by C. P. Santi
She read it once. Then she read it again.
Ieda-sensei, Kyoko, and two research assistants rushed to the student workspace when Aya started shouting, “Yatta!”
They had done it!
Their entry had been selected to go on to the next stage. The letter asked them to further develop their design scheme and give a ten-minute presentation to a panel of jurors in mid-November. Then, the winners would be announced at a big award ceremony in late December.
She had to tell Ryo about it. It was only fair—they’d been compe partners after all. She’d send him an email—just as soon as she decided on the proper tone.
Should it be formal and matter-of-fact or fun and breezy? Would he even open an email from her? Should she just message him on Facebook?
Sure, he had told her he wasn’t giving up on them. But still, it had been a month since he had gone and she hadn’t heard from him at all.
Well, he did say that it was your move.
Yeah, but he might think she wanted him back. Mentally, she rolled her eyes. Of course she wanted him back. Duh.
She had thought ending it would make things easier for both of them. But if so, why was she still so miserable? Maybe it was time to reconsider her decision?
Her fingers started moving on the keyboard.
Ryo,
How are you doing? I just wanted to let you know that our Suntory project was selected to go on to the next stage. There’s going to be a closed-door presentation on November 14 at the Suntory Museum in Roppongi.
Aya
P.S. How’s the weather there? It’s still really hot over here. Hope your classes are fun.
P.P.S. Wish you were here so we could celebrate.
I miss you.
Aya deleted the last part and pressed send before she could change her mind.
She opened another word file and started fleshing out a speech on Filipino architecture that she was supposed to deliver in Japanese class next week. Although her master’s program formally started in April, she’d gotten approval from her professor to enroll in the advanced language classes that their faculty was offering for foreign students. It was good practice for the program, since most of her course work would be in Japanese.
Engrossed in her work, she was surprised when her phone buzzed. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw that she had an email. She clicked on the notification and held her breath when she saw that it was from Ryo.
Aya,
Good to hear from you. Yatta!
Deshou, I told you we’d make it! Do you need help with the presentation?
It’s steadily getting cooler over here. Too bad it’s still hot in Tokyo.
I have a studio class with Riedjik! Omoshiroi yo! Say hi to everybody for me.
Ryo
P.S. How are you? Miss me?
Her heart leapt at his postscript. It was as if he read her mind. She was just starting to compose a response when her phone rang, signaling an incoming video call. Aya clicked the answer button and could not suppress her wide smile as she saw Ryo’s face.
“Hey.”
“Hey yourself.” Ryo smiled back at her. “You’re still at the lab? How did the entrance exams go?”
“I passed!”
“Omedetou! Told you it’d be easy.”
Aya laughed. “So you did. I—” She broke off when she heard the bang of a door and a chorus of voices. Turning back to him, she said, “Dei and Matsuura just came in. Hold on a sec.”
“You’re going to the roof, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” she replied, as she climbed up the last few steps. “I thought I’d find a more private place. You know, in case you start shouting at me or something.”
“Do you think I’m mad at you, Aya-chan?”
She looked at the screen and bit her lip. “Well . . . we didn’t exactly part on friendly terms.”
“I was hurt, I told you that already. And yes, for a few days, I wanted to wring your neck, but I’ve now gotten over the urge.”
“Have you now?”
“Hai. So if you feel the urge to send me cookies . . .”
Aya laughed. “Send me your address and I’ll see what I can do.”
“It’s really good to hear from you.” He grinned at her. “How have you been?”
Aya told him about her family’s visit and about the classes she had registered for.
In turn, he spoke of the design studios and classes he had signed up for. He also gave her a video tour of the tiny flat he shared with Onodera, a guy from Suzuki lab who was in the same program. Aya giggled when Ryo showed her Onodera’s supplies—boxes of natto, packs of nori, bottles of soy sauce, and a stack of Maria Ozawa DVDs. But she burst out laughing when Ryo showed her his supplies—a mountain of cookie boxes.
