I’m Shigeru. I live with my wife, Mitsuki, our middle school daughter Yuna, and our fourth-grade son Itsuki. Because my job was busy and demanding, we decided after Yuna was born that I would focus on work while Mitsuki handled the household and parenting. The kids grew up happy and healthy, and I should have felt nothing but gratitude for Mitsuki… yet as she put on more and more weight over the years, I found myself pulling further away. I didn’t want a divorce right away for the kids’ sake, but when I admitted to Mitsuki that I couldn’t treat her the same way anymore, she exploded. Still, she confidently declared, “I’ll lose weight, just watch me.” Even though hearing her say “I’ll lose weight” was all I had ever wanted… I realized I wasn’t happy about it at all.
I could tell how Mitsuki felt.
Even though my words hurt her, she must have thought long and hard about it and decided that losing weight was the only way to save our family and our marriage.
That was supposed to be what I wanted.
I had spent years wishing she would just lose weight.
Now that my wish was actually coming true, why couldn’t I shake this heavy feeling?
Every time I saw her making progress on her diet, I felt like I was being backed into a corner.
I couldn’t help feeling terrified—even if Mitsuki gets thin, will we ever actually work as a couple again?