A Misheard Request, Suddenly One Day.

That moment arrived suddenly, without any warning.

It was just like any other day, when I was leaving the nursery school.

I happened to have a problem at work, so I was late picking up my child.
Perhaps because it was during the extended childcare hours, there were no other parents around.

Just as I picked up my children and was about to head home, the air vibrated faintly, and I heard a sound like a voice.

“Um… if you don’t mind…”

“Would you like to exchange LINE contacts…?”

Hmm…?

Did I mishear that…?

Truth be told, I don’t have any mom friends.
In other words, I have no acquaintances who would talk to me when dropping off or picking up my child at nursery school.

Of course, I exchange greetings with people I recognize, and if I see them at the park on the weekend, we might make small talk.
However, there isn’t a single person I’ve become close enough with to exchange contact information.

“I want a mom friend.”

That has been my long-held dream.

While there are pros and cons to having 'mom friends,' I would love to hang out on weekends, eat meals together, and visit each other's homes.

How wonderful would it be to have friends you could socialize with as a whole family—

I really admire the idea of having BBQs or going camping with a friend's family.

No, it's fun with just our family too, right? Probably.
We have three children, so that alone makes things quite lively.

But still...

My eldest son was born 7 years ago, my second son 5 years ago, and my eldest daughter 2 years ago...

We have spent 7 years—the whole time—just by ourselves as a family!

Every Saturday and Sunday!! And holidays too!!

Seven years!!
How many Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays do you think that is?!

In 2024, that's 118 days. Let's round it to 120 days for 7 years.

Go ahead, try calculating it!!

That's 840 days, you know?!

Try dividing that by 365 days in a year.

2.301... in other words2 yearsand, um... (Is this 0.3 converted directly into months... right? So, 3 months?)

In other words, about 2 years and 3 months! (I was right)

We've spent about 2 years and 3 months entirely "just" as a family!!!

Of course, it's not 100%. As you'd expect, about once every six months, there are days we spend with others besides the family. We also meet with grandparents and cousins regularly.

I've been invited by company colleagues to hang out, and have visited their homes with my children in tow, and there have been times when we've run into friends from school at the park by chance and ended up playing together for a bit.

However, the time we spend just as a family is overwhelmingly long.

When it's "just" the family, it's inevitable that our ways of playing and the places we go will become habitual. After all, we have 2 years and 3 months worth of time to fill, so naturally, our ideas are running dry.

If only we had friends...

For the children, even the usual park would likely become top-tier entertainment. Because their experience is limited, I can easily imagine that the chemical reaction when another family joins us would be tremendous.


I personally want friends too, but for the sake of my children, I want to let them have such fun holidays...

I've always, always thought that.

"Um... if you'd like..."

"Would you like to exchange LINE contacts...?"

For a moment, I was flustered, wondering if I had misheard or if it was the voice of God, but when I turned around, I made eye contact with a mother.
She looked like she was on her way to pick up her child, even later than my family, who had just barely made it in time for the extension.

She looked a little older than me, perhaps. A calm, composed person with an intellectual air about her.



Ah...

I see! I remember now.

I don't know her child's name, but she's a mother of one of my second son's classmates.

We met by chance at the park about a year ago and had a brief chat through our children.

"We just moved here, so I don't know any play areas."
"I don't have any friends either..."
"And since I'm always late for pickup, I never meet any of the other moms from daycare..."

I remember her saying things like that.

I remember replying that I had also moved to this area about two years ago, so our situations were the same. We even said things like, 'Let's be friends if you'd like.'

My second son and her child looked happy, but my daughter, who was one at the time, was crying her eyes out, and my eldest son, who was in first grade, ran off somewhere, so it wasn't a situation where we could talk calmly.

We didn't go as far as exchanging contact information, and since then, perhaps because our drop-off and pick-up times didn't match, I hadn't seen her face even once.

It was truly a reunion after a year.

Could it be...

Has she been waiting for a chance to talk to me for this whole year...?

Since that day we talked at the park, has her situation remained the same, and has she also been unable to make any mom friends...?

