Parlor Games: A Novel Part 18

When Kotone brought the tea tray, I said, "You must tell me about the j.a.panese countryside. Come." I led the way to the couch. "Please sit with me."

Stiff-backed, she eased down on the couch, her hands planted at her sides.

I patted her hand. "What are the nicest places to visit in summer?"

"Kyoto is very pretty, very old. Beautiful temples and Kamo festival soon."

I poured tea for both of us and handed her a cup. "Yes, and where else?"

"You could go to Fujiyama. Very big mountain. Very pretty from train."

"I'll have to talk it over with Johnny." I held the teacup under my nostrils, breathing in its sweet floral scent and relishing the soothing steam.

Kotone sat beside me, her frame quite still as she tilted her teacup to her lips.

I sipped my tea. Its delicate taste stimulated my own glands, a.s.suaging the dryness of my mouth and calming my rattled nerves. Placing my teacup on the tray, I faced Kotone. "Please see to my laundry this afternoon. I'll want to pack in the next day or two."

MY OWN DEAR JOHNNY.

TOKYO-1891

Johnny had gone out to his bank that day to conduct some business, so I left a message at the desk asking him to join me for a late-afternoon stroll. When he returned, we took a rickshaw to Ueno Park and set out under its canopy of broad-branching cherry trees.

I took Johnny's arm as we stepped onto a wide walkway at the park's center. "How was your day?"

"Not very agreeable, really."

The finely graveled path crunched beneath our feet. "I'm sorry. What made it disagreeable?"

"Nothing I need to bother you about."

I suspected Johnny had received yet another missive from his father, perhaps via his bank, asking him to quit Tokyo. Or perhaps Dougherty had upset him. I nestled my hand into the crook of his arm. "You never told me about your dinner with that a.s.sociate of your father's."

"Oh, yes, Mr. Dougherty. Quite a nice fellow."

The late-afternoon sun broke through the tunnel of trees here and there, warming my back, and I steered us toward a stone bench in some deep shade. "Did your father send him here on business?"

"No, Father only asked him to stop and see how I was doing. And pa.s.s along the news from home."

Apparently, Johnny's father preferred to handle this matter discreetly. Or maybe Dougherty realized he needed to tread delicately, in view of Johnny's attachment to me.

"Nothing's wrong, I hope."

"Not at all; we're meeting again tomorrow."

Just as I feared. Dougherty was sinking his claws into Johnny, and I couldn't risk any more meetings between them. I could only hope the police would hold Dougherty long enough to keep him away from Johnny. I paused at the stone bench, inviting Johnny to sit beside me. "And is Mr. Dougherty staying in Tokyo long?"

"I'm not sure." Johnny leaned back and braced his hand on the bench. "He seemed to know about you."

The coolness of the stone seat seeped into my legs. I forced calm onto my expression, suppressing the fury seething in my veins. "Really? What?"

"Just that I was seeing someone. Father must have pa.s.sed it along. Anyway, I told him we're having a marvelous time."

"Oh, Johnny, I don't want it ever to end." I rested my head on his shoulder. Should I just tell him everything? No, I couldn't stomach the thought of dashing Johnny's trust in me.

I felt Johnny tense up. Pulling my head off his shoulder, I looked him full in the face. "What's wrong?"

He smoothed a hand over his forehead. "Father's put a limit on my withdrawals."

"Why would he do that?"

"To force me to come home."

"Oh, Johnny, I don't want to lose you."

"Soon I'll have to go home."

"Let's go away first. Just you and me. Take me to Mount Fuji for my birthday."

Johnny leaned over his knees and studied his feet. "I'm running low on funds."

"Don't worry about money. I have money."

He nodded, letting the idea sink in. "Yes, I could stand a break from Father's constant letters."

"Can we leave tomorrow?"

"Well, I'm dining with Mr. Dougherty tomorrow night. How about Friday?"

If the police released Dougherty before Thursday evening, I would have to keep them apart, but without making a fuss. First I needed to find out how long Dougherty would be jailed. I clapped a hand on Johnny's thigh. "You promise? Friday morning?"

He nodded, concentrating his lips in his own endearing way of showing resolve.

I wrapped my arm in his and nestled close to him.

He kissed my forehead and asked, "Can you have Kotone make the arrangements?"

"Of course," I said.

As we rose to leave the park, I nudged Johnny. "Look at the young couple over there. Don't they look happy?"

By the time Johnny called on me the next afternoon, Kotone had ascertained that the police were still holding Dougherty. Although they had questioned him about the whereabouts of the stolen photos, Dougherty had revealed nothing. Since time was of the essence, I asked Johnny if he'd begun packing for our trip to Fujiyama.

