Summer Haikus – Chapter 14

“Halley! Are you ready for the Olympics?” “Halley! Can you tell us where you’ve been while you’ve been in town?”

Halley ducks her head and brings her hand up to her face to block the photographs. Eventually, after ten seconds of running, most of the journalists huff, fall into an asthmatic fit, and halt their chase after us.

“Jesus. Have you been dealing with this every day?” I ask, pushing our pace up the hill of Omotesando. We lucked out today and scored a relatively cool and cloudless morning for our run. Yesterday, it did nothing but rain. We pass high-end store after high-end store, the Prada triangle-windowed monolith looming in the distance. People stop to wave or get out of the way. We have to slow down at intersections because the crowds are too thick. Running in Tokyo is a lot harder when the streets aren’t blocked off for a race.

Halley rolls her eyes. “Yes. They lie in wait outside the apartment and accost my dad at every turn. It’s a good thing you didn’t end up staying with us this summer. There’s no privacy.”

“I’d rather live with you for the summer and run every day than work at the ryokan.”

“Come on. It’s not that bad. I’m sure you’re doing a great job.”

“I suck at it, but I do kind of like it.” I shrug my shoulders and smile, thinking about the people I’m meeting and the subjects I get to talk about with all the foreigners who visit.

Halley smiles. “And it brought you Masa. Plus I’m sure they’re paying you a hell of a lot more than your usual summer job.”

My steps falter. “Paying me? You think I should ask for a wage?”

“Oh my god, girl!” Halley screams, checking her time. “They haven’t paid you for the last three weeks of work?”

I frown, working my legs faster. I’ve been using my debit card to get money out for everyday things like lunches, snacks, protein shakes and bars — the things I live on — but that’s it. I haven’t gone shopping. I haven’t bought gifts for friends or family because my bank account is dwindling fast. Originally, I was going to be paid a stipend for helping Halley this summer and babysitting money from my dad for before and after my trip, neither of which are coming through for me anymore.

Halley glances at me and glues her eyes back to the road.

“They haven’t been paying you.”

“No. Why should they? This is family. I’m helping out my family and my grandparents are already putting me up and feeding me. I kinda figured they’d give me money at the end of the summer, but I’m running low on funds now.”

“You should have a salary, you and Masa. I know how much he’s helping.”

Masa has accompanied me on every errand for the last few weeks and also took over the trash and recycling, which is a chore unto itself. The Japanese are extremely strict about trash. The guide for Kichijōji is over twenty pages long and following the rules is important, because if we get it wrong, the whole neighborhood will look down upon us in shame. Masa is in charge of the regular trash and recycling from the ryokan. The kitchen staff handle their own. He spends time sorting the trash every single day. Certain items go in certain colored bags, and there’s a complicated schedule for when it’s all picked up. I watched him sort one day from the doorway of the back room. He wore headphones, bounced his head to music, threw styrofoam in one container, PET bottles in another, and checked the guideline at least dozen times.

“Ugh, you’re right. They should be paying us now. Well, they should pay me, and I should pay Masa.”

“Ask your grandpa. He’ll be easier than your mom, right?”

I nod and angle her down a side street. My mom has never given me money — that was always my dad’s job — and when they split, it was part of the alimony settlement for my dad to cover my expenses since my mom moved out of the country. I have, in the past, asked Mom for money to help cover some college expenses, and she always refused and sent me to Dad or told me it was time for me to get a job. I love my mom, but she is hard-nosed when it comes to business. “Too many Millennials were coddled, and you won’t end up that way,” she said.

Halley and I run for thirty more minutes, keeping the pace aggressive, until she glances at her watch around the Imperial Palace and slows down to fast walking. “Mile twelve,” she says, catching her breath. “We walk the rest.”

“Your pace is stellar!” I smile and survey my best friend. She’s super fit and at the top of her game. “What have you been doing while I’ve been away?”

She laughs. “Eating tons of fish, sushi practically every day. Napping and recuperating. Lifting weights in the gym down the street. No late nights. No drinking.” She pouts. “How come I’m in a country where I can drink legally and I haven’t even gone out once?”

“You should remedy that soon. One night isn’t going to kill you. Oh! I know. Come to the ryokan tomorrow for our banquet. We’ll have sake, food, a ton of guests to talk to, and a shamisen player is coming. You’ll have a great time.”

Please, please come, Halley. I’m scared I’m going to totally mess up this important night and I’ll prove to everyone I’m incapable of handling this job. The ryokan is steadily growing on me. I like the employees and the building is starting to feel like home. The errands are getting easier, and I’m falling into a routine with Masa by my side. I want my mom to be proud of the work I’m doing there.

