The summer heat was something that brought a lot of people looking forward to things like the dragon boat races. The water around Heiya Island was cooler, but on a hot day that often felt good. Some still had their work to do, as Nate had a lot of work to keep his cherry trees alive and he and Shuixing often spent some time working with specialized devices used to remove the cherry pits that would work with their fingers. All of it represented some things that Tuxing found as happy and grand for the two of them, and she privately guessed that come the fall the two of them might move on to starting their own family, as Nate's Chinese was getting progressively better. Many of the others had either their work or other projects that they were working on. Huoxing had taken her boyfriend to participate in the dragon boat races, and likely show off a swimsuit and Muxing was coaching Li-Wei with yoga.
Liao was also in the dragon boat races with her school friends, which was another of the benefits of summer, depending on how one viewed it. Heiya's school operated like many of the public schools did in Japan, which actually included more time in school than comparable US schools, but this was to be expected to some degree as it was a Japanese school, not a US one. Though, there were some alterations to the schedule that shorted the day and had some short vacations added in, of which the summer solstice celebration was one and which Liao was celebrating. Something that made Tuxing feel rather proud, almost as though she was sure that her own biological mother had to be proud of the Five Elements in how far they had come after what they'd been through.
"We still get plenty of students," Jinxing commented with a small smile to Tuxing as the two of them finished their sets of lessons for the day.
While the Five Elements didn't have the history of martial arts mastery the way some masters had, they had all learned much after becoming Animalians and worked with trained masters that knew many of the main styles and then cooperated with them when it came to those members of the elements needing to force a "new style." It kept them busy, even when they didn't have other work or projects and helped add more credibility to the some of the jokes as to why the colony was called "Heiya" Island.
"Yes," Tuxing agreed, "and providing some time for some other parts of celebration..."
"Or getting back to work," Jinxing commented, "Interpol really doesn't get much in the way of days off."
"Nothing too big going on?" Tuxing asked.
"Not at present," Jinxing answered, "most of what's going on is still trying to track down possible surviving family members from the kidnapping scheme that brought so many to Heiya Island. It's rather slow work... in that some cases it's because of a lack of paperwork and in others all that the officers in the field have are rumors that then have family members surviving but having moved since their last address and no one knowing the new address of the family. So... there's a lot of secretarial and communications work to go through."
Tuxing nodded and then watched as Jinxing made her way to the main administrative area of Heiya Island where Interpol had their local offices to help manage those that had been rescued and brought to Heiya Island while looking for ways to reunite them with their families. Heiya Island had its own police force that handled local law enforcement, and they actually worked in the same building as what was set up for Interpol, but the two still had different responsibilities. And Tuxing knew that neither would have the day off and silently made her way home. Things were rather quiet as she arrived, the only thing that she could hear was a bathroom shower running and Tuxing figured that either Nate or Shuixing would be there. Tuxing merely moved to check on some other things, and as she made her way through the living room, she found her cellphone sitting on a shelf that was behind the main couch that was there and she then saw a light flashing on it, indicating that there was a message.
Tuxing picked up the phone and was quick to check the message. She found herself smiling when she saw the number. It wasn't a number she often saw, but since the Year of the Tiger competition, it did show up from time to time. Some of it was updates on his work as a school librarian. Some of it was pictures of deer or other wildlife coming by his home in Idaho to the west of Yellowstone National Park. Once June started there were some pictures of him and his younger brother at some of the first small scale rodeos of the season and even a few little league games. Tuxing found herself liking every call and email from Lenard Bearstone, the male Siberian Tiger Animalian that she had met at the contest. Tuxing noted that there was that the call had actually only just been made. She hastily called back without even bothering to listen to the message.
"Hello? Tuxing?" came Lenard's answer over the phone.
"Yes, it's me," Tuxing answered, "I'm sorry I wasn't able to answer... I had a class to teach, and they'd generally prefer we not bring our phones in."
"Understandable," Lenard answered, "didn't you say you were a master? Or was that Liao?"
"I'm good enough to work basic starting classes," Tuxing answered, "even I'm still learning."
