One day, Mr. Doi noticed that his attitude toward Café LycoReco had changed, as he could never expect what he’d be made to do when he turned up there. The only thing that was certain was that he wouldn’t be left alone with his coffee. The waitresses took him out for walks, sightseeing, exercise, meals, games, and movies.
He couldn’t figure out why they were always asking him out, but knowing they were waiting for him every day, he felt obliged to go to the café. It had been years since he’d felt like someone had been looking forward to seeing him, so despite his tiredness, he’d head to the café filled with anticipation, feeling a bit younger again.
That day, he left for the café as usual, packing a change of comfortable clothes, a towel, and sneakers into his bag so that he’d be ready for anything. He took a change of clothes with him instead of simply dressing casually, because the first time he did that, the girls took him to see a movie and then they had a meal at a fancy restaurant on the top floor of a posh hotel.
Yet, despite taking those extra measures to not look out of place, he still did sometimes. The other day, the girls took him to a sushi bar, where you wouldn’t normally wear a suit, but sportswear was just as jarring.
Didn’t Chisato and Takina face a similar problem when picking different destinations every day? Actually, Mr. Doi discovered they didn’t. Somehow their school uniforms fit in no matter the surroundings. Well, maybe it would stand out in a pub at night, but during the day, the girls could be eating lunch in a pub, wearing their uniforms, and they wouldn’t look out of place at all. The uniforms were smart enough for exclusive restaurants with strict dress codes, but they weren’t so formal they’d look unnatural when the girls were running around, playing.
A school uniform was at once formal and everyday wear. Magically, it seemed designed to fit any situation. It instantly identified its wearer as young, inviting trust and disarming suspicion.
Mr. Doi felt a little envious that there was no such uniform for older men, but then he thought that maybe there was—a suit. With a suit, he could go to most places… No, that wasn’t true. Nobody wore a suit, leather shoes, and a tie to a sports ground. But if you wore a suit to a pub or bar at night, it did lend you a look of sophistication no other outfit could match…
Mr. Doi pushed those meandering thoughts aside and opened the door to the café.
“Welcome. Today you can enjoy your coffee in peace.”
The owner explained that Chisato and Takina had another job that day. Maybe they’d gone out to deliver coffee beans, or maybe Mika meant they were working on some school assignment. In any case, that day, Mr. Doi would have no random activity. He was simultaneously mildly relieved and disappointed.
“The other girls aren’t in either?”
“They also have other work to do.”
It was odd not to see Mizuki and Kurumi lazing around. A regular customer seemed to be helping out the owner.
Mr. Doi used to think it was a rather bizarre café, but it had grown on him, and he’d become familiar with the staff. He felt at home at LycoReco and didn’t mind helping out a little from time to time, either. He honestly enjoyed it. It had been a long time since he’d become a part of a new community.
When he was working, his community was made up of the people at his workplace, but from around the time he turned thirty, he found it difficult to form new connections, and the number of old friends was always only decreasing. His world was shrinking, and he feared that when he’d be the only one left in it, that would be the end of Yoshiharu Doi.
Yet his world had stopped shrinking and was starting to expand again.
“It must be my age… What I used to take for granted a long time ago feels fresh again,” Mr. Doi said quietly after sitting down.
“For example?” Mika asked without turning away from his work.
Mr. Doi told him he meant trying new things and joining new social circles.
“Chisato would say age should never stop you.”
“She is so young.”
“Yes…but she isn’t wrong. Age brings inertia…but while it becomes more difficult to get started with anything, once you do get going, even though your pace might be slow, you may find there’s no stopping you.”
“That getting-started part can seem an impossible task.”
“I won’t deny it. That’s why sometimes we need a gentle push from someone else. Once you overcome that first hurdle, it gets surprisingly easy.”
“…And that’s what those girls have been doing, giving me the push I needed?”
“Indeed, and today the push will come from me… Enjoy.”
Mika set in front of Mr. Doi a plate with four sweet rice balls, two black with a pink one and a green one between them. It was the ohagi set. Next, he set down a cup of coffee.
Mr. Doi had just finished his first cup, so he was glad to get another, but the dessert was most unexpected, and he couldn’t imagine eating ohagi without tea.
“Boss, I’ve been meaning to confess…I don’t think coffee and Japanese desserts make for a good pairing.”
Mika had probably heard that many times. He smiled patiently as if dealing with a child.
“From the left, they’re with smooth azuki paste, sakura, matcha, and chunky azuki paste. I would recommend you start with one of the azuki-paste ohagi. Please do try them.”
At this point, Mr. Doi felt he couldn’t refuse the dessert. Following Mika’s recommendation, he decided to try the first ohagi from the left. Instead of a fork, he’d been given a bamboo skewer, but Mr. Doi didn’t like fiddly things, and since a small towel for wiping hands had been provided alongside the food, he simply picked up the rice ball with his hand.
As this was a set of four, the ohagi were smaller than usual. Mr. Doi took a bite. The azuki bean paste felt sticky on his lips and teeth. The rice inside retained its grainy texture, having been soaked long enough to be soft but not so long it’d turn mushy. This texture was pleasant and hearty. Ohagi were easier to eat than the chewy mochi. He liked how the azuki paste mixed with the rice in his mouth.
The azuki paste was gently sweetened, and the glutinous rice had a subtle sweetness, compounded by umami. Mr. Doi tasted just a hint of salt, which was carefully added to bring out the flavors of the other ingredients.
For a man whose usual indulgence was drinking, desserts didn’t normally have much appeal, but this was a welcome exception.
“This is nice. It’s been a while since I had ohagi. It goes down easily.”
Mika gestured to the coffee. Mr. Doi smiled with one side of his mouth, thinking that the barista was being untypically authoritative that day, but reached for the cup and took a sip… He was in for a surprise.
“What…? It does go well with the ohagi?”
The coffee’s flavor didn’t clash with the gentle sweetness of the Japanese dessert. The light bitterness cleansed the palate of the sweet aftertaste in a most agreeable way.
“This isn’t the coffee I normally order, is it?”
“It’s an American coffee made with lightly roasted Mandheling coffee beans.”
“Ah, I suppose it works because weak coffee has this clean, light taste. I would have never guessed.”
“Standard black coffee would work just as well, but four ohagi, small as they are, are quite filling, and with regular-strength coffee, they might feel too heavy on the stomach. With this dessert, we normally serve weak coffee.”
“I see. But how come your coffee makes such a good match for Japanese desserts? It’s like magic.”
“Well, there are some countries where people believe quality coffee to be magical, but the explanation is far simpler. There are of course Japanese desserts that the flavor of coffee would overpower, but that isn’t true when it comes to azuki-based ones. Why? Because, like coffee, they’re made using beans.”
Coffee beans and azuki beans… Mr. Doi wasn’t sure if it was true that any azuki-based dessert would go well with coffee, but Mika’s explanation did sound convincing.
A feeling he’d missed—curiosity—propelled him to have another bite of the ohagi and take a sip of coffee with a little bit of the ohagi still in his mouth. It was excellent, and he would have said so if it weren’t for the fact it was rude to speak with food in your mouth.