Summer Haikus

“Reiko ignored me when I said good night to her. Did I do something to piss her off?”

The alarm beeps at 6:30am, and I roll over and knock the alarm clock halfway across the room. I barely slept, too excited and nervous for my day and date with Masa.

I am one of those people that’s really good, exceedingly excellent, at denying myself the things I want until I achieve my goals. I wouldn’t call myself weak-willed except for my inability to be unplanned.

Dinner drags on for two whole hours, in which I witness Masa and Kae flirt with each other relentlessly. The izakaya is too loud for me to hear their conversation, but the smiles and laughs and glasses clinking is enough to make me want to cry.

I sit patiently while my grandfather counts out the salary I’ve earned since I began working. Ten-thousand yen notes pile up high on the desk, and their sheer number starts to make my hands shake.

The train ride to Akasaka-Mitsuke is packed with people just off work — no seats and standing room only. Rather than possibly being groped by some hard-up salaryman, I stand in Masa’s protective sphere.

We eat cold soba noodles and drink beers at lunch in a busy tourist-infested place close to the temple. The beers were Masa’s idea, even though I fear I’m far from being hydrated.

We take the JR Line into Tokyo Station after getting breakfast at the local bakery and killing an hour’s worth of time so rush hour is completely over. Sitting next to me in the air conditioned comfort of the train, Masa is quiet, alternately playing some game on his phone and asking me questions about how I handled my departure from the ryokan.