Saying Goodbye, Part Two (Passports and Promises Book 1) (8 page)

I held the bag as far as I could away from him. “Yes. No peeking.”

He stopped walking and stared at me. “You got me a gift? Truly?”

“Yes. Now go away and leave me alone. I’m wet and cold and I want to change my clothes.”

He picked me up and swung me around again, but this time he didn’t toss me into the snow. Instead, he lowered me carefully to the ground and leaned over to place the sweetest, gentlest kiss possible on my lips.

He was gone before I could respond, before I could do anything at all. I just stood there, in the swirling snow, my heart so full of joy I thought it might burst.

Later, after changing and warming myself under our kotatsu, I pulled out my kanji
dictionary and set to work trying to figure out what the message on the washbasin meant. Hana came in as I worked.

“What’s that?”

“My reading assignment from one of the janitors at Ryoanji. Don’t ask.”

It was tricky, because the characters didn’t make sense in modern Japanese. I was about to give up when someone knocked at our door. Thomas and Malcolm stood there, all bundled up.

“Come on girls,” said Thomas. “We’re going to build a snowman.”

“Are you serious?” asked Hana. “It’s freezing.”

“Stop whining, Hula Girl,” said Malcolm. “Let’s go.”

“On one condition,” I said, sure I’d stump them. Hana and I had been working on this for an hour. There was no way they’d be able to translate it. “Tell me what this means, and we’ll go with you.”

I held up my phone and showed them the photo of the tsukubai. Thomas glanced at it and grinned. “Well, that’s easy.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “No, it isn’t. I looked all through the Japanese dictionary and couldn’t figure it out.”

“That’s because you’re not seeing what’s there. The square hole in the center of the stone is part of each character, completing them. Without that, it’s just a load of rubbish.”

I looked at him in surprise. “So what does it say, Mr. Smarty Pants?”

“The characters themselves are easy. Although pronounced differently, the meaning is the same at it would be in Chinese. It says ‘
I learn only to be contented.’
Now get your wellies on. It’s time to play in the snow.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

I
saw Thomas at breakfast the next morning. I put my tray down on the table and sat in the chair next to him.

“I have a proposition for you,” I said.

He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Sam. I haven’t even had my coffee yet.”

I rolled my eyes. “Not that kind of proposition. I want to offer you a trade. I’ll help you with your Japanese class if you’ll help me with kanji.”

He pulled out a newspaper from his backpack, setting it down so we could read it together. “Let’s get started.”

I almost dropped the piece of toast I’d just slathered with jelly. “You can read the newspaper? That’s amazing. I can barely understand the headlines.”

“I can read it, but I can’t understand it. Maybe we’ll figure it out together.”

We worked as we finished our breakfast, and together we translated an article about an ikebana show coming to Ritsumeikan. He proved to be a huge help. He had such a natural understanding of languages. I felt surprised to realize I’d absorbed a great deal in my weeks at Ritsumeikan. It seemed more automatic now, less of a struggle.

“We should go to that flower show,” said Thomas.

I hefted my backpack, heavy with the giant kanji dictionary I had to carry around, onto my back, “Really? You wouldn’t mind coming with me?”

“Of course not. As long as you come to my rugby match tomorrow.”

I winced. “Sure.”

He laughed at the expression on my face. “What’s the matter? You don’t like rugby?”

“I don’t like seeing you get knocked around and bloodied and smushed under a pile of guys.”

“Careful, Sam,” he said with a wink. “It sounds like you’re starting to care.”

We walked to Japanese Anthropology, the only class we had together, and took a seat. Dr. Brown, a professor visiting from the States for a semester, was also our study abroad advisor while we spent our time at Ritsumeikan. Thomas joked he’d be the one to get us out of the clanker if we messed up. It was probably true. Dr. Brown took his job very seriously, and he was an excellent teacher, too.

“A research project?” I asked, reading Dr. Brown’s notes on the board.

“Yes. It’ll be your final exam and fifty percent of your grade. I want you to find an element of Japanese society you find surprising or intriguing. Something unlike what you’ve encountered in your home countries. This is a chance for you to do actual, hands-on, extensive research. Interview people. Learn their stories. Work with a partner on this. I can’t wait to see what you come up with.”

I looked at Thomas and mouthed the words, “
You and me?”

He nodded, giving me a thumbs up.

Dr. Brown let us meet with our partners for the remainder of the class. “So, what do you think, Sam?” asked Thomas. “Do you want to do it on women in the workforce or something like that?”

