Chapter 12

People really are the most dangerous predators and we are aware of that. We know instinctually. One day I was walking with Akemi in the street near home and ran into an old friend from college, somebody I hadn’t seen in years, and we invited him in for coffee, short visit with little conversation. We thought nothing of it but three days later encountered him again. We were out shopping and there he was, back in our neighborhood. He accompanied us on our light expedition, dropping in a produce market, last stop, and when the errand was done he walked us home- he had time on his hands- and as we drew near the front of our apartment building instead of saying goodbye and continuing on his own way as expected, he stopped when we did and said, “I forgot my pen last time” and turned toward the doorway with us.

I had no memory of him using a pen in our apartment but he had no doubt about his. A pen? Important enough to return for? Come on. It seemed crazy. Still, poker-faced, he climbed the stairs beside Akemi and me toward our second-floor apartment. Without a further word of explanation or asking if we wanted company then.

He did. I considered the possibility the pretext was meant to be funny, but I remembered him in college as a pretty humorless sort and that seemed not to have changed.

Reaching the landing of the staircase, I asked Akemi, loud so Tim would hear, “Do you remember a pen?” hoping she would spare me the onus of challenging my friend’s assertion. I didn’t want to insult him but my wife had nothing at stake. She simply shook her head, though, and continued climbing. I understood. Handling the encounter was my job. He was my friend, after all, not hers.

When we opened the door three people from inside greeted us, clamoring for space in the doorway to give their welcome, and others were behind them; their figures, dark, solid in the white outdoor light from the living room and kitchen windows made a cheerful scene. I remembered only then that a family were over, husband and wife (Akemi’s ESL classmate) and children had dropped by on short notice while wandering in the area, sightseeing; despite the year plus they’d already been in this country a lot was still new to them, and what with jobs and housework, time for family outings was scarce.