I stand up and start storming down the beach to Phoenix with Liesel hot on my heels.
“Langston,” Liesel warns from behind me. I snap my head to her, knowing she’s the reason Phoenix is here.
“They love her. She loves them. We can’t keep them apart; it’s not fair.”
I growl and then start down the beach again without speaking to Liesel. She continues to follow after me, I assume, to make sure I don’t do anything stupid.
“Mom, have you met our other mom?” Rose asks Phoenix.
“I have. She’s pretty awesome, isn’t she?” Phoenix asks Rose.
“She is! I’m so excited. I get two moms! How lucky are we?” Rose grabs Atlas’ hands and jumps up and down. He just rolls his eyes at her.
Phoenix stands and nods a thank you to Liesel before she turns to look at me. Without looking at the kids, I say, “Atlas, Rose, how about you race back to the house?”
“Are you going to race us?” Atlas asks.
“Us adults will race after you.”
The kids take off.
I stare Phoenix down. “I’m doing this for them, not for you.”
“Of course,” Phoenix answers.
“If you hurt them, try to take them away again, do anything—I will kill you, your brothers, and anyone you’ve ever met. Do you understand?”
“I won’t hurt them. I would never hurt them.”
“You hurt them when you took them away from me, their father!”
“I’m sorry.”
“Just say goodbye to them,” I say.
Phoenix walks toward the house, and then it’s just Liesel and me. We exchange glances but not words. I can’t believe that Liesel trusts Phoenix. Trusting other people is what got us into this mess.
“Let’s go say goodbye to the kids before we head to Tokyo,” Liesel finally speaks instead of arguing with me.
I nod.
The plane ride to Tokyo is long, but I enjoy every minute of it.
We alternate between fucking and sleeping naked in each other’s arms.
The car ride is more nerve-wracking as we think about what we are about to face. We pull up at the address and step out of the car.
The small temple sits on the edge of a river, covered in moss, bushes, and trees. The walls of the temple are barely visible through the overgrowth.
We approach the entrance and knock softly on the door.
A woman opens the door.
“I’ve been expecting you.” She opens the door, and we enter. In retrospect, the tasks we’ve been given so far to prove we love each other were pretty easy. I shouldn’t be upset with her father for this wild goose chase, but I am. I don’t know what games he’s playing from beyond the dead. If he weren’t dead already, I’d kill him myself.
The room we enter is simple. You can see the beams holding up the roof, and there is a small, low to the ground, circular table with four small chairs around it.
“Sit, sit,” the woman says.