“So, do you need help with the presentation?” Ryo asked.
“I can do the slides, but I’d love some help with the script.”
“You don’t want to do it in English?”
“It might have more impact if I did it in Japanese. What do you think?”
Ryo nodded. “Sou. Since their theme is tradition and modernity, it might be better to deliver it in Japanese.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” Aya smiled.
There was a pause as they stared at each other. “I’ve missed you, Aya-chan.”
Aya bit her lip again and blinked back tears. Though she smiled, her voice was wobbly as she told him, “I’ve missed you too. I think I’ve gained weight, no one steals my food anymore.”
“I think I’ve lost weight.” He made woe-is-me puppy dog eyes. “No one bakes me cookies anymore.”
She rolled her eyes. “Uh, I don’t think you’re as deprived as you’re trying to make out.”
“Yours are still better.” Then he glanced at his wristwatch. “I have to go, Aya-chan. I have a studio to attend in an hour.”
“Go. Have fun!”
“Talk to you soon . . . same time tomorrow?”
Her answering smile was beautiful. “It’s a date.”
Chapter 21
“Hi, Ryo!” Reggie sat down on the bed and waved at the computer screen.
“Konnichiwa! How are you, girls?”
“We’re good, thanks!”
“Thanks for the chocolates! They were delicious!” Beside Reggie, April bounced up and down.
Onscreen, Ryo leaned forward. “So has Aya been practicing on the bike?”
“Oh, yeah!”
“Don’t worry, we bug her to ride with us on weekends.”
“Uh, hello. I’m right here, you know,” Aya grumbled.
They ignored her. Her voice brimming with excitement, April told him about their bike trip around the Imperial Palace grounds. “And afterwards, we went to an eat- all-you-can yakiniku place!”
He groaned, probably imagining the savory smell of grilled meat and vegetables. “I saw the pictures you posted. Yakiniku hoshii. The meat cuts they have here are way too thick.”
“Come home soon, so Aya won’t miss you too much!”
“April!” Aya said, a blush staining her cheeks.
“What? It’s true! You’re always checking your phone for updates and messages.” April raised her arms defensively as Aya threw a pillow at her.
Laughing, he addressed Reggie. “Oh, I heard Gaby and Som got together.”
“Wow, you’re so updated on what’s been happening here!” Reggie marveled.
“Yeah, it’s like you’re just a couple of train stations away instead of another country altogether.” April observed, as Aya sat back down.
“Anyway, we’ll leave you and Aya to your chat. C’mon April!” Reggie started dragging her friend out of the room.
“We’ve been taking good care of your girl, Ryo! Send more chocolates, please!” April sang, as they sailed out.
As he heard the door close, he smiled at Aya. “So, how is my girl?”
His girl indeed. They had been ‘together’ for nearly two months now. But Aya was still adamant about
taking it one day at a time. “I’m good. And you?”
“Daijoubu. But I wish I you were here with me.”
“Me too.”
Since the day she’d sent him that first email, they had communicated daily. Aya had never appreciated technology this much before. But now, she was more than thankful for the means to communicate over thousands of miles. Sometimes, it was just a quick text message to say hello. Often, it was a long phone or video call. They posted pictures on social media and tagged each other. Aya saw Delft through Ryo’s eyes . . . the historic town canals, the churches, the flower markets, and the people. In turn, Aya shared snippets of her everyday routine . . . things she had seen while biking, the new soft cream flavors at the cafeteria, the folly that the materials engineering lab was building, and the new university library that Ieda-sensei was designing.
In the past few weeks, she had learned that distance was a state of mind.
Sure, maintaining a long-distance relationship was tough. But if you wanted something bad enough, you worked for it. And despite all the effort she put in, it seemed easier than she had previously imagined. Because whenever she heard Ryo’s voice or saw his face, everything else seemed to melt away.
