“I’m ​going ​out. ​You ​take ​care ​of ​the ​house.”
“Yeah, ​yeah.”
‘Take ​care ​of ​the ​house’? ​As ​if ​there’s ​anything ​to ​take ​care. ​Unless, ​of ​course, ​burning ​those worthless ​drawings ​of ​his ​counts ​as ​tidying ​up.
…The ​thought ​is ​tempting…
Maybe ​if ​I ​do ​he’ll ​divorce ​me. ​I’d ​give ​him ​the ​three-line ​paper ​anytime, ​but ​the ​old ​folks ​athome ​wouldn’t ​like ​that…
Sorry ​for ​being ​an ​expensive ​daughter. ​And ​for ​painting ​the ​walls ​when ​I ​ran ​out ​of ​paper.
When ​will ​someone ​come ​up ​with ​a ​way ​to ​make ​paper ​cheaper? ​Maybe ​I ​should ​have married ​an ​inventor ​instead.
As ​it ​is, ​I’m ​selling ​myself ​for ​paper, ​ink ​and ​booze. ​Might ​as ​well ​try ​my ​luck ​as ​a ​whore. They ​dress ​better ​than ​me, ​even! ​Hmm, ​but ​they ​say ​whores ​can’t ​enjoy ​sex. ​Guess
everyone ​has ​things ​they ​can ​and ​can’t ​do.
“Excuse ​me, ​is ​the ​master ​here?”
“Thankfully ​not—huh, ​who ​are ​you?”
I’d ​expected ​to ​see ​one ​of ​the ​geezers ​from ​the ​publisher’s, ​but ​instead ​it’s ​a ​woman around ​my ​age ​at ​the ​door. ​Her ​face ​is ​flushed ​and ​she ​pants ​slightly ​as ​if ​she ​came running ​all ​the ​way ​here. ​Poor ​gal, ​missed ​him ​by ​so ​little.
“Ah, ​I’m ​sorry! ​My ​name ​is ​Sayo ​and ​am ​with ​Saga ​Publishing!”
“A ​woman? ​How ​old ​are ​you?”
“Twenty…”
Same ​as ​me, ​huh.
“I’m ​Kame. ​My ​useless ​husband ​went ​out ​like ​five ​minutes ​ago.”
“Aw, ​seriously? ​Where ​is ​he ​headed? ​I ​think ​I ​can ​still ​catch ​up ​with ​him!”
“Forget ​it. ​If ​it’s ​his ​drawings ​you ​want, ​I ​have ​them, ​but ​leave ​that ​aside ​for ​a ​second…Come ​on, ​don’t ​stay ​there ​forever ​looking ​like ​an ​idiot.”
“O-Okay!”
She ​reluctantly ​comes ​in ​and ​closes ​the ​door. ​Despite ​her ​hairstyle, ​she’s ​surprisingly polite. ​Could ​she ​actually ​be ​the ​disowned ​daughter ​of ​some ​rich ​family ​who ​chose ​the ​love of ​her ​life, ​a ​lowly ​publishing ​apprentice, ​over ​her ​own ​house? ​Ooh, ​I ​so ​have ​to ​put ​that ​on paper.
“You ​don’t ​need ​to ​stay ​three ​steps ​away ​from ​me. ​I’ll ​give ​you ​the ​drawings, ​so ​humor ​me a ​little, ​okay, ​Osayo?”
“Eh?”
I ​fill ​two ​cups ​with ​the ​sake ​I ​was ​about ​to ​drink ​right ​when ​she ​arrived ​and ​give ​her ​one.
She ​has ​the ​look ​of ​cornered ​prey.
“You ​won’t ​tell ​me ​you ​can’t ​drink, ​right?”
“I-I ​can… ​but ​why ​me?”
I ​pretend ​not ​to ​hear ​hear ​question ​and ​start ​voicing ​the ​complaints ​running ​through ​my head. ​What, ​I ​haven’t ​even ​started ​drinking? ​Don’t ​get ​hung ​up ​on ​details.
“Honestly, ​least ​that ​good-for-nothing ​could ​do ​is ​stay ​home ​when ​he ​knows ​someone’s coming. ​I’m ​not ​his ​secretary, you know? Does ​he ​listen ​to ​my ​advice ​either? ​Of ​course ​not. ​That’s ​why he ​doesn’t ​sell. ​He ​should ​be ​thankful ​the ​Sagaya ​gives ​him ​work ​at ​all.”
