Eri was getting rounder and rounder as she entered the last few weeks of her pregnancy. She had begun to waddle when she walked. She needed Kogoro to help her stand from the futon or when she sat on the ground for meals. She'd taken to eating at the desk, sitting in the uncomfortable metal chair causing pain to radiate up her back and through her hips.

The house was littered with baby items in preparation for the birth. Eri's hospital bag packed and waiting by the door. Friends and neighbors had kindly donated second hands clothes and toys that Eri had been meticulously washing and trying to store neatly. There wasn't much room for all the extra items and the room was getting cramped.

The baby moved all the time and Eri carefully monitored her behavior so as not to accidently induce premature labor. The doctor said that was mostly old wives' tales but it didn't do any harm to avoid extra stress or discomfort. However, living with a man like Kogoro made eliminating stress a very difficult task.

"Kogoro!" She shouted at him late one afternoon "What do you mean that you're going out drinking tonight?"

"I mean that I'm going out drinking!" He retorted. "The whole Judo team is celebrating our state victory."

"When you go out drinking it always ends up with you out flirting!" Eri jabbed her finger into his chest.

"Don't get jealous, old woman, it looks bad on you." He said, batting her finger away. Eri fumed, balling her fists.

"If you go out you can find another bed to crawl into, because you're surely not coming into mine." She crossed her arms.

"Maybe I'll do just that!" Kogoro retorted and stormed out the door. He lit a cigarette and began his long walk to the bar. The air was cold, winter was coming strong. He tugged his threadbare coat around his shoulders, knowing the walk home at closing time would be even more miserable. By the time he arrived at the bar, his face was red and his toes were cold through his shoes. He was greeted with enthusiastic cheers and his friends pushed a beer into his hands immediately.

"Kogoro!" They called "Finally!"

As the night wore on and on, and Kogoro being served more and more drinks, he found himself dancing the arms of a beautiful blonde college student. Blushing with drink, Kogoro found no reason to refuse her advances. The old jukebox played over the ruckus of loud patrons and laughter. The hazy air was filled with heavy cigarette and cigar smoke. His friends disappeared into the crowd and suddenly the bar tender was calling for close and Kogoro found himself stumbling onto the sidewalk with the woman.

"Walk me home, handsome?" She purred.

"Sure thing, gorgeous." He slurred and followed her down the road. The woman giggled coquettishly, tugging flirtatiously on Kogoro's lapels, as they walked. He followed like a wayward puppy. As they reached her stoop, the woman took Kogoro into her arms again. He giggled drunkenly.

The air bit into Kogoro's ears. He wanted nothing more than to be bundled up under a heavy comforter. The woman leaned towards him. He could feel the warmth of her skin, smell the gentle floral perfume she had dabbed on her neck. Her cheek brushed against his.

"Why don't you come up?" She whispered, her lips close to his ear. She moved to plant a kiss on his cheek but found only empty air. He'd taken a step backwards.

"Not for me, beautiful." He said, smiling softly. He waved and turned away from her "Thanks for the dance!"

Kogoro trudged home, his hands buried deep in their pockets to stave off the cold. Turns out that the woman had lead him a few miles in the wrong direction so it was almost four in the morning before he finally reached home. The weather and the walk had sobered him some and now he was just tired. He saw through the window that the light was still on. He opened the door and found Eri, glasses on and sleeping on top of one of her textbooks. She must have been waiting up for him.

Kogoro kicked off his shoes at the doorway. Gently, he removed Eri's glasses and tucked the blanket around her shoulders. He kneeled there a moment next to her, her brow furrowed making a small wrinkle in her forehead. He laughed softly at her worried face. He reached out and touched her hair. She made a small noise and opened her eyes.

"Kogoro?" She said sleepily, rubbing her eye.

"Uh, yeah, just me." He whispered. She scowled.

"And what do you have to say for yourself you lazy drunken letch?" She said.

"Huh? Is that anyway to greet your husband!" He snapped.

"When he's a no good flirt, it is. Good night, Kogoro." She closed her eyes stubbornly and pulled the comforter to her chin. Kogoro huffed and stood up. What a nag, he thought to himself and shuffled out of his clothes.

Eri sat amid a pile of baby clothes. She'd been nervously folding them and refolding them for days. She was now exactly forty weeks pregnant. The doctor assured her the baby would come when she was good and ready so to watch for pains or any sign of labor. Eri was worried. The baby hadn't moved much in the last few days but the pain in her hips had increased.

