Rie had chronic cystitis, so this occasionally happened when she got cold. She clutched her lower abdomen in pain as the snow continued piling up. At this point, the discomfort was more than just a pang. Her bladder was inflamed, and she was miserable. After squatting under the eaves of a building, she wondered whether she should run into the nearest café, when…
“Hey, are you okay?” came a friendly voice. It was Hiroko Ohara, the girl she was just talking to in the café. “I work just over there. There’s a sofa, so how about stopping by to warm up your feet and relax? Your feet are gonna freeze in those high heels. And then you won’t be able to have children if that happens.”
That annoyed Rie because she knew there was no malice behind those cheerful words. Regardless, she took Hiroko up on her offer and lay down on the sofa as the kindly female boutique owner brought a heater, placed it by her feet, and made her some hot tea. Only then did Rie finally feel relief. The snow eventually began coming down harder and more fiercely.
“Looks like we’re closing early today… We should hurry home before they close the station from all the snow. Hiroko, you’re free to go. I’ll be heading out, too, in a second,” the owner said.
Rie had Hiroko get Minoru for her. His workplace was very close to Kyoto, and with this much snow, it was pretty clear that the Meishin Expressway was going to be closed off, so Rie wouldn’t be able to take a taxi home. Her only choice was to have Minoru walk her to the station and take the train back with her. Minoru showed up at the boutique around an hour after Hiroko called him.
“Thank you for taking care of her. I really appreciate it.”
While he may not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, he still made sure to thank the owner.
“You should thank Hiroko, too, for all the trouble you’ve caused her,” Rie said despite herself.
Hiroko had bought some disposable heating pads at the local convenience store, which she’d placed on Rie’s lower abdomen for her to warm her up. She was surprisingly thoughtful and observant, maybe because she’d once worked as an office clerk.
“I’m really sorry about all this,” Minoru told Hiroko.
“Take care of yourself,” she said to Rie. Her voice was excessively cheerful.
“Why did I even want to meet her in the first place?” Rie murmured to herself. However, after a week went by, she showed up at the boutique with a box of cakes as a thank-you. Another girl was working there that day instead of Hiroko—a slim lady who obviously wasn’t pregnant.
“Oh, Hiroko went back to her hometown to see her family. She needed to start resting and preparing for the baby.” It was the chatty owner, wearing very fashionable light-violet glasses. “She told me you were her husband’s sister…”
He was already being called her husband.
The lunch box’s meatballs were very rich in flavor, different from Western or Japanese ones. They could even be eaten cold, they were so rich. The chef herself—Rie—also thought they were good, so it was no surprise when Minoru scarfed them down. There were even fried eggs, which made him more than satisfied.
Rie used to think that only she knew how to cook for Minoru, since she knew exactly what he liked, and that there was no way someone young like Hiroko could make anything worthwhile (Rie wasn’t trying to use her cooking to keep him from leaving her, though). But lately, she’d started thinking that Minoru could and would eat anything with great enthusiasm while repeating how delicious it was.
Perhaps it didn’t matter who cooked for him, and perhaps Hiroko, with her bubbly personality, was only joking when she said she would die if Minoru didn’t marry her. After realizing that, it was like the last weight had been removed from Rie’s shoulders, instantly relaxing her. Her heart stopped racing, and her vague anxiety and jealousy faded as well—just like her cystitis.
Even when Minoru said he was going to Okayama tomorrow…
“Uh-huh,” Rie casually replied, even though she knew he was going to Hiroko’s family’s home.
“Pack me a lunch, will ya?”
“Okay.”
“I plan on stopping at a rest area along the way, so I’ll eat it then.”
“Why don’t you just eat the food they have there?”
“Because I want to eat your cooking.”
Rie knew that after he returned from Okayama, he would be coming home with Hiroko as his new wife and moving into their apartment in Kyoto. She knew this, but she still made him a lunch, since this was going to be the last time she ever would. For the most part, they decided to split their furniture and household goods down the middle, but…
“Rie, you can keep whatever you want. We should take the things we want most.”
“There isn’t anything I want.”
Rie suddenly remembered an old story she once read. A wife whose husband was about to leave her was told to bring whatever she wanted with her when she moved out.
“What would I need when I’m leaving behind the only thing that has ever meant anything to me: you?” the woman asked with a smile.
Right as she was about to leave emptyhanded, her husband stopped her. He was so touched by her words that he changed his mind. They got back together and lived happily ever after.
But saying something like that to Minoru would be pointless. Seeing Minoru leave, with his half of the Ginori coffee cups and photos of himself, merely emphasized the absurdity of it all. He wasn’t leaving emptyhanded.
“You really should get going. It’s dangerous to drive on the expressway at night,” Rie told him.
“Yeah… What are you gonna do after I’m gone?”
“Hmm… I think I’m going to continue working at the same company.”
“No, no, no. I meant: How are you going to spend the rest of your Sunday night?”
“Read a few magazines, I suppose.”
There were a lot of trade and fashion magazines she needed to look through for information on boutiques and the like. In fact, her job kept her far busier than an ordinary office worker like Minoru.
“Hey, Rie,” he muttered absentmindedly. “Make sure you get cystitis every once in a while.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ll come see you. Call me and tell me you need me, and I’ll be here.”
“Ha-ha-ha!” Rie cackled. “You’re going to make me have second thoughts if you say such sweet things to me.”
“Really? Maybe I should leave tomorrow, then?”
“No. I was just trying to be nice.”
She didn’t even see him off. After about an hour went by, he called her.
“How’s your bladder? Feeling inflamed yet?”
“Actually, I feel great. Better than I’ve felt in a long time now that I’m alone.”
“Looks like I’m not needed. Well, anyway, take care. I’ve just reached Yamazaki.”
There was a note of disappointment in Minoru’s voice, even more so than when he’d been there with her. He was undoubtedly despondent, clutching the steering wheel with uneasiness in his drooping eyes.
And it wasn’t without reason. After all, he was about to be taken prisoner. He was going to be held captive by a little something called family.
Rie, who had escaped that fate and was finally able to relax, strongly felt that way. Not having anyone to call when she was having bladder problems might be rough for a little while, but for whatever reason, she felt a release like no other.
Rie poured more coffee into her Ginori mug.
I should’ve given him these last two sets of coffee cups, too, she thought.
Being let go helped her let go of any attachments she once had as well.