Summertime of the Dead (4 page)

Riko sat down next to Miko. ‘A kendo swords-man – how quaint.' Then she stared at me with her good eye. ‘He's very good-looking.'

Louise almost sat in my lap. ‘He is, isn't he?' she said, her breath stinking of sake.

‘Would you like some?' she asked, putting the glass near my face.

‘No, thanks.'

She smiled at me and I felt her hand on my knee. Then I felt a sting, and looking down I saw the steel-tipped silver claw on her little finger.

Riko tapped her fingers, and claws, on the table in an agitated way. Then she turned to Miko. ‘What a great bag.'

‘I want it!' said Louise.

‘You want everything!' snarled Riko.

Miko looked a little nervous. ‘It was a birthday present from Yukio.'

Riko looked sick. ‘Pretty girls get everything.' Then she glared at me like I'd done something wrong.

Louise whispered in my ear. ‘I'll do for you what she did. If you buy me a bag like that.'

‘Are you talking about me, Louise?' screamed Riko.

‘Relax, bitch! I was only asking the boy to dance! You wanna dance, boy?'

‘I don't mind,' I said. But I did mind. I wished they'd go away.

‘Hey, if you're dancing with my girlfriend,' said Kako with a sickly smile. ‘I'm dancing with yours.'

‘And I'll dance with Riko!' said Hiroshi.

‘He's like a little wind-up toy!' said Riko. But then she smiled. ‘Come on then, toy, let's dance.'

So we all got up and moved on to the dance floor.

‘I didn't know you knew yakuza!' said Hiroshi.

I'd never seen him so impressed. ‘Some,' I said. And then I felt proud that I did.

We got on the dance floor and danced to the screaming techno music. Riko danced in a frenzy, like she hated life itself. But Louise tried to dance sexy. She came close to me and rubbed her hands all over. She was trying to turn me on, but I was too busy watching Kako. He kept pulling Miko towards him and shouting in her ear. She kept trying to step back, but he kept hold of her. And he kept touching her! My heart was pounding with the drumbeat. I swear, I was ready to go over there! But then one of the Tanakas' bodyguards came on the dance floor and said something to Riko. She didn't look happy. She shouted something to Louise and left. Louise shouted something to Kako and walked away, but he didn't follow. So she came back and snarled in his face. He looked sick at having to leave Miko, but he followed her like a dog and their whole crew left the club. Just like that they were gone.

Me and Miko took a seat but Hiroshi danced on. I don't think he realized they'd left.

‘They're so strange!' said Miko.

I was still angry over Kako. ‘I don't think they come any stranger!'

But she took my hand and smiled. ‘They're gone now.'

As soon as she said it I felt soothed. I put my arm around her and we snuggled up. It was nice then. Sometimes even nasty things like the Tanakas coming along can make things nicer. And I felt like things were starting to happen between me and Miko. And that was the nicest thing of all.

We watched Hiroshi dance with different girls and as the night went on his dancing got better. We even saw some of the girls trying to copy his moves. And he was having such a good time we could have watched him all night. But when it neared midnight we had to make a move. ‘Hiroshi, we have to go.' I said.

‘Just five more minutes!' he pleaded.

When ten minutes had passed he asked for one last dance, which we gave him. But then he danced on and so me and Miko took him by the arms and pulled him away. And he was still dancing as he came. But just as we reached the top of the stairs Kako came running through the door. He stopped dead when he saw us. ‘Surely you're not leaving!'

‘We have to get home,' said Miko.

‘I'll give you a ride,' said Kako.

‘She has to be home by twelve,' I said.

‘Who are you – her dad?'

He was three years older than me and just as tall but he didn't frighten me. And I gave him a look that let him know it.

‘Just kidding, Yukio. I'm glad she has someone to look after her.' He turned to Hiroshi. ‘And as for you, my little Hiroshi, you're welcome here any time.'

‘Is this your club?' asked Hiroshi.

‘No, it's Riko's. But I work on the door and, well … I can let some people in for free.' He turned to me. ‘The same applies to you, Yukio. Come any time you like.'

But as we left the club I saw him in a mirror. The smile had gone and his face had soured with spite. I knew he was scum. I was just about to warn Hiroshi to stay away from him, but Miko took my hand.