"Eri, would you quit fiddling with those clothes?" Kogoro said "You're driving me crazy." He sat a few feet away from her, sipping a can of beer.

"Kogoro?" Eri said, laying the item she was holding aside. She laced her fingers around her stomach. He looked at her over the edge of his newspaper. "What if I'm a bad mother?"

Kogoro answered with raucous laughter, dropping the newspaper.

"What's so funny?" She demanded.

"Eri, the only thing you're bad at is cooking." He teased.

"I'm being serious!" She threw one of the baby dresses at him, hitting him square in the face. He growled and dropped the dress to the floor. She lowered her gaze, angry and ashamed. It was not a look that Kogoro saw on her often. Uncertainty. Doubt. He picked his paper back up and hid his face behind it.

"I've eaten you're cooking for three years now. I'm being serious, too." He said offhandedly "Besides that, Eri, you're good at everything you do. You always have been."

"I- Do you really think so, Kogoro?"

"It's bit obnoxious, really…"

"Ugh! You're so rude!"

They both smiled, hidden from each other. Neither needed to see to know.

"Mouri-san! Mouri-san!" called a voice. Kogoro looked up and saw one of his coworkers trotting towards him. He stopped what he was doing. The man waved his arms, noticing that he had Kogoro's attention.

"Mouri-san!" He shouted "The hospital called! Eri-san is in the hospital! The baby is coming! She's in labor!"

"What? They called just now!?" Kogoro said. The man nodded happily. Kogoro ran to his supervisor who excitedly allowed him to leave. Kogoro leapt into a cab and raced to the hospital where Eri was furiously working to bring their daughter into this world.

Kogoro was restricted to the waiting room while Eri strained and sweated among the nurses and doctors. Kogoro paced the hallways, stepping outside to puff on cigarettes and rushing back the nurses' desk the moment he was back inside, in case he missed being called to the nursery.

After several hours, a nurse finally found him sitting in front of the droning waiting room television. He had bought flowers from the gift shop and was clutching them nervously in his lap. Leaves littered the floor around him.

"Mouri-san?" She said, making him leap to his feet "We're ready for you now."

"How's Eri? How's the baby?" He asked as the nurse lead him away.

"They're both fine. Your wife is resting and we have the baby ready for you to view through there." She indicated a long window, already crowded by several other men. He pushed his face against the window, reading the tags on the nursery baskets until he saw it.

"Mouri" said the tag, taped to the plastic basinet. Inside was his daughter, swaddled tightly in the clean hospital blanket. Her eyes were shut. She was beautiful. Kogoro began to tap on the glass.

"Hello! Hello!" He called, waving at the indifferent child. "Aka-chan! Hello!" The nurse touched his arm patiently.

"Please don't tap on the glass, Mouri-san." She said gently. "Would you like to see your wife? We'll bring the baby in a few minutes."

Kogoro knocked before entering Eri's room. She was sitting up in her hospital bed, dozing against the pillows. She had an IV in her hand, providing her fluids. Her glasses were lying on a small table beside her. Her hair was pulled behind her head but loose strands were falling across her face. She looked up when he entered.

"Kogoro." She said, smiling.

"Eri!" He said "I just saw her, she's beautiful!"

"Are those for me?" She asked spotting the flowers in his hand. "Orchids?"

"Yes!" He handed her the flowers, badly disheveled by his nerves. She laughed and set them next to her glasses. Kogoro took a seat next to her on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"She looks just like you." He told her. She leaned his head against his shoulder. The nurse entered a few moments later, wheeling the hospital basinet where their child was moving within her swaddle. The nurse placed the baby into Eri's arms.

"Hello, aka-chan." Eri said touching the infant's face. Kogoro reached out and put his hand on his daughter's chest, amazed at how his hand seemed to engulf her small form. He felt large and ungainly. Eri leaned over and kissed the baby's forehead. Tears began to fall down Kogoro's cheeks. With one arm around Eri and the other helping to cradle their child, he couldn't help it. He felt as if the whole world, the entire heavens, was resting in his hands.

One week later, at a quiet ceremony in their small home, Kogoro wrote the character that formed his daughter's name. Eri held her, dressed in spotless white as incense burned and tradition was observed as best they could. They didn't have much other than each other but they had done their best to respect their daughter's important day. Eri was still healing and resting but managed to smile as their parents presented gifts and fawned over their new grandchild. They dipped her foot and hand in ink, pressing them onto the meimeisho. Eri and Kogoro each wrote their names along the side. Then, in his best calligraphy, Kogoro printed two simple words that meant to him more than anything:

Mouri Ran.