“Being a big talker is what’s good about him?” Mrs. Sasaki rolled her eyes. Then, turning to the counter, she called for two more bottles of sake.
Kaguya was watching intently as the master grilled striped mullet with salt, so the other apprentice, whose name was Saka, brought over the order. He didn’t go out of his way to be friendly, but his good looks were striking.
“Hey, Saka,” Nishioka said. “You work with Kaguya. Doesn’t it bother you at all?”
“Doesn’t what bother me?”
“There she is, cute as a button and dedicated to her work, and now look.” He gestured with his chin at Majime. “Hooked up with a guy who’ll never amount to a hill of beans. Doesn’t it seem like a waste?”
“Nishioka, you’re drunk.” Upset, Majime waved his hands over the table as if to dispel the words Nishioka had spoken.
“I’m a married man,” said Saka, one eyebrow raised in faint amusement.
Nishioka clucked his tongue faintly, as if to say, “What if you are? Go get her.”
“But I’ll say this,” Saka went on, looking at Majime. “If you do anything to stand in Miss Hayashi’s way, you’ll get a drubbing from me.” With a smile at the corner of his mouth, he added, “She is my protégée, after all,” and returned to the kitchen.
“What a sweetheart!” Mrs. Sasaki said, her cheeks flushed.
Even Araki was impressed. “That’s what is meant by ‘a man’s man.’”
Majime, meanwhile, was holding forth with Professor Matsumoto. Did the professor think the word drubbing was related to drumming?
“He’s a chef, after all,” said the professor lightly. “I’m surprised he didn’t threaten to dredge you in flour and boil you in oil!”
Nishioka was not amused. “Last orders!” he announced, ready to bring the evening to an end. “Who wants Inaniwa udon noodles, and who wants rice with tea? A show of hands, please.”
Majime raised his hand for the noodles.
Nishioka plodded home to his apartment in Asagaya.
“Hi, Masa.” Remi Miyoshi greeted him from the living-room sofa, where she was lying down watching television.
Nishioka stood looking down at her, coat in hand. “Butt-ugly as ever, aren’t you?”
“Hey! You think you can say anything and people won’t get hurt. You’re an idiot, you know that?”
Remi sat up and checked the manicure and pedicure she had given herself, to see if her nails were dry. The color was pearl beige, studded with tiny glittering stones.
Nishioka apologized, while thinking about how useless her skills were.
Their relationship had changed the night of the company party. He liked her, and after getting drunk he had ended up taking her to bed. The next morning, seeing her face without makeup, he’d been stunned. Her big, lustrous eyes were now narrow slits, she’d lost 70 percent of her eyelashes, and her eyebrows had vanished like mist. To be frank, she was a dog. The sight surprised him, but he still liked her. Also he was impressed by her mastery of the art of makeup and moved by the effort she was willing to put into making herself attractive.
Ever since, they’d been in and out of each other’s apartments. Remi removed her makeup in front of him, and he spoke his mind freely around her. But if anyone had asked, “So are you and her an item?” he’d have been stuck for an answer.
He still went to singles parties and sometimes, if things worked out, slept with other women. Sometimes he’d go on seeing the other woman for a while, though never for very long. Remi never said a word. When she sensed he had another woman, she stayed away. When the other woman disappeared, she came back. Apparently she saw other men now and then, too. He wasn’t sure if he should ask, so he kept quiet. Back when they had been in college, they could talk about anything. It was funny to think that sleeping with someone could put distance between you.
Whoever he is, I’ll bet he doesn’t know what she looks like without her makeup on, he would tell himself to lift his gloom. But why be gloomy in the first place? Was it jealousy based on feelings of love, or just a childish desire to have her to himself? He wasn’t sure. Anyway, their nowhere relationship kept right on going nowhere.
Now, having apologized, he explained, “It’s just that after seeing Kaguya up close tonight, the difference kind of hit me over the head.”
“Kaguya? Who’s she?”
“Works in a restaurant we go to sometimes.”
“A stunner, huh?”
“Way beyond ordinary. A perfect ten.”
“Not the world’s most tactful guy, are you? Good grief!”
She puffed out her cheeks and came at him as he sat on the sofa, delivering a body blow. With her cheeks like that, she was more moon-faced than ever. At the same time, he had to admit that her warmth beside him somehow helped him relax.
Her hair smelled nice. Must’ve used his shower without asking, like always. It was his shampoo, but on her he always thought it smelled sweeter. Even though she’d just rammed him, her eyes were laughing, so he felt comfortable saying, “I was comparing you to someone way beyond the ordinary, so we’re cool, aren’t we?”
“Comparing me to anyone is rude!”
For a while they tussled on the sofa.
How did Majime act with Kaguya? Nishioka lacked much imagination, so he couldn’t come up with a very precise mental picture. Somehow he imagined Kaguya smiling happily as she looked up at Majime—that was all. “A beautiful woman palls in three days.” That’s what people said, but maybe Majime would go on to marry Kaguya, while he ended up with Remi here. Now, was that fair?
Remi gently bit his lower lip, bringing his attention back to matters at hand. He was staring straight into her narrow eyes from close up. He was darned if he knew how she transformed them every morning. She huddled over the bathroom sink with her makeup kit, and when she came out, they were big and beautiful. Magic.
“She’s not really just a waitress, is she?” asked Remi, sounding wan.
Indeed, she was a cook, not a waitress, but that didn’t seem to be where Remi was going.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve been kind of down lately. She’s not just a pretty waitress. There’s something more.” Sitting on the sofa with her arms around her knees, Remi let her gaze drop to his chest. “You sure you’re not smitten?”
She had keen instincts. That might be one reason why their funny relationship had lasted so long. He opened his arms and pulled her close.
“You know me better than that,” he said lightly. “You know I’m never serious.”
Remi stirred slightly in his embrace and stole a look at his expression. She looked like she was thinking, “I know you scare easy.”
He started to enjoy himself. Enough with the upward glances, he thought. With a face like hers, it just looked as if she was giving him the evil eye.
“I’m going to go take a bath,” he said, and stood up. “You working tomorrow?”
“You know I am.”