(3)

It was the second day of post-exam break that Sachiko-sama phoned.

Mom received the phone first, but she had already completely recovered from the panic two days ago. Therefore she was able to be her best self and clearly greet, "Thank you for taking care of my daughter at school." Sachiko-sama also, in the tone of a dependable senior, replied, "Yumi has helped a lot, and I am indebted."

Knowing that the call was from Sachiko-sama, Yumi had positioned herself next to the receive and listened to the whole conversation. As to the pending problem of greeting Sachiko-sama's parents, it seemed the couple had gone out, and it was enough to just say, "Please give my greetings to your parents." Though Mom was all excited herself, the reality fell short of her expectation. The call turned out to start from the other side, but that was good in itself, in that it allowed no spare time for worries.

"Are there anyone else you would like to invite to the summerhouse?"
Yumi received the phone, and Sachiko-sama said so without introduction.
" Pardon?"
" If you want, you may invite two or three more people."
" Okay..."

Unable to comprehend the meaning behind, Yumi chimed in ambiguously. It was really out of her grasp: Why would Yumi, the guest invited to Sachiko-sama's summerhouse, be responsible for asking other potential participants?

Maybe it was custom to have a big boisterous gathering every year, and Yumi was just one of the guests? This year Sachiko-sama was not with her family, so Sachiko-sama suggested so in order to gather more people? -- Ideas swirled in Yumi's head.

"Did you invite any others except me, Onee-sama?"
Yumi asked tentatively.
"No, I didn't invite any others."
The situation became more and more mysterious.

"I am fine with what it is now."
Well, me too! Yumi would like to say, but stopped. Sachiko-sama had gone through the trouble of calling in, so the deduction should be she hopes to make the gathering more lively.

"Well..."
It was hard to discover what Sachiko-sama was really thinking. Sachiko-sama is perverse in nature, and would turn more and more cranky unless the correct questions were asked.