Tokyo Hearts: A Japanese Love Story (24 page)

They left the ladies’ room and Haruka and her mother joined her father at the elevator.

‘We’ll meet at seven p.m. for dinner, Haruka,’ her mother said with the voice of a mouse as they made their way to the seventh floor.

Haruka noticed her father comforting her mother as they walked to their room.

‘With all the nice people in Kyoto, why did we have to meet up again with the Kurokawas?’ Haruka’s mother said to her father.

‘You did have a lovely time at the Ry
an-ji Temple though, didn’t you?’ he said to her.

Mrs Makimoto, Haruka and her parents all dined in the Gion district that evening. Haruka thought that it was nice to have a break from Jun and his mother. After dinner, the sight of a Maiko apprentice geisha amused Haruka’s father. They stopped to watch her from a distance. She was dressed in a blue silk kimono. Delicate flowers fell from her ornate hairstyle at her collar. The nape of her neck was provocatively exposed. She briefly turned in their direction before stepping into a waiting taxi, giving them a faint glimpse of her ethereal floating world.

The next day, Haruka was pleased to hear that Jun would not be joining them for their last morning in Kyoto. She was so proud of her mother, who walked with her head high, keeping her distance from Mrs Kurokawa as they wandered through Nijo Castle, the official residence of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu. Haruka stood by her side and took many charming photos of her mother and her father together. They posed in front of the surrounding gardens and the stonework that beautifully complemented this splendid building. Haruka learnt from her father that it had been built in the early Edo period of the 17
^th
century.

The whole morning, Mrs Kurokawa stayed by her sister’s side, whispering and laughing in the most annoying way.

Later, after returning to the hotel, Haruka tried to call Takashi in Tokyo on her mobile. Again, he did not answer. She even tried calling him from the hotel’s landline, but to no avail. His mobile was off, and she could only hope that Yuriko had managed to meet up with him and that Jun’s name had not been mentioned.

Their train bound for Tokyo was leaving at two p.m. They arrived at the station in good time at one fifteen p.m. Haruka excused herself as they entered the waiting room and made her way to the ladies’ toilet.

Pushing open the door of the ladies’ room, she noticed all the cubicles were vacant. She rushed into the toilet on the far end, pulling three or four tissues from her Louis Vuitton handbag, and sat sobbing uncontrollably. Haruka allowed all the hurt, embarrassment and anger to gush out of her, and she kept this up for a solid five minutes. She was upset about losing her job in Kyoto and about Jun’s lies and the way he used her because he was so “bored” with his life, but most of all she was upset for her parents who’d wasted a lot of money coming to Kyoto, only to be completely humiliated and degraded by the Kurokawa family.

Finally, feeling a bit better after getting that out of her system, Haruka composed herself, flushed the toilet out of habit, and opened the door. A very well-dressed middle-aged woman in a fur hat that matched the fur collar on her camel cashmere coat had entered the ladies’ room and her reflection in the mirror opposite bounced back at Haruka. She was frowning at Haruka’s dishevelled face. Admittedly, Haruka knew she looked awful, even a bit spooky. Haruka managed a wonky smile back at her, straightened her shoulders and retrieved another tissue from her designer bag.

Wetting the corner of the tissue, Haruka wiped away the black mascara running down her strained face. She reapplied her lashes with her Lancôme mascara and brightened her lips with a Chanel lipstick. To finish, she brushed on lashings of her Touche Éclat highlighter to disguise the dark circles under her puffy eyes. Pleased with her mini makeover, Haruka forced out a bright smile and standing tall, she left the judgemental lady and made her way back to her parents, determined not to be emotional.

Yuriko’s mother had decided to rush around buying small cakes and other souvenirs before they departed from Kyoto station. While Mrs Makimoto was deciding between red bean-paste cakes and green tea sweets, Haruka’s mother asked her daughter various questions in the waiting room underneath the platforms about Takashi.

‘How old is that boy Takashi now?’ she asked.

‘Twenty-one years old, Mother,’ replied Haruka.

