"Then why not trust me?"
Trust. There was that word again. Trouble was, she wasn't sure she
trusted anybody anymore. She rose, strolled to the window, and reached
for the curtain. Should she let him stay the night? Maybe that was just
asking for more heartaches. Letting Japan screw America two ways. With
that dismal thought she pulled open the curtains.
It had begun to snow, a swirl of drifting white.
"Ken, come and take a look." She beckoned him. "I think I'd like to go
outside for a while. I'm weary to death of arguing."
He rose and came over to the window, standing next to her. "It's just
started." He glanced around the room. "Did you bring any boots?"
"No, and I don't care. I just want some fresh air to help clear my
head."
"All right, but we'll have to use the service elevator. I can't be seen
walking through the lobby, not till tomorrow."
"We can take the stairs. Come on."
By the time they emerged onto the driveway leading out toward the road,
traffic had slowed to a crawl and the futuristic shapes of Tsukuba's
labs seemed like a fairyland. She noticed that the hotel had its own
helicopter pad, undoubtedly to accommodate MITI officials who needed to
pop up for a quick consultation. The place was high-tech, powerful,
frightening.
Just like Kenji Asano.
"Ken, I'm afraid maybe we've lost it, you and me."
"Lost what?"
"Whatever we had there in Kyoto." She sighed.
"Maybe you've lost it, Tamara." They were striding through the first
thin film of white that now blanketed the sidewalk paralleling the
road, leaving a trail of flattened footprints. "Nothing has changed for
me. You're welcome to come back and be part of my life anytime you
choose."
"Well, right now I just want to walk in the snow." She glanced at him,
wondering if she still felt anything at all. "You know, it's a funny
thing, but the snow tonight reminds me of a trip I once took, years
ago, up north to Hokkaido. The innocence, the simplicity, it was all
captured in that pure, endless white." She looked around them. "How
could Tsukuba Science City even be part of the same country?"
He smiled. "As the tour books always say, 'Japan: land of contrasts.'
Well, the old ways are going fast, Tam, except in our hearts. Some
things will always be the same."
"Tell you the truth, that's what scares me the most. Things like the
sword, which can cause this whole country to go crazy overnight."
"Ah yes, the sword. Matsuo Noda's magic talisman. You know, that's the
real reason he'll be so hard to stop. What a
genius. He delivers it to the Emperor, almost the same way the Sun
Goddess supposedly once did, and in the process makes himself a living
god."
"Speaking of the sword, by the way, Matt is going over to the
Metallurgy Lab tomorrow to see it. Live and prime time."
"Matt?"
"The lawyer I told you about."
"So his name is Matt?"
"Short for Matthew. Walton."
"But why . . ."
"Well, besides being a corporate attorney, he's supposed to be an
amateur expert on swords. Hobby of his."
"And Noda is actually letting him see it?" There was a faint note of
surprise in his voice. "Very unusual. That sword has been kept very
tightly under wraps, or so I've heard."
"Believe it. Tomorrow Matt Walton gets a command presentation. Courtesy
of Noda. He's arranged everything with the Imperial Household." She
gazed up at the sky, now a white marble reflecting back the lights from
the traffic.
"Tam, I'd like very much to see it too. Think you could arrange
something with Noda-san?"
"I can try."
"You know, not many people outside the Imperial Household have actually
viewed it really up close. I hear it's almost perfectly preserved."
"Then this could be your chance." She reached and took his hand. After
all, the weather was cold. "I'll ring Noda in the morning."
"Thanks. But no matter what happens, with that or anything else, just
seeing you again will make this trip worthwhile." He gave her hand a
squeeze.
"All right, Ken, dammit you win." She turned and slipped her arms
around his neck, then drew his lips down to hers. The snow drifted onto
her eyelids. "You're right. I don't have any answers, to anything."
Again she felt almost as though time was running in reverse. The
smoothness of his skin, the ease of his touch, the firm muscles.
"It'll be over soon, Tam. It has to be. And then we'll all look back on
this like a bad dream." He encircled her in his arms. "We'll go off to
Hokkaido if you like it so much there. Together. Just you and me."
"Why is it all the men I know keep offering me trips?" She laughed and
brushed the snow out of his hair. "Matt keeps trying to get me to go
down to the Caribbean. Now you want to take me to Hokkaido. I sound
like everybody's getaway girl."
"Nobody's called you a girl. You're a woman. You decide what you want."
"Well, at the moment I just want to go to bed with you." She pulled his
lips down. "After that I'll worry about the next move."
"We just have to trust each other. That's all that matters."
Well, she thought, how could she not trust this man?
At least for tonight. Tomorrow she would think about tomorrow.