"I'm sure you're better than you think," Lenard spoke, "you performed quite well in the Year of the Tiger contest. So... what did you think of the idea?"
"Hmm?" Tuxing spoke in surprise as she noticed that the water had stopped and had been stopped for a bit.
"To come visit," Lenard answered, "didn't you hear the message?"
That was something that lowered Tuxing's tail a bit, though the tip twitched with nervous excitement. She'd initially been nervous and upset over Liao's attempt at advertising them before the contest for potential dates. It had largely been because of the assumption that most of those that would be participating in the contest wouldn't be looking at a possible date with honest intentions. But then as the contest went on, she'd found Lenard to be both noble and kind, and even the other male Tiger Animalian that had met her and Liao hadn't been too bad. But what struck Tuxing was that she did like Lenard, and she had to admit on her response...
"I have to admit that when I saw that it was you that called," Tuxing said as she noted Shuixing coming out from the shower, with her large towel wrapped around her, "I actually called you back without even listening to it... I was... excited." Her voice grew a bit softer, but Shuixing had likely heard.
"Well... I'd called to see if you'd want to come out for the summer," Lenard commented, "it's summer now and I thought you might like a bit of a vacation and might be curious about my part of the country."
"Idaho...?" Tuxing asked and then remembered some other things that had gone through a lot of the news and had been in a couple of Lenard's emails, "but didn't the recent storms close off the roads?"
"That's only with regard to the entrance to Yellowstone National Park," Lenard answered, "and yeah they got hammered... but I'm just far enough to the west of the park that you wouldn't have to worry about closed roads or anything like that. In fact, my cabin saw a fair amount of rain, but we had no real damage. I could drive you in from Boise. And things will still be fairly warm, so... you won't have to worry, and I'll even have a pool set up in the backyard. Mikey would be happy to see you again."
"Mikey would be happy?" Tuxing asked
"What can I say?" Lenard gave a chuckle, "you made a good impression... and seeing him smile... that's made me happy."
That was something that Tuxing had liked about Lenard in how he cared for his younger brother. She then looked up to see Shuixing standing not too far away. She noted Shuixing mouth the words "say yes" to her. She wanted to argue, but as she thought things over and thought again on the issue.
"Well... I suppose I could come to visit," Tuxing commented, "to be there for your Independence Day. It may take a little bit to get things ready... but I'll send you an email when I have the tickets and the travel plans."
"Sounds great," Lenard answered, "I'll be looking for them. And I think you'll like it here. It's nice, reasonably quiet, close to nature. Maybe you could even teach me a thing or two."
"Maybe," Tuxing answered, and finding herself smiling, "I'll let you go. Sorry if I interrupted anything."
"Only my thoughts of a very good friend who volunteered to help during the tournament," Lenard answered, "bye..."
Tuxing hung up as Lenard did on his end and looked up to see that Shuixing had not moved and was standing on the other side of the couch with a smile on her bovine muzzle.
"Pleased with pushing?" Tuxing asked, with a slight teasing tone to her voice.
"Pushing... no," Shuixing answered, "seeing you happy and excited... THAT is what I'm pleased with. You were there for all of us, Tuxing. Held us all together when we could have easily been pulled apart and lost. Made me feel worth-while, kept Muxing from going crazy... and to a great degree doing the same with Liao after we all became Animalians. You helped me with regard to the confidence and encouragement needed to convert Nate... and you welcomed him here when he graduated and then we married. You've done a lot for all of us Tuxing. And from what I could see at the Year of the Tiger competition was that things were fairly friendly between you and Mr. Bearstone and he did seem to like you."
"Well... he has been noble," Tuxing mused softly.
"And you deserve someone that can make you happy," Shuixing answered, "at times... after everything that we've been through... there are times when I feel that you would have deserved to find someone special first. Call it justice for everything..."
"We cannot change the past," Tuxing commented, "you met Nate... and the two of you fell head over heels over time."
"True," Shuixing nodded, "but that doesn't mean you don't deserve someone to love."
"And what of Liao?" Tuxing asked.
"The rest of us can handle Liao," Shuixing answered, "And who knows... that other Tiger Animalian that was hanging around you two might just show up for the summer."