“But now, I’ve got the recipe to make you wind up next to me! Together, we’ll be hotter than hell!”

A smattering of polite applause rose from the tables dotting the floor of the most popular dive bar in the Minato district of Tokyo. Mei bounded up to the stage, passing the bespectacled data analyst as he descended the three steps on the right side of the stage. “Alright! That was contestant number eighteen! Let us know if he was your favorite in tonight’s Dapper Dragons Karaoke Contest! Now, who wants to come up next?”

Sakura leaned over her partner’s shoulder, speaking quietly as Yui built a Watch Your Hands cocktail. “Please be merciful. Just put me out of my misery. Make it quick. I beg you.”

Yui shook her head, flipping her short blonde hair into her lover's face. “Not a chance. Just remember, you could have been in a nice, cushy office in Fukuoka tonight, but you chose to be here instead.”

With a playful grin, the black-haired woman leaned over until her lips almost touched Yui’s right ear. “Yeah, well, what can I say? Mr. Fukumara couldn’t possibly fuck me half as good as my new boss.”

Yui blinked, turning to her with an expression of false shock. “You fuck my mother? Eeww! You’re so gross!” She giggled loudly as she handed the bourbon cocktail across the counter to a regular, a flight attendant who tended to stop in every Wednesday night when she was in town.

“I'm gonna tell her you said that, you know.” The young man in the black tee shirt laughed as he reached across the counter for a lemon to add to a glass of diet soda he had poured for a middle-aged man seated near the stage.

Yui smirked deviously at her sister’s boyfriend. “You do, Seiichi, and don't be surprised when I accidentally drop your pants down the fire escape the next time you stay the night.”

Seiichi winced, wiping the lemon juice from his hands off on his black jeans and picking up the pilsner glass he had garnished. “Alright, alright! Man, you play rough, girl!”

“Where do you think Ranko got her viper mentality? It sure as hell wasn't from Izzi…” Yui smirked, tossing a bottle of arak high into the air and catching it spout-down mere centimeters over a rocks glass.

Mei bounded up to the bar counter, leaning over it and kicking her left heel up behind herself as a trio of intoxicated young women began a howling rendition of Sneak. “Okay, that'll keep the stage busy for a few minutes. Any kitchen orders come in?”

Sakura shook her head. “No, and I'm not surprised. I'm not sure I could keep my food down listening to this shit either. Make it stop, Mei. Please. I'm begging you here!”

“I mean…” Mei giggled, tucking the emcee microphone in her hand into the pocket of her denim skirt. “You could always get up there and sing something, if you're so worried about it.”

Yui’s wife shook her head emphatically, her cheeks reddening until they almost matched her silk blouse. “I can't sing! The only difference between me and those kids up there is, I actually know it.” She gave Yui a quick squeeze around the shoulders. “I can’t take it anymore. I’m gonna go check on your mom.”

Receiving a nod of assent from Yui, Sakura made her way through the blue saloon door and hung a right turn, knocking on the closed office door.

“Come in,” came the response from beyond the wooden door.

Sakura pushed through the door. “Hey, you. How you doing in here?”

“I’ll be doing better if you close that damned door! Gods, is there a migration of like, howler monkeys or something going on out there?” Hana laughed as Sakura pushed the door back into place until it latched. “Just three weeks. Three weeks until my daughter’s back on stage and it doesn’t sound like a fucking horror show in my bar.”

The younger woman nodded, smoothing her gray skirt as she took a seat on the battered leather couch. “Right? You mind if I hide back here with you for a bit? I’m getting a headache out there.”

“Yeah, Yui will do that to ya sometimes,” Hana said with a chuckle, leaning back in her new office chair. “Don’t you dare tell her I said that, young lady. How’s things going with you two? Still good?”

With a bright smile, Sakura nodded and glanced down at her new diamond ring. “No. Way better than good. It still feels crazy that we’re even back together at all, let alone…” She held up her left hand for emphasis. “I love her so much, Hana.”

“How many times do I have to tell you, Sakura?” She flashed a soft, loving smile at the young woman on the couch, wagging the back end of a black ballpoint pen in her direction. “My name is Mom.”

Sakura blushed, a gentle smile crossing her own lips. “Yes, ma’am. This all happened so fast, and I’m still getting used to it. Sorry.”

Hana nodded sagely. “It’s okay, baby. I’m not mad or anything. I’m just trying to drill into your head that I’m here for you, too, just like I am for Akane, Kaito and Kage. Yui tells me things with your parents aren’t… well, all that great.”

Bobbing her head, Sakura sat back on the couch, fiddling with her hands with a sigh. “Yeah. You’d think after thirty-one years, my mom would maybe get the hint that the whole Sakura likes girls too thing wasn’t, in her words, a phase. She’s really struggling with the idea that me and Yui are forever. But, we are, so she’s gonna have to deal with it.”

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“How’s your sister doing with it? Better, I hope?” Hana sipped at a bottle of draft beer as she awaited her newest daughter’s response.

Sakura nodded. “Oh, yeah. You kidding? That girl follows me around like a lost puppy. If anything, my mom was worried she’d try to decide to be gay just so she could be more like me.”

Hana laughed. “Somehow, I don’t think it works like that.”

