His nickname had long been “the Chrysanthemum” (the Japanese characters for “Kikuoka” mean “chrysanthemum hill” and he used to have a rather impressive mop of lightish hair). But now as he bowed to everyone, he revealed a rapidly growing bald spot. He turned to Kozaburo and bowed once again.
“Would you mind giving us a word?”
“Sure. Sorry to go first, folks. So every time I come, wonderful house. Amazing location too. It’s a real honour to be able to sit by Mr Hamamoto and share a glass of wine in a place like this.”
“And next to Mr Kikuoka, in the gorgeous outfit, is his secretary, Ms Aikura. I’m sorry, what was your given name again?”
Of course, Eiko remembered perfectly well that the woman’s name was Kumi, but this way she could imply that she didn’t quite believe it was her real one. However, Kumi Aikura wasn’t fazed by this in the least. In her sugar-sprinkled voice, she replied with perfect dignity,
“I’m Kumi. So nice to meet you all.”
This woman is a tough customer, Eiko decided on the spot. For sure, she must have worked in a hostess bar.
“What a lovely name! Not at all ordinary.” Eiko paused for a moment. “It makes you sound like a TV star or something.”
“I’m always afraid I’ll fail to live up my name.”
The high-pitched, girlish tone didn’t falter for a second.
“I’m so short. If I were taller and more glamorous, I might be able to live up to a name like that. I envy you, Eiko.”
Eiko was five feet eight. For that reason she always wore flat slipper-like shoes. If she wore heels she’d be getting up towards six feet. Right now, she was momentarily at a loss for words. She moved on quickly.
“And next to Kumi, we have the president of Kikuoka Bearings, Mr Michio Kanai.”
She’d been thrown, and the words had just slipped out. But even though she heard Kikuoka tease his employee—Hey, when were you made president?—she still didn’t recognize her mistake right away.
Kanai got to his feet, and with his usual fixed smile, began to shower Kozaburo Hamamoto with praise. He didn’t forget his own boss either. The skilful speech went on for quite a while. This was exactly the kind of performance that had got him to where he was in the world.
“And the voluptuous lady next to him is his wife, Hatsue.”
Eiko realized this blunder immediately. Voluptuous… Sure enough, Hatsue had a comeback.
“I had to miss my exercise class to come today.”
From the other side of the table, Kumi gave her a quick once-over and looked very obviously self-satisfied.
“I’m hoping a breath of this pure air will be a boost to my diet.”
She seemed to have been quite put out by Eiko’s comment, and didn’t add anything else.
Returning to the male guests, Eiko quickly regained her usual composure.
“This handsome young man is Shun Sasaki, in his sixth year at Jikei University School of Medicine. He’ll soon be taking the National Medical Examination. For now, he’s keeping an eye on my father’s health, and staying with us through the winter holidays.”
How easy it was to introduce the men, Eiko thought, as Sasaki spoke.
“The food is delicious, the air is pure, no noisy telephones ringing; as a medical student I’d really like to meet the person who could fall ill in a place like this.”
Kozaburo Hamamoto was famous for his dislike of telephones. There was not a single one anywhere in the Ice Floe Mansion.
“Next to Sasaki is his friend, Masaki Togai, a Tokyo University student with a promising future. I think you have probably heard of his father, Shunsaku Togai, member of the House of Councillors?”
There was a slight murmur of appreciation among the guests, naïve excitement at being in the presence of political royalty…
“A real thoroughbred, if you will. Please, Mr Thoroughbred…”
Togai stood up, his face pale, and fiddled momentarily with his silver-framed glasses.
“I’m honoured to be here this evening. When I told my father about the invitation, he was delighted.”
And with that, he took his seat again.
“And next we have a boy who seems to have caught the sun out on the ski slopes, my nephew—well, technically Daddy’s older brother’s grandson—Yoshihiko. He’s rather good-looking, don’t you think? Still only nineteen, and a first-year student at Keio University. He’s staying with us for the winter break.”
The suntanned boy in the white sweater got to his feet, shyly said hello and sat straight back down.
“Is that it? Sorry, Yoshihiko, you have to speak properly.”
“But I haven’t got anything to say.”
“Of course you have. You’re too shy. Your hobbies or something about your university, there are plenty of things you could talk about. Come on, speak up!”
But there was no reaction.
“Well, I believe I’ve covered all of our dear guests. Now I’d like to introduce our staff to you. First of all, the gentleman standing over there, Kohei Hayakawa. He’s been with our family ever since we lived in Kamakura—about twenty years. He’s our butler and our chauffeur and general odd-jobs man.
“Next to him is his wife, Chikako. She’s our housekeeper and is an invaluable help to us all. Please feel free to ask her for whatever you need.
“The man standing closest to us is our wonderful chef, Haruo Kajiwara. As you can see, he is still in his twenties, but his skills are world class. We managed to lure him away from the Hotel Okura, which didn’t want to let him go. Very soon, everyone will be able to taste for themselves how skilled he is.”
She turned to the three members of the staff.
“Thank you, everyone. That will do. Please get back to what you need to do.
“So that completes the introductions,” she continued, addressing her guests once more. “I’m confident you are all excellent at remembering names and faces.
“And now, while dinner is being served, and you enjoy the view of our Christmas tree, I’m sure you have much to discuss. So without further ado, Yoshihiko, Sasaki, Togai, would you light the candles for us? As soon as that’s done, we’ll lower the salon lights. I wish you all a very enjoyable evening.”
The middle-aged contingent immediately flocked around Kozaburo Hamamoto and began to chat, but it was noticeable that the loudest laughter was from the president of Kikuoka Bearings. Kozaburo’s pipe remained firmly in place.
Eiko realized that thanks to the business with Kumi Aikawa and Hatsue Kanai, she had been guilty of one more blunder. She had forgotten to introduce Ueda, Kikuoka’s chauffeur, probably because he had been blocked from view by the large-set figure of Togai. But she soon shrugged it off: He’s just a driver, after all.
Dinner was served. The guests were treated to roast turkey with all the trimmings. As Eiko had promised, here at the very northern tip of Japan they were able to enjoy the flavours of a top-class Tokyo hotel.
While the other guests were finishing their after-dinner cup of tea, Sasaki got up and went to the window to take a closer look at the Christmas tree. It continued its lonely blinking from beneath its layer of snow.
Sasaki watched the tree for a while, but then noticed something strange. Near the French windows that led from the salon out into the garden, there was a thin stake or pole of some kind sticking out of the snow, about two metres out from the wall of the house. Somebody must have stuck it there. The section visible above the snow was about a metre. The stake itself resembled a piece of the wood that was piled up by the salon fireplace. Except that whoever had done this had apparently selected a particularly straight piece. Earlier that day, when he had been helping Eiko with the tree decorations, the stake hadn’t been there.