‘I had a great time, Yukio,' she said, and she kissed my cheek.

I felt humbled and happy and I flagged down a taxi without even realizing it. But it was worth it. Because driving through Shibuya, cocooned in the cab, was the icing on the cake of a great evening. It was nice looking out at the swarms of people
with the lights shining in on us. And knowing we would soon be home. When I looked at Miko she was smiling, and when I put my arm around her she smiled even more.

When we pulled up Hiroshi scurried up the steps to their apartment. We could hear him talking excitedly to his grandad. Then the cab drove away, leaving me and Miko alone. We laughed as we listened to Hiroshi raving about the club. Then Miko came closer.

‘So you're going on vacation with your grandmother.'

‘Don't remind me,' I said.

‘It won't be that bad. But I won't see you for a whole week.'

‘I suppose not.'

‘Well, this won't wait,' she said, and standing on her tiptoes she kissed me. It was a long lovely kiss, our first, and it felt so good my eyes closed. Then I realized I wasn't doing anything and so I kissed her back. I heard their grandad shuffling on the landing. He appeared above us, but his eyesight wasn't that good. ‘Are you there, Miko?'

‘Yes, Grandad.'

She smiled and kissed me, quickly this time, and then she trotted up the steps.

‘Did you have a good time?' he asked.

‘We had a great time, Grandad.'

Miko waited patiently as he made his way into the apartment, and then she looked over the landing. ‘I'm missing you already,' she said. And then she went inside and the door closed.

I was smiling as I walked back to the house and I couldn't seem to stop. I slipped off my shoes in the doorway and ran up the stairs to my room. It was warm and my head felt woozy and so I went out on the balcony. There were a few stars and a sickle-shaped moon above the twins' apartment. And there was that summertime smell that made the night seem sweet. And then it dawned on me. Me and Miko had always been childhood sweethearts. It wasn't something that had happened lately; it was something that had always been. Then I laughed when I thought about Hiroshi's words: ‘You two will be kissing next.' After all these years he was finally right.

The lights went out in the twins' apartment and I turned to go to bed. But just then I saw something. It was the tips of a pair of shoes in the street light. There was a man standing in the shadows. He started to urinate against the side of the twins'
block. I tried to see who it was but it was too dark. I was just going to shout something but he turned and walked away. I leaned out as far as I could and looked into the street. But all I could see was his shadow shrinking in the street light, and the sound of his footsteps fading away.

Five days of boredom. It could have been worse. It could have been six. Six would have driven me crazy. Don't get me wrong – Nikko's a nice place. The countryside's beautiful, the people are pleasant, and there are some great temples. But five days with Grandmother was as much as I could take. She complained about everything, and I mean everything. There were too many tourists at the temples, she didn't like the weather, and she didn't like the hotel that we were staying at. She even complained about the trees. Who complains about trees?

I was glad she kept to her usual habit of going to bed at ten, but then I'd end up wandering around the town by myself. And while Nikko was nice, it
wasn't exactly exciting. There were no game shops or pachinko parlours, and there's no nightlife to speak of, not even for a fourteen-year-old boy. I mean, I don't play pachinko and I don't like computer games that much. But it would have been nice if they'd been there.

I did have a conversation, in English, with a black American woman staying in the same hotel, but even that was boring. How old are you? What do you want to do when you leave school? How do you like living in Japan? How do I like living in Japan! How would I know? I've never been anywhere else. I think she only talked to me because she was unhappy. It must have been something to do with her husband. At breakfast they rarely spoke, and when they did it looked like it pained them.

‘She should never have married him,' said Grandmother, who never misses a thing.

I had another conversation with a monk one night when I was out walking. He was sweeping up the leaves in a temple courtyard and I sort of gave him a hand. He was old and funny and he kept talking about baseball. He was baseball mad. And he knew everything there was to know about the New York Yankees. That's the thing about monks. You think
they're all about Buddhism and meditation, but they like normal things as well.

One night I was really missing the twins. And Nikko was only a couple of hours from Tokyo. I was thinking of jumping on a train and going home, and coming back in the morning. But if Grandmother found out, there'd be hell to pay. But on the fifth day it didn't matter. ‘Pack your bags,' she said. ‘We're going home.' I pretended to be disappointed and I thanked her for the nice vacation. But I couldn't pack my things fast enough.

