A Thousand Stitches (25 page)

“I would like to get a copy of the deed to my family's property. It was bombed early in the year, and I've just now returned from the country.”

“And you?” the clerk sneered at Shun.

“Just here to help out my friend,” said the old man companionably.

“Give me the address,” the clerk said languidly, turning again to Shotaro.

Shotaro wrote it on the piece of paper the clerk pushed across the counter.

“I'll get the book,” he said, and disappeared into the rows of shelves behind the desk. Much more quickly than they expected, he was back.

“It's gone,” he said, pleased to deliver bad news.

“Gone?” said Shun.

“The whole book is missing. There's a note that it was requisitioned by City Hall in April. It never came back.”

“Damn,” said Shun. “Let's go.”

Shotaro bowed to the clerk, who shrugged, watching Shun walk through the door, and turned back to his desk with another smirk.

When the others caught up with the old man, Shotaro said, “Thank you, Shun. I'm sorry this was a waste of time. I'll try City Hall later when I have time.”

“No, there's no point,” said the old man. “City Hall was hit last month. There's nothing left. Who knows if the records are really gone, but they might as well be. The unsavory types always survive and flourish. I don't think there's anything you can do now about the property.”

Shotaro limped alongside Shun, O-Hana and Michiko walking behind them.

“O-Hana and I will help you, and you and Michiko will help us. We'll survive together. We'll work extra hard so those people can't hurt you again.”

The
next day, O-Hana took Michiko and Shotaro out with her. They made the rounds of the open-air markets. In just the few days since the war had ended, they were taking on the trappings of permanency. Michiko and Shotaro were surprised at how many people O-Hana knew. She introduced them to everyone, smiling with pride each time. As they walked back, O-Hana said she was especially glad they had met Nishida-san, a cheerful woman who was selling foodstuffs. She had gotten to know Nishida-san after the hospital was bombed and had taken a great liking to her. O-Hana considered the day a success. She had deftly traded two pairs of shoes and an old padded cotton jacket for a large bunch of beets and a whole kilo of rice. O-Hana had added those ingredients to others she was storing at the Ashikagas. For dinner, she produced green vegetables and even bits of pork. It was a feast.

When they finished, O-Hana looked over at her husband for assurance and then turned to Michiko and Shotaro. “My dears,” she said, “my Shun and I have a proposition for you. Neither of us is getting any younger, and we'll all have to work if we want to eat. Could we persuade you two to help us? Michiko, will you help me? We could be in charge of our daily provisions if Shotaro helps my Shun. Everyone's a scrap man now, so he needs an edge to stay in the business and prosper. Shotaro would be a much better assistant than his old wife. What about it?”

Michiko felt Shotaro beside her take a deep breath. He put down his bowl and chopsticks, pushed his chair back, and stood up before bowing deeply to Shun and O-Hana. “If you would be so kind as to let me help and if you would teach me what to do, I would do my very best and be eternally grateful,” he said.

Michiko joined him bowing and said, “And I would too, of course.”

“Sit down, sit down,” said Shun as he gave Shotaro a big smile and reached across the table to slap him on the back. “Good, now I have a partner.”

Michiko was watching O-Hana beam at Shotaro and her husband. Then O-Hana turned to look at her, winked, and said “So, we're all set.”

The next morning, true to his word, Shun collected Shotaro and off they went. By the end of a week, Shotaro had met all the dealers with whom Shun traded, and his good eye had grown much more sophisticated. Shotaro learned who could be trusted and who couldn't; who was powerful and who was dangerous. It was clear that the gangsters who had set up shop on the site of the Miyazawa home were no anomaly. They, more than anyone else, had what it took to succeed in the new world Japan's defeat had hurled them all into.

As the heat abated and autumn approached, they established routines. Shun and Shotaro were up early and out collecting. O-Hana and Michiko packed them the lunches they ate on the run. They made the rounds of the wholesalers in the afternoon and collected more on their way home, making sure they were back before dark.

