“Hehe…”
“…Is it that nice?”
“…Yes.”
I was having dinner with my boss.
I had originally planned to have dinner with the commander at our usual casual restaurant.
But somehow it ended up being with my boss too.
The commander ran into me on his way home from work, and somehow we ended up having dinner together.
Well, since I was going to eat out anyway, it didn’t really matter.
“If you enjoyed it so much, why didn’t you ask the commander to buy it for you sooner?”
“…I never asked him to buy it. He just suddenly gave it to me.”
Was I gazing too much at the ring?
It led to a strange misunderstanding.
I never actually asked the commander for a ring or anything like that.
In fact, I wasn’t too concerned about it at all.
Yet, it seemed like everyone thought I had asked first.
…Well, to be fair, I did like him a lot.
“Well, I’m just relieved. I thought the commander might have gotten you pregnant and was just going to be carefree about it.”
“He’s not that kind of person. He thinks things through… sort of.”
Sometimes, the commander did give off a slightly careless vibe.
Honestly, I could agree with that.
But he was definitely not a person who was completely thoughtless or foolish.
In fact, I thought he was someone who pondered more than he let on.
“Hmm… Is that so?”
“Yes, indeed.”
“Well, if you say so, then it must be true.”
While the commander was busy ordering at the counter, my boss and I were having a comfortable chat.
Originally, I thought we’d go to a bigger place, but since my boss was with us, we deliberately chose a smaller restaurant.
After all, there could have been too much attention on my boss if there were too many people around, and discussing personal matters in a crowded place isn’t ideal.
We ended up in a quiet place where there weren’t too many people, and since the timing was just right, it was a perfect choice.
“Commander, did you order everything alright?”
“Did I look so confused that I mixed up the orders…?”
“That’s not it, I just asked. Why are you so defensive…?”
“Just wanted to tease you!”
“…Just sit down already.”
Anyway, the commander sat down beside me.
As soon as he did, he started goofing around, which was unexpected, but…
Just a moment ago, we had been praising him, so now my boss was giving me a look like I was an idiot.
Seriously… What a questionable state of mind.
“So, Commander, what was the meaning behind the ring you gave Lindera?”
“…Huh?”
“You gave her a ring after she’s been eight months pregnant? What’s that about?”
“Well… that is true…”
“What does it mean?”
“…I can’t have a wedding right now, but a ring is different.”
“Hmm…”
“Boss, I understand your concerns. It’s understandable that I can’t provide a lot of trust. But… I’m not approaching Lindera lightly.”
Oh… That was kind of… cool.
The commander was showing a confident side of himself for once.
I never thought he’d be this assertive in front of someone he considered superior…
“You don’t have to worry.”
“Oh…”
“Lindera, I think this guy is a little strange.”
“…Out of nowhere?”
“…How can he be this confident after getting you pregnant out of wedlock?”
“Oh.”
“Oops.”
Well.
That was somewhat difficult to defend.
Hmm… I really couldn’t win against facts.
It was hard to come up with a rebuttal.
“Well, no one expects you to say something weird now, so you don’t have to take it too seriously.”
“…Is that so?”
“If you’re going to say something weird to Lindera or do anything that would hurt her…”
“…?”
Then…?
“Just remember that if you’re alone suddenly, the door might break down or a window might shatter, and someone can come in.”
“…Don’t joke around. I’m really scared.”
Seriously… my boss had a knack for joking around.
His jokes could have your subordinates trembling, and that was a problem in itself.
“Well, just don’t do anything stupid.”
“…I wouldn’t.”
“…Lindera, do you trust me?”
“When would I have not trusted you?”
“…Then that’s a relief.”
“If someone hears that, they might think I don’t normally trust the commander.”
As we chatted and passed the time, our ordered dishes started arriving.
Risotto and pasta, among other dishes.
Honestly, the menu didn’t matter that much; it was the conversation that was more important.
