'Oh no!　Thanks to Mr. South, we've successfully closed a big deal!
'That's good to hear. Please give the same credit to the development department for creating a system that meets the needs of our customers.
'You're humble~. Isn't it your own achievement that you were able to accurately convey that request?
'I appreciate your kind words enough. Now, if you'll excuse me.

　I thank my manager and leave the room.

　I returned to my seat and was about to start working on a document to take to my next client when a person came up to me.

I heard that. You've just completed that big deal, haven't you?　As a senior, Atai's nose is too high.
Thank you, Mayuzumi-san.

　It seems that my senior colleague Kaori Mayuzumi, who has helped me in some way since I started working for this company──Hynertech Systems──has heard about the deal that even the general manager praised.
　I joined the company as a temporary employee, but she taught me the know-how to build up my performance until I was hired as a full-time employee, so she is also recognized as an excellent sales representative........

'Mmmm!　Call me 'Kaori-chan' instead of Mayuzumi-san!

　He has been twisting his body around somewhat and appealing to my dissatisfaction with the way he is called.
　Mayuzumi-san is a 'onee' person, and although he is a large man in physique, his speech and behavior and quirks are those of a woman.

　
　With his cheerful personality and humor, he can be said to be a mood-maker in the sales department.

It's a little awkward for me to call my seniors by their nicknames.
You're really serious.... and that's one of the things I love about you, Amani.

　Even though I'm not very good at socializing with people, I can't thank her enough for allowing me to actively communicate with her like this.

　But Mayuzumi-san is silent and stares at me intently.
　Is she thinking about something?
　As I was thinking this, she opened her mouth and said...

I've been thinking about this for a while now.
'Really?　Not that it's anything out of the ordinary, but...
'No, it's not!　Well, you've been laughing a lot, haven't you?
Laughing?

　I don't quite get the point being made.

'What's the good news?'
Well my daughter homemade cookies and gave them to me when I was returning from a business trip.
Oh, boy. It's always good to hear about a child's growth.
Yes, I'm proud to be a mother.

　When I mention an incident that comes to mind, Mayuzumi-san smiles and is impressed.

　Since then, Tenna and I have been making sweets together.
　When she asked me to give her some sweets as a thank you as soon as we got home, I responded to her rare selfishness by making them with her, and I'm proud to say that they turned out quite well.

I'm proud of how well it turned out.　I think that's not the only thing that Atai can do. For example, the spring is here, and so on.
'Spring ... spring?　It's summer now, why is spring coming?

　When I questioned him about his somewhat implied manner, Mayuzumi winked at me with her right eye and said....

"To put it straight........love.
What...?

　My head immediately refused to understand the affirmation, which seemed to get to the heart of the matter.
　.........What in the world is Mayuzumi-san saying?

　And for some reason, the staff around me seem to have become restless.
　I decided to disagree with Mayudzumi-san's words first.

'No way, no way. I'm trying to manipulate my late husband and, above all, I don't have time to be in love with my work and my daughter.
Oh, you're just going to deny it, aren't you?
Yeah, there's no truth to it.

　When I respond to Mr. Mayudzumi's answer with a denial, a breath of relief is exhaled from those around me.
　If you have time to listen to people's conversations, I wish you would go ahead and make a little presentation material.　
　As I replied to Mayuzumi-san, as Tenna's mother, I don't need to be in love.
　I just need to work hard and earn money this way and make sure that she is happy.
　I've decided that this is the best thing for me to do, even if others ridicule me for my boring life.

　= = = = =.

　On the way home from that conversation, it's now late July and I'm halfway through the summer-like sunshine.
　I can't wait to go home and cool off in the air-conditioned room.
　Tenna must have scraped a lot of sweat, and it would be nice to take a shower together.

''Ah........''

　As I was thinking about this, a single truck in the parking lot of my apartment building caught my eye.
　It belonged to a shipping company I'd seen everywhere, but in light of today's day of the week, I guessed who was in it.

　After a bit of a rush, I arrived at room 184, where my home is located, and there I saw my daughter and the person I thought was exactly who I thought it was....

'Yes, Onii-san!　Here's your tea!
Thank you, Amana-chan. Hmmm... it's nice and cold.
"Heh, that's good.

　Apparently, my daughter thoughtfully offered him a cold drink as he was making a delivery.
　It's been a hot day, and the risk of heat stroke is probably high in the busy delivery business, so it's quite an attention-grabber.

　That's Tenna.

It's so hot!
'Oh. That's why it's so hard to stop sweating.

　The weather forecast said that the temperature was likely to exceed 40 degrees Celsius, and there was no reason for them to be like that.
　Hayakawa-san in particular is sweating so much that even from a distance you can see it, and her face and arms look a bit burnt.

''Ah!　I have towels wet with water!　I learned how to chill out with this when I'm tired, and I learned how to do it with the health care business.
'Oh. Shall I take you up on your offer then?
All right, I'll have Amana wipe you down. Just bend over.
"Ugh!　Thank you!
....

　
　However, even though she doesn't mean any offense, it's not fair that she's so angry with her daughter that she can't get into her feelings.
　He's so........disorganized.
　If it wasn't me who witnessed it now, they would have reported it a long time ago.

　I wish there was more of a sense of urgency.　
　With that disgusted thought in mind, I approach the two of them to join the conversation rather than stand around and watch them forever.

'Ah!　Mom!　Welcome back!
I'm home, Tenna.
Hi, Amari. Good job.
Yes, hello, Hayakawa-san.

　They each return greetings to Tenna and Hayakawa-san.
　They both smile at me together, but Hayakawa-san is still in a position where her face is being wiped with a wet towel.
　Well, in this case, I'm the one who got in the way, so let's tolerate it and not pay attention to it.
　Of course, if it's too much, it's a different story.

It's just fine. Here, thanks again for your lunch today.
'Oh, no. It's something I like to do....

　He returns the empty lunchbox I'm giving him the morning of the day he's coming to deliver, and at the same time I feel strangely embarrassed by the casual words he's communicated to me.
　It's a heat that feels different from the heat of the temperature, and my heart beats somewhat faster.......　

'To put it straight........love.

　Suddenly, Mayuzumi-san's point of view crossed my mind, but I shook my head and brushed it off.
　........no.
　This is not that kind of thing.

　Since Hayakawa-san helped me with the Tenna, I'm only doing what I deserve to do in return.
　Otherwise..........　







　The moment you hear the word "love", there's no way you'll think of him.