“They don’t turn up even though they have an appointment?” asked Aoba.
“Yes. We’ve been waiting for a while now. I wonder why. Maybe the door is too heavy?” The doctor cocked his head curiously.
What a strange doctor. There was an old-fashioned feel to his thick Kyoto accent, but his attitude was casual, like your average student. Megumi began to feel that they had come to the wrong clinic. In the first place, Aoba’s problem was without substance and mostly nonsense.
Aoba looked up at her with a smile.
“Mom, you were furious about the door being heavy.”
“You don’t have to bring up unnecessary things.”
Aoba hung her head. The atmosphere had soured, and Megumi couldn’t stay here a moment longer. There was a mountain of things she needed to do back home.
“I’m sorry, Doctor, for bothering you with something so trivial. It seems like my daughter just wanted to visit your clinic. Her elementary school has counselors, so I’ll have her meet with them instead.”
“My problems are not trivial,” Aoba muttered, gazing down at her feet. “Mom, you always say my problems are trivial.”
“But they are. Now, let’s go home. I have to prepare dinner. I’ll listen to your problems about the social ladder or whatever later, okay?”
Aoba didn’t move. “Why do you never listen to me, Mom?”
“I do. I always listen to you during meals.”
“You don’t understand anything. No matter what I say, you always say it’s my fault or who cares about something so stupid. I already told you about the cliques, but you told me not to get involved in such pointless things.”
“That’s…”
Did she talk to me about this? Did I say that? Even if she had, there would be no way Megumi would remember. An elementary school student’s problems changed constantly, like the flavor of the day. Megumi didn’t have time to deal with every single one.
“Hmm. This won’t do,” said the doctor. He crossed his arms. “The door is heavy, huh? That’s not good. Should we give the stronger cat a try? Chitose, can you bring the cat?”
The nurse appeared from behind the curtains, holding a pet carrier.
“Dr. Nikké, are you sure this is okay? There’s a chance the patients with scheduled appointments might arrive soon.” The nurse frowned in disapproval.
The doctor let out a strained laugh. “If they do come, we’ll ask them to wait a little. After all, they’ve kept us waiting for quite a while, so a little wait shouldn’t bother them, right?”
“I’ve no idea,” the nurse said. She placed the carrier down on the table and left the room.
How bossy, thought Megumi. On top of that, she’d made it clear she wanted Megumi and Aoba out of there as soon as possible.
“Mom,” Aoba murmured.
Megumi wondered if Aoba was thinking the same thing, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Aoba was pointing at the carrier.
“Look. There’s a cat.”
“A cat? It can’t be. This isn’t the vet.”
“Look—see?” Aoba exclaimed angrily. “Listen to what I’m saying!”
Megumi stooped down toward the plastic crate. Through a side mesh panel, she saw something white. A tiny cat. Perhaps because its fur stood on end, its coat looked thin and disheveled. It had large eyes and a delicate pink nose. There was a smattering of black fur on one of its ears.
“Yuki…” Megumi muttered.
Aoba turned to look at her. “Do you know this cat, Mom?”
“No, but…There’s no way…because she…”
Megumi couldn’t take her eyes off the cat. It looked like a dandelion seed head that might fly away if you blew on it. The memory of a moment when she had had the very same thought came rushing back to her.
She had been in the third grade at the time.
“Meg! Mami! Quick!”
At Reiko’s beckoning, Megumi rushed toward her, her schoolbag swinging wildly behind her.
On their way home after school, they had taken a slightly longer detour from their usual route and stumbled upon an empty lot. Reiko had spotted a cardboard box lying at the far end of a cinder block wall and crouched in front of it. Megumi peered over her friend’s shoulder; there she saw a dirty towel, newspaper, and three tiny squirming kittens.
“Wow, cats!”
Megumi felt instantly joyous. Although she had petted dogs in the neighborhood before, she had never touched a cat. These cats that she was seeing up close for the first time were as small as stuffed animals.
Mew, mew. They emitted delicate squeaks from their tiny mouths. They already had fangs, but they looked rather flimsy, like plastic.
“So cute!”
