Two weeks later, I met her again in the evening after work at an old-fashioned coffee shop near the office that we can feel the atmosphere of 1970's.

"Hello, Manaka!"

She called out to me at the entrance and we went in there. She handed me a paper bag and said, "I bought some things you'll like." When I opened it, I found a Market Spice tea bag, a Starbucks tumbler, and a Space Needle magnet. I smiled at the large amount of souvenirs and said to her,

"Thank you! This magnet is cute!"

"Thank you too. I ended up relying on you this time and causing you a lot of trouble, so I'm giving you this as a thank you."

She ordered a melon float and I ordered an iced lemon tea. She told me her memories of Seattle. When it reached about Narita Airport, I said her,

"Please tell me more about Emily-san, but it was a long time ago ."

She began to talk.

"Is it okay if I tell you a serious story?"

When she asked me,

"Of course, I'm prepared and I'll have to find out someday."

She continued.

"Emily was crossing the street with my mother when a car ran a red light and crashed into them. At that time, I immediately handed the company over to my subordinate who was the best at management at the time and rushed to the hospital. My mother had a narrow escape but her neck was broken and she was..."

Her eyes were filled with tears. After taking a breath, she continued.

"Andy had gone back to the States at the time, so the funeral itself was delayed for a month."

"On the day, he and I both cried so much in the chapel that we ran out of tears."

"At the time, I wondered why it was so late, but that's what it was..."

"The embalmer at the funeral home told me that we would eventually be bring her overseas, so they would use the stronger preservative solution, which would make her skin feel harder and rubbery, but I knew it I had some knowledge of chemistry. Then, a few days later, I didn't want to part with Emily, so I asked her in my office at work to put the preservative solution in again, intending to stay with her forever, and the embalmer told me in the case of her, they use the undiluted solution, so it should be fine for about more than 10 years after at that time, although they officially state how many days it should be. When the service was end, I took her out of the casket where she had been kept during the ceremony and put her in the car. and I took her to that room, and put her on a blazer like a uniform. I said, "Emily, it's about time you wake up, and I hope we are together forever." and sat her. I opened her eyes and put in emerald-coloured contact lenses that matched her natural eye color. After that, I called Andy and took a family photo for the first time in years. The reason I put the blazer on her is because she couldn't go to middle school even if she wanted to. Also, there's a paper bag next to the chair, and I put a bundle of her favourite manga books and stuffed animals in it."

"How do you keep her still even when it shakes like when hit any earthquakes?"

"I sew neodymium magnets that I took from hard drives that we crushed to protect confidential information on the back of her shirt. I also put them on the soles of her shoes and made rings with magnets to keep her hands avoid moving. I can get as many magnets as I want."

I was about to say, "We're a tech company after all..." but then I stopped myself. The story continues.

"So why do you keep Emily at work?"

"Back then, there were many days when I couldn't go home. When it was bad, I brought my bed into that room. Andy also came home late, so there were many times when no one was home but her. Recently, I've got some good subordinates who are a little better and calmer. They are the technical and management staff. But there are still days when I can't go home because I have important projects. I will going to bring her home someday, when we go to list us on the stock exchange or transfer the business and I can stay home a little longer, I'm going to bring her home."

"And I'm saving up for her 'child support' and 'study abroad expenses' in an S&P 500 index fund in a separate account for her 'child support' and 'study abroad expenses' from my expense. Our company and family are debt-free, but just in case."

"What do you mean by 'child support' and 'study abroad expenses'?"

"'Child support' is the cost of having check her condition by an embalmer regularly, and 'study abroad expenses' is the cost of taking her to the family mausoleum near Andy's parents' house in case she can't stay with me anymore, like something happens to me, or I get old and I have to go to a retirement home."

"It's I usually use words like that when I talk about Emily, replacing them with common words that are familiar to use by people of child-rearing age. And just saying these term directly makes me cry."

"So, what is this 'family mausoleum'?"

"A Mausoleum is a type of cemetery where a casket is placed in a space like a coin locker inside a building. Usually, they are huge and have a lot of plots like an apartment building, but a family mausoleum is a small one for an individual or family, like a detached house."

"I see. Thank you for telling me such a private and sensitive story."

"I'm glad I talked to you one last time."

I left there and took the train from a nearby subway station to go home after parting ways with her. I checked the transfer information on my smartphone and saw that there were only two more trains left to the nearest station to my house, so made it just in time.