A Story in Yokohama -3 【Tulips in Yokohama Park near Yokohama Stadium】
A Story in Yokohama【 Subtitled "Longing"】-3
“Here's a souvenir.”
“What's this?”
“Bread. I thought it would be easier to eat the thinner version, so I asked them to cut it into eight slices.”
“Oh, it's the England Bread from Motomachi.”
“I was concerned when you said you weren't hungry.”
“But now that you are here, I feel better in my stomach. Let's just toast it and make some tea.”
His neat face looked like a reflection from childhood.
“You have succeeded in your father's line of work very well.”
“Thanks to the support of the office staff from my father's time, I've managed to keep up.”
“Wonderful.”
“This tea has a wonderfully sweet fragrance.”
“It's my husband's favorite Oriental beauty tea from Taiwan. Mosquitoes contaminate the tea leaves and the tea becomes sweet and fragrant.”
Yuichi looked at the photo frame on the bookcase.
“The woman in that picture is beautiful, isn't she?”
“Yes.”
“Her smile is charming. Is Yokohama Port in the background?”
“Yeah, it was taken in Yamashita Park. That was a long time ago. It's faded into obscurity.”
“Who's this?”
“Well, who could it be?”
Naomi slurred her words softly.
“Where is your husband's picture?”
“Upstairs in his study.”
“May I see it?”
“Yes.”
In the study on the second floor that Naomi led him to, there was a stylish ebony western desk that Tatsuya had used before his death, and on it was a large photograph of the deceased and his two daughters, smiling side by side.
Yuichi looked at Tatsuya's photo for a moment and bowed silently.
“I've known your parents since we were married.”
“That's what my father used to say.”
“After we got married and moved to Motomachi, my husband and your father quickly became good friends. My husband, the one who was always interested in everything, whether for work or pleasure, and Mr. Murakami, who always treated us so calmly and politely, were quite a contrast, but they got along just fine together. When the business started to take off, my husband said he was going to separate his personal tax accountant from the company's tax accountant. Our family's tax consultant should be someone who could keep up with our daily lives away from the business.”
“So he asked my father to be your accountant?”
“Yes. I'm sure they get along fine in heaven. I only go in here these days to change the flowers because it reminds me of so much.”
“Really? I'm sorry for being so selfish.”
“Don't worry about it. My husband would be happy to see you.”
“What was your relationship with my mother?”
Yuichi’s mother, Yuko, had died when she gave birth to him.
“Yuko and I used to have tea together often, and she was as kind as her name, and she was a wonderful person who would casually show her concern for us to warm our hearts. I was really sad when she passed away.”
''I don't have any image of my mother in me.”
“You had a wonderful father who raised you by himself. And that father left you his wife’s name. You are connected to Yuko through her name.”
''...I see.''
They returned to the living room.
“By the way, we have to have a complicated talk today.”
“Is this about taxes?”
Her husband had left her a huge fortune.
Commentary
・The bread Yuichi brought to Naomi is an English bread from the Yokohama Motomachi bakery, which is said to be the birthplace of Japanese bread. This bread is soft and bouncy and has a lovely light aroma.
・Oriental Beauty Tea is a sweet and fresh-smelling high grade tea made by using the secretion of mosquitoes to ferment the tea leaves.
・The meaning of the Japanese word "Yu/優" in Yuko and Yuichi's names means kindness.
・From next time, we will get into the story of the incident that is related to this whole story.
・・・To be continued・・・