He and Junko were fighting.
She had announced that she was taking a three-day trip to Kagoshima with the Ladies’ Association. Kagoshima was a famously scenic town situated on a bay at the south end of Kyūshū, with dramatic views of an active volcano, and popular thermal springs.
“Mrs. Nosé suggested we all accompany Mr. Shiba on the trip. He’s arranging for a minibus to take us down there—as a thank-you for cleaning the dining area, he said—so it won’t cost a lot.”
The Golden Villa Ladies’ Association, made up of volunteers from the building, was essentially just a fan club for Shiba. They all adored the fellow, who was no more than a hired manager for the convenience store in their building. Mrs. Nosé was the president of the association and the esteemed wife of the building’s owner, who was Shiba’s employer. The primary activity of the group was to help behind the scenes with store operations, which mostly amounted to cleaning the dining area and car park on a rotating basis. Of course, since it was a service to the community, they weren’t paid for the work. Junko pitched in happily, but earned not a single yen for her labor. Takiji had voiced a few complaints about that, but she had asked, “Would you rather I were stuck in the apartment all day alone?” So he said nothing more about it.
“It’s important to nurture relationships with friends and colleagues, but probably not to the point where you have to abandon your home for three days. What’s more, to spend a trip fawning over this young man, isn’t that in poor taste?”
“ ‘Fawning’ is an unpleasant way to put it. But yes. You’ve seen on TV how they follow teen idols on tour? I won’t deny it’s something like that.”
Picturing the face of the manager of the convenience store downstairs, Takiji tutted in disapproval. The man had a strange, delicate presence about him.
“A man like that would prey on a woman without giving it a second thought! I’ve had to deal with hundreds, maybe thousands of people over the years for work, so I should know. The man’s no good, he—”
“Oh, stop it! I’ve heard this story too many times before. Besides, you said the same thing about Kengo, and isn’t he a good person?”
Kengo was Nanao’s husband. He had found some sort of unserious work as a cameraman that kept him flying all over the country. When they met him at the wedding, his hair was longer than Nanao’s. They were still married, and Nanao seemed happy, but Takiji wasn’t entirely convinced. Wasn’t it possible they were giving up on children because the man lacked a stable job? They made a point of declaring that having no children was their choice, but that in itself was just evidence that something was amiss, wasn’t it?
“If an able-bodied adult can’t find work at a decent company, then what? Cameraman and convenience store manager, that sort of work is for men who have skipped the rails of society. You know, I ran the factory for Kagami Press—”
“All right, that’s enough!” Junko snapped. “Is it so amazing that you were employed by a big company? Does receiving a promotion make you a great man? That’s the only thing you’re proud of, and it’s meaningless now that you’re retired. It’s time to let go of all that.”
Junko looked at him defiantly. Takiji was at a loss for words. There were deep creases running from her nose to her mouth and a couple of discolored patches on her cheek. Her skin was starting to sag, and crow’s-feet were beginning to assert their presence at the corners of her eyes. But in the midst of all that, her black eyes flickered with their old brilliance, unchanged. In the grip of these contradictory impressions, Takiji wondered: Is this really the face of my wife? What happened to the sprightly young woman I knew?
Not knowing what to make of Takiji’s silence, Junko said, “I’m sorry,” and bowed her head. “I got a little carried away. I only want to take a little trip together with my friends. Shiba was just the icing on the cake, but if he weren’t coming, I’d still want to go. I don’t do this all the time, so just this once, hold your tongue and let me go.”
For the second time, Takiji could say nothing but, “Do as you like.”