We took the fast train back to Tokyo and then we took a cab to the house. Yoshe came out to greet us and I gave her a hand with the bags, but I didn't have to. She's a well-built woman who's done judo since she was a girl because her father wanted a boy, and she was as strong as an ox. She's been with us for years. How she could put up with Grandmother for so long I don't know, but I was glad that she did. I like Yoshe a lot. She has a good heart and a kind face and she's a great cook too. Sometimes she brings her baby boy with her and he crawls around the house. I find him in the strangest places: like sitting in a basket in the bathroom, or hiding in my cupboard. I picked him up one time. He weighed
a ton and he stunk of pee, but he laughed and so I liked him.

‘You have a good time?' asked Yoshe, rubbing my shoulder. I gave her a look that told her I didn't. ‘Never mind,' she said. ‘You're home now.'

I took Grandmother's bags to her room and put them by her bed. That's it, safe for another year, I thought. But when I came back I saw how tired she was. She sat in her high-backed chair with her eyes closed tight. I felt sorry for her then, and I was sorry she never enjoyed her vacation. And then I felt guilty because Grandmother, mean as she was, did a lot for me. I was never short of money, and if I wanted something I only had to ask. And so in that way I suppose she was kind.

She noticed me watching her. ‘Do you know, Yukio, there was a time when I was a beautiful young woman. Men came from all over Kyoto to admire me. And I was invited to parties and banquets where I would meet movie stars and heads of state.' She seemed distant then, as though remembering those times. ‘How fast it all goes.'

I felt more sorry for her then. And she had been beautiful in her day – I'd seen black-and-white photographs. In one of them she's surrounded by
men. You can tell that they're smitten by her. And in another she's dressed up for a ball. She looks tall and proud, like a princess, and her dark eyes are shining like coal. It's hard to believe it's the same person. She looked at me and sighed. ‘Go and look in the garden. Your belated birthday present should be there.'

I couldn't understand why it would be in the garden, but when I saw it I stopped dead. It was a motorbike! It was only a scooter with a small engine, but it was a motorbike! I rushed back inside and ran into Grandmother's room. But I was so excited I didn't say anything. She looked at me sideways. It was the first time, since I can remember, that she seemed happy. She never smiled or anything, but the bitterness left her face.

‘Well, be careful on it,' she said.

‘I'm only fourteen, Grandmother. I don't think I can ride it until I'm sixteen.' As soon as I said it I was sorry. Now I'd have to wait two years!

But the bitterness returned to her face. ‘Rules are made for stupid people! You're not stupid, are you?'

‘No, Grandmother.'

‘Then you'll ride it now. But I warn you, Yukio, I'll never have a television in this house!'

Grandmother hated technical things like televisions. She even hated cellphones and computers and so I wasn't allowed to have them. I think it was the noise she didn't like. But who wants a television or a cell when they've got a motorbike!

‘Now go and tell Yoshe to bring me my tea.'

I went to leave but I stopped and said, ‘You're still beautiful, Grandmother.' Then I bowed and left.

She probably thought I was lying. But she does have a beautiful face, in a wrinkly sort of way. And she's still distinguished-looking, despite her age.

I rushed past Yoshe, who was coming in with her cats. ‘She wants tea.'

‘It's boiling,' said Yoshe. ‘And listen! You be careful on that – do you hear me?'

‘Yes, Mother.'

‘If I was your mother, Yukio, I wouldn't let you have it!'

I think that ‘mother' comment stung her, and so I stopped. ‘I'll be careful,' I said. ‘How's the baby?'

She smiled. ‘He's fine. I think he missed you.'

‘I missed him too!' I shouted, and rushed out to my new Honda Zoomer. It was beautiful and black with a single seat and a sparse frame, and its tyres were fat and chunky. There was even a helmet with
it. I didn't want to ride it at first, because it looked so new, but then I put on the helmet and pushed the bike outside. I sat on it. It was as comfortable as a couch. I kicked the kick-start and the engine came to life. I was buzzing like a beehive but I was intimidated as well. I'll just ride it to the station, I thought, until I get used to it.