Page 30 of Blossoms of the Heart
“Hey, stop cramping my style. Girlfriend, you are back in Japan and that is cause for the biggest celebration ever.” She nodded and raised her glass.
I raised my empty one. “I’m in Japan. I’m not sure how I stayed away so long.”
“Me neither, and I really wished that you didn’t.”
“That’s going to all change.” We clinked our glasses and giggled some more.
We looked good, really good. The black and white thing we had going on with our dress looked cool. We also both wore the matching Rhinestone necklaces Akito had gotten for us on our twenty-first birthdays.
Mitsuke and I were destined to be friends. We were born a day a part. I could talk to her about anything, anything at all. I had a few friends back home but no one came close to her.
Always, we did some sort of thing together on our birthdays.
Eight months ago we met up in New York for a long weekend spa break. My poor body had welcomed the deep tissue massage I received from a Swedish masseuse called Hans. He’d told me there were more knots in my back than a macramé bracelet.
It was the stress. At the time I’d seen Jason at a fundraiser and he had some bitch on his arm that kept looking at me.
“I’m going to be here for a while.” I beamed.
“Minimum six months?” she pouted. Doing her best impression of Joan Rivers on Fashion Police. Since Mitsuke had spent more time in the US than in Japan, particularly in her early childhood years when Akito and Rukia lived in San Francisco, she spoke with an American accent. She was also always in either LA. or New York because of her work.
I laughed at the impression. I’d missed this. Her with her craziness, which complemented mine.
“That’s what I was told. Minimum six months.”
“Must there be a minimum? Can’t you just be here?”
“Oh God, not you too.” I sensed conspiracy. Akito and Mitsuke trying to get me to stay in Japan.
“What, me too?”
“Your dad suggested I stay too, earlier.”
She placed her hands on her heart and feigned innocence. Yup conspiracy indeed. “I can honestly swear I didn’t know he would ask you such a thing. But is it so farfetched. Imagine the shopping trips we could go on, and the men. Phoebe, I swear the men get hotter every day, and look there’s every kind of man you could meet in your life. All here,” she gushed, flipping her hand around.
I wished that I could say she was wrong but she wasn’t. The guys in here were hot.
“Men on the brain, Mitsuke?” I asked as if she didn’t always have men on the brain.
“A little.” She chuckled.
Mitsuke was model beautiful and could have her pick of the bunch. She was petite, stylish and owned her presence wherever she was. She was a fashion editor at Vogue, but could have easily been on every cover.
“How was today? Please give me the exciting version.”
“The whole thing’s exciting.” I beamed.
“For you,” she said with emphasis. “Just try to remember that the whole getting excited over finding old pots and pans completely skipped me and was definitely not encoded in my genes.” Mitsuke shook her head, making the blunt ends of her straight black hair brush over her shoulders and settle in the crooks of her elbows.
“Okay, exciting version. This is the kind of thing I’ve been waiting for, for a long time. It will definitely help put me back on my feet.”
To that she smiled. “Yayy, see good things are coming your way already. And, I’m glad that you’ll have a break from that fucking prick.” Mitsuke could also make a sailor blush with her language. “Wish I could have seen you slap Jason, though. It’s so unlike you.”
“I know.” I laughed at the memory of the shock on his stupid face.
It really was so unlike me to do what I did. But the asshole deserved it.
“He deserved it for what he’s put you through.”