‘And he’s nearly finished at university, hasn’t he?’

‘Yes, Mother.’

‘He’s such an honest boy. No pretence. Just a really kind and honest person, isn’t he, Haruka?’

‘Yes,’ she replied.

‘I like his values, Haruka. He’s not the type of boy that’s always trying to impress his friends, is he?’

‘No, Mother – he has a mind of his own.’

‘You do get along really well, don’t you? What are his parents like, Haruka?’

‘Yes, we get along well. I only met his parents once when I was at university, but they’re very nice.’

‘Does he drink a lot?’

‘No, Mother.’

‘But he smokes?’

‘Yes, but Father smokes as well, doesn’t he?’

Haruka’s mother looked lovingly at her husband and her voice softened, ‘Takashi was always there for you when your father was ill, wasn’t he? You must invite him over more often, Haruka.’

‘Yes, Mother,’ she replied. ‘Although he’s not really wealthy, he should get a good job after university.’

‘Don’t worry about that, Haruka,’ said her mother. ‘After this weekend, I’ve had just as much as I can take of wealthy, pretentious people. We’ll manage somehow.’

Haruka sighed with relief. Although she was embarrassed that they’d all fallen so easily for Jun’s pretentious ways, it was because of him she could see that Takashi’s kindness was so much better for her than Jun’s false charms. Her only worry was that it might be too late. She had to hope that Takashi still felt the same way about her. She thought that he may very well have dubious feelings towards her now that he’d learned that she’d been to Kyoto, even if Yuriko hadn’t spoken one word about Jun.

Haruka sat restlessly on the bullet train on their way back to Shin-Yokohama. Her anxiety heightened with each station that they passed. Her greatest fear now was that Takashi would no longer take her seriously. She thought that it was so important for them to be together. He brought out the best in her. She thought that he was kind, honest, reliable and dependable and also very attractive. She decided that he surely had his own faults like everyone else, but faults that she could easily accept. The question she kept asking herself was whether he would be able to accept her faults. Haruka thought back to the romantic night at his apartment and the strong pang of jealousy she’d felt when he’d flirted with Akiko at Masaya’s tavern. She knew at that moment that she’d be honoured to go out with a person like Takashi, who had so much to offer her.

The nettle grows where the rose was expected

If Takashi thought the trip to Izu was an utter failure, the worst was yet to come.

Two weeks later, he was waiting as planned in Omotesando at the Café hors et dans. He was nervous, but he was looking forward to seeing Haruka. He wanted to speak to her about her relationship with Jun. He also wanted her to be more open about her feelings for him.

Maybe the cold had sent everyone else home that evening. Only two other people were at the café – a girl and an older man. It was painful to watch this couple, because the girl, wearing a pink top stretched over a rotund pregnant belly, had tears escaping down her cheeks. All Takashi could hear from her was the occasional sob. Sitting opposite her was a very stiff and hostile businessman in his thirties, refusing to speak to her or offer any consolation. Takashi turned away, not allowing himself to even begin to imagine what type of situation was unravelling over there.

The hands on Takashi’s watch showed 6:50 p.m. Haruka had never been this late before, and for a minute his stomach turned. He thought that she’d forgotten about their plans to meet. Takashi lowered his head and stared blankly at the floor, thinking of the time that Haruka had dropped her money there and had nearly lost ¥50,000.

At six fifty-five p.m., it was not Haruka walked through the door. It was Yuriko.

Yuriko sat down with a forced smile on her face and Takashi panicked. She carefully placed several shopping bags down next to her.

‘Where’s Haruka? Is she ill?’ he asked her.

‘Haruka’s fine,’ Yuriko replied. ‘She asked me to come and meet you here because she’s in Kyoto. She tried to call you, but your mobile phone must’ve been out of range.’

Takashi was completely confused, upset and worried. Not a good combination. He felt like he was going to be sick.

‘My mother wanted to go to Kyoto to see a sick friend and she didn’t want to go on the bullet train alone. So Haruka’s mother said that she’d accompany her and Haruka wanted to go along with them.’

