Late that afternoon, Sedge wandered downstairs in his inn-issued yukata robe, carrying a bag containing a small and large towel. For an hour he shuttled between the indoor and outdoor baths, which offered views of the forest and river. A light rain fell, and a chill wind blew through the trees, sweeping the steam off the surface of hot water.
After soaking in the baths, he returned to the lobby. In the empty tea lounge there, he took a table by the window. As he wiped sweat from his face with the drier of his two wet towels, a movement in the treetops pulled his eyes upward. Balanced atop an enormous pine tree was a gray heron, its long head and neck tucked into its shoulders while the rain battered it. On the bus that morning, once past Kanazawa’s suburbs, the landscape had opened to forests and farmland. The farmland soon became almost exclusively rice fields, which, now that it was early April, farmers were tilling and laying with straw to prepare for seed rice before inundating them. In another few weeks, rice shoots would poke out of the sky-mirroring plots. Herons and cranes had appeared in a great many of the rice fields as the bus drove along.
From behind his shoulder a woman’s voice startled him. “Excuse me. Would you like something to drink?”
For a moment he worried she would scare the heron away, but he quickly realized his foolishness. He turned around. Dressed in the kimono of the ryokan, Mariko stood holding an empty tray. He hadn’t expected to see her so soon, yet here she was.
“Oh!” she said. “With your hair wet I didn’t recognize you. Did you check in today?”
“Two or three hours ago. I didn’t know you worked in the lounge.”
“Takahashi transferred me here yesterday from my normal guestroom duty.”
The phone near the bar rang and she hurried to answer it. She came back to his table smiling even more broadly than when she’d recognized him.
“Have you seen the heron on top of the tree?” he asked.
She looked through the window. “It comes whenever it storms.”
“Only then?”
“For some reason it seems to enjoy being beaten by the wind and rain.”
“A form of masochism?”
Mariko laughed. “It must have a reason to suffer like that, don’t you think?”
“I wonder if it’s suffering. With all the typhoons in Japan, it must have experienced worse weather.” Sedge squinted at it. “It appears to be a male.”
She looked back at the heron. “How can you tell?”
“See the sticks in its beak? Surely they’re to build a nest. But it’s the females that build them; the male only brings what she needs.”
Peering again at the treetops she smiled. “How interesting. You seem to know a lot about birds.”
“Birdwatching’s a hobby of mine. Even so, I’m not sure how much I actually know.”
“I should apologize. Here we are talking, and I still don’t know if you’d like something to drink.” She nodded to the menu on his table.
“I’m just here to relax after my bath.”
“That’s perfectly all right. Please come whenever you’d like.”
A silence fell between them. Sedge worried it might compel her to leave. “What other wildlife do you see here? And have you lived in these parts a long time?”
“All my life. Aside from birds, I’ve seen boars, a few deer, an occasional mountain goat. Some stoats and a lot of tanuki, too. And every few years bears wander from the mountains to the edge of town, though I’ve never seen one.” Her smile flickered and she said, “It hasn’t been long since we met in Kenrokuen, but have you heard anything new?”
He knew she was referring to their spouses. “No. And I’m not expecting to. Not unless it’s about a divorce. Have you?”
“No.”
They both turned as Takahashi entered the lounge.
“You two look like you’re enjoying each other’s company,” he said. Coming up to Sedge, he patted his shoulder. Nodding to the opposite end of the lounge he added, “The bar is over there.”
“It’s too early for me.”
“It’s okay. Yuki and I want you to feel at home here, so do whatever you’d like.” He glanced between Sedge and Mariko. “I’m afraid our small garden here is nothing like Kenrokuen.”
“No place is,” Sedge said. “But your garden is lovely.”
Takahashi smiled at Mariko. “I’m glad you’re working here now. From the front desk I can look up anytime and see you. You’re a more pleasant sight than old Ms. Yoshino. I don’t know how many times I used to catch her napping in a chair.”
Mariko laughed uncomfortably. “She must not have had any customers.”
“She’s very kind, isn’t she?” Takahashi said to Sedge. Looking between them once more, he turned back to Mariko and said, “Those glasses on the counter have been there since last night, haven’t they?”
“I was just about to put them away.”
Mariko bowed and departed for the bar, where she started organizing the glasses in a rack above her.
Turning to Sedge Takahashi said, “If you’d like a beer or glass of sake, it’s on me.”
“I was about to go back to my room, actually.”
“Another time, then. I’ll stop by your room later if you’ll be there.” He gestured for Sedge to leave before him.
Mariko didn’t look up from her work for him to say goodbye. As he walked to the exit, he glanced again out the window. The rain and wind had grown stronger, and the heron had flown away.
