The waiter returned just then with a steaming ceramic pitcher of sake. He reverently placed it in the center of our table, along with two small, delicate ceramic cups. “Have you both decided what to order?” he asked.
Asher nodded. “We’ll have an order of nabe yaki udon, yasai itame, tonkatsu, chicken kara age, and your lover’s special sushi platter.”
I glared at Asher, annoyed. “Excuse me, do I have a say in this?”
“Did you want to order something, too? I think I covered all our bases.”
I slammed the menu on the table and stared at it. Asher apologized to the waiter and asked if he could wait a moment. Dammit! He could read Japanese? That should have impressed me, I suppose, except it only pissed me off. I decided on a simple dish that they had to have, because otherwise the embarrassment would be too much and I thought I might just walk out right then and there.
“Vegetable tempura,” I said, sheepish.
“An excellent choice, madame,” the waiter said with a smile.
Once the waiter left, I confronted Asher. “You read Japanese?” My tone was nothing less than outraged.
“No, but I come here enough that I know most of the menu. If you don’t know what something is, all you need to do is ask, you know?”
How obvious. I’d been so caught up in worrying about my problem, worrying about being seen as some ignorant common woman, that I’d missed something so glaringly obvious. Granted, he could have told me that, or he could have asked me about the things he’d ordered, but still.
“Is that why you invited me here?” I asked him, frustrated, the very bare beginnings of tears in my eyes. “Did you want to humiliate me? I know I destroyed your book and I’m so very sorry about that, but there are better ways to go about accepting it than embarrassing someone. Maybe I’m not rich and I probably couldn’t afford to pay for half of what you ordered, but that doesn’t mean you can just mock me.”
“Jessika…” he said, looking upset. Why was he upset? I was the one being made fun of here.
“Look. I get it, alright? I really do. Everything was just some farce. I’m sure that’s how it always is with you people. Pick up some person you consider beneath you and bring them out somewhere fancy and then laugh at all the bumbling things they do, and then let everyone else in the restaurant laugh, too. Maybe most people don’t even realize it, but I do, so I’m just going to leave now. I understand what you wanted to do, and I understand why you did it, but that doesn’t make it any better for me, you know?”
He didn’t even say anything to contradict me. Asher looked at me gravely, the most serious expression on his face. I wasn’t sure what to think of that. Was he annoyed that I’d caught onto his game? Or maybe upset with himself for playing me into his hand without even considering my feelings?
He moved to the side of his seat cushion. I thought he was about to leave, in which case I had no idea what I would say to the waiter. No, please, don’t bring the food. Asher is gone, and I can’t afford it? That would go over well. Of course, maybe they’d put it on his tab, or whatever, charge him for it when he came in next, but that still didn’t make me feel any better.
But, no, he didn’t leave. He reached for a folding door hidden in a slit in the side of the alcove entrance. Pulling it out of its hiding spot, he moved it so that it covered the rest of the entrance, closing us into our own private, personal spot. The door wasn’t the most sturdy, but it looked like more than enough for our small room.
“It’s surprisingly good at dulling sounds,” Asher said. “And as long as you don’t scream no one will hear anything more than a muffled conversation,” he added.
I watched him return to his spot, dumbfounded.
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” he said. “I apologize if you thought I did. I figured you wouldn’t know what to order, and I’m used to ordering for the table, so I did. Everything will be delicious, I assure you. It’s nothing too strange, either. And—” He paused for a second, his brow furrowing. “You can sit however you’d like. I know it’s uncomfortable to sit seiza-style. My wife can’t handle it for more than a few minutes, and you’ve been sitting like that for close to ten.”
I wiped the tears from my eyes. Why was he so nice now? He acted so arrogant before, and he still had a certain sense of cockiness, but he was… nicer? I didn’t know how to explain it, but he seemed easier to get along with now.
My legs did ache, too. I’d wanted to ignore it, to show him up, but I could barely feel them anymore; they were tingling, and most definitely asleep. I tried to move my feet to the side like he’d showed me before, but that didn’t help.