Mamachari Matchmaker – Chapter 3

MAMACHARI

“Morning!” I say to Eriko as she comes towards me in the garage. “It’s another beautiful day. Are we heading out anywhere?”

“Yeah.” She squats next to me and unchains my frame and front wheel. “My friends are meeting up in the park to hang out for the afternoon.” She takes a small, soft-sided cooler, straps it to the back luggage cart, and pushes me backwards from the parking spot.

“Friends? I can’t wait to meet your friends!” Eriko said her life was solitary but no solitary person has friends. This is good. I’ll scope out these people and see if there’s any way she can be set up on a date.

“Don’t get too excited.” She laughs before swinging her leg over the frame. “These are friends from work, and they’re not even my good friends. I’ve known them for a long time. I doubt you’ll find anyone among them to hook me up with.”

“You never know.”

I hum as we pick up speed down the hill, around the bend, and about a kilometer later we’re at the park together. Eriko dismounts from the seat and walks me along the grass.

“Wow. That was a lot quicker than walking or even taking the bus,” she says, a huge smile on her face. “I’m on time for once.”

“Are you usually late?”

“Sometimes.” She sighs. “Most of the time. This is why I got you. I hope to be on time for work, too.” She lifts her hand and waves. “Hi!”

We approach a group of early twenty-something-aged men and women sitting on blankets under a crop of cherry trees. Spring flowers have just expired in Japan, and the trees are thickening with green leaves, the last of their flower petals decaying on the ground.

Eriko slowly walks me to the tree and rests my frame against it. “Oh no. There are people here I don’t know.” She frowns and glances over her shoulder at the two men sitting with their friends. They’re both foreigners, or look foreign at least. The guys smile at Eriko as she detaches the cooler from the back of the bike.

“They look nice,” I say, trying not to sound too excited.

“I forgot Asa’s roommate is a teacher at the local elementary school. I think these guys are the English teachers there.”

“What’s that?” One of them leans forward and pokes his head between Eriko and me. “Did I hear you talking to your bike?” He asks in Japanese. Ohhhh, that’s promising.

Eriko blushes five shades of sunset.

“I’m sorry. I was just mumbling to myself.”

“My name is Henry,” he says, jutting out his hand to shake before withdrawing it and bowing instead. “Sorry. I’m still not used to bowing.”

“That’s okay,” she replies, holding out her hand. “I like to shake hands.”

“Good good good. Nice way to start a conversation,” I whisper.

When Henry turns away, she swivels and whispers, “Not another word until we leave.”

I clamp my virtual mouth shut and watch.

Eriko sits silent for an excruciatingly long time but I give her credit for not checking her phone or picking at her nails. She merely listens to the conversation around her, nodding her head, and sipping from a bottle of water she brought with her. The only spot available on the blanket when we showed up was between the two foreign men. The one on Eriko’s left is obviously sweet on one of her friends. He’s leaning over and talking to her, laughing at everything she says and even blushing on occasion. This is a type that wears his heart on his sleeve.

Henry, on her right, is a different story. He’s quiet and it takes him a while for his Japanese to come up to speed with everyone else. Maybe he’s too shy to talk to Eriko as well. She said she wanted nice and funny, but it’s hard to tell if he qualifies.

This may be entirely hopeless. I’m going to be stuck with a girl who will never open her mouth and talk to other men!

I sigh before remembering Eriko can hear me.

She rolls her eyes and mumbles, “Fine,” at me before reaching into the cooler and extracting a large plastic container of homemade food. Henry’s eyes follow the container, and he smiles before smacking his lips.

What’s that phrase I’ve heard before? The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. His eyes glaze over at the sight of Eriko’s offerings, and he hums mmmm with happiness.

Okay, okay. Now we have a plan!