Drifting Out of the Blue
-- Whistle! is copyrighted property of Higuchi Daisuke, et al.
A client once asked me if I was doing what I did for a living, or simply because it was a fun way of meeting people of the opposite sex. She delivered the question with such frank curiosity that it hadn't sounded as rude as it might have.
I gave her my most dazzling smile. "Do I look like a rich boy thirsting for challenges to you?"
"Well, no, you look like a perfectly ordinary young man, except that you are good-looking - "
"Why, thank you, ma'am."
" - and I've also seen where you live. It's a reasonable abode for a person of your profession - nothing too fancy or too run-down." She took out a cigarette, and I lit it obligingly for her. Her eyes, obscured by the curtain of smoke, watched me unabashedly. "You must think I'm being nosy."
"It's part of our job to tend to our clients' pleasure - to a certain extent. Yes, I took this job because I had scant qualification for any other back then."
"I see. Do you enjoy it?"
"It's not so bad. My parents objected at first, but I said I would do my best to keep a low profile, and won't be an embarrassment to them. As for my brother - well, he's a very understanding boy, and he doesn't think any less of me for doing what I do."
She didn't pursue the subject, and our conversation shifted to other topics. Later, as I drove home, the question floated back to me.
I thought of the books and videotapes about soccer I bought for Shou, the extra pocket money on his birthdays, the occasional new articles of clothing. I thought of him bustling away in the kitchen, and raising a hand apologetically when he had no time to cook, telling me to eat out instead. I thought of him saying happily how lucky he was that I lived not far from Sakura Jousui Junior High, and how generous it was of me to let him share the apartment.
I sometimes believed I might have taken advantage of the person he was, whether I liked it or not.