Yasué became hyper-aware of the absurdity of her husband and son eating fried rice that she had thrown together with whatever was on hand while she herself was en route to a fancy Chinese meal at a restaurant in Takarazuka.
Then she doubled over.
‘Oh! … Are you all right, ma’am?’
The startled voice came from the female college student beside her. She immediately rubbed Yasué’s back.
‘Uh-oh, it’s Itoh-san! What’s the matter!?’
The group sitting in a row across the aisle appeared not to have noticed until the college student had called out. ‘Is she all right?!’
The women’s voices rose in a chorus but none of them got up from their seat.
‘I’m sorry, my stomach’s a little …’
‘Oh, dear.’
‘Not when we’re on our way to lunch.’
‘Are you all right? Do you really think you can go?’
Yasué took hold of the college student’s sleeve, grasping it tightly. Don’t say a word.
The student responded in a whisper, The last thing someone in a cold sweat needs is a lunch outing!
Although it pained Yasué to raise her head, she strained to show the group a smiling face.
‘I’m sorry but I’m afraid it’s too much for me so I’ll get off here and go back home. I hope you all have a splendid time and that my absence won’t put a dampener on your fun.’
‘Are you sure? Well then …’
‘Feel better!’
The train slid into the platform. When the doors opened, the student stood up to support Yasué.
‘Please don’t bother. I’ll be fine.’
‘This is my stop anyway so I might as well.’
Admittedly, Yasué would have had trouble walking on her own.
‘Oh my, thank you, young lady, sorry for the trouble!’
The student made a show of tending to Yasué while completely ignoring the women who called out after them.
Just let me sit on this bench for the moment, I’ll curl up until I can scale this wall of pain.
‘Auntie, let me know when you’re able to walk. I think there’s a gynaecologist’s clinic just past the crossing, I’m pretty sure they do internal medicine too.’
Her uncertainty made it clear to Yasué that this wasn’t actually her usual stop.
‘I’m sorry to have interrupted your trip and made you get off the train.’
‘Not at all.’
The student sounded a bit brusque. Yasué couldn’t tell whether the irritation evident in her earlier comments – unbelievable, the worst – had dissipated.
‘But I don’t have my health insurance card with me today …’
‘If you bring it to them later, you can get reimbursed.’
‘That would be a waste of a train fare to have to come back here again … and I always have stomach medicine with me.’
‘Well, you might have said so sooner.’ The female college student set off in a huff towards the ticket gate.
Yasué watched her for a moment and then opened her bag to retrieve the medicine. The bag she had bought with money she’d saved from her part-time job, though she had felt guilty about how much that sum could have helped their household budget – all for just one designer item.
The other wives in the group had pressed her that she should have bought more than one, or nagged her husband for another during his bonus season, but Yasué had demurred, saying that this one suited her just fine.
She took out a packet of medicine that she kept in her wallet. Her wallet was no particular brand – the other ladies had also remarked that she ought to get one that matched her bag, but Yasué had made up the excuse that this one had been a gift from her mother-in-law so it would be a shame not to use it. The truth was that she had bought it at a discount for five thousand yen from the giant supermarket near her part-time job. The same price as the fancy Chinese set-menu lunch that she’d been on her way to today.
As she was attempting to stand up to go and buy some water, the student came back and was now handing her a bottle of mineral water. Apparently she hadn’t left, she had just gone to fetch water from a kiosk.
‘Oh dear, I’m sorry. How much do I owe you?’
‘Don’t worry about it, it’s just a bottle of water.’
Yasué bowed her head. She opened the bottle and poured the bitter medicine into it. For some reason, the student made no move to go anywhere.
‘Um …’ Yasué was tentative as she asked, ‘Why are you …?’
‘I feel guilty!’ the student replied hotly. ‘I made that nasty remark so that you could hear it and … if that’s what caused your stomach pain, then I need to stay with you until you feel better.’
Oh, what a nice girl. A very good girl. Even finer than the ‘ideal bride’ for their sons that the ladies in the group talked about. This was the kind of girl she hoped her son would date. Those other wives might have their doubts, but Yasué would be proud to have a son who had the wisdom to bring home someone like this young woman.
‘No, my dear.’ Yasué smiled as she waved away the student’s fears. ‘It’s not your fault at all.’
Yasué would probably never see this young woman again. She could afford to speak freely, for once.
‘The truth is that I just had no desire to go out to eat at an expensive restaurant with those ladies. Especially not when I had left the fried rice that I threw together for my husband and son to microwave at home. How silly for me to go out on my own for a set-menu lunch that costs five thousand yen. The thought of it is what made my stomach hurt all of a sudden.’
Yasué paused before adding another excuse.
‘Um … My friend who threw her bag onto the seat … she means well enough but she sees nothing wrong with doing something like that. Of course, I’m at fault for not saying anything but, saving a seat for me the way she did, it was really shameful and embarrassing.’
The college student sat down next to Yasué.
‘… I’m sorry for making that nasty comment, without knowing the circumstances.’
‘Not at all, my dear. As I said, I’m the one at fault for not having the nerve to say anything.’
‘I disagree, auntie.’ The woman looked Yasué intensely in the eyes. ‘If you had said something, the bag-tosser would have hated on you. If I’d known about the hating, I wouldn’t have lumped you in with them. You say that she means well but I don’t think she really does.’
‘Uh … what do you mean by “hated on”?’ Yasué wasn’t sure she’d heard her correctly.
‘It’s just a way to say she’d freeze you out of the group. It’s a phrase we use these days.’
‘How interesting! I’ve never heard it before.’
‘So, you always carry stomach medicine with you?’
‘Lately, this kind of sudden pain has been happening more often,’ Yasué replied softly.
‘Like, whenever you go out with those ladies?’
Yasué nodded freely.
‘’Scuse me for saying this but,’ the student began, her tone not all that concerned, ‘what if you stopped being friends with those women? Before your stomach medicine stops working.’
Yasué tilted her head, as the student added, her tone a bit irritated now, ‘Stress is stress. Being in that group is clearly stressful for you, auntie, for it to trigger a sudden attack like that. But then once you’re away from them, you seem perfectly fine.’
Yasué herself had been vaguely aware of this, but to acknowledge that it was true would have only led to further troublesome realities that she preferred to avoid facing.
‘Well … I’ve known them for a long time.’
‘OK, but let me tell you, auntie, those ladies take you for granted.’
The young woman’s words were so candid and she spoke with such conviction. Yasué was unconsciously gripping the water bottle tightly. The truth was, she had vaguely known this too.
‘When you’re out with a friend who doesn’t feel well, it’d be normal – even if just for show – to get off the train with them to make sure they’re OK. That lot didn’t even get up out of their seats. They were like, “Oh dear, but we’re on our way to lunch,” as if lunch was more important to them than you are. Auntie, it’s like it doesn’t matter to them whether you’re there or not. Do you really think it’s worth the effort of staying friends with people who take you for granted like that?’