English edition

The florist's thoughtfully elegant gesture."

Our quiet home, where only adults usually reside, an unusual stretch of time came to pass from last Friday through Sunday. This was because we agreed to look after our eldest daughter's children, ages 3 and 7, for three days. Unfortunately, due to work commitments at our office in the city both on Saturday and Sunday, we were compelled to bring our grandchildren with us.

We made a small conference room their space, where they could draw, play with clay, fold origami, and watch DVDs. We managed to keep them entertained for several hours, but we could not leave them locked in a room for too long. So I took them out for a walk to refresh their minds.

Being in the heart of the city, we couldn't exactly stroll leisurely. There was still a mountain of work I had to do. I decided to take the children to the flower shop I frequent every week.

"I have unusual company today, these little ones are with me."

"Are they your grandchildren? How cute. What are their names?"

"They are Suzuka and Marica(Jasmine called in English)."

"Oh, Suzu-chan and Mari-chan, then."

"Well, let's give Mari-chan a branch of Jasmine and Suzu-chan a lily of the valley. As a gift!"

(Their faces lit up with delight at receiving the flowers.)

With the gifted flowers carefully held, we headed to a donut shop near the station.

The donuts were colorful and all looked delicious. Even the young tourists who seemed to be from overseas, waiting in line in front of us, appeared to be having trouble deciding which ones to choose. (And no wonder, they all looked so tasty!)

We successfully bought our donuts and returned to the office. We decided to call grandpa, or "Ii-chan," and have a cafe time together...

-English edition