I giggled. “Is that really what you’re interested in?”

He shrugged. “I’m trying to be accommodating. I grew up with three brothers. I don’t understand a lot of girly things.”

I nibbled on my lip. “Well, I kind of have an idea. It isn’t ikebana or art or anything like that. It might be a little tricky. We’ll have to make sure Dr. Brown will let us do it.”

“Now I’m intrigued. What is this fascinating subject?”

“The water trade.
Mizu shobai.
I want to learn about all of it, from regular bars and nightclubs to those that cater for people with…unusual tastes.”

“So basically our research will be drinking? I can get behind that idea.”

I nudged him with my elbow. “I thought so. But there’s more.”

He studied my face. “You want to write about the other stuff, too, like the place were Kylie works.”

“And soapland.”

“
Soapland?
Eee, Sam. I can’t let you go to soapland.”

I leaned close. “You’ll have to, because I don’t think I can get in without you.”

He covered his face with his hands. “You want me to go in as a
customer?”

“Yes. In the interest of research. I have to see how they do their job. Don’t worry. It won’t be bad. And I’ll be there with you—taking notes.”

I tried to remain serious, enjoying the look of horror on Thomas’ face, but ended up laughing. He let out a long, relieved breath when he realized I’d been teasing him, making me laugh even harder.

“Not nice, Sam. Not nice at all.”

We spoke with Dr. Brown after class, explaining the topic we’d chosen. He looked at us over his glasses. “The water trade. Interesting. As long as you take this seriously, as a research project, and as long as you stick together, I don’t see a problem with it. The term ‘mizu shobai’
actually comes from the time of the Tokugawa shogunate, something I’m sure you’ll uncover in your research.”

We stepped out into the cold February sunshine together. “When do we start?” I asked.

“No time like the present. I say we go tonight.”

I had a break in the afternoon, so I went to find Mr. Ando at Ryoanji. He sat on a stone bench in the outer garden, bundled up against the weather, his bald head covered with a colorful woolen cap that reminded me of one my sister had back home. He grinned when he saw me.

“Sami-san. How are you? You look
genki.”

Genki
,
a single word in Japanese that encompassed so many in English. Healthy. Happy. Energetic. Lively. Well.

“I’m very genki today, thank you.”

“Did you figure out my puzzle?”

“Yes. I had a little help, though.” I explained about Thomas and how he’d been the one to figure it out. “
I learn only to be contented.
Do you really think that’s true? It seems like the more I learn, the more I realize how little I actually know, and it makes me the opposite of contented.”

“You are correct, but this isn’t the only way to interpret it. You must find the message that works for you. It can also mean,
if you learn to be content, you are rich in spirit.”

“Oh.” I thought about it, perplexed. “How do I learn contentment?”

He covered his mouth as he giggled. Adorable. “That is the tricky part. If you knew it, you would be a Zen master. The important thing is to try to find joy and pleasure in simple things. You can be materially wealthy, but poor in spirit.”

The cold from the stone bench seeped into my bones. I stood up, shivering. “Thank you, Ando-san. I’d better let you get back to work.”

He stood, too, although he didn’t seem bothered by the cold in the heavy robe he had on. “This is my work. I breathe in. I breathe out. I exist. At my age, an accomplishment.”

“I’ll come back and visit you soon.”

“Good,” he said. “And you have another homework assignment. Pay attention to the times you feel true contentment. Remember them. Hold onto them. Bring them back and share them with me.”

“Sure,” I said, giving him a puzzled frown. “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but you are definitely the strangest janitor I’ve ever met.”

He tossed back his head and laughed. “Yes,” he said, “Yes, I am.”

As I walked back to my dorm room to get ready to go out with Thomas, I thought about what Mr. Ando said. Dylan told me long ago I made him content, but learning to be content seemed impossible. A person either felt it or they didn’t. It wasn’t a skill. It couldn’t be taught.

Thomas picked me up promptly at eight. I dressed in a black mini, black tights, and a bright blue sweater I borrowed from Hana. I needed a bit of color. I’d grown a little weary of black, black, and more black. She’d loaned me a jacket, too. It matched the sweater and was cut short, tight, and kind of sexy.

Thomas had on jeans and a dress shirt that hugged his muscles. He had a sweater tossed over his shoulders in deference to the February temperatures, but he didn’t seem cold at all. I shivered inside Hana’s little coat, wishing I’d brought a hat.

