Even in early March, not exactly peak traveling season, JFK was still a bustle of activity. Business men and women in sharp suits speaking quickly into the mic of their headphones or typing furiously on touchscreens-the manic tapping out of time with the clacking of fancy shoes on polished linoleum. Babies crying. Parents desperately trying to maintain order over their children. Groups of people huddling together-attempting to match boarding passes with the departures board. Loved one's anxiously awaiting their special someone to walk through the gate.
Two women sat quietly in a coffee shop observing the madness. Katherine Greene, age 29, fiddled with the lid of her latte. Her red was was frizzy and pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. The case could be made that she hadn't even brushed it before twisting it into a knot and tying a ponytail holder around it. This assumption would be correct and not an uncommon occurrence. Katherine sat cross-legged in worn blue-jeans, a long-sleeved, brown, jersey knit top with a flannel shirt, which was too large, over top. This ensemble was a stark contrast with her companion. Hanami Tanaki rarely had a hair out of place. The 31 year-old Japanese woman was wearing a knee-length pencil skirt with a silk top tucked in. Her silky hair barely touched the top of her shoulders and her fringe reached the top of her eyebrows.
The two women outwardly did not appear to have much in common, and that would be correct. Despite having been inseparable for over a decade, the two did not have many common interests. They met at NYU, both during their third year of university. However, Katherine was only 18 at the time, having been accepted at the age of 16. Katherine was smart, smarter than most, but would never call herself a genius. She was simply a hard worker who got bored easily. But mostly she got her GED early and enrolled in university in order to become legally emancipated. The government wouldn't recognize her brother Francis as her legal guardian because he was neither biologically related to her nor was he ever in one place for long-being a deported Marine and all. There was no way she was going to get put back in the system. So she simply became an adult legally a bit earlier than most. Hell, she never really had much of a childhood to begin with. And then there was Hanami, whose father was the owner of a major corporation, never wanted for anything. She went to elite schools and went to college in New York more for the location than the education. Not that her grades were poor, elite schools were competitive afterall and she found her first couple of years taking general education classes easy and barely had to study. She lived in a nice apartment in Manhattan. But all of that came crumbling down with two phone calls.
The first was her father telling her that she was to be married. That call ended with Hanami's refusal. The second was her father calling to inform her that she was disowned. Katherine was present for that particular conversation-sitting on the opposite bench inside Elmer Holmes Bobst Library. While Katherine was not fluent in Japanese by any means, it was her foreign language of choice and she was picking it up quite quickly, she understood the basic situation. Katherine wasn't the kind of person to actively engage with other people, an introvert by nature, but something about the sheer look of hurt and fear in this girl's face made her walk over and ask was she all right. And that was that. With nowhere to go Hanami moved in with Katherine in her tiny studio flat in Brooklyn. Katherine knew how to survive on her own without much money. She was street smart. Within 48 hours, she helped Hanami close out her bank accounts before her father could freeze them, convinced the doorman at Hanami's apartment to let her into her home long enough to take her take her belongings, and helped Hanami work out a deal with the university to receive a scholarship so that she could finish out her senior year. Katherine even helped her get a job as a barista. A girl in Katherine's journalism course was the manager there and Megan was more than happy to have a pretty girl working the counter. By the end of the summer, between both of their jobs (Katherine had an assistantship and worked at the ISAW library), selling Hanami's designer clothes to some upscale consignment stores, and money that Francis sent over, the two girls could afford a small two-bedroom still in Brooklyn. It was small, but at least Hanami wasn't stuck on the couch living out of a suitcase. Hanami was never more excited to see a door.
They lived together up until now, through graduate school, new jobs, climbing the career ladder. It never felt right, or necessary to live apart. Though once Katherine had a prominent job as the head of Bane Industries PR and Hanami was an accomplished lawyer who handled financial cases at at prestigious firm, the apartment, still in Brooklyn, got bigger. But that was about to change. Katherine had been offered the Presidency of BI's new Tokyo office after a stint as COO in New York. This would be the first time in twelve years the two women hadn't shared an address.
"Do you remember everything I told you?" Hanami broke the silence.
Katherine let out a sigh.
"You literally made a diagram of all of the prominent families in Japan. As fascinating as your past life as a Tokyo socialite was…. I just don't see the point in having all of that information running through my head."
Hanami put her hands on her hips and fixed Katherine with her most intimidating stare, which in reality was not very intimidating. At 5'5 she was not especially tall, that accompanied by her slight frame, did not cut a very imposing figure.
"Look, you're going to the President of Bane Industries' new Tokyo office. You're only 29 and a woman. That accompanied with the fact that you're a foreigner is not going to garner you a lot of respect. As much as I know you hate it, you're going to have to play the social field. Everything works on social currency. If you make friends with the right people, others won't bother you because they'll be intimidated. But, if you make enemies, you've made enemies of all of their friends as well. You need to be careful about stepping on people's toes...which, let's face it, isn't your strong suit."
Katherine cocked an eyebrow.
