Her answer stopped him cold. “I’ll come by later today,” he said quickly.
Yuki was at the front desk when he entered the ryokan. He greeted her and the staff—all were his former students—standing on either side of her. He looked toward the tea lounge for Mariko. She was in the back, polishing empty tables by the garden window. In the middle of the room, Takahashi sat on a sofa watching her.
“How have things been here?” Sedge said to Yuki, resting his hands on the counter and looking for Nozomi’s letter.
“Everything here is fine. You haven’t been gone long enough for things to change. But of course there have been changes with you, and I hope you’re doing well.”
“You called me about a letter . . .”
“We got one, too. Takahashi has the one she addressed to you. I think you saw him in the lounge. He’s expecting you.”
Sedge walked toward Takahashi. Mariko glanced at him and he smiled at her, but neither of them said a word to each other.
He sat across from Takahashi and leaned forward, waiting to be acknowledged.
Sedge didn’t want to discuss Nozomi within earshot of Mariko, but that was for her sake, as he had nothing to hide. He couldn’t help but wonder if Takahashi had arranged to speak to him in front of her, though. Takahashi was both smart and considerate—he had to be to run a successful ryokan—and when he failed to be the latter, he likely intended it that way.
“Thank you for coming,” Takahashi said, capping a pen he’d been twirling between his fingers.
“Everything looks impressive, as always.”
Takahashi glanced around them and smiled. “How is it being back in the real world? Have you found a job and started working?”
“I’ve had interviews. And I’m scheduled to have more. Hopefully I’ll get an offer soon.”
“A bigger city might support your qualifications more.”
“Even the cities are turning me down.”
Takahashi waved Mariko to their table and told her to give Sedge a menu—which was unnecessary, since he already knew it by heart. She immediately handed one to him and stepped back to wait for his order. Although he and Takahashi were being civil to each other, which he was glad for, he had difficulty controlling his nerves. He wished now he’d come at night, after Mariko had gone home.
Before he could order, Takahashi said, “We were surprised by the letters Nozomi sent. They relieved us, though, and we can’t wait to see her next week when she comes back. She wrote that she wants to see you most of all. But that was in her letter to us. I have no idea what she wrote to you. It’s here on the table; I must have hidden it with this ledger.”
He lifted the ledger and slid the letter toward him. The envelope was thin and could have just as easily contained nothing.
“I’ll have what I always have,” he said to Mariko. “Or what I always used to have.”
She bowed expressionlessly and hurried into the back kitchen. She must wonder if her husband would be returning, too—or did she already know? With Mariko away, he asked Takahashi about him.
“Nozomi didn’t mention him,” Takahashi said. “But that she’s apparently done with him should be a relief, I’d think. Of course, we don’t know the situation yet.”
“A relief to whom?” Sedge said.
“Well, to me and my mother, certainly. And probably to you as well.”
Sedge picked up the envelope and slipped it into a pants pocket. Takahashi shifted uncomfortably in his seat, as if he had expected Sedge to open and read it in his presence.
Mariko returned with their drinks on a tray: black coffee for Takahashi and a ginger tea for Sedge. After setting them on the table, she tucked the tray under her arm and stood by the window a short distance away.
“You’ll have to excuse me,” Sedge said, “but I have lots to do. Maybe we can talk another time.”
Takahashi raised a hand as if to halt him with it. His voice was placating. “Wasn’t the whole reason you accepted our offer to stay here so you could find a way to bring Nozomi back into your life and fix your marriage?”
“At the time I had nothing. No money, no job, no income, no place to live. You gave me time and space to get back on my feet.”
“But we helped you with the understanding that salvaging your marriage was still a priority.”
“Things have changed.”
Takahashi stared at him uncomprehendingly. “I know she hurt you very badly. But she’s still your wife and she’s coming back. In her letter to me, she said she was eager to set things right with you again, however difficult that might be. Wouldn’t you like to give her that chance?”
Takahashi’s calm, reasonable tone unsettled Sedge. Was he being genuine? “After what she did? Why would I?”
Takahashi fell silent, his fingers tracing the stitching of his ledger’s leather cover. After a long moment he said, “I remember not so long ago when you said that despite what she’d done, you’d be willing to give her a second chance. That was why you hadn’t pursued a divorce or contacted the police about the money she took.”
“You made me promise not to. That was one of your conditions for letting me stay here.”
“You must have misunderstood me.” Takahashi glanced at Mariko, then turned back to Sedge. “Do you really think the two of you will find what you and Nozomi once had? And could have again, potentially?”
Angry that Takahashi had pulled Mariko into their conversation, Sedge stood up and said, “There’s no point in our talking more. I have no idea why you’re being this way.”
Takahashi remained seated and turned to look out the window again. “Thank you for coming. It must be nice to hear from Nozomi after all this time. That’s certainly how my mother and I feel. It’s a relief to know she’s all right. And that she’s coming back.”
Sedge hoped Mariko would see the disappointment in his face, but she was staring at the ledger Takahashi was repeatedly opening and closing.
As soon as Sedge stepped outside, he hopped on his bicycle and rode to Yamanaka-za, where he sat at an empty table and tore open Nozomi’s letter.
Dear Sedge,