Michiko and O-Hana went out every day. They almost always had enough money or something to trade and thus were assured that they had enough to eat. Michiko and O-Hana found that they spent more and more time with Nishida-san, who often had good produce for sale. They were surprised when Nishida-san was selling candy one day. When Michiko asked, she said she had made it herself the night before. A discussion about Michiko's parents' shop followed. Within the week, Michiko was helping Nishida-san make candy every morning, while O-Hana minded Nishida-san's stall at what was by then a sprawling black market. Michiko and Nishida-san joined her in the afternoon. The candy was so popular it usually sold out in an hour or two.

One day in October, Nishida-san told them that she would be away for a day or so. She was going to her hometown in Mie Prefecture to see what more she could get to sell in the city. When she came back, she had lots of new produce and told them that she was planning to go to the country every two weeks.

When it was time for the next trip, she took Michiko with her. But for the presence of cheerful, confident Nishida-san, Michiko felt she would have been overwhelmed, as she was in Haruyama, by the suspicious locals and the claustrophobic provincialism of the country town. But Nishida-san had her roots in Mie, and her shrewd, impersonal bargaining style and no-nonsense attitude served her well with the country people, who complained ceaselessly and dramatically about the poor harvest. Michiko stuck close to Nishida-san, anxious and smiling. But, she realized when they staggered off the crowded train back in Osaka, she was learning how to bargain.

Autumn closed in, and winter approached. Late one November afternoon, they all arrived back at the Ashikaga residence at the same time, O-Hana and Michiko proud that they had extra rice with them and proud too that they could report that they had managed, with Nishida-san's help, to get a supply of kerosene for the heaters. They would be prepared for the cold weather. Shun and Shotaro were tired. They bragged about how much they had collected and sold that day and listened as the women described their triumphs. Shun said he was especially pleased about the kerosene and then, with a flourish, produced an apple from his pocket. He laughed when he saw the surprise on Shotaro's face and the pleasure on his wife's and Michiko's. “You didn't notice, did you, Young Master?” he said.

“No,” said Shotaro. “Where…? How did you…?”

“Oh, I'll keep that my secret,” said the old man. “But we'll all enjoy it now.” He pulled out his pocket knife and deftly peeled and sliced the apple, distributing the pieces. Michiko bit into the piece he handed her and tasted autumn, crisp and cool. She saw the same pleasure on Shotaro's face and thought, not for the first time since they arrived in Osaka, how lucky they were. They had each other, and together they would have a future.

The next day, Michiko and O-Hana arrived home about an hour after Shun and Shotaro. Shotaro told them that Shun was sleeping and explained why. As they worked, Shun had complained that he was tired. They finished early, and on the way back from the wholesaler where they sold everything they had collected, the old man grew short of breath. “Shotaro,” the old man had said, “I believe I have to rest.” He stumbled and then sat on the low wall at the edge of a property about two blocks from the Ashikaga home. Shotaro sat down by the old man and was alarmed to see how pale he was.

“Shun, does it hurt?”

“Just a bit, my young friend.”

“On your side, down your left arm?”

“Yes, just a bit. It feels like I've fallen under a big package.”

After Shun had sat for about ten minutes, he fell asleep.

Shotaro knelt in front of the wall, reached behind himself, and pulled the old man onto his back. He was outside the gate at the Ashikagas before Shun woke up.

“Put me down Shotaro,” he said, indignantly. “What are you doing carrying me?”

“We're home now,” Shotaro said, setting Shun down. “I want you to lie down and rest. And stop arguing with me.”

“Fine, fine,” said the old man. He leaned heavily against Shotaro until they reached the carriage house. He allowed Shotaro to ease him onto the bed he and O-Hana had built along one wall. Shotaro left him there and returned in a few minutes with the kerosene heater from the kitchen. Shun protested only feebly as Shotaro lit the heater.

O-Hana
rushed to her husband's his side and Shotaro walked Michiko to the kitchen in the main house, talking to her while she prepared their dinner.

“I'm certain he's had a heart attack,” said Shotaro. “There's not much I can do for him other than make him rest.”

O-Hana took her dinner and Shun's back to the carriage house and fed her husband there. After dinner, Shotaro and O-Hana talked for a long while. When they crawled into their
futon
upstairs, Shotaro told Michiko that O-Hana had told him where another of his father's former colleagues was living. “I'll go first thing in the morning to see Dr. ­Hagiwara.”