"Alright fine. Run through it again, but please, give me the abridged version."
"Ok, so the biggest families are the Suohs, Ootoris, Hitachiins, Morinozukas, and the Haninozukas. But, the business will probably only overlap with the Suoh's and Ootoris. The Satos and Inoues are also big in the tech business."
"Weren't those first few part of the club you were obsessed with when we first met?"
"...Yes but that's besides the point. Plus I'm no longer obsessed and I've grown up. I'm in my 30s now and a very successful lawyer. My boy crazy days are over."
"So when I inevitably run into this gaggle of handsome men should I mention that I've been living with Tanaka Hanami for, like, twelve years? Maybe throw in the fact that-wow you're all really shitty friends?"
Hanami huffed.
"Look, ever since my father disowned me, everyone from high school, friends, acquaintances, teachers, my family, have treated me like a piriha. Now, it's not like the host club kept in contact with me after graduation anyways, we weren't really friends...I realize that now, I was a client, just another girl with a crush. But I always held out the hope that they would sweep in and save me, or offer to help in some way-like they were duty bound or something. It took years for me to get over that. I think I was using them as a crutch. Better to fixate on them than the friends that I talked to all of time who just dropped me like a hot potato, or the fact that I haven't spoken to my parents or sister for twelve years. What I'm trying to get at is that I know that you are going to dislike these people on principle because of me. But like I said, you don't need to step on any toes. At least in the beginning. A lot of people do business with my father. You don't need to mess this up because of me."
Katherine furrowed her eyebrows, her long lashes brushing against them in the process. Her hazel eyes bore into Hanami light brown ones.
"I'm not going to abandon...o-or...or pretend that I don't know you just to help my career and social standing."
"I know...and I love you for that...I'm not saying lie or anything, but just be mindful people there are more judgemental than people here in New York...and that's saying something. Don't let that ginger temper of yours get the better of you... But do me one favor...don't go over there and fall in love and marry Morinozuka...just because I'm over my highschool crush does not mean I'm ok with being the maid of honor at his wedding."
Katherine fixed her with a blank stare.
"I think I can handle that."
"It's going to be weird living a part. Are you sure all of your living arrangements and everything's set up?"
"Yeah...it sucks...quite honestly I can't imagine living without you. We've been roomies for so long. It'll be too quiet without you getting up in the middle of the night for a snack. And yeah...Terry tried to get me to live in the apartment in the new tower, but I knew that I would never leave the office if that happens. But Terry being Terry wasn't having it. Flora busted into his office and demanded that he reallocate my living expenses. So now I have a nice house in a cute little neighborhood...which is probably the weirdest thing I've ever said. It's nothing fancy, despite Terry Bane's protests, but I don't want a mansion or a penthouse. But, it's got plenty of space so when you come and visit, you'll always have a place to stay."
"Flora is a force to be reckoned with. Hell, she can get the CEO of Bane Industries to do whatever she wants. And you know I will. I'm spending Christmas with you." Hanami let out a sigh. "Please don't work yourself to death. You have to take breaks. I'm leaving Flora with a specific set of instructions."
"God knows I'd be lost without my little Scottish dynamo. I'm so glad she agreed to come with me. I need my Moneypenny. Speaking of helping people..." Katherine took a sip of her latte, wincing at the overly milky taste. "You'll look in on Francis won't you? Just make sure he has something in his apartment besides take-out and coffee. Oh... and please make sure he doesn't adopt another dog. He needs to stop taking in strays."
"What? Strays like us?" laughed Hanami.
Katherine laughed jovially.
"Don't worry about Francis. I'll keep up Sunday brunches and check in on him. You do realize that he's a grown man?"
"It's only brunch because he can't get his ass up early enough to go to breakfast." Katherine muttered darkly. "He may be grown and he's perfectly capable of taking care of other people, just not himself. You know he gets depressed. I worry that he'll fall into a rut when I'm gone."
"You know I'll look out for him. You two are my family. He'll be fine. If he's not, I'll let you know."
Katherine nodded her head in thanks.
"The good thing about Terry's over-protectiveness combined with his insistence on annoying me to death, he'll be visiting Tokyo frequently and Francis being his head of security slash personal bodyguard, I'll see him on a semi regular basis." Katherine paused. "You'll video chat and call and text right? And if you need anything, you'll let me know...right?"
"You know I will, but you also need to stop worrying about me. I'm not the girl who didn't even know how to do laundry."
The two friends reached out and took each other's hands. They shared a smile. Katherine let out a sigh and checked her gold digital timex. "I better head to my gate. I don't want to get stuck in security. Flora's going to pick me up and I'll give you a call once I get in the car."
They hugged and said their farewells.
As she watched Katherine disappear into the crowd, Hanami pulled out her phone and dialed. She waited a few minutes for the person on the other line to pick up. "Watanabe-san. This is Tanaki Hanami. I know this may be out of the blue, but that job you offered me last year...would you still have a position available?" she said in Japanese.