“Twenty-four?” My eyes widened. “You look so young.”
“I know. I get that a lot. I guess I just have one of those young faces. But I can assure you, I’m twenty-four, still single and wondering if I’m ever going to get married.”
“You have plenty of time.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t feel like it sometimes. That’s why I enjoy your book and blog so much. I love the idea of being an empowered single woman. But I have to admit, I can’t wait to get married and start a family.”
“You’re looking forward to being a mother?”
“Oh, yes. I know it won’t be easy, but I think it’s a beautiful relationship. My father passed when I was young and my mother raised my brother and me with the help of our grandparents. She’s really my best friend, and I look forward to having that kind of relationship with my own children one day.”
“What if it doesn’t happen that way, though? Do you think it’s possible for children not to like their parents?” I took a bite of the food that was served to us. The texture and flavoring were foreign to me, but it tasted delicious.
“I guess it’s possible. It’s work, just like any relationship, and you have to invest a lot of yourself to maintain the relationship. I’d be quite disappointed if my kids didn’t enjoy me the way I plan to enjoy them. But I think it’s unlikely. Didn’t you have a close relationship with your mother?”
“In some ways. In other ways, not so much.”
“Sometimes parents can pressure you too much. My mother never did that to me. She’s a very special woman.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting her.”
“You’ll meet her tonight. She’s really looking forward to it. And speaking of which, we should discuss how you’d like to handle the book signing.”
“Absolutely. But would you excuse me for just a moment? I need to use the ladies’ room.”
“Of course. It’s right down that hall.” She pointed the direction out for me and I stood up from the table.
Chapter 4
When I stepped inside the bathroom, the first thing that struck me was how small it was. The stall was narrow and didn’t look like it would be a comfortable fit. The air, however, was crisp and lightly scented with something lovely.
I wiggled my body into the stall and then prepared to sit on the toilet.
When my cheeks met the seat, I jumped back up with a gasp. It wasn’t the cold greeting I was used to. Instead it seemed as if someone must have been sitting there before me for some time. I touched the edge of the seat and pulled my fingertips back fast.
The seat itself was warm, but spotless. It occurred to me that the seat might be heated. But why would a toilet seat be heated?
I sat back down and soon found out why. It was a much more welcoming experience to sit on a warm seat. I noticed that on the wall beside me was a small control panel. After a few minutes of debating what the different buttons might mean, I settled on pushing the one that had a symbol I recognized—a musical note.
I pressed it and the entire stall filled with the sound of running water. I jumped up as I expected water to be pouring from the toilet, but instead it was as pristine as it was when I first saw it. After a moment I recognized that the sound was emanating from speakers.
I sat back down on the warm toilet seat and closed my eyes. Not only was the sound of the rushing water relaxing, but it reminded me of my purpose for being there in the first place. I had to go!
Once I was finished, I decided I had to press the other buttons. I wasn’t sure what they did, but I couldn’t resist. I pushed one button and nearly fell off the toilet as a gush of water splashed into a rather delicate area. I pushed another button in an attempt to stop it, but apparently it only hiked up the pressure.
“Oh my God!” I grabbed the edge of the toilet and tried not to wriggle off. I mashed a few more buttons and the water became warm, then cold, then gushed into another delicate area. I had to bite my bottom lip to keep from crying out for help.
I stumbled to my feet and grabbed at my pants. As I did, I bumped into the wall and got my foot caught in my pant leg. I fell backward against the toilet and somehow that started the entire process all over again, only this time I had my underpants pulled up.
“No, no, no! Stop it!” I yowled, but the sound of running water only played even louder.
I jumped up off the toilet again and grabbed some toilet paper to dab at my underpants. Of course this was not effective, since they were sopping wet.
I cringed as I tugged them off and looked around for a place to stow them. There wasn’t a sanitary trash can, or any other kind of trash can. I didn’t want to risk tossing them in the toilet, which was still spitting threateningly at me.
I gulped as I knew the only place I could stash them was my purse. I tried to move everything that might get wet out of the way, then wrapped my underpants in toilet paper. I tucked them in and pulled my pants up over a bare bottom. I was relieved I hadn’t worn a skirt, though my pants were rather thin.
I glanced around for a place to wash my hands, but couldn’t find the sink. Of all the things that I thought would give me problems in a foreign country, the toilet was not one of them.
“There has to be a sink!” The running water sound continued. “Maybe it’s supposed to be the illusion of a sink?” I rolled my eyes and jabbed my finger at the button that turned on the music.
The sound of the running water stopped, and I heard laughter for the first time. “Hello? Is someone out there?” I heard the laughter again and my cheeks flushed.
When I opened the door there were two women just outside. Both looked as if they’d been laughing for some time. I tugged on the strap of my purse and kept my eyes low as I made my way around them.
Was it possible they were laughing at something else? Sure. But that wasn’t going to change how embarrassed I was.
When I sat back down across from Yuki, she looked up from her phone with a wide smile.