It was almost the first time dining with both the commander and my boss together like this.
Especially in such a personal setting.
Of course, we all had a professional relationship, but today was different.
“Commander, here.”
“Here?”
“The other side.”
“Here?”
“………”
Anyway, we had a conversation.
While I kept in touch with the commander’s mother, he didn’t particularly converse much with my boss.
He worked in the office, but it was usually awkward to open up about personal matters.
They did talk about personal stuff, but they weren’t that close.
Mainly because the commander found it a bit intimidating to be around my boss.
“By the way, Lindera, the delivery is soon, right?”
“Yes. Right about now… almost a month.”
“Wow… time has passed more than I thought.”
“Indeed.”
Time really had flown by.
I was full-term, and now it truly was almost time.
“Commander, could you eat this for me?”
“Is your stomach upset?”
“…Well, a little.”
“Then let’s grab some soda before heading home.”
As we approached the end of our dinner, I felt like I couldn’t eat any more pasta.
So I asked the commander to eat just a little bit more… like that.
I wasn’t nauseous, just feeling a bit fatigued and not great.
“Lindera.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“…Take care of yourself.”
“Yes, I will.”
After finishing the dinner, we exchanged those words before parting ways.
It was just a casual conversation, but it felt nice.
Nothing special, but it had a warm feeling to it.
After we finished eating, we simply parted ways like that.
We didn’t talk about anything else and… we’d be seeing each other again in just a few days.
After all, he was staying at a nearby hotel.
“Commander, how was today?”
“It was good, right?”
“That’s a relief. I was a bit surprised that you brought the boss along.”
It was unexpected for the boss to join us.
So I had no choice but to worry a bit.
Of course, the boss wasn’t a bad person, but he was a higher-up at the company, like a parental figure, so it could be tough for the commander in various ways.
So I was a little concerned, but…
“Well, I’m glad.”
“All thanks to a nice person.”
“What did I do?”
We were just walking through the night, having that conversation.
It was just a typical conversation between the two of us.
Holding hands a bit, and the commander was carrying my handbag.
“Next time, it might be nice to have a meal with the boss and your mother.”
“That sounds good.”
“Thinking about it, there are still a lot of things we haven’t done. We’ve met a few times, but…”
“We haven’t met my dad yet.”
“Exactly.”
There seemed to be a lot of situations, yet we had so many things left undone.
Honestly, it was a bit ridiculous.
Both the commander and I were showing signs of being first-timers in many aspects.
Everything had been such a sudden first-time experience.
Although we had a lot of firsts left to experience, I didn’t dislike it.
In fact, I liked it even more.
“Hehe…”
“Is it fun?”
“How could it not be? Two people with a baby on the way, being this clueless?”
“That’s true, huh?”
To be honest, we were ridiculously silly.
We got drunk and did it without a condom, ended up getting pregnant, and then took forever to tell our parents about the marriage, even naming the baby late…
Hmm.
We really looked foolish.
At work, I never had this much brain fog.
Lately, I felt like I was more on top of my game while working than I was now.
Well, work and what had been happening to me lately were definitely not the same thing.
“But we can take our time, so let’s not rush things.”
“Right.”
“Of course, meeting your parents or the boss early might be a good idea.”
The boss’s character was a bit unique, and it might be better to meet them sooner.
At least before the baby was born… yeah.
“There’s still a lot to do.”
“Indeed. It feels like we’ve done a lot, yet there’s still more to go.”
“…Well, we can take our time.”
“That’s true. There’s still time before the birth…
Even if it’s not much left, it wasn’t that we couldn’t manage to have dinner with our parents.”
Just like the commander said, taking it slow…
Honestly, the most important thing right now was the upcoming baby’s birth.
It was more important than getting our parents together.
“Oh, I forgot the soda.”
“…Ah.”
“…Should we go back and get it?”
“…Yeah, let’s do that.”
One thing’s for sure… we both seemed to be more clueless than expected…?
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