's friend, we should get his contact information and let him go."
"Yeah..."

I doubt he ever imagined that accompanying my father to golf would end up with him coming to a hospital. Mr. Saito, I am truly sorry.

After sitting in the waiting area for a while, a man around 60 years old came out from what looked like an examination room.
Thinking he might be Mr. Saito, Shota and I rushed over to him.

"Um... I'm Manabe."
"Oh, you're his daughter! I just received an explanation that the results of the detailed examination will be out soon. Tomio-san has regained consciousness and seems fine for now."

The phrase "for now" bothered me strangely.
Well, of course; someone who suddenly faints cannot possibly be healthy.

"I am so sorry for all the trouble... Um, I will accompany my father from here on, so..."
"I had the whole day off anyway, and I have my car, so I'm worried—would you mind letting me stay until he leaves the hospital?"

I felt bad, but after being told that, I felt it would be rude to refuse.
As I hesitated, Shota bowed his head and said, "Thank you so much for everything." Mr. Saito laughed and said, "No, we're just helping each other out."

Mr. Saito sat with us on the sofa in the waiting area and told us what had happened so far.

"I had told Mr. Manabe that we should have breakfast at the golf course, so we left early in the morning. When he stood up after eating, Mr. Manabe suddenly collapsed and lost consciousness... I called an ambulance from the golf course and came to the hospital by car. There were two other friends with us, but I left them behind, thinking that while they probably wouldn't be in the mood for golf, there was no point in a large group coming."

Thinking that Mr. Saito had been handling all the hospital matters by himself, I was truly grateful. Shota and I kept thanking Mr. Saito over and over.

"Uncle Manabe was normal before he fainted, right?"
"Ah, yes, he was. He was his usual self."

Shota muttered that it must have been really sudden, and he seemed worried.
Just then, the sliding door of the examination room opened, and a voice rang out, "Manabe-san!"

"Please go see Tomio-san."

Prompted by Mr. Saito, Shota and I headed for the examination room.

When I slid the door of the examination room open, there was a folding bed right in front of me, and my father was lying on it.

"Father!"

Surprised, my father turned toward us.

Oh, Ritsu, Shota. It was a long way, wasn't it?

He spoke in such a normal tone, as if nothing had happened, calling out from the bed.

Are you a family member?

The doctor in the white coat asked me that and gestured for me to sit in the chair in the examination room. An X-ray-like image was illuminated from behind, and I could tell it was a picture of a brain.

This is a CT scan of the brain. No particular issues were found.

Hearing that, Shota and I let out a sigh of relief.

There didn't seem to be any arrhythmia either, so it is likely neurally mediated syncope. Neurally mediated syncope... It's a fairly common type of fainting that increases as you get older. It happens because the autonomic nervous system doesn't function properly.

Being told it happens as you get older left me speechless. Dad is almost 60; he's not an old man, but he's not young either.

Is there any treatment or anything we should be careful about? There is no medication for it. What you need to be careful about is that there is a possibility of fainting again in a case like this. From now on, you will need to act with the awareness that fainting could occur after meals.

After meals, be careful... I wonder if it will be okay since I'm usually there...

I would like you to avoid standing for long periods, and there are many cases where people suffer serious injuries from things around them when they suddenly collapse. No, Doctor, I work standing up. And I use fire, knives, and oil on a daily basis.

The doctor paused at Dad's words.

For people like that, we have them set things up so they can work while sitting, and we have them avoid being near fire or oil as much as possible.

In short, it's better for Dad not to stand in front of fire or oil in the kitchen anymore. It means it would be dangerous if there were fire or oil the next time he suddenly collapses. And to reduce the time spent standing, he must sit in a chair when using a kitchen knife.

No... it's too late to start sitting down now... Dad, we have to think about how to do things from now on, don't we?!

I ended up raising my voice, as if he were asking to be allowed to live as usual even in this situation.

You're not young anymore. Something like today might happen again in the future. Please, I'm begging you...

Shota rubbed my back as I couldn't continue. Dad just said, 'Ah, I see,' in a dismissive tone, looking uncomfortable.

It's because I've been too dependent on him until now. I think that's probably why this happened.

The doctor said, 'Do you think you can get up?' so Dad slowly got up from the bed. Shota supported him, and Dad looked happy, saying, 'Shota, thank you.' When we left the examination room, Mr. Saito rushed over to us in a panic. As soon as Dad saw Mr. Saito, he bowed his head and kept repeating, 'I'm sorry,' and 'Thank you.'

“Thanks to everyone, it wasn't any major illness. They said something about my autonomic nervous system's regulatory functions weakening? So I guess I have to be careful in my daily life.”

When I explained this to Mr. Saito, he was genuinely happy for me.
Mr. Saito gripped my father's hand firmly, said, “I wonder if golf is too difficult? But let's go out for a meal again sometime,” and left the hospital.

We sat in the waiting area, waiting to pay the bill.
Suddenly, I felt anxious about “waiting to pay.” We had several tests done, and wasn't hospital care quite expensive...? My wallet felt inadequate.

While I was thinking about that, my name was called, and just as I was wondering what to do, my wallet was handed to me.

“Ritsu, this isn't something you should be paying for.”

Oh, how pathetic, I thought, feeling slightly depressed as I took my father's wallet and headed to the payment counter. Since there were many test items, it exceeded 30,000 yen, so my own money wouldn't have been enough.

While I was paying, I could hear Shota and my father whispering in the seats behind me.
My father told Shota he was sorry, and Shota laughed, asking what he was talking about.
As I placed the money on the tray, Shota's voice reached my ears: “We made a promise, didn't we? That when you weren't around, I would support Ritsu.”