Aya was ashamed to admit that she had never been this diligent with Adrian. Sure, she had sent him photos and emails. She had even sent him a care package on his birthday. But their phone conversations and video chats had been few and far between. With Adrian, Aya had never felt the constant need to feel connected.
“So, how was lunch with the terrible twins?” Ryo asked her.
“It was fun! Your sisters are so entertaining!” Ryo’s sisters, Naomi and Mari, were sophomores at a nearby university. Aya had been pleasantly surprised when they came by the lab to drop off a package from Ryo.
“They like to think so.”
“They told me some very interesting things about you,” Aya teased. Naomi and Mari had really enjoyed regaling Aya with embarrassing stuff from Ryo’s childhood.
“Chikusho! I am going to kill them. What did they tell you?”
Aya shook her head. “By the way, thanks for the chocolates. But seriously, Ryo, what the hell is this?” She held up a penis-shaped ceramic salt-shaker.
He started laughing. “Isn’t it hilarious? They have those everywhere here! I just had to get you one, since you missed the Kanamara Festival and all.”
“I am so glad you wrapped it. What if your sisters had seen it?”
“They have seen it. They were with me when I picked it out.”
“Nooo.” Aya covered her face with her hands as Ryo chuckled.
“So, are you ready for Saturday?”
She nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
The presentation was scheduled for Saturday afternoon at the Suntory Museum in Roppongi.
“It’ll be fine. Just relax and have fun.”
She let out a long breath. For the past couple of weeks, they had been fine-tuning their slides and script. Even Ieda-sensei had been impressed when Aya had previewed the presentation at the lab. Although she was almost word-perfect, she was glad that the Japanese style of presentations encouraged the use of a set script. She was terrified she’d forget a technical term and mess up.
“So, what will you be wearing?”
“Ieda-sensei said a dark-colored suit would be best.”
“Show me.”
She fetched the suit from her closet and held it up. “What do you think?” The power suit had been a present from her mother.
“Hard to say. Why don’t you put it on?” He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.
She gave him an exasperated look. “I told you. We are so not doing that.”
“You can’t blame me for trying.” He laughed and she stuck her tongue out.
They chatted about the new anime series Aya had been watching and Ryo’s current classes on spatial morphology. Before they ended the conversation, Ryo told Aya that he would be out of town for a couple of days.
“Our class is going to Rotterdam to look at some public parks for our design studio.” Ryo told her. “Sorry, Aya- chan. I might not be able to chat with you in the next few days.”
“It’s fine. Have fun! And don’t worry about the presentation. I’ll do us proud.”
“I’m not worried. I know you will.”
+ + +
Aya was on a high when she got home on Saturday. Her presentation had gone very well. The panel had asked some questions, but thankfully, she’d been able to answer them all. They seemed very excited about her and Ryo’s design.
She couldn’t wait to tell Ryo. They hadn’t spoken since Wednesday, but he had sent her a message last night, wishing her luck. She checked her watch. He’d be back at his flat in a couple of hours.
Hurriedly changing out of her suit, Aya booted up her computer while unpacking a boxed meal she had bought. An incoming call came in while she was munching on some chicken karaage.
“Hi!” Her sisters waved at her from the screen.
Aya couldn’t help feeling a bit deflated. “Oh. It’s you guys. Hi.”
“Wow. You’re obviously very happy to see us.”
“Ate! Of course I’m happy to see you both. It was just that I was expecting another call.”
“Ate Aya doesn’t love us anymore.” Her younger sister pouted.
“Calm down, drama queen.” Aya laughed. “What are you guys doing home on a Saturday night?”
Kit wrinkled her nose. “Cramps. It’s that time of the month again.”
“Yeah. It’s hard to party when you want to writhe in pain. So, what’s new?”
Aya told them about her presentation and Kit shared the status of the line of shirts she had helped design.
Yumi was full of the penthouse she was going to feature on her show. Her crew had shot the segment this past week. “You have to see it, Aya. The architecture is gorgeous—all those modern lines! I posted pictures on Facebook. Go see.”
