In an attempt to change the subject, he vainly wracked his brain for another topic. The three of them on the yacht had precious little in common to talk about. This was the third time that Enoyoshi had met Ushijima. As for Minako, he had only met her that morning.
Ushijima, who'd been quiet, chimed in, 'You can do it. It's all yours for the taking.'
Enoyoshi didn't reply. If only they set the sails again. That would shut them up. They wouldn't have the leisure to harass him if they had to trim the jib sail and main sail. They'd be flailing about in utter confusion. But while they cruised the calm waters of the evening sea using the outboard motor, it was all too easy for Ushijima to stand there beer in hand minding just the tiller.
Enoyoshi had met Ushijima at a high-school reunion in July, two months ago. It hadn't been a class reunion but rather a grand reunion of all the old boys. Hundreds of them attended the annual event. In the ten years since Enoyoshi graduated he'd never once attended a reunion. That year, he happened to have the weekend free and decided to go for a change. Disappointed not to find as many old classmates as he'd expected, Enoyoshi milled around the room searching for familiar faces. In the process he made small talk with Ushijima and they ended up exchanging business cards. Ushijima had graduated seven years before Enoyoshi and his card said Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. A month later, Ushijima asked Enoyoshi out for a drink and proposed the current outing.
Now that he thought about it, Enoyoshi should have suspected Ushijima's motives and been altogether more circumspect. In the past, there'd been acquaintances who'd contacted him out of the blue, asking to meet up for old times' sake, only to approach him then with some dubious scheme. It now seemed only natural that, graduates of the same school or not, the act of inviting a stranger involved an ulterior motive. If they were still fellow students, that would have been one thing. In the adult world, however, any relationship usually revolved around an eye to some sort of gain.
'First picture whatever it is that you desire, that you want to have.'
Ushijima's face was close by and the voice came from right behind Enoyoshi's ears. The dim light of dusk revealed the lines of age etched on Ushijima's brow. Whenever Ushijima looked down, his thinning hair also became apparent. Enoyoshi felt that the man, who'd initially appeared young for his age, had suddenly gained many years.
'What is it that you want in life?'
It was clear that the answer Ushijima was seeking was something that required a fortune to buy, like a yacht or a Mercedes. Enoyoshi chose a different sort of thing. He could have picked anything, so long as it couldn't be bought.
'Now that you mention it, I suppose I'd like a child.'
Enoyoshi wasn't married, nor was he even remotely engaged. He was single and had told Ushijima so.
The couple exchanged surprised glances.
'Are you married?' asked Minako in wide-eyed puzzlement. As she turned toward her husband, her look turned fierce, conveying annoyance at having been misinformed.
Ushijima, nettled, peered at Enoyoshi. 'I thought you said you were single?'
'Sure, I'm single. But I'm living with this girl, and if I could get her in the family way, that's all it'd take to get her to marry me.'
It was a lie. There was no woman in his life. As pious a lie as it was, he began to loathe himself. His inability to just say no to anyone was pathetic and made him feel like some kid who was never going to grow up. All he could do was be inconsistent in the hope that the others would realize that he wasn't interested.
His wish wasn't granted, and Minako began to address the lie. 'Suppose you did have a child and it led to marriage. You'll need money. There'll be the cost of the wedding and you'll have to find somewhere to live. And your child, of course. Do you realize how much it costs to raise kids?'
The Ushijimas were childless, but this didn't make them feel any less qualified to lecture Enoyoshi. They insisted that the salary earned from an ordinary company job wasn't enough to raise a family. Always struggling to make ends meet, he'd never be able to realize his own dreams…
The Ushijimas were trying to get him interested in a pyramid-type sales scheme funded by foreign capital.
Enoyoshi was well aware that the organization in question was not involved in anything illegal. The concept of cutting costs through non-store retailing and handing the margin to the salespeople was not a bad one. The salespeople belonged to different echelons of a pyramidal hierarchy - the higher the level, the greater the performance bonus. The Ushijimas were apparently on the third rung from the bottom and were eager to move up. To do so, they had to recruit salespeople by hook or by crook. Persuading new blood to sell the products manufactured by the company, training the rookies to become great sales reps, was the only way to improve their ranks. A car salesman no doubt familiar with marketing techniques, Enoyoshi would be a great catch for the Ushijimas. In fact, the products manufactured by the company included a car-care line.
Rising in rank meant making more money, enough to buy an apartment in just one year. The Ushijimas claimed they were making double what they made as civil servants from the pyramid scheme. Otherwise, they wouldn't have the yacht. The yacht was an absolutely indispensable tool for their recruitment efforts. Once they were out at sea, they could hammer their victim with their recruitment pitch without worrying about the victim escaping. The yacht also served as proof that the scheme could indeed make your dreams come true. For the Ushijimas, yachting was like holding one of those home parties where the host peddled some product.
'Imagining it is key. Imagine it long enough and hard enough and it will come true.'