Azusa’s guilty pleasure on Tuesdays was an evening trip to the convenience store. It was her day off from juku, and it was also the night her mother worked late at her part-time job. She changed her clothes hurriedly and, grabbing her purse, hopped on her bicycle. Her destination was the Tenderness branch at Mojikō-Koganemura.
En route, she passed a convenience store a three-minute walk from her home, and another one that was a ten-minute bike ride. This one was a twenty-minute ride, but there was a reason for that. She couldn’t let anyone know where she was going.
Azusa took after her mother, so as one might expect, she shared Michiyo’s round face and a slight tendency toward chubbiness. Because she also had fair skin, the local boys teased her when she was little, calling her daifuku, sweet rice dumpling. Mizuki would stand up for her and offer words of consolation: “Azusa, you’re not fat, really, not at all!” But several months ago that all changed, thanks to Michiyo.
“Azusa is looking a little heavy compared to you, Mizuki, dear,” Azusa’s mother had remarked to Mizuki. “Can you help make sure she doesn’t snack between meals?”
“Leave it to me,” said Mizuki. It was no secret Azusa liked sweets. Maybe she had been eating too many of them? Thus began Mizuki’s strict supervision of her diet. Azusa’s mother watched her like a hawk at home, and Mizuki attended the same juku after school, so Azusa was under constant surveillance everywhere. Tuesday evening was her sole chance to escape and sample her beloved convenience store treats to her heart’s delight, free from both sets of eyes.
Furthermore, the Tenderness at Mojikō-Koganemura offered a dine-in space next to the store. It was a perfectly clean, comfortable place. And if she ate everything there, she didn’t need to worry about bringing home evidence of between-meal snacks. For Azusa, it was ideal.
As the familiar sign came into view, Azusa’s pedaling legs pumped harder. Yes, it was there! The Spring Strawberry Cake Parfait.
She left her bike in the rack and entered the store. A melody played as she went through the door, and a man at the checkout counter called out mildly, “Welcome!” Azusa headed without hesitation to the sweets section.
“Aha! Got it!”
Finding the sought-after treasure, Azusa called out in happy triumph. She had been waiting forever in anticipation of the spring special, a strawberry shortcake parfait, and there they were, arranged neatly on the shelf right in front of her. And next to them were fresh-baked strawberry dorayaki, stuffed pockets of toasted sponge cake that had also been on her list. Without hesitation she claimed one of each and moved to the beverage section. She picked up a bottle of her favorite flavored milk and headed to the register.
The store manager was standing at the register with an odd smile on his face. The man gave her an itchy feeling down her spine when they stood close. Azusa was used to it at this point, but at first the manager’s strange aura had felt so oppressive, she avoided the register when he was there. Mizuki would probably tell her she shouldn’t frequent a place run by such a suspicious man, Azusa thought idly, as she completed her checkout. Actually, Mizuki would more likely scold her for being in a store like this in the first place. She’d probably report it to Michiyo, and Azusa’s allowance would be docked. She’d been very careful so far not to let that happen.
She took her bag and headed through the connecting door to the dine-in space. An elementary school boy was sitting at the corner of one of the four-person tables, immersed in a handheld video game. There was a half-eaten portion of yakisoba noodles on the table. Azusa took a seat at the counter, away from the boy, and removing her long-anticipated sweets from the bag, she set them in front of her. She wavered between them just a little, then picked up the dorayaki. Between the spongy pancakes was a single, perfect strawberry, large and red, nestled in pink cream and glossy, sweet red-bean paste. She could feel the weight of it in her hand, and the contrasting colors peeking out from the opening of the pocket made her glow with joy. She took a large, enthusiastic bite.
The fluffy sponge, the fresh cream, and the mild, tender red beans merged into a single, deep sweetness. Behind that, the fresh tartness of the ripe local strawberry tickled her senses. Azusa closed her eyes in delight.
Oh so delicious. Happiness.
Azusa’s guilty pleasure came just once a week. She wouldn’t trade it for anything. She finished off the dorayaki dreamily and drank her flavored milk. Juice and sweet drinks had also been forbidden, so it was extra good. She let out a single, sweet sigh, then reached for the main course: her cake parfait. She opened the plastic lid of the transparent cup and then spent a while just looking at it. The cake was diced and soaked in strawberry juice. It was submerged in layers of fresh cream and strawberry sauce, with three large, perfect local strawberries enshrined atop the parfait, dusted with powdered sugar like a fine sprinkling of snow. Over that, there was a garnish of chopped pistachio nuts. It was adorable to the eye, but also seemed to be begging her to eat it.
Azusa looked at it, then pulled out her phone and took a photo of the parfait. It would be good to look at when she was really craving something sweet. She continued to sip her milk, all the while taking photos of the parfait from a variety of angles. Finally, she started to eat. The strawberries were at once gently sweet and brightly tart. She was spellbound. Then, as if from a great distance, she was returned to the world by the sound of someone entering the dine-in space from the store. She glanced over.
“Oh!” she said. The person who had just entered was none other than her classmate Nayuta, still clad in gym clothes. Nayuta noticed Azusa and, in turn, replied: “Oh!”
“H-hi…”
“Yeah.”
Any other classmate would probably have sat down next to Azusa. But Nayuta looked around the room, then settled herself into a seat at the opposite end of the counter. As if she had totally forgotten that Azusa was there, she opened a can of unsweetened coffee and took several large swallows. She seemed so grown up, Azusa couldn’t help looking at her. Nayuta exhaled and put down the can, then noticed Azusa was watching her. “What?” she said.
“No, I, uh…That’s amazing,” Azusa replied. “I can’t drink coffee.” Azusa wasn’t sure of the right thing to say, so instead she said the first thing that popped into her head. “I can’t drink it without milk and sugar. I like coffee jellies, though, and mocha ice cream.”
Nayuta gave her a curious look, then laughed. “Seems like you like the sweet stuff.” Her gaze drifted to the parfait and flavored milk, and Azusa gave a start.
“Oh! Um, don’t tell anyone about that!” Her voice came out louder than she had intended, and the boy broke contact from his game to look over at her. Nayuta stared at her blankly. “I’d rather you didn’t talk about it. Um, that I was here, eating sweets.”
Sweets were forbidden, Azusa falteringly explained, and Nayuta asked, “Why?” Her tone was so short and sharp that Azusa was at a loss for words, but Nayuta continued. “Did the doctor say you can’t?”
“Oh no. Nothing like that! That’s…well, it’s because I’m fat. My mum says I shouldn’t have snacks.”