Looking unamused, Mika and Mizuki watched the two waitresses leave with the customer in tow.
“They just, like, abandoned their post.”
“If it gets busy, we can ask Risu for help.”
“It’s irresponsible. That’s what it is.”
“Well, it’s quiet for now. We’ll manage.”
“And Mr. Doi? Chisato ruined his quiet coffee time.”
“It didn’t seem like he minded, and it might be a welcome change of scenery for him. It’s never too late to try something new.”
“Then, what about Takina?”
“Who knows?”
Was that what Takina wanted? Perhaps even Takina couldn’t answer that question. She might not yet have understood her feelings. When it came to first loves, things could take time.
Mika smiled to himself, remembering certain embarrassing events from his own distant youth.
✦ ✦ ✦
“So, how did your sushi date with Mr. Doi go?” Kurumi asked, somehow sounding interested and disinterested at the same time.
The café had closed for the day. Chisato had brought inarizushi to share, which Kurumi, sitting on the raised tatami floor, was taking out of the box.
Chisato pressed her finger to her lips, silencing Kurumi. After their lunch outing, she and Takina had returned to the café to finish their shift, and Takina was in the staff room, getting changed. She might be able to hear them talking.
Chisato stepped onto the raised floor and sat at a low table.
“Not bad, I guess? We talked a lot. Hana Inari is takeout only, so we had our food while walking around the shrine, which I think was nice. Oh, by the way, these are the best, in my opinion. Try one. Here. Pickled-plum flavor.”
Chisato got an inarizushi out of the box to show Kurumi.
“Is that why there are so many of them?”
There were sixteen inarizushi in the box, in pickled-plum, yuzu, sesame, ginger, and prune flavors. With seven pickled-plum ones, it was easy to see that those were Chisato’s favorite. She’d bought that many because some were for Mika. He had gone to a neighborhood-association meeting, but Chisato was going to leave him some of the sushi to have after coming back.
Each piece of sushi was individually wrapped. You could eat it like a little burger, holding it in your hands without getting them dirty, not needing to bring out plates and chopsticks.
Chisato unwrapped the one she was holding and bit into it. The subtly sweet, deep-fried tofu skin surrounding the rice wasn’t too moist, and the wrapper around it helped the sushi keep its shape. The delicate sweet-and-sour flavor of the vinegared rice soon gave way to the refreshing kick from finely chopped, aromatic green shiso leaves before introducing the star of this show—the pickled plum, with its delightfully balanced sourness.
✦ ✦ ✦
Neither of these bold flavors overwhelmed the others. Each of them was a gentle note in this refined composition.
It was the sort of inarizushi you could eat every day without getting tired of it. Chisato wished the sushi store weren’t so far from Café LycoReco, but at the same time, she looked forward to the sushi even more because of it.
“Mmm! Tee-hee-hee!”
Chisato giggled happily, munching on her sushi. She couldn’t tell why, but inarizushi brought her a special bliss she didn’t experience when eating other sushi or rice balls. It made her feel fulfilled, and she couldn’t help smiling.
“You were right. It is pretty good.”
“Hey, why are you eating the prune one first when I told you the plum was the best?”
“I start with what I know.”
Kurumi was so small, but it took her only three, no, four bites to finish the inari. She reached for a plum one next, took a bite, and grunted appreciatively before quickly chomping down on it again. Chisato knew without asking that Kurumi loved it, which made her happy.
Mizuki emerged from the staff room, having finished getting changed before Takina.
“So, about Mr. Doi. Impressions?”
“He liked the inari, saying the taste was nostalgic.”
“I’m not asking if he liked the food. What was he like?”
Mizuki turned her head to make sure Takina wasn’t coming out yet. They probably didn’t have much time left to talk without her.
“He smiled a lot. He hadn’t visited much of Kameido on foot before, so Takina told him about the local attractions… We had a good conversation going, never a dull moment.”
“Kameido, though… What have they got there besides gyoza and offal restaurants?”
Chisato thought that Mizuki’s biased opinion of the area proved she only ever went there looking for a place to drink. Every part of town had its unique, famous restaurants and cuisine. There was a lot more to Kameido besides the foods Mizuki had mentioned.
