Chapter
thirteen
The girl was there when I walked in. If she was surprised to see me, she gave no sign of it. She gave no sign of anything, in fact.
I walked over to the window. “Hey,” I said, demonstrating my creativity.
“Hey,” she said back. Somehow it sounded better coming from her.
“Well, I’m back.”
“I can see that.”
She looked good in her usual way. Ponytail, sweatshirt, no makeup.
“I mean it’s our third meeting.”
She wrinkled her brow. “Can I ask you something?”
“I guess so.”
“Why do you keep coming here?”
I couldn’t very well admit that it was because I wanted to see her, and I couldn’t think of anything else, so I said nothing.
“I mean, the first time, I had no idea. I just figured you needed a place to spend the night for some reason. You’re a little younger and less corporate-looking than most of the clientele, but I figured, I don’t know, maybe your girlfriend threw you out.”
I didn’t say anything, and she went on. “The second night I told myself the same thing. But now I’m thinking, either you’re in some kind of trouble and trying to hide from it, or this is about me. Or both.”
Jesus, I thought. I’d been focusing so much on my own needs, my own outlook, that I hadn’t considered what things must have looked like from her perspective. That failure to consider the view from the other side was stupid. Here, the penalty was nothing more than embarrassment. In another context, the penalty could be considerably worse.
“It’s a little bit of both,” I said, not knowing how I could coherently suggest otherwise.
“What kind of trouble are you in?”
I was a little disappointed she was more interested in that side of the story. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
She laughed. “How many people do you think have been in over their heads, and said that right before they drowned?”
I didn’t have an answer for that. I said, “Are you going to tell me your name?”
“Why do you want to know my name so much?”
“I don’t know. I keep thinking of you as ‘the girl at the hotel.’ It just seems demeaning.”
I was trying for funny, but she didn’t laugh. Instead, her lips parted and her eyes narrowed and she looked at me for a long time, like she was really looking at me, like she was trying to figure something out.
Then the look was gone, replaced by a frown. “To which of us?”
“Well, I meant to you. But I guess to both.”
Another long moment went by. I thought she wasn’t going to tell me, and that I should probably give up. But then she sighed and said, “Sayaka.”
I liked it. It suited her. Without thinking, I said, “Hi, Sayaka.”
I immediately regretted it, thinking she would make fun of me for saying something so lame. But instead, she said, “Welcome back, Jun. Just don’t expect any mints on the pillow, okay?”
I couldn’t tell if it was just a joke, or if she was letting me know I wouldn’t be waking up next to her. Or both.
“Do you work here every night?” I asked.
“I have a day off now and then. Do you stay here every night?”
I shrugged. “Like you said, I’m in a little bit of a jam. I need a place to stay while I figure it all out. It’s not a girlfriend, though.”
I realized that was actually a stupid thing to add. It would have been just fine if she figured my taste for stays at love hotels had to do with a domestic problem. I didn’t need her speculating, or asking, beyond that.
“Well,” she said, “I hope it’s nothing too serious.”
“I’ve seen worse,” I said, which was true. I’d been chased by a North Vietnamese battalion in Cambodia. So far, at least, I’d take the yakuza any day.
“So…a stay?”
“Yeah, as usual.” I pushed the bills under the glass, and she slid a key in the other direction.
“You know,” I said, “I think I’m going to have this whole thing straightened out pretty soon. At which point, I won’t be coming by anymore. But I thought…I found this great coffee place today, in Shibuya. You ever feel like a cup of coffee?”
She flushed, and for a moment, a look of consternation crossed her face. Then she said, “It’s nice of you, Jun, but…no.”
Damn. I’d really thought she was going to say yes. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I’m sure.”
I should have just taken the hint. But it seemed like she was interested, somehow. I didn’t get it. Without thinking, I said, “Why? It’s just coffee. I know I’m a little younger, but…”
There was an awkward pause. “It’s…hard for me to get around. Shibuya’s a little far.”
I felt like an idiot. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think of that.”
She smiled at that. “I know you didn’t.”
“Well, how about if I could find a place closer by?”
She laughed. “Maybe.”
“I’ll try. I don’t know. It would be good to see you someplace besides this hotel.”
She looked at me. “I really don’t know what to make of you, Jun.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
I grinned, feeling a little more confident. “Well, I like that you’re thinking about it.”
“Yeah. I’ll let you know how it all turns out.”