“Neither do I. Hey…” Sakura pointed to the carpet at Hana’s feet. “What’s that on the floor?”

The elder woman wheeled her new chair back a bit, looking down under her desk. “It’s an envelope. Must’ve fallen.” She started to reach down to retrieve it, but before she could, Sakura had rocketed from the couch and was on her hands and knees in her restrictive pencil skirt in front of the desk. She handed the piece of mail over the desktop to Hana before grabbing the desk’s surface, using it to pull herself back to her feet.

Sakura smiled as Hana tore the white envelope open with her finger and pulled out the letter within. “Man, I gotta stop wearing heels to work. It’s been a while since I was floor staff, and I forgot how much…” Her voice trailed off as she watched the color drain from Hana’s cheeks in real time. “Ha… mom? What’s the matter?”

“I…” Hana looked down, shaking her head. She rocked back in her chair, sighing and rubbing her temples with her fingertips.

With a mask of concern crossing her eyes, Sakura tentatively reached for the paper Hana had tossed to the desktop, not picking it up until Hana gave her a meek nod of assent. With every line she read, Sakura’s eyes widened further. “My gods. What are we…”

Hana shook her head despondently. “I don’t know, baby.”

Sakura dropped the paper back onto the table and walked around the desk, leaning down and wrapping her arms gently around Hana’s shoulders. “Hey. Breathe. We’re gonna get through this, you hear me?”

“Alright, look. We can’t all hide in here! It’s my turn.” Yui burst through the office door, closing it behind her. “Mei’s got some fat accountant up there trying to get as high as Ranko does in Once Upon a Rhyme, and I’m about one more chorus from literally fucking murdering somebody.” She looked up at her family, blinking a bit in surprise. “What the heck’s going on in here? You guys look like somebody kicked your dog.”

With a heavy sigh, Sakura handed her wife the letter. Yui started to read, a cloud of fury building in her eyes with every word.

Dear Ms. Takahashi:

As you may have heard, there have been plans for some redevelopment in the Minato district for some time, spearheaded by Ishido Retail Partners. Their plans have been approved by the city council, and Ishido is nearly ready to begin construction of their new shopping mall project. As a result, Ishido reached out to us about the parcel of land you’ve been renting from us. We’ve reached an agreement to sell to them, with an expected closing date of Thursday, September 3.

Once the closing is completed, Ishido will demolish the purchased properties and start building the mall.

We at Tsuchiba Holdings have enjoyed our relationship with you these many years, and we’re terribly sorry, but we will be forced to terminate your lease effective September 3 when the sale concludes. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

“They… they can’t do this. They can’t! Can they, Mama?”

Hana gave a hollow nod in response to Yui’s question. “Yeah, baby, they can.”

“This is bullshit!” Yui stomped her foot. “We’re gonna call Nabiki, and she’s gonna do her business jiu jitsu and fix this shit. We’re not letting this happen. They’re not taking this place from us. They’re just… not!”

Sakura rounded the desk again, wrapping her wife in a hug. “It’ll be okay. We’ll find a new place, and reopen. We’re gonna be fine, Yui.”

Hana shook her head. “We can’t just… Sakura, honey, you need to understand. This isn’t just a bar. I raised my girls in this place. It’s not just our business. It’s our home. I’ve been here for over thirty years. I don’t know that I can just pick it up and do it again.”

“Then we fight for it,” Yui pleaded. “Tell me we’re gonna fight for it, Mama.”

The Phoenix’ matriarch shrugged sadly, slumping over her desk. “I don’t think it’s a fight we can win, baby. I’m so sorry.”

“Yui? Sakura? You guys got a line four deep at the bar and I can’t keep u… the hell?” Mei scanned the room, blinking as her elder sister thrust a piece of paper into her hand.

Mei swallowed hard, folding the letter and handing it back to Yui when she had finished reading it. “W– what are we gonna do?”

Hana stood, walking around her desk. Gotta keep it together, Hana. For the girls. She put one arm around Yui’s shoulders and one around Mei’s, pulling her daughters close and hugging them tight. “I don’t know, girls. I just don’t know.”

“My gods,” Mei said with a quiet gasp. “How the hell are we gonna tell Ranko? She’s so far away, and she’ll be all alone, and…”

Hana released her daughters, wagging a slightly crooked finger at Mei’s nose. “We’re not. Do you hear me?”

Mei rocked back on her heels. “What?! Mama, this place is her home, too. She has to know.”

“And she’ll find out when she gets home.” Hana dragged her finger through the air, now pointing at Yui. “You know that girl. If she finds out we’re in trouble here, she’ll do something stupid. That kid would set herself on fire to keep any one of us warm, and all of you know it. She’ll pack the whole damn tour up and come home tomorrow. She already did last time, when I got sick. When they tell her she can’t shut it all down, she’ll just sit in a hotel in Indonesia and slowly go nuts with nobody to be there for her. We’re not doing that to her. We’re not taking the tour from her, too.”

She turned to Sakura, a serious expression in her eyes. If Hana wanted to make it clear that even though she had not raised Yui’s wife, her maternal authority was no less absolute, it was working. “No one says one word to that girl about this until she gets home. Have I made myself entirely crystal fucking clear?”

A chorus of resigned voices answered as one.

“Yes, mama.”