“How did you like the accommodations?”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry, it’s just I’ve read that many Americans are shocked by the toilets here.”
“Shocked is putting it mildly.” I sighed. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, anything.”
“What is with the running water sound?”
“Oh, it’s meant to be a cover for women. So many are shy about being overheard while in the bathroom, so the sound was installed to give them extra privacy.”
I flushed even more as I thought of the amount of times I’d gone to the bathroom without shame.
“Is that really a thing?”
“Yes, I had problems with it for some time as well. Women are seen as more delicate, so anything associated with the toilet can make them very uncomfortable.”
“But I guess men don’t face this some issue?”
“No, not in my experience, which is, of course, a little limited.”
“What do you think about it, Yuki?”
“I think if I have to go, I have to go. I’m not too worried about who might hear what I’m up to. How about you?”
“Until now, I hadn’t really thought that much about it.” I tried not to think about the two laughing women; however, a minute later they returned to a table not far from ours.
I avoided eye contact.
Chapter 5
As we enjoyed our meal Yuki shared the details for the book signing that night. We chatted a bit about what might happen after it and the next book signing, which would be the final of my entire book tour.
Once we’d finished our food Yuki reached for her purse.
I put a hand out to stop her. “Please, let me pay for lunch. I’d be honored.”
“If you insist.” She laughed. “But that means you owe me another meal so I can pay you back.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” I reached into my purse to pull out my wallet. As I pulled it out, my toilet-paper-wrapped underwear came out with it.
I realized far too late that some of the material was caught in the zipper of my wallet.
The waitress stared at me as I tried to catch the underwear before the toilet paper unraveled. But it slipped out and right through my fingertips onto the floor.
“Oh no, I’m sorry. Excuse me.” I ducked down under the table to grab them, and on my way back up I banged my head. “Ouch!”
“Samantha, are you hurt? Do you need some ice? What’s that you dropped?”
“I had a little incident with the toilet.”
“Oh.” Yuki stared at me with a blank expression. Then a laugh bubbled up from between her lips. “Oh! I should have warned you!”
“It was a little surprising.” I shoved the underwear back into my purse and handed the waitress money for the meal.
Yuki covered her mouth in an attempt to hide her laughter. “I’m sorry, Samantha, I’m just trying to figure out what happened.”
“Never mind, I should get going. Max is waiting for me at the hotel.”
“Yes, you’re right. I won’t keep you any longer. I’ll see you tonight.”
As I stepped out of the restaurant the two women who’d been laughing outside the bathroom looked over at me and laughed again.
I dialed Max’s number as fast as I could. I needed to get back to the hotel and out of sight as soon as possible.
“Hi, Max, I’m on my way back to the hotel.”
“I’ll meet you outside.”
“Okay, I’ll be there soon. I hope. Who knows, in this traffic.”
“No rush, I’ll be there.”
I looked around for a taxi stand, but didn’t see any. Instead, I tried to hail one of the taxis that rolled by. I waved at every taxi with a green light, but they all continued on as if they didn’t even see me. Was it because of my size? Had word spread about my underwear incident?
A taxi with a red light showing on top pulled over right in front of him.
“What am I doing wrong?” I slapped my thighs with frustration.
“Samantha, you’re still here?” Yuki walked up to me. “Have you been out here all this time?”
“Yes. I’ve been trying to hail a taxi, but they keep driving by me. I’ve waved at every one with a green light.”
“Why would you do that?” Her brow furrowed, then she smiled. “Oh yes, that’s right. It’s different here than in the U.S. Green means the taxi is occupied.”
“Oh. Oh! Well, that explains it.” I laughed. “I guess I’ve been waving at the wrong taxis.”
“Here’s one!” She waved her hand and a taxi pulled over to the side of the road. “Want to share?”
“Yes, that would be great.”
We piled into the back of the taxi and Yuki gave the driver some quick instructions in Japanese.
I was impressed with the rhythm of the language.
After hearing so many different languages during my travels, I couldn’t help but wonder how I sounded to other people. Was my American accent as musical or enchanting? Sometimes I wished that I could see myself for just a moment through someone else’s eyes.
“I’m so glad we’ll have a chance to talk. My friends are going to be so excited.”
“Your friends? Why is that?” I smiled as I looked over at Yuki.
“Because we’ve been watching all these Hollywood movies and television shows, and everything to do with America is so fascinating. How often do you go to the beach?”
“Oh. Well—uh—not too often, really.”
“Oh. I thought maybe American women are always on the beach tanning and swimming.”
“Some women do. But there are a lot of women that don’t live near the beach.”
“What about the men?” She giggled. “Are they all so handsome? I can’t even imagine being around that many handsome men.”
“There are some handsome men, but I wasn’t around them that often—except for Max, of course.”
“Max is gorgeous!”
“I know.” I laughed. “I was surprised that he paid me any attention.”
“That’s silly, you’re beautiful.”
