Sapporo: Jen's Storu
At the Sapporo beer factory, Jen and I exchange love stories over beer. "Love Stories Over Beer" sounds like it could be a good anthology for our generation, doesn't it? I tell her mine, about the "Destiny Wife," "Chris-Squared Tran-squared" etc. I tell her about Sayaka, who at this point was only a two week old memory.
She tells me about Toshiro. Or Toshi for short.
It's been a year, so I don't remember if his name truly is Toshiro, but it sounds right. It's also the name of that spooky kid from "The Grudge" and that's what was on the TV earlier today. Jen doesn't normally date Japanese men, but for whatever reason, she started dating Toshiro. He'd begun as one of her students, and was a couple years older than her. Lessons turned to dates. Dates turned into, well steamy dates, etc. This went on for about a year, and to Jen, everything seemed to be going well. All signs were green.
It was a rainy day about a year ago. A big rainy day. Think Typhoon, though typhoons rarely reach Hokkaido. Toshiro calls Jen and says, "I'll be over in half an hour."
Jen waits at home for Toshi to arrive. A half hour passes. An hour passes. Three hours pass. A day passes.
Jen freaks out. She goes to the police, but not being his wife or his relative, the police are unwilling to help.
At this point, Jen relates to me that she didn't know where he lived. THey'd always met in public places or at her place, never his place. Japanese people are notoriously recalcitrant about having significant others meeting their parents. Toshi was no exception.
For the next three months, Jen pores over every newspaper and newscast she can get her hands on. Her Japanese is excellent, at least as good as my French, though not as good as my Vietnamese. She looks for any news about car accidents, people going missing, people found with amnesia, etc. She feels like she's living in a soap opera.
About a year later, she'd finished mourning Toshi. Unsure of what had happened, she had no way of finding out, and had gone on living her life.
It's at this point she runs into a friend of Toshi's in a mall. Scared and happy at the same time, she rushes him. She asks him about Toshi.
He tells her that he's fine, and that Toshi's probably at home with his wife and their 5 year old child.
I ordered another round of beer.
*****
THere is an embarrassing number of tense problems here... Sorry.
She tells me about Toshiro. Or Toshi for short.
It's been a year, so I don't remember if his name truly is Toshiro, but it sounds right. It's also the name of that spooky kid from "The Grudge" and that's what was on the TV earlier today. Jen doesn't normally date Japanese men, but for whatever reason, she started dating Toshiro. He'd begun as one of her students, and was a couple years older than her. Lessons turned to dates. Dates turned into, well steamy dates, etc. This went on for about a year, and to Jen, everything seemed to be going well. All signs were green.
It was a rainy day about a year ago. A big rainy day. Think Typhoon, though typhoons rarely reach Hokkaido. Toshiro calls Jen and says, "I'll be over in half an hour."
Jen waits at home for Toshi to arrive. A half hour passes. An hour passes. Three hours pass. A day passes.
Jen freaks out. She goes to the police, but not being his wife or his relative, the police are unwilling to help.
At this point, Jen relates to me that she didn't know where he lived. THey'd always met in public places or at her place, never his place. Japanese people are notoriously recalcitrant about having significant others meeting their parents. Toshi was no exception.
For the next three months, Jen pores over every newspaper and newscast she can get her hands on. Her Japanese is excellent, at least as good as my French, though not as good as my Vietnamese. She looks for any news about car accidents, people going missing, people found with amnesia, etc. She feels like she's living in a soap opera.
About a year later, she'd finished mourning Toshi. Unsure of what had happened, she had no way of finding out, and had gone on living her life.
It's at this point she runs into a friend of Toshi's in a mall. Scared and happy at the same time, she rushes him. She asks him about Toshi.
He tells her that he's fine, and that Toshi's probably at home with his wife and their 5 year old child.
I ordered another round of beer.
*****
THere is an embarrassing number of tense problems here... Sorry.