In that moment, I understood everything about Shota today.
Shota had made a promise to my father. For my unreliable sake.
My father must have been thinking about what would happen if something were to happen to him, and that's why he told Shota such an unnecessary thing.

The moment it clicked, I gave a small laugh, realizing there was no one I could blame.
Because I am the cause of everything, the one who might end up destitute if my father weren't here.

When we went outside the hospital, the private taxi we had taken there was still parked outside.
When we approached it in surprise, the driver, who had been reclining his seat, hurriedly sat up and opened the window.

“Ritchan! Mr. Tomio!”
“Oh, Mr. Yuki, you came all the way here for us.”

The private taxi driver... Mr. Yuki, it seemed, didn't really like hospital waiting rooms, so he had been waiting for my father in the taxi the whole time.

My father sat in the passenger seat, and Shota and I sat in the back as the taxi departed.

Mr. Yuki was in an even better mood than on the way there, perhaps relieved that my father seemed okay, and he kept talking.
Shota and I in the back seat had nothing to do.

“Hey.”

Since the conversation in the front seat was lively, I spoke to Shota quietly.

“You don't have to worry about me just because my father told you to.”
“It's not because your dad told me to. It's because you're too unreliable, Ritsu.”
“Huh?”

In reality, I had been helped quite a bit by Shota just today alone. He had been a source of strength and emotional support.
If I had faced this situation all by myself, I think I would have had a mental breakdown.

But Shota and I don't even usually keep in touch.
We are distant in our daily lives, having only met at the shopping district association the other day for the first time in a while, and we live our lives without interfering with each other.

"You don't have to try to handle everything on your own when you have nowhere else to turn for help, do you?"
"Well, that might be true, but..."

As we talked, the thing I was most worried about suddenly crossed my mind.

"It might be impossible for our shop to keep operating in its current style."

I remembered what the doctor had just told me.
It would become my job to grill fish and fry food, and I would have to reduce my father's role as the cook.
I wouldn't be able to focus on serving customers, and since I was told to avoid standing for long periods, I couldn't leave the floor to my father either.

"That's true. We'll have to rethink how we run the lunch service."

My father said from the seat in front of me. I couldn't bring myself to say "I agree" because I knew he must be feeling frustrated.
"Teishoku Manabe" was a shop built for my father to work in alone.
I help out at the shop, but I don't have the skills or efficiency to compensate if my father can no longer work properly.

We had already been thinking about how to make the lunch service as efficient as possible.
We won't be able to do things the same way as before.

"You can't hire anyone, right?"

Shota said, as if confirming. I smiled weakly.
Since we focus on lunch, the sales are limited.

"Why don't you ask someone in the shopping district to help out, at least during lunch hours? You'd have to pay them, but someone who would care about 'Manabe' along with you."

Shota said that, and while mentioning members of the shopping association, he muttered, "Who would be good?" and "Who is free during the day?"

Then Mr. Yuki said, "Shall I lend you my wife?"
We tilted our heads, wondering what kind of person Mr. Yuki's wife was.

"She's a cooking teacher. She teaches young people now, and it's mostly on weekday evenings, so she should be home during the day..."
"No, no, a cooking teacher working a part-time job..."
"If she hears the story about Ricchan and Tomio-san, she'll probably fly over there. She's a particularly meddlesome person, you see."

The face of Mr. Yuki's wife vaguely came to mind. I remember her being a very friendly and cheerful person...

"That sounds great, Mr. Yuki. Customer service must be her specialty, and above all, I feel like her personality would attract people."

Shota nodded vigorously as he remembered Mr. Yuki's wife. Shota, as expected of a local hair salon owner.
Mr. Yuki looked a bit happy to have his wife praised.

"Excuse me, would it be alright if I went to your house to greet her?"
"That's fine. Come to my place now, and we can consult with my wife about what's best and cooperate with what we can do."

I didn't expect someone to offer help so easily, and tears welled up in my eyes.
When Shota noticed, he ruffled my hair and said, "It's because you've been doing good deeds."

The fact that Shota naturally acts to find someone reliable in this town when something happens is proof that he is much more attached to this shopping district than I am, and that he is fully prepared to live alongside it.

I'm not here just because I have nowhere else to go, like I am.

　*

Yuki-san's home was an apartment located just past the shopping district.
When we accompanied Yuki-san to his home, his wife was very happy to see the unexpected guests.
Since she runs a cooking class, the living room was spacious enough to accommodate many people. She must be the type of person who enjoys hosting others.

"Wow... that's serious. Does that mean Tomio-san might collapse again someday?"

His wife said this bluntly. Father also laughed in a dazed way, saying, "It seems so."

"I've been cooking for a long time, but I've never run a shop, so I'm not sure if I can be of any help."
"The main tasks are grilling fish and plating."
"Oh, is that so? Then, it might be easier than I thought."

His wife said this with a smile. When she proudly added, "Actually, I teach plating in my cooking class," Shota remarked, "Maybe sales will go up."

Father and I bowed our heads again, asking, "Could you help us for a while?" His wife, looking flustered, said, "Oh my, please stop that," and added as if it were nothing, "In these situations, the people who can move are the ones who should."

Yuki-san's wife had a round face, and when she smiled, her cheeks puffed up into round, prominent shapes.
Perhaps the reason Yuki-san was so kind today is because behind every great man is a great woman like her.

I have almost no memories of my mother. So, I have lived my life imagining what a "mother" is like by watching Shota's mother and the ladies in the shopping district.

Seeing Yuki-san's wife today, the thought crossed my mind that maybe this is what a mother is like.