“Your grandparents?” Mariko said, turning to him. Riku nodded. “They called me at the baths,” she went on. “I didn’t realize they were going to call you immediately afterward.”
“It’s funny how excited they sounded.”
“It’s better that way, isn’t it?”
“I guess.”
She pulled out a chair from the table for him to sit in and talk, but he stayed where he was. “Does apprenticing in Echizen appeal to you?” she said.
He smiled at the ceiling; his voice sounded dreamy when he replied. “Maybe it would be good living on my own. I could always come back here if it didn’t work out.”
“There’s no reason for it not to work out. It’s an ideal situation for you. And apprenticeships often lead to careers in the craft you’ve mastered.”
“But if it doesn’t?”
“Why wouldn’t it?” Sedge said from the doorway between the kitchen and veranda.
Riku looked at him as if the answer was obvious. “I might not get along with anyone.”
“I’m sure there’s no reason for that to happen. They’ll be invested in you as much as you’ll be in them. It won’t be like it was at school.”
“But it always happens to me, wherever I am. The only people I’ve never fought with are Okaasan and my grandmother.”
“You fought with your grandfather?” Sedge said.
“One time. I was younger and smaller back then. And he was stronger compared to now.”
“You’ll be fine,” Mariko assured him. “Your grandparents want this to happen for you. And the sensei is keen to have you learn with him, under his care.”
“But if it doesn’t work out, I can come back, can’t I?”
Mariko slowly shook her head. “If it doesn’t work out, Riku, you’ll have to live with your grandparents. They’re old and could use someone to look after them.”
“But they’re farmers. What would I do there?”
“It won’t be an issue if you persevere in the apprenticeship.”
“But why can’t I come back here?”
“I’m not opposed to you coming back eventually,” she said. “But you need to be on your own for a while first. You need to find a way to change.”
To Sedge’s astonishment, Riku agreed with her. “I’d like to change. I just don’t know if I can. I’ve never been any other way. Maybe Grandpa was right and I need a fresh start in Echizen. Grandma said she wouldn’t let me become like my father. I guess I remind her of him.” His chest rose and fell like someone was prodding him from under the floor, and Sedge realized Riku was laughing.
“They said you can visit anytime to meet the sensei and see what the apprenticing conditions would be,” Mariko said.
Riku turned pensive again. “I have to think about it. After all, I don’t want to give up what I have here without being sure about things first. You’ve always said I’m too rash.”
“I don’t want to argue about it. Take your time if you need to.”
Sedge couldn’t tell if she really wanted him to, or if she thought this would make him trust her more and commit to what she said he needed to do.
Saying he wanted to be alone for a while, Riku announced he was going to the baths that Sedge and Mariko had just returned from.
“I know it’s late, but I’m going to make a quick trip to the shrine,” Mariko called from the genkan as Sedge washed and dried their dishes. “I’ll be back in a little while.”
“You’re going now? Can’t you wait until morning?”
“I want to make a prayer for Riku’s success. I won’t feel comfortable until I do it.”
Sedge turned off the water in the sink. “I can come with you if you’ll wait five minutes.”
“It’s okay. I’ll be back soon.”
The front door slid open and shut and then he heard her hurried footsteps on the street. When he finished the dishes, he filled a small beer glass with sake and took it outside to the bench beside the house.
Mariko had agreed to let Sedge sell all of Kōichi’s Kutani-ware, though she doubted Japanese buyers would want it now. Sedge imagined that foreigners would be easier to sell to, and he had privately mulled over asking Nozomi to help him reorganize the ceramics he had hastily stored away after closing their store. They weren’t his alone to sell and profit from, but he was wary about reaching out to her in case it was only an unconscious yearning to see her again.
Twenty minutes later Mariko’s footsteps grew louder as she came back down the street. Seeing her pass by the carport, Sedge called to her. “I’m over here. Join me for a minute.”
Mariko stopped and looked for him in the darkness. “What are you doing out here?”
He handed her his sake and she sipped from it.
“I take it you were the only one at the shrine?”
“Yes. But something was happening at the community center next door. The building was lit up and made it easier for me to see the shrine steps.”