“I-I ​see…”
I take a big sip followed by a big sigh.
“Our ​finances ​would ​be ​better ​if ​he ​swallowed ​that ​stupid ​pride ​as ​he ​does ​cheap ​booze and ​just ​let ​me ​do ​the ​drawings ​for ​him. My pride ​would ​suffer ​more ​than ​his.”
“Do ​you ​draw, ​too?”
“Oh, ​don’t ​put ​me ​in ​the ​same ​level ​as ​him. ​I ​still ​have ​a ​long ​way ​to ​go, ​but ​I’m ​sure ​better than that.”
Whoopsie ​daisy, ​maybe ​I ​talked ​too ​much. ​If ​she ​really ​is ​some ​rich family ​girl, ​she ​must ​be disgusted ​by ​my ​lack ​of ​respect. ​Not ​that ​he’s ​worthy ​of much ​respect.
She ​points ​at ​one ​of ​the ​piles ​of ​paper ​behind ​me.
“Did ​you ​draw ​that?”
“You ​can ​tell?”
She ​nods ​and ​walks ​to ​it ​slowly. ​The ​way ​she’s ​staring ​at ​it, ​it’s ​almost ​as ​if ​it’s ​some ​magic scroll ​from legend.
“Sniff…”
She’s ​crying?!
"What's up?!"
"Is this your hometown...?"
"How do you know?"
She hiccups while wiping tears.
"I'm born and raised in Edo, so I don't know what it's like to be homesick... but for some reason, this drawing felt so lonely and nostalgic. You loved the people there, didn't you?"
"Yeah... it was a tiny village with a whole lot of nothing, but I enjoyed it there."
"I can tell. At first I thought you were just a grumpy wife, but this is on a whole different level. You're awesome."
You’re ​awesome. ​As ​in ​my ​art ​is ​awesome. ​I ​hadn’t ​heard ​that in a long time.
"T-T-That's not true... I mean, I'm better than that bum for sure, but..."
"Weren't you saying how great you are just a moment ago?"
"That was just a figure of speech! I can't deal with compliments!"
"...hahaha!"
"Stop laughing! What about you?! You were crying just now!"
"Who was? We're both grown women. No one was crying here."
We both end up laughing, and, after that, refilling the cups of sake.
After a few cups (I lost count), she seemed to have completely forgotten the reason for her visit. I do need to eat, so better hand her the, um, artwork.
"Here. That's what you came for, right."
"Bleh. This looks so dull after seeing your drawings."
"I'll have to agree there, but should you be looking so disgusted as one of the editors in charge?"
"I'm just an errands girl, it's okay~"
I definitely gave her too much to drink. It'd been such a long time since I last drank in nice company that I let loose.
"I'd love to see the courtesans drawn by you... it's such a nice story, too. The suicide of Asagiri shouldn't look this boring!"
She points at the illustration for one of the crucial scenes in the story. So even an amateur can see that isn't doing the character justice.
"Ah, I like that scene too! I actually gave it a shot, myself. It's somewhere in that pile."
I did try to give him kind advice--okay, not so kind--to improve it, but he'd just say 'stop nagging, woman'.
"Wait, are these all sketches for the suicide illustration?!"
She starts rummaging through the unorganized pile of paper and pulling out the studies I did. The amount of times I killed Asagiri would no doubt qualify me as a mass murderer.
"The better ones. The rest became fuel for the stove or toilet paper."
"This is it... it's Asagiri! She's alive!"
"Technically, she's dying."
"If she's dying, it's because she's not dead yet!"
We look at each other and burst out laughing. Osayo then looks at me with a mischievous grin.
"Let's use this."
"Huh?"
"I'll replace the original drawing with yours and hand it to my boss. Your husband will only find out when it's published."
"Wait, won't you get in trouble for that?"
"I can't possibly get in trouble when it's this much better than the real one!"
She's definitely gonna get in trouble.
Maybe I should have told her off. I'm not satisfied with this kind of life, but I don't want to risk going back to my parents' house either.
Of course, those are things I thought after I was no longer under the influence of alcohol.
"You know what?"
I smile back at her, like two children ready to play tricks.
"That's a great idea."