“That sounds like fun!” Halley says, nodding her head and opening the Calendar app on her phone. “I’m free tomorrow night so count me in. Do I need to wear a kimono?”

“No. Just me. Grandpa has been training me this past week on how to do one of these banquets. It’ll be my first time.”

Along the moat outside the Imperial Palace, people stop to photograph themselves at the gate and the bridge. Halley and I slow down and come to the edge of the water. The koi fish swim towards us, lapping and angling over each other, mouths open and begging at the surface for treats.

“Holy…” Halley steps back. “Wow. There are so many of them!”

A hundred or more fish riot in the water, hoping for food and attention. I slip my iPhone out of my armband and take a few photos, uploading them to Instagram. Masa likes one immediately. I don’t know where he is today, spending his day off without me, but the fact that he’s still giving me attention through social media makes the hope growing in my soul sprout a few more inches.

I show the activity to Halley as we start walking again. “How are things with Masa?” she asks, almost too innocently.

“Good. I think… I think maybe something might be happening with him? I’m not sure.”

Halley jumps and claps, skipping ahead of me and back. “I saw him two nights ago in Akasaka at the 7-11, believe it or not. He said he loves spending the days with you at the ryokan.”

“Really?” My heart clenches and tries to squeeze itself into a tiny ball before exploding. “He bought me pens the other week. Four different colors. Left them on my bed with a note.” I smile, remembering it and how, when I used the pens the next day, Masa squeezed my shoulders in a slightly awkward side hug.

Halley bursts into a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. Two Japanese businessmen pass us and stare at her. “Pens? How romantic.”

I slow down because my heart up and died. “Oh. I guess you’re right. It’s not romantic, is it?” Disappointment floods hope and drowns its roots as I flip through all of our interactions in my head and come to the conclusion that he’s my friend, nothing more. “I must be wrong.”

“Oh shit, I’m sorry.” Halley grabs my arm, but I pull it away, angry I never make the right decisions about men. “I didn’t mean that. He thought of you, Isa. He knows what you like, and he bought you something just for you. That is romantic.”

I shake my head and keep walking. “No. You’re right. I’m reading the whole thing wrong. He’s my friend. Of course he’s going to buy me something easy and practical.”

“You’re easy and practical.”

I’m silent for a block, holding in my protests. I can be fun! I can have a good time! I could even be sexy, if I knew what the hell I was doing. But I am easy and practical. Not exactly girlfriend material.

“I have an idea,” Halley says, walking sideways next to me. “Let’s all go out for dinner and drinks at an izakaya next week. There are several good ones in Kichijōji. I could come out and join you for dinner.”

I glare at her from the corner of my eye. “You’re a marathon runner in the upcoming Olympics. Let’s not overdo the evening activities.”

She puts her hand to her chest. “Honest to God, Isa, I promise I’ll go easy. I don’t want to blow it now. But after the Olympics? I’m going hard core for days. Especially once my dad is gone and we’re on our way to Kyoto.”

“You’re on your way to Kyoto. I’ll be working at the ryokan.”

She pouts, pushing her bottom lip out. “You can’t get away? Won’t your mom be home by then?”

“It’s been almost three weeks since the accident, and she’s not home yet. I need to go to the hospital on Monday and find out what’s going on, even though I was just there on Wednesday.” I groan and rub at my sweaty face. “Tomorrow and Sunday are going to be nuts at work.”

“Don’t forget what Sunday is,” Halley says, pushing my arm.

I take out my phone and look at the date. “June twenty-first?”

“No! Father’s Day! Don’t forget to call your dad. My dad and I are going to Asakusa for the day.”

“Maybe I’ll just ask my dad for more money…”

“Don’t pussy out of talking to your mom about money,” she says, shaking her finger at me. “Your mom hasn’t given you a cent in years. It’s about time she ponied up.”

“She doesn’t owe me anything.” I shift my shoulders around, trying to make my skin fit back on my body. I hate talking about money.

“You have saved her ass. Maybe she doesn’t owe you anything for college or whatever, but working at the ryokan is something you should be paid for.”

“Fine, fine,” I mutter in defeat. “Yes, drill sergeant. You know, the girls who clean the rooms often go out to an izakaya a few nights a week with their friends. They always invite me, but I never go. Should I tell them we’ll come along?”

“That sounds perfect! Let’s do that!” Halley jumps into the air, and when she lands, she grabs my hand. “There’s this tiny garden over here in the middle of these office buildings. Let’s go check it out. We’ll do some video for your tutorials!”