Chapter 24

Once when Mitchell and Akemi visited friends of his, on their arrival walking into the bedroom where they’d stay, Mitchell spilled coffee he had brought with him from a convenience store they’d stopped in nearby. He held two cups, using both hands. That was a mistake. They had their bags to move as well. It was true the bedroom was small, with barely enough space to move around the big dark-covered bed, only the left side by the closet open, passable, but Mitchell should have thought first before acting. He lost most of the contents of one cup and part of both. That was his first concern. He’d really looked forward to drinking coffee.

His friend came in, having heard the commotion and said, “We’ll try to clean it up.” It wasn’t clear that was possible. Even the sheets were soaked through. It was a “direct hit.” Mitchell’s friend, dark-bearded, big like a bear, was kindly, but couldn’t help showing some annoyance.

Mitchell had first looked for paper towels to start cleaning right away on his own but of course there were none in the immediate area. He said to Akemi later that he felt then why as a rule he didn’t like having guests or being one. It was just too much trouble. But the real problem was Mitchell’s tension. He had stumbled because he couldn’t relax that day or others; around people he tried to act in a way that would make him look good and it often didn’t. Akemi could see that and so could Mitchell’s friends and maybe Mitchell himself, but he couldn’t do anything about it, couldn’t change.

Akemi knew he’d looked forward to their marriage as a chance to fix what was wrong. That was wrong.

Nelson, for his part, was very relaxed, stayed at a hotel on his visit to New York where he spread out as if at home. He could have put up with friends, Mitchell or others, but he chose to be in control, preferred his own place, to enjoy coming and going freely and of course “lovely ladies.” Akemi accepted that she might not be the only admirer who had kept him company during his short time in town for the film screenings. She wondered if his wife knew, guessed she must. Nelson wasn’t underhanded (maybe). Leticia had stayed home. Akemi guessed they had some kind of arrangement, assumed Nelson would accept nothing less, insist on a marriage that didn’t restrict him.

And when Mitchell had influenza and was recovering he went to work and a coworker said he should have stayed home if he still had symptoms and Mitchell said that was okay he felt fine. But the coworker meant instead that being at work he risked infecting others. Sometimes Mitchell didn’t get it.

Then there were his efforts to speak Japanese, which he didn’t know well. He was talking to friends about the new dentist he’d switched to and how expensive they had turned out to be, how he “felt fine” (always) but they insisted on treatment anyway. His friends, listening patiently, asked how much money he’d spent altogether (saw that he wanted to tell them) and Mitchell calculated in his head, making everybody wait before announcing the figure.