I-i-if that's the case, she must have gathered a huuuuuge amount of courage to call out to me, right?!

Because I could never say that one line myself.

Would you like to exchange LINE contacts? I could never say that for seven years.

Is she gathering the courage to say that one line to me, someone she's only met for the second time...?

My face feels like it's bursting with heat.
I can feel my heart rate skyrocketing.

The curtain is rising on a life with mom friends...!

The person smiling awkwardly looked as radiant as a prince on a white horse offering 100 roses.

With trembling hands, I gently reach out for the roses.
Once I accept the roses, I'll hug her and say this.

'I have been waiting for you!!! For you!!!!!

For seven whole years!!!!!!'

No, wait.
This vibe is no good. It's too heavy.

Think about it.

Even if a pairing is certain, both parties are a little self-conscious, and when it comes time to exchange contact info... if one of them goes“I love you!! Let’s get married, married!!”and gets too aggressive, their favorability will plummet and the other will say “Ah... actually, I'm good” and that'll be that!

If the International Friends Appropriateness Board (IFAB) were watching this official match (?), it would definitely be a red card.



No way!
I don't want to be sent off!!
This is a chance I finally grabbed!


I steadied my breathing so as not to misjudge the temperature difference between her “I want to be friends” and my “I’m going to make a mom friend! Definitely!”.

This is a precious first step toward potentially making a mom friend, something I've been longing for for seven years. It wouldn't be good to leave a weird impression right from the start.

In fact, I feel like it would be better to be just memorable enough not to be memorable.

Alright, I'll pretend to be calm here...

Let's go with something like this.

Just make sure not to act suspicious, be elegant and wonderful.

But, I also want to convey that I'm a little happy...

Because that's how I truly feel. If I show I'm happy, I'm sure the other person will think, “I'm glad I asked.”

Ah, but...! I don't know the right balance!!!!

If I don't answer quickly, it will make the other person anxious.

W-w-w-w-what should I do...!!!!!

……Life is always a split-second decision.

Don't let others hold the power of life and death over your mom friends! I can hear Giyu Tomioka's voice saying that.


I'll make the most of my life experience and respond with my best performance……!

Alright…….

……H-how was that?

How was this????

How's my likability????

It's not bad, right……?

This normal vibe, it's not bad, right?!

Having given it my all, I fumbled with how to show my QR code, but I managed to successfully exchange LINE contacts.

It was just a few minutes' event at the nursery school's bicycle parking area.

She was about to go pick up her child. I didn't want to take up too much of her time, so I thanked her briefly and tried to create a 'see you later' atmosphere.

'If you'd like, let's hang out at the park sometime.'

As she was leaving, she smiled and said that.

P-p-p-p-park?!

My heart, which I had been forcing to stay calm, started racing again.

What a wonderful, beginner-friendly invitation! Yes, after all, the park is the first step.

Suddenly visiting homes, having a BBQ, or going camping is way too high a hurdle, so I was thinking the park would be good too!! We're the same! What a coincidence!!!

She's charming.
Saying 'let's go to the park' as you leave is charming.

I have no immunity to this!!!
I'll fall for it right away!!!!!!!!

'Yes, I'd love to!'

Completely captivated, I pretended to be perfectly calm, smiled, waved, and pedaled my bicycle away with a flourish.

Heh.

Hehehe.

Mwahahahaha!!!

I can't stop this grin on my face!!

I made a friend!!

I made a mom friend!!!!

Father, Mother back home. Can you hear me? And my paternal grandmother, who was my guardian angel until I was 18, are you watching from above?

I did it!
Setting aside the concept of a friend for a moment, I managed to complete my first ever one-on-one LINE exchange!!

My children, who watched the whole sequence of events, asked with puzzled looks, "The park? Are we going to the park now?"

I'm sure they'll be overjoyed when I tell them about the fun event that awaits us.

[Playing at the park with a friend on a day off]

I'm so happy.

So happy!!

"Yes, next time. Let's make a promise to go, with my friend. On a day off!"

I put more strength into my legs as I pedaled. I felt like I could keep riding forever.