He relaxed into the pillows on my suite's low-slung sofa. "I had some other business to attend to. I can pack in the morning."

"Why not tonight?" The golden crane-patterned wallpaper of my suite reflected the afternoon sun piercing the windows. Suddenly it struck me as monotonous. How many months had I sat in this room surrounded by the same walls, the same simple furniture?

"I'm dining with Mr. Dougherty this evening."

I hurried to the sofa and sat beside Johnny. "He hasn't sent you word?"

"Of what?"

"That he's indisposed."

"No, why should he?"

I crossed my legs at the ankles and swiveled toward Johnny. "Mr. Dougherty is not who you think he is."

Johnny leaned forward, bracing his hands on his knee tops. "What do you mean?"

"It would be best if you didn't see him again."

"But that would be an insult. What's this about?"

"I'd rather not embarra.s.s your father. Please don't ask any more questions."

"But my father sent him here. If he's sponsored Dougherty's trip, he has a right to know."

I swallowed and moistened my lips. "Dougherty is being questioned by the police for theft."

"Theft?"

"And I guarantee he'll lie to your father about it."

"You're sure?"

"I saw Security escort him out of our hotel. You can ask the authorities."

"How do you know he's in jail?"

"I have connections with city officials. Why wouldn't I know what happens to Americans in Tokyo?"

"Are you sure it's Dougherty?"

"Mr. Reed Dougherty, a lanky fellow with a horsy face. Staying at the Seiyoken Hotel. Isn't that him?"

Johnny frowned. "Yes, yes, it is."

"Well, I'm afraid you won't find him at dinner tonight."

Johnny and I left Tokyo the next morning, while Dougherty languished in jail. But I knew Dougherty would be released sooner or later, so to throw him off our trail I changed plans.

Once Johnny and I reached the outskirts of Tokyo, I told him, "We're going to Kyoto instead of Mount Fuji. I wanted to surprise you."

We checked into the Hotel Okura in Kyoto a few days before the Kamo festival. On festival day, we secured seats with a commanding view of the parade: ox carriages overflowing with geranium leaves and an envoy of people dressed in colorful, flowing silk garb.

"Incredible," Johnny said, as awed by the display as I was. "And it's such a sublime city. Let's stay for your birthday."

We spent the next week touring Kyoto's beautiful temples: Kiyomizu temple, situated on a steep hill and offering a commanding view of Kyoto; the shimmering Temple of the Golden Pavilion, a three-story temple topped with a bronze phoenix that sparkled under the clear May skies; and Fushimi Inari Taisha, a shrine at the top of a pathway lined with thousands of thick, bright red posts.

I turned twenty-two on May 23, and that evening Johnny escorted me to a small restaurant in the heart of Kyoto. He had obviously taken great care in selecting and arranging the dinner. Once we finished dining, the whole staff-two male cooks and three waitresses-presented themselves in the doorway of our private chamber to wish me a happy birthday.

Johnny folded his hands and dipped his head, j.a.panese-style, to show his grat.i.tude. "Arigato. We're ready for our dessert now."

When the staff retreated, I reached for Johnny's hand. "Life with you is the sweetest adventure."

Johnny raised my chin with his fingertips, leaned close, and kissed me. "I forget the rest of the world when I'm with you."

"You are my joy, my peace."

"My dear, dear Pauline. I could never have dreamed you up."

The curtain to our room parted and our waitress shuffled out of her shoes. She entered and placed a bowl of colorful round delicacies in front of each of us.

"Oh, cream anmitsu," I said, "my favorite j.a.panese dessert."

The waitress's mouth betrayed the slightest smile as she plucked a little pitcher of dark liquid from her tray and placed it in the middle of our table. She looked at Johnny. He nodded, and she took a tiny box off the tray and put it beside my bowl. Bowing, she retreated, and the curtains to our room rippled closed behind her.

I stared at the box, so small it made me wonder: Could it be a ring? My heart pounded. My cheeks and ears flushed with excitement.

Johnny took up the pitcher and poured sweet black syrup over our dessert bowls. "Would you like to open your gift?"

Taking in a deep breath to calm myself, I lifted the box, gripped the bottom with my quivering fingertips, and pulled the top off. A ring. A diamond ring. I looked up at Johnny.

"Will you marry me, Pauline?"

I clapped a hand over my heart. "Oh, Johnny, I can hardly believe it."

"You'll be my fiancee. We can travel to New York together."

I wanted nothing more than to say yes, to guarantee a life of happiness with Johnny. But I had thought of just one way to foil the obstacles Dougherty had thrown in our path.

"I can't tell you how happy you've made me." I reached for his hand. "Only can't we stay in j.a.pan? Can't we get married here?"

"Darling, my family will love you. I wouldn't dream of depriving them of a wedding in New York."