Well, I’ll be … Look who’s picking a fight.
What’s in store for this child is a matter of my son and his wife’s concern – and my own.
Holding Ken’s carrier in one hand and taking Ami’s hand with the other, Tokié briskly walked over to stand in front of the housewives.
Her assured step belied her age, and the women seemed to quaver ever so slightly. They must not have expected her to rise to the challenge.
‘Listen now,’ Tokié began speaking in a firm tone, like the one she used when she taught high school. ‘Provided that one pays the designated fare, one may rightfully bring a dog or a cat that is in a carrier onto the train. My granddaughter and I are in compliance with the rules of bringing a pet onto the train. Here is our ticket.’
Tokié took Ken’s pet-fare ticket out from her purse and held it up to show the women.
‘Your remarks that we are lacking in civility have no basis in fact. We are abiding by the rules and regulations of Hankyu Railway, so if you have any objections, bring those up with the railway company.’
The comeback came from another direction.
‘It stinks!’ cried the woman who had frowned at Tokié and Ami when they got on the train with the carrier. Rather than meet Tokié’s gaze, she locked eyes with Ami. ‘That dog stinks! I can’t stand the smell so keep it away from me!’
Ami’s face turned bright red.
‘He does not! I gave Ken a shampoo myself just yesterday! I bathe him regularly so he definitely does not stink!’
‘How can you even tell what the dog smells like?’ the voice of a young woman chimed in.
Without anyone noticing, that heartwarming couple had entered the fray. The voice belonged to the young woman carrying the canvas tote bag with the internationally recognized mouse on it.
‘The air in here reeks of so much perfume it makes me sneeze.’
‘It’s nauseating, isn’t it?’ Her boyfriend nodded in agreement.
The fresh young beauty flashed a smile at the band of housewives.
‘It seems you’re wearing quite expensive perfume but perhaps you don’t know the proper way to apply it? Just a dab behind the ears or on the wrists is enough. There’s no need to spray it on like deodorant. That will just be offensive to those around you. You may not even be aware that all of you seem to have lost your sense of smell, so if you think you can detect the stink of the dog, then your nose must be stronger than even that dog’s nose!’
She had hit the bull’s eye, because they all instantly blushed. There was no refuting what the young woman said.
‘In fact, the pup’s shampoo smells quite nice.’
She smiled at Ami, who nodded happily in agreement.
‘Ken’s shampoo smells like flowers!’
Very nice, indeed. The young woman turned back towards the housewives. Her expression was serious again.
‘Humans have an advantage over dogs. No matter how much noise they make, no one’s ever going to put them in a cage.’
This young woman seemed to have hijacked the argument away from Tokié, who was trying to think of a way to defuse the situation when the young woman’s boyfriend added his own punchline, with pitch-perfect delivery:
‘And you can’t buy good manners from a ticket machine, can you?’
Just then the announcement came over the speaker, ‘NEXT STOP, TAKARAZUKA-MINAMIGUCHI. TAKARA-ZUKA-MINAMIGUCHI.’
The queenpin of the housewives suddenly stood up.
‘Ladies, let’s get off here.’
‘Uh, but aren’t we supposed to be going to Takarazuka …?’
‘Thanks to all these people, I don’t feel like it any more. Let’s have our lunch today at the Takarazuka Hotel.’
As the train slowed, the housewives hurriedly prepared to disembark, and once the train stopped and the doors opened, they all filed out.
An absurdly heavy scent of perfume lingered after them.
The queenpin had namedropped the jewel of a hotel along the Imazu Line, which also seemed to linger.
‘Wow … having to deal with all of them could spell disaster for the hotel!’ the young man said.
‘Maybe I was a bit harsh.’ The young woman’s expression was contrite.
Tokié broke into their conversation.
‘Don’t worry – that hotel has history and prestige on its side. They’ll know exactly how to handle them.’
‘I certainly hope so,’ the young woman said pleasantly, making no move to sit in any of the still vacant seats, instead heading towards the far door, in an attempt to escape the intense lingering odour.
‘I must express my appreciation. Thank you for coming to our aid.’
‘Not at all, it wasn’t …’ The young woman looked down, sheepishly.
Her boyfriend nudged her. ‘You can be surprisingly feisty,’ he laughed. ‘Without always thinking about the consequences, which can be a worry sometimes!’
And you there, you’ve got quite the sharp edge yourself, Tokié murmured under her breath.
‘Yes, but today I figured it was justified to wade in,’ the young woman said.
Seems like she’s got the reins firmly in hand, Tokié thought.
‘Well, I’m grateful to you for jumping in.’
‘I was afraid you’d think I was meddling.’
Her boyfriend laughed puckishly.
‘I’m sure you have the firepower to have defeated them on your own, but it’s better that you had reinforcements from your granddaughter and her pup to lay siege to those old ladies.’
‘That’s right – thanks to you, it was over in a flash.’
‘It’s true, winning is about believing you can win,’ said the young man with another amused smile.
The young woman stooped down to meet Ami’s gaze, and then she peeked into the carrier.
‘So cute, is that a miniature Dachshund? Is he your dog?’
Ami was about to nod happily in response to the young woman’s question – whereupon Tokié chimed in.
‘No. This dog belongs to my husband and me.’
Ami pouted melodramatically. ‘I take care of him too …’
‘Yes, dear, you do help but that’s all. The dog is mine and Gramps’s.’
‘But Gramps is in the cemetery …’
‘Ken still belongs to Gramps and me. Like I always tell you.’ When it came to this matter, Tokié never budged an inch. ‘If you want to have a dog of your own, first you must demonstrate the ability to be responsible for taking care of the dog by yourself.’
‘But I love Ken.’
The couple that had given them ground support watched, wide-eyed, as Tokié and Ami did battle. Perhaps they thought that the relationship between the two of them was rather more idiosyncratic than a typical grandmother and granddaughter.
Tokié was aware that everyone seemed to think that grandchildren ought to be doted upon constantly. When she had tea with friends in her neighbourhood, they were all amazed by the way she treated Ami, always telling her that she ought not to take for granted how often Ami came over to spend time with her.
‘No, dear. Ken is Gramps’s and my dog, and that’s final.’
Ken the Kai Ken is the one who bit my husband on the backside and made him fearful of dogs. That’s why I got a smaller dog this time, so that he wouldn’t be afraid of this Ken.
‘You’re being mean, Granny! You’re a meanie!’
‘If I’m mean, then all well and good. But you’d better stop making a fuss on the train. If you throw a tantrum, we won’t go to the dog run. We won’t get any ice cream on Hana Road either.’
Hana Road was a promenade that ran between Takarazuka Station and the Takarazuka theatre, and it was landscaped with seasonal flowers. Beside the promenade, there was a mall with genteel shops and boutiques, among which was a candy shop that sold Ami’s favourite soft-serve ice cream.
‘Meanie …’ Ami may have been unhappy about the situation but she spoke more softly now.