‘I’ll still leave them with you even if you don’t need them.’
Tokié’s son and his wife were not shy about using her as a babysitter, although, over these years since her husband passed away, they seemed to have forgotten to even mention the prospect of Tokié living with them. For her part, Tokié hadn’t the slightest interest in making her way into a home where she felt unwelcome, so she didn’t mention it either.
Curiously, their relationship was not strained. She stayed over with them in their condo sometimes, and they all came over to stay at Tokié’s home at other times.
Tokié’s late husband left her the house, on which the mortgage had been fully paid off, along with a tidy sum of money, and when she died presumably – as their only child – Tokié’s son and his wife would inherit these from her.
It’s not that she didn’t worry about whether she would need care, but she had taken out private insurance for this possibility and was conscientious about her diet and exercise. As Tokié got older, it was perfectly natural for her to hope for a sudden death, one that didn’t create a burden for anyone.
She figured that, so long as she was still living on her own, she was entitled to one last selfish wish. Something she’d been wanting since her husband passed away.
While there was still time, she wanted to have a dog.
Being obliged to walk the dog would be good for her health.
Even if she became unable to care for it, her grand-daughter loved dogs and, with the inheritance, her son and his wife could manage to look after one little dog.
Tokié was pondering all this as they moved to the next car where, standing by the door, they saw a woman in a snow-white dress, looking just like a runaway bride. She was quite a beauty, though the look on her face gave the impression that she had just stabbed someone.
Her granddaughter may love dogs, but she was also of the age where she adored princesses and brides and frilly lace dresses, so she pointed at the woman and exclaimed, ‘A bride!’
Just then, tears flowed down the woman’s cheeks.
A grownup could intuit that there must be extenuating circumstances. By the woman’s feet, there was a wedding favour bag from the Takarazuka Hotel, a top-notch local venue. Anyone with common sense and consideration knew that you didn’t wear an ostentatious white dress when invited to a wedding.
Furthermore, a dress as beautiful as that must have cost at least a hundred thousand yen. Judging from those tears in response to Tokié’s granddaughter, the woman appeared perfectly intelligent – not the type to commit an unintentional gaffe.
Her granddaughter seemed utterly enthralled, and immediately took the spare seat next to where the woman was standing. There was not quite enough space beside her granddaughter, which made it preferable for Tokié to stand in front of her, hanging onto the strap.
Her granddaughter was staring inquisitively at the tearful woman. For better or worse, the girl was of an age where she was curious about everything, so it was only a matter of time before she started asking why the bride was crying.
Tokié figured there was a better chance of avoiding embarrassment for the woman by pre-emptively engaging her in conversation. Her granddaughter had enough discipline to know that she wasn’t supposed to butt into grownups’ conversations.
‘Was it a successful incursion?’
It seemed to take a moment for the woman to register Tokié’s question.
‘Are you speaking to me?’
‘Yes, I asked you a question.’
Tokié might like to think that her blunt way of speaking was straightforward and natural, but the woman seemed to have taken it as criticism.
‘You must think I’m ridiculous – a woman wearing a white dress like this and carrying a wedding favour.’
‘Don’t take it the wrong way – I’m not criticizing you at all. If anything, you might very well think I’m the one who’s ridiculous. A nosy old lady asking a stranger whether her revenge was successful.’
The woman looked like she’d been caught off guard, but then she chuckled.
‘I’m not sure whether I was successful or not. It’s possible I may have only brought them closer together, in their hatred towards me. But I hope that when they think of their wedding, the two of them remember me. I won’t let it be the happiest day of their lives. I want to make their wedding a day they’d rather forget.’
The woman had been speaking stiltedly but then her tone seemed to relax.
‘I’m a wronged woman. While I was in the midst of planning my wedding, that hussy took advantage of his jitters to lure him away. It was calculated – once she was pregnant, she came to him, weeping and helpless.’
‘There have always been and always will be devious women like that. What a tale of woe.’
‘That’s a strange response,’ said the woman. ‘Usually, I’d expect to hear that, no matter how much of a grudge I have, putting a curse on my ex is simply not done in polite society. Especially from someone your age.’