My biggest wish when visiting this place is to one day reach the top of Mt. Komorebi. I can only hope that Me-Me would want to do it with me.
Kai: Remember when I asked you to join my climbing club?
Melisa: Yeah, I remember. I still hate that you gave up on it.
Kai: Me too. I didn’t give up on the end goal, though.
Melisa: Which is?
Kai: To one day climb Mt. Komorebi.
Melisa: Wow! I hear it’s a tough climb.
Kai: It is, but – I was hoping you’d do it with me.
Me-Me stops to think.
Melisa: I’m not very good.
Kai: I’m not either, but we can train – while we’re here. There’s a short wall right over there. Want to try climbing it?
Me-Me glances at the wall.
Melisa: It doesn’t look too hard.
We walk over to it, and she observes me as I give it a shot.
This climb would be much easier with climbing gear, but I make it to the top – even though some of the rocks are frozen and my boots don’t have much of a grip. Me-Me manages to make it to the top as well. I think I have a climbing partner.
We practice some more before we both decide to stop and get something to eat. We make our way over to the ski and snowboarding area of Yukimatsu, where we can find a food stand and vending machines.
We weigh our options and decide to order ramen from the food stand. Surprisingly, Jay and Lia are there sitting at a picnic table – and they seem to be getting along. So we grab our food and join them while they are mid-conversation.
Jalin: …and I just reached 10,000 subscribers on my SimTube station. Have you visited lately? I composed the theme music on my violin.
Jamelia: I’m not much of a gamer, but I still check up on you from time to time.
Melisa: *surprised* You still play the violin?
Jalin: Yeah, I’ve even taken a few lessons.
Kai: What’s the name of your station? We want to check it out. Right Me-Me?
Melisa: Yeah, of course.
Jalin: It’s JayGN. It stands for Jay’s Gaming Network. My friends and I are running it like a media company.
Melisa: You followed mom’s advice.
Jalin: And it’s working. We can’t quit our jobs yet, but the advertising money is starting to kick in.
Jay suddenly gets up from the table.
Jalin: The ski lifts are calling me. Y’all coming?
Jamelia: Nah, I’m done for the day.
Melisa: Nope, go ahead. I need to visit the restroom.
Jay heads in one direction, and Me-Me goes the other. So I’m left at the table alone with Lia, which is a good thing because I’d like her help with something.
After Me-Me is out of earshot –
Kai: Lia, can you help me with something? It’s for Me-Me.
Jamelia: What is it?
Kai: Could you help me pick out a ring?
Jamelia: A ring? *thinks about it* Oh, a ring!
Lia suddenly perks up a little as I pull out my laptop to begin a search.
Kai: Yeah. You know her better than anyone. What would she like?
Lia begins to give me ideas.
Jamelia: She’s not flashy, so nothing too big.
Kai: Not too big…
I immediately eliminate a few choices.
Jamelia: Whatever you do, don’t be cheap like my dad. That’s a big no-no. But, I admit – he did a great job picking out my mom’s ring.
Kai: Okay, what’s considered cheap in an engagement ring?
Jamelia: Hmm, probably anything under a thousand. Traditionally, you’re supposed to spend two months’ salary on a ring.
Kai: But I’m a student. I don’t work yet. I did inherit some money, though – from when my pop-pop died.
Jamelia: We’re talking about Me-Me here. She likes simple things. You could give her a ring from a gumball machine, and she’d be happy.
Kai: What about a pink diamond?
Jamelia: Yeah! She’d love that!
Kai: I was thinking something like this –
I show Lia a ring that I believe Me-Me would like.
Me-Me is returning, so we quickly end our conversation. I shut off my computer as Lia gets up from the table.
Jamelia: *quietly as she steps away* I’d go for that one if I were you.
Me-Me walks over with a strange look on her face. I try not to look too suspicious, but I’m sure she’d like to know what Lia and I discussed.
I get up to go to the restroom myself, partially because I really have to go and also because I’m not sure I can hide the excitement of finding the perfect ring from Me-Me. So I leave the sisters alone.
Jamelia: You okay?
Melisa: I’m trying to be, but I don’t appreciate you putting me in between things with you and Jay again.
Jamelia: What are you talking about? What do you mean – again?
Melisa: You get mad at him, and I’m the one that has to try and patch things up. It was like that when we were growing up, too. But I refuse to keep doing it. And I don’t want you getting Kai involved either.
Jamelia: You have it all wrong, Me-Me. That’s not what –
Lia realizes that she can’t tell Me-Me what she and Kai were talking about, so she leaves it alone.
Jamelia: Okay. I’m sorry. *gets up from the table*
I return and see Me-Me standing off to the side all alone.
Kai: Are you ready to go back to the rental?
Melisa: No, let’s see if we can find some privacy.
Privacy always sounds good to me.
We walk over to the Onsen bathhouse, change, and shower. Me-Me seems extra quiet, but I refrain from asking her about it. I know that she’ll open up to me when she’s ready. The baths don’t exactly offer the privacy we were seeking, but it’s a nice contrast to the cold weather we’ve experienced all day. We enter the hot bath, soak, and relax. She seems lost in her thoughts, and I get distracted trying to come up with the perfect way to propose.
(Generation 3 Chapter Summaries)
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