‘Why didn’t you go to Kyoto?’ Takashi asked her.

‘I’m looking after my little brother while they’re away,’ she replied.

The waitress came over and, sensing that something was not right, but afraid that Yuriko might not order a drink, stood hovering behind them. Takashi nodded in the direction of the girl.

Yuriko turned and ordered a cake. ‘I’ll have a fruit tart, please.’

‘And I’ll have another coffee,’ said Takashi. This struck him as odd, as he’d only ordered a coffee, yet Yuriko was actually planning to eat something. He thought that she must have been stressed, but she looked well enough.

‘How long are they staying in Kyoto?’ he asked Yuriko.

‘Three days. They wanted to do some sightseeing and catch up with friends.’

‘Will they be visiting Jun and his family?’ Takashi asked.

‘You might as well know the truth, Takashi. Haruka and her mother are going to Kyoto to discuss wedding plans with Jun’s family,’ Yuriko replied with hesitation.

Takashi felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. Determined not to show his shock and disappointment, he straightened his back and stared straight into Yuriko’s eyes. ‘Well, I thought Haruka and Jun were getting serious. Tell Haruka that I wish her all the very best and I won’t bother her again as she’s obviously in love with Jun and I refuse to interfere.’

‘I’m so sorry, Takashi,’ said Yuriko.

‘There’s nothing to be sorry about,’ he replied.

‘Surely you can still be friends,’ she pleaded with him.

‘No, we can’t,’ Takashi replied firmly.

The fruit tart and Takashi’s coffee arrived and he sat gloomily looking into his drink. Yuriko, who was usually so loquacious, now sat there eating her cake trying not to drop any crumbs on her skirt. She was looking and acting differently today, but he couldn’t figure out the reason for this. It wasn’t just the fact that she was eating something. He thought her hair looked nice and her makeup looked more natural, but that wasn’t it. He noticed her face was a little fuller, but that wasn’t it either. Yuriko was more at ease with herself – that’s what it was, he decided.

‘You didn’t come especially to Omotesando just to meet me, did you?’ Takashi asked her.

‘No – I wanted to do some shopping nearby, and so it wasn’t a problem for me to come here.’

‘Thanks,’ he replied. Yuriko was telling the truth. Next to her on the seat were several shopping bags covered in designer labels. He looked at her with envy. Her family had so much money and she could have whatever she wanted.

Takashi finished his drink and gave Yuriko the excuse that he had a lot of study to complete. They said goodbye to each other at the door of the coffee shop. Takashi needed to be alone.

He walked to the station feeling like a bubble of anger was once again fermenting inside of him. He felt like a pressurised rice cooker that was letting out short bursts of steam from the lid.

This feeling inside him remained there over the next twenty-four hours. He left his mobile off so he couldn’t take any calls. He channelled all this negative energy into studying for his upcoming exams. This was his driving force and surprisingly enough, he thought that he’d do better in his tests because of the way he felt inside.

Takashi barged through each hour like a bullet. The time passed by quickly, and his only direction now was to concentrate on his studies and his career. He felt that he’d been stupid to allow himself to get tangled up in feelings for a girl when his future was at stake.

Recently, Takashi had been sleeping all day and waking at nine at night. He would venture out into the dark to buy something to eat such as a ready meal from the convenience store. He’d eaten so many meals from there while he was studying that he’d now acquired a real taste for those bland microwave dinners. His favourite at the moment was a pack of two hamburgers in sauce at the wonderful price of just ¥398. Takashi knew he could live pretty well between his home and that store, and though he wasn’t on friendly terms with the people that worked there, they certainly recognised him and gave him a nod when he walked through their sliding doors.

He’d been sleeping so much lately that his mind was foggy when he woke up. If he’d finished his studying, he’d try to watch some late TV, but he wasn’t able to follow the programmes properly. His mind was elsewhere, and he was getting more lethargic during the day. Sometimes Takashi could not help but think about Haruka.
Will I just become a fleeting friend on the road of life
? he’d often think to himself.