On Friday I get the pay for the week together. The onsen employees come in, one by one, and I thank them for their hard work and hand them the envelopes with their earnings. This week I take home more, to reflect the increased hours I’ve taken on now that Makoto-chan is in school.
I already spoke to the head of the kitchen staff and check the stores of food and drink against the reservations this weekend. No grand banquets or any special occasions, thank goodness. Then to the housekeeper about her habit of taking flowers from the gardens, which always causes a row between her and the gardener… when I allow her a perfectly adequate amount for flowers…
Sugiyama-san is the breezy kind of person that likes to see things smoothed over but rarely to see them -solved-, so more of these personell issues are falling to me.
I look over dates. The children will have a week off later in the summer, and maybe I can arrange to have some of that time off myself. I would like for Makoto-chan to see more than I did, to get out more. I was so sheltered and limited… but times have changed, and I want her to have broader horizons than I did. Maybe something small for now – maybe not out of Shizuoka – but in time, I will take her to Tokyo and Kyoto. I won’t get paid if I don’t work, but if I plan ahead I can manage that loss and the expenses on my own income, and not touch my savings…
However, I should look at my books tonight before I make plans that are too grand. That’s good. Facts in black and white will keep my mind from thinking too much about seeing Hajime tomorrow. It still seems rather foreign… after six years. He comes to see Makoto-chan of course, not me. I will keep telling myself that.
Which reminds me that I should hurry and finish – I have errands to see to…
(OOC: To be continued)
Friday, April 10th – Hide’s Day
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After dealing with the latest drama from a guest, I come back to the office to see Yagi-san getting ready to leave. So early? Oh, yes, we agreed on Fridays that she leave after she is done getting the pay out.
She’s always so -calm-. Quiet. Proper. I don’t know how she ever managed to get that child…
Oh ho ho, -stop- that, Tsuhiko! I try to cover my giggle with a cough as she turns around. “Yagi-san, thank you for your work this week. Having you here more is so terribly helpful!” I smile at her. She turns, seeming a little startled. Maybe she was lost in thought. I’ve seen her like that…
The less of this boring stuff in this room I’m left with the better. Too bad I’m still tied here… as long as father is alive and insists that this onsen stays in the family, or until Matsuo-san is -finally- done with his duties… at least Yagi-san handles the things I don’t wish to. I have no head for figures, I’d rather be with people.
“Do you have plans for the next few days?” I ask, idly. I do like to keep track of what she has going on.
“Thank you, Sugiyama-san.” I bow slightly, closing the onsen account books. Done.
Do you have plans for the next few days?
A -normal- question, but it leaves me slightly on edge. “Ah, just quiet, with Makoto-chan and I. My relative Yamaguchi-san might be back in Ito to see us again.”
I keep my face calm as I finish putting everything away.
Oh… her relation. I turn and smile a little to myself. Yamaguchi-san is older than I, of course, but… I will have to pry information from Yagi-san later. She’s so reserved that I can’t really read much from her, but… I would like to know more about this gentleman.
For Yagi-san’s sake, of course.
We exchange our farewells as she leaves for the week, and I get out of this boring office and back out to see to guests.
Done with my errands and with the small package secured safely among my groceries, I go straight to the Mochizuki’s. The girls are playing in the front garden, and Hiroku-san is sitting on the engawa, sewing something. She looks up and smiles as I approach, and I come closer to see what she’s working on.
Mochizuki Isamu is a fabric and cloth seller, his family has always been in that business in Ito. Hiroku-san is a talented seamstress and gets commissions to make kimono and other items – it’s a small side, and it brings in money… they do have two children in school now. “Isn’t this lovely?” she asks, her hand touching the soft fabric.
When was the last time I had something so fine?
Things were so much simpler then. I look out to the yard where Makoto-chan is playing with Isuzu-chan. No… I truly don’t mind. Such things are not for my life now – of course, I kept everything but a peach-colored kimono is a rather distant thing to my practical life now. A dream… a distant dream, lost in the shadows. When my life was just about looking pretty and waiting on Hajime. Is it a wonder I was always struck wordless when he asked me about my day? I really, back then… accomplished nothing with the time I had.
Makoto-chan as always breaks me out of those kinds of thoughts as she comes running up, carrying the little bag with her bento box and books.
Why is it rattling? That is a mystery for another time… I thank Hiroku-san for as always watching out over
“Do come by next week, I’ve a commission for a western dress, it’s a clever design…” Hiroku-san tells me as we leave, and I can tell she’s excited, it’s more of her passion than kimono. I should, maybe next Wednesday. Of the people I know now, she is the closest I have to someone I might be able to talk to.