Dutifully, Aya opened her phone and scrolled through recent updates on Facebook. “Were you able to interview the architect?”
“Oh yeah. And he was so young! Only a little older than me.”
“Ate Yumi likes him,” Kit sing-songed.
“What’s not to like? He was yummy.” Yumi wrinkled her nose. “But he was so sungit.”
“You’re just disappointed he didn’t fall at your feet like your usual guys do.” Her younger sister giggled.
“Watch it, Marikit. You don’t want to vex me when I have my period.” She turned back to Aya. “Hoy, have you found it yet? Aya?”
Aya raised stricken eyes to her sisters.
“Hoy, what happened?”
“Ate Aya? Are you okay? You look pale all of a sudden.”
Aya shook her head. “Tell me I’m over-reacting.”
“Okay. But tell us what happened first,” Kit instructed.
Aya showed them her phone.
Her sisters squinted. “What is that?” Yumi asked.
“Ryo was tagged in a photo on Facebook.”
“So?”
“Wait, I’ll look for it.” Kit started tapping on her phone. Less than a minute later, she had found the photo. “He looks like he’s at a party.”
“Yeah. And he looks real friendly with those two blondes beside him.” Aya tapped the photo to enlarge it. Ryo had a huge smile on his face. And why wouldn’t he? He was squeezed in between two gorgeous blondes who were taking a selfie with him.
Her sisters exchanged looks. “Aya, don’t over-react. They’re at a party. They have alcohol. They’re supposed to look happy.”
“He didn’t tell me anything about a party.”
“Aya. He doesn’t have to tell you everything. What are you, his mother?” Yumi countered.
“It might have been a spur-of-the-moment thing, Ate,” Kit reasoned. “Friday night drinks—something like that.”
Aya stared at the picture. “Yeah. It could be.”
“Oh, Aya. You’ve never been bitten by the
green-eyed monster before, have you?”
Aya slowly shook her head. She had never actually been jealous before. “Oh, Ate. What do I do?”
“Gaga. Don’t over-react. It’s just a picture.”
“Just ask him about it, Ate Aya. After all, it’d be weird for him to tell people they can’t take pictures with him because his girlfriend gets jealous.”
Aya took a calming breath. “You’re right. I’m getting too worked up about this. It’s just one picture, anyway. Right?” She looked back at Kit, expecting confirmation. Instead, she saw uncertainty. “What?”
Kit hesitated. “Well, Ryo was tagged in that one picture. But if you go to Cate’s page—”
“Who’s Cate?” Aya frowned in confusion.
“The girl who tagged him. Duh.” Yumi snorted.
“Well, it’s just that if you go to Cate’s page, there are uh . . . other pictures that include Ryo.”
Chapter 22
“A-ya-chan. Sorry I’m late. How did the presentation go?”
Three hours after she had said goodbye to her sisters, Aya finally answered the call she’d been waiting for.
“Hey. It, um . . . it went well enough.”
“Daijoubu? Don’t stress about it. Was the panel harsh?”
Aya shook her head. “No. I think they actually liked our design.”
“Ja, that’s great news. But why do you look so down? Are you coming down with something?”
“No, I . . .”
“Have you eaten? Do you have any medicine?”
“I’m not sick.”
“Then what’s wrong?” Ryo’s face was etched with concern. “Aya?”
“Who’s Cate?”
“Cate? She’s my tutor. Why do you ask?”
His tutor. Ice seemed to envelop Aya’s heart. “Why didn’t you tell me about her?”
Ryo’s brow furrowed in surprise. “Why would I tell you about her? She isn’t important. Not to us, anyway.”
“It was just . . . you guys looked pretty cozy at that party.”
“What party?”
“She tagged you in a photo. You were with her and another girl. ”
“Oh! That was in Rotterdam. We managed to finish early, so we had a few drinks before we drove home.” Ryo cocked his head to the side as he looked at her. “Ne, Aya, what is this about?”
