Scrap 2.

[camwyn]

"No, something else." Haruka waved her spoon vaguely. "Some new law going into effect today. Mother introduced it."
Ah, that was different. Kiyoshi didn't keep up with the news much these days, except for the baseball scores and the daily air-quality warnings. After a while it all sort of blended together. The newspapers had stopped turning up at the apartment a few months ago, and he hadn't asked where they'd gone. Kaoru seemed to get what he needed to know from the computer, anyway. As far as he was concerned, it was a win-win situation.
The only problem with not reading the news was that it meant he missed out on his granddaughter's career. Mayumi was one of the tiny fistful of women in the Diet; she'd fought her way into the House of Representatives two years ago, and she'd been distinguishing herself ever since. There wasn't a man in either of the Houses who could hold a candle to her record, so far as Kiyoshi was concerned. He couldn't have been prouder of her if she were his own daughter – if she were his own son.
He felt a slight twinge of guilt that he'd allowed his disgust with current affairs to make him miss out on one of Mayumi's accomplishments. "What sort of law?" he asked mildly.
Haruka hesitated. "Something to do with the car ban," she said. "Taking up some of the slack. An alternative transportation law, of sorts."
Kiyoshi glanced at her, but she had already turned her attention to filling the electric rice cooker for the evening's meal. At the other end of the table, Daisuke made a face and whispered, loudly, "Grandma said it's a surprise."
"Daisuke! No tales!"
Daisuke made another face, then went back to his breakfast. Kiyoshi held his glass in both hands, wondering. 'Parliament' and 'surprise' were not two words that he had ever found to go together. 'Disaster', maybe. 'Surprise'? No.
"Oh, great-grandfather, you've hardly touched your food- aren't you hungry this morning? Daisuke, go get his shoes for him. . . Come on, great-grandfather, we haven't much time."
"It's not that far to Tokyo," he began, but Haruka cut him off.
"I want us to get there early. Is that what you're going to be wearing?" It was dizzying. Haruka was fluttering around his chair as if she were some kind of hummingbird, poking and adjusting.
"Are you sure this is just a Parliament session?" he countered. "The way you're acting, one would almost think it's a surprise wedding!"
"Nonsense. It's simply a very big piece of legislation that Mother introduced as a response to the car ban. Now hurry up, please, it's a long walk to the train station."

Well, that much was true. On a good day it was a twenty-minute walk, at least as far as Kiyoshi was concerned. Of course, he didn't usually try to get there at the same time as half of Osaka.