Misae stared at him for three seconds. Her expression slowly shifted from You're lying to me to Forget it, I don't have the energy to care.
"Fine." She muttered once, then collapsed back onto the sofa, burying her face in the cushion again.
Shin-chan stood beside the sofa.
"Mom, I'm hungry."
A muffled sound came from the cushion. "Mm."
"Are there any snacks?"
"Get them from the cabinet yourself."
Shin-chan turned and ran off toward the kitchen. After rummaging through the cabinet for a while, he pulled out a box of chocolate cream sandwich cookies, then ran back to the living room.
Crunch.
The sound of the first bite was especially crisp in the quiet living room.
Misae's nose twitched.
Shin-chan took another bite.
Misae's brows furrowed slightly.
Shin-chan didn't notice at all. A few crumbs fell onto his clothes, so he patted them off and kept eating.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Misae's frown deepened.
The sweet smell of chocolate mixed with the rich, greasy smell of cream slowly spread through the air and drifted into her nose.
That smell—
Misae suddenly sat up.
"Ugh…"
She covered her mouth. Without even putting on her slippers, she rushed barefoot toward the bathroom.
Shin-chan still had half a cookie in his mouth and stared blankly as Misae disappeared down the hallway.
Then a violent retching sound came from the bathroom.
"Blech—"
"Blech—"
One after another.
Shin-chan sat on the chair, holding the remaining half of the cookie, unsure whether he should keep eating or not.
The bathroom faucet turned on, water splashing loudly.
After a while, Misae came out of the bathroom, walking slowly step by step, as if all the strength had been drained out of her.
"Mom, are you okay?"
Misae didn't answer. She closed her eyes and rested for a moment.
When she opened them again, she saw the cookie box on the coffee table.
It was empty.
Misae's eyes widened slightly. "You finished all of them?"
Shin-chan licked his fingers. "Mm."
Misae looked at him. Her lips moved like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only sighed and closed her eyes again.
Forget it.
She didn't have the strength to scold him.
The living room fell quiet again.
Sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, drawing a long strip of light across the floor.
Shin-chan stayed quiet for a while. So quiet that Misae thought he had finally settled down.
Then...
"Mom."
Misae didn't open her eyes. She only hummed through her nose. "Mm."
"I'm hungry."
Misae opened her eyes. "You just ate an entire box of cookies."
"Mm." Shin-chan nodded. "But now I'm hungry again."
Misae stared at him for five seconds, then sighed. "Go get the small cup noodles from the lower cabinet."
"Okay!"
Shin-chan jumped off the chair and ran back to the kitchen.
Misae leaned back into the sofa, closed her eyes, and rested one hand on her belly.
From the kitchen came the sound of Shin-chan tearing open packaging, followed by the scraping of a chair being dragged across the floor...
Listening to those sounds, Misae's awareness started to blur again.
Pregnancy was like this. When sleepiness came, it came all at once.
Shin-chan carried the cup noodles out of the kitchen, placed them on the coffee table, climbed onto a chair, and peeled back the lid.
White steam puffed up with a strong, aggressive instant noodle smell.
Misae's nose twitched again, and her brows immediately drew together.
That smell was like an invisible hand reaching straight into her stomach and stirring it.
Misae shot upright, moving so fast she looked nothing like the weak person from a moment ago.
She covered her mouth.
Again.
"Ugh—"
Misae ran barefoot to the bathroom again.
"Blech—"
This time was even worse than before.
Shin-chan sat on the chair with a mouthful of noodles still hanging from his lips.
After a while, the retching stopped.
Misae walked to the window and opened it as wide as it would go.
Wind rushed in, scattering some of the instant noodle smell.
"Mom." Shin-chan's voice came from beside her.
"Mm."
"Are you okay?"
Misae didn't answer.
"Mom."
Misae's eyelid twitched.
"Mm."
"Do you want a bite?"
Misae opened her eyes.
Shin-chan was holding up the cup noodles in front of her, his face full of sincere goodwill, as if he were sharing something wonderful.
Misae looked at the cup, then at Shin-chan's earnest face.
She felt a little touched.
But mostly, she felt despair.
"Shin-chan."
"Mm?"
Misae raised her hand, her fingers trembling slightly as she pointed toward the door.
"When you finish, throw the cup away. Don't leave it in the house."
"Oh." Shin-chan lowered his head and kept slurping.
Misae shifted closer to the window until she was practically pressed against the sill. The cold wind blew against her face, and the noodle smell finally faded a little.
Shin-chan finished the last mouthful of noodles and burped.
"I'm full."
Misae let out a breath of relief. By the time she lay back on the sofa, Shin-chan had already thrown away the empty cup and come back.
After sitting for a while, Shin-chan couldn't help yawning. His eyes slowly narrowed, and he leaned toward Misae. His head tilted, and he rested it on her arm.
Misae looked at Shin-chan, then lowered her gaze to her belly.
"When you come out, you'd better not be like him."
Her belly didn't respond.
She continued, "Eat properly. Don't just snack all the time."
Still no response.
"And sleep properly. Don't make people call you eight hundred times."
Wind blew in through the window.
Misae pulled a blanket over Shin-chan and sighed.
"Forget it. Being like him is fine too."
She closed her eyes and fell asleep as well.
When Hiroshi opened the door, the living room was quiet.
He changed into his slippers and walked in, then saw one big and one small figure curled together on the sofa, sound asleep.
Hiroshi crouched down and reached out to pull the blanket higher over Shin-chan. But the moment his fingers touched it, Misae's nose twitched.
Her brows furrowed. Before her eyes even opened, she turned her head slightly away.
Hiroshi's hand froze in midair.
Misae's frown deepened. Her nose twitched again. Then she suddenly opened her eyes, covered her mouth, and ran straight to the bathroom.
Shin-chan woke with a start and sat up rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong with Mom?"
"I don't know."
Hiroshi stood and followed her to the bathroom door.
Shin-chan came over too, crouching by the doorway and tilting his head to listen.
The faucet turned off.
Misae came out, her face pale. She walked straight back to the sofa, sat down, and leaned against the cushion.
"Are you okay?" Hiroshi hurried after her.
Misae looked up at him. "What smell is on you?"
Hiroshi lowered his head and sniffed his sleeve.
"I don't smell anything."
"The cigarette smell is too strong." Misae frowned and shifted away from him.
Hiroshi sniffed again. It did seem like there was a bit of a smell. "Maybe I picked it up from a coworker."
Misae sighed and leaned against the cushion.
"From now on, shower as soon as you get home."
"Huh?"
"Cigarette smell, smells picked up outside, anything like that—wash it off before coming into the living room."
Hiroshi scratched his head. "Okay."
"And Dad's stinky foot smell," Shin-chan added from the side. "That can't be here either."
~~~
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