The Bound Heart (29 page)

Jamie’s arm pulled her snug against his side as they held onto the steamer’s railing. The salt wind whipped around them as the Japanese coastline inched closer into view.

Other passengers were slowly coming on deck as they neared the Port of Yokohama.

See that over there?” Jamie pointed to a structure over towards the right of the bay. She nodded.

“That’s the new pier, the Osanbashi Pier; we’ll be docking there. When I came here with Sensei in the eighties those two smaller ones were all there were. We had to anchor here in the bay, and smaller boats came and ferried us to the pier.”

Olive looked up at his face, his eyes eating the horizon for every small thing that had changed from his trip over twelve years ago.

They’d all three gone out and celebrated that night in Paris after the completion. Jamie had to be guided home by her and Mrs. Okazaki. They’d been invited to an event in Kyoto by one of the attending Collectors, so here they were, landing in Yokohama port, and they would travel down to Kyoto later in the week.

“You’re going to love the fabrics, Olive. You and Okazaki will come back with more fabric, kimonos, and obis than you will know what to do with.”

“What about you?”

“You know my weakness, Olive. I am looking for different kinds of rope. Artisan rope makers are here. I want to build a new stock, get some things specially made for the more decorative work I’m planning.”

Jamie was moving forward with his decorative shibari focusing on the beauty of the rope and the human form and was garnering a lot of interest.

Just over an hour later, the steamer docked at the pier and they headed down the gangplank, their luggage in tow by two porters. The rickshaw carried them to a small ryokan used to house foreigners; and after settling their things, Jamie took her out into the street.

Everywhere she looked, women were in traditional dress. The kimono and obi in its natural habitat. The wonderful colors and patterns made her slow down to look and watch as women walked past in their small steps. Each of the obis had a different tie at the back, making an array of beautiful knots perched at the hips of some of the most beautiful women she had ever seen.

Around them were only Japanese people, and the hum of voices in a language that to her was still very incomprehensible except for the polite and repeated phrases she was now getting comfortable with.

The street, lined with architecture that was largely the same as it was hundreds of years earlier, carried with it smells of street vendors selling food in glazed, sweetened soy-sauce, or strange versions of what passed as sweets made from rice and beans. And in front of her, stood a remarkable man, wrapped in his Japanese clothes, his hair pulled back tight into a que.

They were both born a few blocks away from each other in one of London’s poorest areas. Their chances of a long and healthy life growing up there had been very slim; and yet here they stood, half a world away.

The first time she’d run her finger over embroidery, over the patterns, the knots and weaves, never would she have imagined it would lead her here to this man and this life beyond imagining.

“How did we get here?”

He shook his head. “No idea.”

Jamie slipped her arm through his. “I remember from last time there was a beautiful shrine down near the water. I’ve waited for what feels like forever to be here to show it to you. As they walked she went to the questions she always liked to ask and he always answered.

“Did you know I’d like the rope?”

He scoffed.

“God, I should have seen it sooner than I did. Collecting all those threads, always wrapping bits of it around your finger when you were nervous or embarrassed.”

“I don’t do that.”

He looked down at her and raised his eyebrows.

“You know, I was determined to do the right thing by you, leave you be after just a small taste. Then you froze when the brace came off. I felt like a cad, not realizing it would be traumatic for you to have the brace taken off. Then I remembered the twine around your finger. I tied the ribbon on, and you steadied; and even more importantly, your eyes got heavy. I nearly exploded in my pants knowing what that meant about you and rope.”

Her shoulder bumped into his. “Nearly exploded in your pants, what a lie, you’ve never been that out of control in your life.”

He leaned down to her ear. “Don’t you believe it. I’ve never fumbled sex in my life, and you reduced me to a blundering idiot.”

“I thought you did that on purpose to drive me away.”

“I may have wanted you to think I was scaring you off; yet believe me, I just lost my head.”

“Well, you’ve made up for it.”

Down at the bay. A small wind came off the water laced with seaweed and salt.

The shrine was further down along the shore and Jamie guided their steps there.

A large rope hung in the entrance of the shrine and on either side leading to the shrine were large rocks surrounded by white pebbles and wrapped with rope.

He stopped her in front of them.

“These are what I wanted to show you.”

The atmosphere around them was somehow quieter, a hushed feeling once they had passed under the large red Tori entrance and crossed into the grounds of the temple. Above, the squawk of the seagulls seemed distant and the waves lapping at the stone seawall created a timeless rhythm.

“Sensei brought me here on every visit. He liked to sit with the stones. There are bigger more famous ones but these spoke to him.

“In Shinto they believe that special spirits can reside in nature. Like within trees and here in the rocks. They tie rope around them to show their sacredness.”

He ran his finger over a fox embroidered on her jacket sleeve. It was playing with a butterfly. She had a little fox on all her cloths often out of sight or somewhere whimsical.

“When we do rope together I feel like that about you.” His voice went a little horse as he spoke and it reached into her chest and wrapped around her heart.

She reached up and cupped his face. She was so loved by this wonderful man. Despite his belief that he knew nothing of love he showed her every day that she was.

Jamie rolled his cheek into her palm and kissed it.

“The Japanese say, when you meet a fox spirit in the shape of a woman, an Inari Okami, your life changes forever. They were right.”

He reached into his pocket.

“I have something for you.”

He took out a small piece of string.

“Give me your hand Olive.”

Her hand shook as she held it out to him. He held it in his hand and brought it to his lips and kissed her fingers. Then tied the string in the most beautiful tie on her ring finger.

Her heart beat faster, as did her breathing. She didn’t need him to do this, had somehow imagined they would always just go on as they had. But now, in this moment she knew that deep down her had hoped.

“Marry me, Olive.”

Heat rushed to her eyes as she beamed at him.

His eyebrow rose. For the first time there was a flush on his neck.

As if she would ever say no.

She nodded.

“Yes.” Of course she would stay. “Yes, I will.”

His arms came around her, pulled her against him so tight her ribs hurt. He kissed her head, her eyes, cheeks, nose, tilted her face up to his, and kissed her hard. Kissed her so there was no mistaking the feelings in his heart. No mistaking that she was loved by a man who would hold nothing back.