“Not like the Hollywood movies though, right?”
She tipped her head to the side. “Maybe not. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t say that.”
“Yes, you should. I’m no Hollywood beauty, but neither are most American women. What you see on the movies and television—that’s really not what life is like.”
“So no beach parties?”
“Maybe a few.” I shrugged. “But not everyone gets invited. I think there are more women that feel left out than there are women who get invited to those types of things.”
“That doesn’t sound much different than here in Japan.”
“I don’t think it’s much different anywhere. Every place I’ve visited I’ve met amazing women—beautiful women—who don’t realize how incredible they are.”
“Isn’t that interesting? Our cultures may be very different but we’re all still so insecure.”
“That’s what I’m hoping to change. Maybe if women are able to begin to see themselves for who they truly are, we can begin to change the world.”
“How inspiring. We should make that happen!” Yuki glanced out the window. “Oh, there’s the bookstore.” She tapped the driver’s shoulder to remind him to stop.
The shop itself looked a bit small from the outside but the building was large.
“Do you want to come in and say hello now?”
“I would, but Max is expecting me. I don’t want him to be standing outside waiting for me for too long.”
“Okay, see you tonight.” She smiled and waved at me before disappearing into the shop.
Chapter 6
The driver continued on and soon stopped in front of a large building. It wasn’t the hotel that I’d been expecting in my head. It looked more like a traditional Japanese house.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” I frowned, as I knew the question was futile. From what I could tell, the driver didn’t speak any English, and I certainly didn’t speak Japanese.
Luckily, I spotted Max a few feet from the curb. I paid the fare then stepped out of the taxi.
“Max! I’m so glad to see you!”
“How are you? Did everything go okay?”
“Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
“Uh-oh.” He held me close and looked into my eyes. “What happened?”
“Have you gone to the bathroom yet?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Oh.” He grinned. “Why, yes, I have.” He tried to hold back a laugh.
“You could have warned me!”
“I thought it would be a pleasant surprise.”
“It was not. Not even a little bit. Did you know that the toilets have more controls than a television?”
“I do now. I rather enjoyed it, though. You can even adjust the pressure.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“Yes, I learned that the hard way.”
“Oh, you poor thing. Wait until you see the room. I thought we were booked in a regular hotel, but this is far better than that.”
“It’s not a hotel?”
“It’s a Ryokan.” He slid his arm through mine. “I’ll show you around.”
We stepped inside and he led me down the hall to our room. Once he opened the door, I understood what he meant. Instead of the traditional double-bed hotel room that I was accustomed to, there were chairs directly on the floor, a low table, and a few other pieces of furniture. The decor was mystical in my eyes—with tall paper sliding doors and a futon instead of a regular bed. Everything was intricate, low, and simple.
“Wow, this is beautiful.”
“You haven’t seen the best part.” He held up a pamphlet and grinned. “They have a hot spring that we can use.”
“Oh, that sounds amazing!” I flopped down on the futon. My purse tipped off the edge of the bed and fell to the floor.
“Sammy?”
“Hm?” I kept my eyes closed.
“Is there someth
ing you want to tell me?”
“I love you?”
“I hope so. But is there anything else?”
“Thank you for making this entire book tour such an amazing experience?”
“Okay, that’s a good one too, but that’s still not what I mean.”
“What is it?” I opened my eyes and saw my underpants dangling from Max’s thumb.
“Oh, God.” I closed my eyes again.
“I can kind of guess that there’s a good reason for this and normally I would trust you and let it go, but something tells me that I just have to hear this story.” He grinned as he stretched out beside me, waving my underpants like a crumpled damp flag.
“Max, stop!” I grabbed them from him and groaned. “It was awful.” I spilled the entire story about my encounter with the strange toilet to him.
Between his laughs he stroked my cheek. “I’m sure it happens to everyone.”
“Did it happen to you?” I sniffled.
“Well—uh—no. But men can get a better view of the situation.”
“That’s a good point. Maybe you can give me a tutorial.”
“Happily.” He kissed my cheek. “So how was your meeting with Yuki? Did you like her?”
“Yes, I did. She’s young and sweet—and quite enthusiastic about American culture.”
“Interesting. I never really thought about America having a culture.”
“I think it has something to do with suntanning and cowboys.”
“Okay, I can see that.” He snuggled closer to me. “We have some time before dinner. Want to hit the hot spring?”
“Yes. That might just be the perfect way to wash off what happened today. I’ll get my bathing suit.”
“Me too.”
After I changed I paused to look in the mirror. I poked at my stomach and frowned. Even though I’d continued to try to eat as clean as possible, my flab didn’t seem to be going anywhere. I resolved to do a more aerobic workout the first chance I got.
When I stepped out of the bathroom, Max greeted me with a kiss. His body was as solid as ever, and I couldn’t resist a light tickle along his abdomen.
Sammy in Japan (Single Wide Female Travels #8) Page 2
