What was he to make of it? Mr. Doi had been profoundly shaken by the news from Chisato. At fifty-five, he was conscious of nearing the dusk of his life, and never would he have imagined something like this was possible.
While he didn’t know Takina Inoue’s exact age, he reckoned she was a little past her mid-teens. She was a beautiful girl with long black hair. She would blossom into a beautiful woman in the future, but for now she was a tightly closed bud.
A fifty-five-year-old surely had no business taking an interest in a girl so young.
But then he remembered novels about samurai that he loved to read as a schoolboy. The stories often featured master swordsmen much older than Mr. Doi falling in love with young girls and either marrying them or keeping them as mistresses.
Indeed, Mr. Doi thought having a girlfriend with a significant age gap was not absurd. In the Japan of old, it was perfectly normal and not at all rare for older men to be together with young girls. People would raise eyebrows at men with wives older than them, but nobody questioned it if it were the other way around.
If there was nothing improper about him having a young girlfriend, he should consider it. It would be rude of him not to treat Takina seriously because of her young age, and of course, he wouldn’t want to hurt her.
Or was his reasoning guided by self-interest? Did that mean…he was interested in the girl?
Mr. Doi tentatively imagined what his future might be like if he did start a relationship with the girl.
She was so much younger, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. She was living in a world unlike his own, but learning about each other’s worlds might be interesting. They might have nothing in common, but that meant they would have so much to discover about each other. They would never be short of topics to talk about.
They would benefit more than if they were dating their peers. Mr. Doi’s obvious benefits aside, Takina would get to enjoy dates more varied and luxurious than anything a teenage boyfriend could offer her.
Mr. Doi had more money than he could spend before his death, so he might as well spend it on Takina.
Yes, that idea appealed to him. They wouldn’t even need to be together until the very end. She had so much longer to live than him. He would be her friend, watching over her as she grew up into a fine lady, and then he’d disappear, leaving behind only cherished memories… Now, that would be stylish.
This felt right to him. If you cared about another person, you wished for their happiness whether you were together or not.
As soon as he thought that, Mr. Doi remembered what Mika had told him earlier. He didn’t have that long to live. He couldn’t afford to procrastinate.
And so, Mr. Doi jumped to action. He registered with a local gym and then went to an aesthetician. The walks with Chisato and Takina made him acutely aware that his old body wasn’t as fit anymore, but with time and effort, he could make improvements and make up for the rest with enthusiasm. He had money, and he was unafraid to use it.
Three weeks later…
Summer was in full swing. The buzzing of cicadas mixed with the ringing of Café LycoReco’s doorbell as Mr. Doi walked in for the first time after a long absence. Mika and the regulars who recognized him looked at him with mild surprise. He walked over to the counter and took his usual seat.
The regulars’ reactions weren’t unexpected. Not only because it’d been a while since Mr. Doi had been to the café but also because of the change in his appearance. Strikingly, he seemed younger. He’d gained some musculature while losing the flabby bits, and his skin had a healthy sheen thanks to better skin care. However, Mr. Doi hadn’t gone overboard trying to make himself look young. It would be foolish to discard the appeal of a mature man at the ripe age of fifty-five. He was wearing a casual but neat, well-tailored outfit.
Tap-tap-tap went Takina’s sandals as she approached Mr. Doi, carrying a tray.
“It’s good to see you back, Mr. Doi. May I take your order?” she asked in her usual neutral tone.
A lukewarm “It’s good to see you back” didn’t seem proportional to a three-week absence from a customer who used to come in daily, but Mr. Doi liked Takina’s stoicism. He quickly glanced around. Chisato, who was serving someone else, caught his eye and winked at him encouragingly.
Mr. Doi took the menu from Takina and began reading it.
“Hmm, what to go for…? The three-colored dango, definitely, and a coffee that goes well with it. And ice cream—on a day like this, you just have to have ice cream. And also… Well, this isn’t part of my order. I wanted to ask you, Takina, if you’d like to eat after work. Just you and me?”
Mr. Doi flashed his coolest smile.
In order to preserve everyone’s dignity, we will not disclose what happened next.