A jeans-clad pair of legs on the lounge chair that I was just about to drag back inside caught my eye. Who on Earth showed up to this party in jeans? I thought, rudely, and glared at the individual.
“Yes, dear?”
The voice was beautiful. It belonged to Ms. Darling.
“Oh, come now, don’t look so shocked. Surely you don’t think I traveled without a change of clothes!”
“R-right, sorry.”
“Don’t you worry about it, dear. Now you sit yourself down and come talk to me.”
There was no point arguing with Ms. Darling once she got like this. I had learned that lesson way back with the Tokyo Station bullet train exit experience.
I sat down on the lounge chair next to her. After a while, Ms. Darling said, “Do you mind if I tell you a little about myself?”
“…Sure. Whatever you’re comfortable sharing.”
“Thank you, dear. You see, I used to have a sister.”
Used to. A story starting in the past tense.
Maya’s older sister was named Masago—sand in Japanese. Partially due to her name, she had loved stones since she was little, and Maya’s desire to become a jewelry designer stemmed from wanting to spend time with her big sister. The two used to daydream about opening a store together before Masago went off to get married. And then…
“…It was a car accident that did it. It all happened so fast. I never imagined such a thing could happen to her, and I’m sure my sister didn’t, either. It felt like there must have been some kind of mistake. Often when I go to bed, I remind myself to give my sister a call in the morning, and only then do I realize she’s gone. It just takes a second, and a person’s life is over.”
I had no words to say. I didn’t know what it was like to lose someone suddenly. Grandma’s death had been sad and brutal, but she passed away long after she was hospitalized. In some sense, that gave me time to prepare. I still remembered the weight, like a choking sensation, as she clung to life, but I could only wonder just how hard it was to have that blow dealt in an instant. Even the thought alone felt painful.
Ms. Darling gave me an easy smile when she saw the look of pain on my face. “Still, it did bring me closer to my sister’s husband. That’s paid off in its own way, I suppose.”
“Yeah? That’s nice to hear.”
“Oh, don’t be like that. You know my sister’s husband.”
“Wait, I do?”
“Saul, darling.”
“Wait, what?!”
I was beyond shocked. Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. One thing at a time. Saul had been married? Well, he must have been—he told me as much in Hong Kong. But his wife died young, as all beautiful things do, and—oh. Now I saw what happened.
When I didn’t say anything, Ms. Darling chided me, “My dear boy, do you know why I never call you by your first name?”
“…Because of that ‘Don’t call him Seigi; he’ll get attached’ rule?”
“If by that, you mean it would make Richard unhappy, then you’re exactly right.”
“…Yeah, that is what I meant.”
Ms. Darling laughed. It wasn’t a happy laugh, but neither was it rude. She wasn’t laughing at me. She looked right at me but somehow through me to something very, very far away, focusing on it until it was overlaid over my face.
Her red lips moved as she spoke. “And are you fine with that?”
“I mean, I don’t really care what you call me.”
“You know that isn’t what I mean.”
“…”
Richard was the one who first told Saul not to call me by my first name for that exact reason. Now, via Saul, that must have gotten around to Ms. Darling. Did Richard make him do that, I wondered? I found it hard to believe, but I couldn’t deny the possibility.
“…I guess it’s his way of looking out for me. It’s not like I mind, really. I try my best to keep up with him, but Richard is just too amazing. Like, way too amazing.”
“Oh, my dear sweet boy. You are screwed. Royally screwed.”
“Have you had too much to drink, Ms. Maya?”
“Pish. I could drink until the cows come home and be fine. Listen—”
“Maya?”
For a split second, I thought, There’s the cow. But it was Richard, standing behind us with a tray and a sobering cup of mint tea. A shiver ran down my spine, no doubt because of the cool breeze. The weather had behaved itself up until now, but maybe rain was on the way after all.
“Oh dearie me, I am interrupting, aren’t I? Perhaps I’m a bit tiddly after all. Ta-ta.”
I called her name, and she turned back to look at me. Richard was glaring in a way that kind of frightened me, but I pretended not to see that. “I was going to say, I don’t care who uses my first name. It doesn’t matter what Saul says. I can’t imagine myself getting ‘attached’ to anyone but Richard.”
Which meant it was fine for her to call me Seigi. Her eyes widened in surprise and, a beat later, she burst out laughing. “Oh? Well, then it is what it is. Pardon me, Seigi Nakata. It appears I had the wrong idea about you. And now, I’m off! I won’t say another word.”
She waved and vanished into the house, cackling all the way. She certainly acted drunk, but her eyes looked as clear as they did earlier. The thought It’s handy that someone so good at holding her alcohol can pretend to be drunk whenever she wants wandered across my mind as Richard took the spot Ms. Darling had just vacated. He offered the tray with its cup of tea to me like one of those Japanese tea-carrying dolls.
“Richard?”
“Take it.”
“O-okay.”
“Now drink.”
“You got it, boss.”
Richard and Ms. Darling both had that way of talking that prevented arguing back. Even so, it wasn’t overpowering or daunting. Saul’s pupils sure made an odd pair.
The steaming hot mint tea was delicious. The first time I had ever had mint tea was in the airport on the way back from France. It was made by bundling long sprigs of mint together, bending the bundle into a U-shape, placing the U in a heat-resistant cup, and adding boiling water and honey. It tasted wonderful, helped with sore throats, and made for a great refreshment. Royal milk tea could be a little too heavy on the stomach just before bed, but I didn’t have to worry about that problem with mint tea.
But the fact that Richard had made tea for me was pretty unusual.
I let the golden liquid cool before taking a sip and letting the taste seep into my core. “Thanks. We really wore ourselves out today, huh?”
“You more so than me. I only joined you yesterday.”
He and I lapsed into an odd silence. I didn’t know where to begin or what to say. I searched my mind until I had a rough game plan, and just as I was about to speak, Richard started talking as if he had just made the exact same decision.
“There’s something I want to say to you—”
“I believe you and I need to have a talk—”
We looked at each other and fell silent. We were both so surprised, we just had to laugh.