Thomas gave me a brief appraisal. “You’d better wear more than that bahookie freezer or you’ll regret it.”

“Bahookie?”

“Your bottom,” he said, sneaking a glance at my backside. “Of course.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be fine. And so will my bahookie. Where are we going?”

“I have a surprise for you. Our first stop on the mizu shobai
express.”

We took an elevator to the top floor of a building with big glass windows and bright flashing lights. The elevator doors opened, and a man dressed as a geisha greeted us, squealing as soon as we stepped into the room.

“
Gaijin-san. Irrashaimase.” Mr. Foreigner. Welcome.

Soon a small herd of heavily made up men, all dressed as geisha, surrounded us. I plastered a smile on my face. “Where are we?”

Thomas gave me a crooked smile. “You wanted interesting, didn’t you?”

A man in the back of the room smiled and waved when he saw Thomas. He had on a red kimono and a high, black wig with red chopsticks coming out the top. The makeup on his face made his skin very white, and contrasted with his darkly lined eyes and red lips. He walked up and gave Thomas a firm and manly kind of handshake.

“Nice to see you, mate.”

I blinked. “You’re Australian?”

The guy stood nearly as tall as Thomas, with shoulders almost as broad. “I’m Japanese, but I lived in Australia growing up. We went there for my dad’s job. I’m Shinji.”

I shook his hand. “And how do you know Thomas?”

“We play rugby together,” said Shinji.

“Of course.” Thomas could have warned me about this. “Did he tell you about our research project?”

He nodded. “The other blokes would love to speak with you. We have a table in the back.”

I sat down next to Shinji and pulled out my notebook. Thomas sat on my other side. The tall geisha who’d greeted us at the elevator, Aki, sat down so close to Thomas he was nearly on his lap.

“You’re so handsome,” he said, batting his eyelashes. “And so biiiiiiiig.” I looked under the table and saw Aki’s hand creep up Thomas’ thigh. Thomas shifted uncomfortably.

“
Dame da yo,”
said Shinji, giving Aki a dirty look.
That’s bad.

Aki pulled his hand away, perturbed. “
De mo hoshii.” But I want it.

Shinji scowled, speaking even more firmly this time and shaking his head. “
Dame.” Bad.

Thomas, in an effort to avoid getting fondled, got up to buy drinks. I turned to Aki, trying to smooth things over. “Do you work here?” I asked in Japanese. “Your kimono is beautiful.”

Aki waved her fan. Even though they both dressed as women, I realized Shinji was definitely “he” and Aki “she.”

“Thank you,” she said in English, smiling coquettishly at me. Then she answered my question in Japanese. “I work here. I work at some other places, too. I’m a busy girl.”

“So you identify as female?”

“I am
otokonoko.”

Thomas had come back with our drinks and sat across the table from Aki and those wandering hands. He raised an eyebrow at me in question.

“Otokonoko
means ‘boy,’ so I think Aki identifies as male. Not what I expected.”

Shinji shook his head. “It’s pronounced the same, but you’ve got the wrong otokonoko
,
Sam.” He wrote out the kanji for me on a napkin.

The word “boy” was formed with the kanji for “male” and “child.” What he jotted down had a very different meaning. I looked up in surprise. “Male
daughter
?”

Thomas gave me a proud smile. “She’s the kanji
master, ladies and gentlemen.”

I beamed. My kanji really had gotten better lately. I had high hopes now about acing the test for the Institute of Applied Linguistics. As long as I kept up my progress and got good grades in my other classes, I knew I’d get in.

“Thanks to you, ox.”

“Ox?” asked Shinji.

“An endearment,” explained Thomas. “She called me a Scottish ox the first night we met, and she’s teasing me with it now.”

“She does it because she loves you,” said Shinji, making a heart shape with his fingers.

I tried to smile, but my face froze. I took a long swig of beer, composed myself, and asked questions to the cross-dressers, trying to ignore the question going through my own mind.

Did I love Thomas MacGregor?

The very idea sent a tremor of fear through my body, making me remember a million moments with Dylan, a million mistakes I made. None of it was Thomas’ fault, but he now paid the price for things that happened long before I met him.

I turned to Shinji, pen at the ready. “So do you describe yourself as otokonoko
as well?”

He looked a bit surprised. “I’m a man and I date women. I dress this way for fun. To blow off steam. Life in Japan can be pretty stressful.”