Mizuki sat down at the counter and reached toward Chisato with one hand. Chisato handed her an inarizushi.
“So, what’s your verdict? Think they’ll get together with a little helping nudge, maybe?”
“Detective Chisato’s expert opinion is…yes!”
“Hold on,” said Kurumi. “Shouldn’t you first check with Takina to see if she really is interested in that man? Because I think you’re making a mistake.”
“What, no way! If you’d only seen how today—”
“Seen what?” asked Takina, coming out of the staff room in her Lycoris uniform.
Chisato froze for a moment.
“Seen how…how Mr. Doi was actually having fun today!”
“Ah, yes. He didn’t look depressed for a change. He smiled and laughed… I’m glad he was in better spirits than usual.”
A little smile appeared on Takina’s face.
The other girls exchanged looks, having an unspoken conversation.
“See, she’s into him!”
“Maybe you’re right about her after all.”
“What a piece of work, having the hots for older guys.”
Takina was only smiling to herself, remembering the day, but a little smile from a person who typically hardly displayed any emotion, much less any sign of affection, seemed monumentally significant. When did she ever smile like that? Only when she was particularly pleased with the results of her work. In this case, she was evidently pleased that Mr. Doi had had a good time in her company.
Chisato beamed, happy that everything was pointing to her being correct.
“It would be nice if Mr. Doi came in tomorrow in a good mood like he was earlier! Right, Takina?”
“Yes… It would be nice.”
Takina excused herself and went home. As soon as she was out the door, Mizuki sat on the tatami floor, and the girls started quarreling about Takina and Mr. Doi again.
When Mika returned from the neighborhood-association meeting later that night, only one inarizushi was left for him, and he remembered that nobody had done the restocking that day.
✦ ✦ ✦
Mr. Doi’s thoughts turned to that unexpected walk to the sushi place the previous day. Somehow it made time flow faster, and he didn’t need to drink in the evening to get himself to sleep. He felt confused, as if he hadn’t quite woken up from a dream. He walked to Café LycoReco on uncertain feet, not sure if he could trust the ground.
Was it simply because his body had been unused to exercise for so long?
He entered the café, which was empty at that hour. He always chose a time when there were few or no other customers. The café didn’t serve meals, so it emptied around lunchtime, and Mr. Doi could count on getting his favorite counter seat.
“Welcome.” The owner greeted him in his calm voice.
Mr. Doi sat down at the counter and was served a black coffee moments later. To him, it was a treasured ritual.
“I’m sorry about my waitress’s behavior yesterday.”
“Oh, no, no. There is no need to apologize. We had a very enjoyable time. I haven’t been walking much lately, so I’m feeling it a bit today. I really should exercise more…”
“What?! You don’t exercise, Mr. Doi?! We need to do something about that!”
Mr. Doi turned and saw Chisato standing behind Takina, who was clutching a tray to her chest. Chisato had her hands on Takina’s shoulders, peering at him from behind her.
“Takina, get ready! We’re going out!”
“But…what about work…?”
“Work can wait! This is more urgent!”
Before the bewildered Mr. Doi could say anything, a new plan hatched in Chisato’s head—the Getting More Exercise Project, which she automatically enrolled Mr. Doi in. He was given no choice but to join the girls for an energetic ten-kilometer walk along the Sumida River in his leather shoes. It made him reflect on how, at his age, he tired far more easily than younger people… Although, as he thought about it some more, he realized that even in his twenties, he never went for walks that long.
At the end of it, he was ragged with exhaustion and had blisters on his feet. He thought the girls might also get blisters, since they left the café wearing loafers, but they seemed perfectly fine and not tired after the fast walk. Apparently, their shoes were specially made and designed to be comfortable no matter the situation, despite the heels. Chisato joked that they were perfect even for a gunfight, like in Hollywood movies. Back when Mr. Doi was a youngster, school uniforms weren’t remotely that comfortable, he thought.
The next morning, Mr. Doi woke up still feeling tired after that walk. For the next two days, he suffered from delayed-onset muscle soreness, and it took him three days in bed to recover.