“…How ever am I going to explain this?”
“Explain what?”
“The next time I travel to the United States, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Nigeria—all my usual haunts—how will I explain to my associates precisely what you’re doing there?”
“What’s wrong with saying I’m your personal secretary?”
“We don’t really have those in this line of work.”
So I’d been told. But if not a personal secretary, then what?
Richard looked away and, after a long sigh, relented with “For the present, I suppose I could introduce you as my dear partner.”
“Sounds good to me, boss! I’m happy to be your partner in everything. Not just business!”
“Evidently so. Good lord, ten years is far too long. What if we renew your contract on a yearly basis instead?”
“That sounds like a lot of work.”
“One year.”
“Three?”
“Let’s go with two.”
Woo-hoo! I pumped my fist. “Perfect! Two years, schmoo years—I don’t care, anything works for me! Thanks, Richard. I’ll work hard, so give me all the ridiculous jobs you can come up with. Lay ’em on me!”
“Well, on that note… Saul! We’re quite finished.”
“Oh, don’t mind me. Keep talking. I’m learning all sorts of weaknesses to exploit over here.”
“Ice water. It’s terrible for the body. There, that’s my weakness for you.”
“You’ve developed a horrible sense of cheek. Oh well, I suppose it’s a bit late to be gathering weaknesses, as it is.”
Richard turned his back on Saul, whose fine mustache quivered with laughter, and faced me. “Seigi?”
“Y-yes?”
“Let us shake on it.”
“Okay.”
I smiled and stuck out my right hand. Richard did the same. I took his slender hand in mine and squeezed it tightly. I look forward to working with you, I thought. Very, very much so. I wanted to hold his hand forever. I didn’t want to let go.
But we did finally break apart. Richard’s expression was prim and proper. “It is a pleasure to continue working with you, Seigi Nakata.”
“The pleasure is all mine. I hope we can be together forever.”
“Aherm.”
“Oh?” said Saul. “What was that, Richard?”
“Absolutely nothing.”
From there, the conversation turned to reflecting on old times. Everything in Étranger was just as I’d left it. The glass table was as spotless as it had ever been. I would invite Vince here one of these days, and I couldn’t wait to show him that table and watch him grimace. Ms. Darling had outdone herself designing a birthday ring for his and Marian’s first child. The order for the mold had already been placed; I was confident it would be done in time. Henry and Octavia had chipped in to expand Vince’s budget, but we hadn’t told Vince yet.
Then after that… And after that… Oh, there were so many exciting things to look forward to.
Richard smiled as he took a seat on the red couch. “My goodness. The day you walked in here, I certainly never expected that I would ever be dealing with you for so long.”
“Me neither. Oh, I should go make some more tea.”
“If you would be so kind.”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
Richard smiled at my dorky tone of voice, and I went to the kitchen—funny how everything seemed so upscale after my time in Sri Lanka—added the tea leaves to the pot, boiled the water, poured in the milk that Saul bought at the instant it reached a roiling boil, topped it off with Richard’s precise amount of sugar, and mixed it together. Ta-da: royal milk tea.
It had surprised me when I found out this beverage originated in Japan. It tasted just like krithe, the drink I had grown fond of in Sri Lanka. But krithe felt more like an instant beverage—just add hot water over the fine krithe powder. Richard’s favorite drink was royal milk tea, although I had no idea what made it royal. Apparently, it got that name in Japan for a complicated series of marketing reasons. In that sense, it felt like a jewel with a rich and fascinating history.
Like a certain someone I loved dearly.
I carried a tray with three mugs into the main room, and—
“Seigi, let me once again congratulate you on your diploma. What a remarkable achievement.”
“Surprise! As your boss, let me extend my sincerest congratulations.”
Two crackers fired off with a bang. Driven by a certain someone’s teachings, I rushed to cover the royal milk tea from drifting streamers and confetti, completely missing the point in the process: This was a celebration. For me. These two very busy people had set this all up to celebrate me.
“…Thank you.”
“But of course. It is a pleasure to continue working with you, Seigi.”
“Thank you, Saul! Likewise.”
“Ah, my apologies. I believe the rather comely gentlemen you were seeking a job from just said that.”
“Enough,” Richard snapped. He looked kind of put out, so I wondered if I should do the whole “pleasure to work with you” song and dance one more time for him. Heck, I was happy to do it as many times as he wanted. I would have done it as many times as he would let me.
Richard raised his cup lightly and, in a melodious tone, said, “Cheers.”
A toast with royal milk tea. If that wasn’t the epitome of Étranger, what was? I followed suit and raised my mug, which made Saul do the same with a good-natured exasperated smile.
We shared a cheers before taking a sip of our tea.
Just as I’d done a thousand times before, I wondered what the future I was racing off into had in store for me.