The next morning, Shotaro was up and out before dawn and brought the doctor back with him in the first light. Dr. Hagiwara was well over seventy and was dressed in an immaculate suit that had been fashionable twenty years earlier. He examined Shun and ordered him, over the old man's strenuous objections, to stay put for at least a week. After he finished, Dr. Hagiwara walked Shotaro out to the garden. “Yes, you're right. He's had a heart attack. It could have been worse, much worse, but he'll have to rest completely and then when he wants to work again, you have to be sure that he doesn't take up his old work again. It's simply too strenuous.” He handed Shotaro a supply of medicine packets. “See that he has one each morning and one when he's ready for bed. Let him sleep as much as he wants.”

Shotaro went back to Shun's bedside, and Dr. Hagiwara went to the kitchen, where O-Hana and Michiko were waiting. He accepted a cup of tea from O-Hana and said, “My dear O-Hana, your Shun is quite ill. He needs to rest and can't work so hard anymore. I've told young Miyazawa all of this and how to care for him. I'm glad you have these young people here with you. Otherwise, I'd worry about you and Shun. Still no word from Dr. Ashikaga?”

“No,” said O-Hana. “Thank you for all your efforts on behalf of Shun. We'll be careful. And when we hear from Dr. Ashikaga, we'll let him know you were asking for him.”

When Shun recovered enough to be up and about, the four had a meeting over dinner. Michiko and Shotaro reported on what they had decided, and even though they protested, the older couple agreed to reallocate the tasks of their little family. O-Hana would go collecting with Shotaro. Shun would go to the market in the morning while Michiko and Nishida-san made candy, and then stay there in the afternoon when they joined him there. “Your job will be to look tough so no one bothers the women,” said Shotaro. “And you can put all of your bargaining skills to good use too, my friend.”

The
letter from Hiroshima arrived in mid-December. Shotaro read it for Shun and O-Hana. Dr. Ashikaga said he planned to travel to Shiga to celebrate the New Year holiday with his wife and her parents. He would then bring his wife and daughters home to Osaka. The university hospital was on the Occupation's priority rebuilding list and he was coming back to supervise. He made it clear that he and his wife wanted Shun and O-Hana to stay at his home until the hospital was rebuilt.

The next afternoon, Shun was grinning when Michiko and Nishida-san arrived at the market. When Michiko asked why, he said, “I have news. But I want to tell you and Shotaro together. So you'll just have to wait.” Nishida-san sent Michiko on an errand—she had forgotten the turnips she had promised one of her customers. Michiko made the trip to Nishida-san's house to retrieve them.

When Michiko arrived back at the market, breathless, Nishida-san too was grinning. She was now in on Shun's secret, but she too refused to tell Michiko anything. “You'll hear soon enough,” she said.

That evening, O-Hana had dinner ready by the time Shun and Michiko arrived back at the Ashikagas. Shotaro, who had worked alone that afternoon, came in a few minutes later and joined the group around the kitchen table once he had washed up.

“I have an announcement,” said Shun. He got up from the table, walked to the cupboard, and pulled out the Ashikagas' set of
sake
cups. “I don't think the good doctor would mind,” he said, walking back to the table, where he set out the cups. As he eased himself back into his seat, he pulled a small bottle of
sake
out of his pocket and put it on the table with the cups. “We have something to celebrate. O-Hana met Hashimoto-san yesterday. Then he came to see me at the market. You don't know him, but he owned a medical supply company. The company used to have a warehouse and assembly facility not far from here. Like the hospital, Hashimoto-san's business is gone. However, the dorm where his workers lived is still there. And it will have some empty rooms as of the end of the month. One of them is yours, dear Michiko and Shotaro. You'll have your own place.”

Michiko looked at Shotaro and then at the old couple—their weathered faces shining with happiness at being able to offer such a magnificent gift. “We can't thank you enough,” she said, standing and bowing to Shun and O-Hana. Shotaro joined her, and took his hand in hers as they finished bowing.