Chapter 26
Minako and Kevin sat across from each other, each uncomfortably staring at the other. Kevin poked at the bowl of rice in front of him, then smiled his thanks to her mother. The American was a savvy social player when it came to meeting parents. He knew exactly the image he wanted to project; conservative, open minded, intelligent, and witty. He had disarmed many a girlfriend's disapproving father with that persona and plied it again with deceptive ease.
Minako's father smiled wanly at Kevin. "So, you are the boy that's tutoring my daughter in English?"
Kevin nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off of the older man. He had reason to be wary.
The male Aino-san was an investment banker specializing in the debt restructuring of financially distressed companies. Investment bankers were the sharks of the white collar community. Hordes of college graduates flooded the doors of white-shoe firms like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Merrill Lynch every year only to be weeded from the job pool by stress induced attrition. The average college graduate entering investment banking was expected to survive no more than seven months. Only the smartest and most ruthless survived.
Of that select pool, only a few had the fortitude to enter debt restructuring. Aino-san's specialty involved rescuing companies from the brink of bankruptcy by using every single amoral trick he could think of to keep them that way. The banker's tactics included the closing of factories, the sale of capital assets, and the firing of thousands of workers. In the investment banking world, debt restructuring specialists were among the most reviled persons out there for their Machiavellian bag of tricks and willingness to sacrifice friend and foe for the cause.
"I am, sir." Kevin added the sir with an almost theatrical flourish, not wanting to arouse the ire of a man who fired people for a living.
"And where are you studying?"
"Amherst College, sir."
Minako's father half smiled. "Most interesting. My best analyst is from Williams College. Have you heard of it?"
The American grinned. "Our biggest rival? How could I not have, sir?"
"Indeed. He has had some choice things to say about Amherst himself." Aino-san paused. "I wonder, Kevin-san, if you could do me a favor."
"What is that, sir?"
"Please, stop calling me sir. It makes me feel old."
Kevin allowed himself a grin before Minako's mother gave her husband a hard love tap in the ribs. "He's just being respectful!"
"But I don't like being old." Aino-san's voice modulated between disapproval and a slight whine as he rubbed his ribs.
The woman turned to Kevin and smiled. "Forgive him. He's not being very polite today, I'm afraid. He's very happy to be referred to with that honorific."
Aino-san grumbled softly. "Right."
Minako's mother turned to him. There was a hardness beneath the dewy sweetness of her voice. "What was that, dear?"
"Nothing."
She turned back to Kevin. "And what are you studying in university?"
"Japanese Studies, ma'am." The American smiled uneasily and poked at his dinner.
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Minako rolled her eyes. It was a talk that she'd heard a million times. Every time she brought a boy home for dinner, her mother would grill them as she would a potential suitor. What were they studying? What were his grades? In fact, she was willing to wager that the next question her mother would ask what Kevin wanted to do when he got out of college.
"And what are you thinking of doing after graduating?"
The girl shook her head. She really didn't expect her parents to think much of Kevin. He was a rugged individualist, a free thinker, and a liberal arts student to boot. Quite simply, Kevin was ill suited to impress her parents, who would no doubt see him as an American dilettante without direction or focus in life.
It was not a view that Minako shared. Indeed among her friends, it was he who she worried about the least. There was a casual confidence and a sense of purpose about him that defied traditional notions of post collegiate job security. He was a man, who by age seventeen, had already founded his own business and gained a modicum of independence that even her accomplished father could not claim. Of all of her friends, she knew that he would be tremendously successful at whatever field he focused upon.
However, all of that relentless logic would not impress her parents, who scoffed at those who would learn for the sake of learning. It was a prejudice not easily discarded in the almost caste-like society of Japan. A successful future was the product of carefully contemplated action starting at the age of three, not some footloose hope that everything would be okay.
Minako imagined that she would even get a talk later that night about how she shouldn't associate with losers. It was a depressing thought.
Kevin grinned. "Well, I recently received a job offer to work at NTT DoCoMo in their marketing department after graduation."
"That's a very prestigious company," Minako's mother said approvingly. "You should take it."
The American shrugged. "I won't be graduating for another two years. I don't want to make a decision yet. I'd like to keep my options as open as possible."
"Hmm." It was not quite a sound of disapproval. "As you Americans say, a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush."
Kevin chuckled softly. "But this is reasonably assured. I did manage to get the offer in writing."
Her mother laughed and touched Minako's shoulder. "You are eminently sensible. More so than this one."
Minako reddened slightly and glared at her mother.
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Kevin shook his head and rose to her defense. "Minako-chan is a little bit of a dreamer. That's a good thing. 'There is nothing like a dream to create the future. Utopia today, flesh and blood tomorrow.'"
Minako's mother sighed. "I think that my Minako-chan is a little bit too much of a dreamer. More tonkatsu, Kevin-san?"
He nodded gratefully, unwilling to say no to the woman. "I thank you, Aino-san. This meal is wonderful."
"I'm glad you enjoy it." The woman beamed.
Kevin picked up a piece of the fried meat, his eyes carefully scanning the faces of his tablemates. The father had settled back into the chair clearly bored with his wife's attentions on the guest. Kevin sensed that the older man liked him but didn't really want to get in the way of his wife.
The mother stared at him intently. Kevin was fairly certain he had her figured out. She was a social climber, who had married her husband independent of sentiment or affection to elevate her social status. Further, she wanted to pass on the trappings of status to her daughter, likely by marrying her off to a successful businessman of some sort. For Minako's mother, it was all about the money, and the penetrating stares she gave Kevin were meant to determine how much money he might make in the future. It was not an entirely foreign feeling.
His sight grazed over Minako, who seemed terribly ill at ease with the entire situation. Kevin sensed that she was aghast at the grasping words of her mother and wanted nothing more than to leave. It was accompanied by the somewhat shocking thought that Minako was actually embarrassed on his behalf. He kicked her lightly under the table to rouse her from her thoughts and smiled widely at her.
She cocked her head in curiosity. Kevin finished off the rest of the food in his bowl, then looked at Minako's mother. "If I might inquire, what time is it?"
"Nine o'clock. You have to get to class tomorrow!" Minako's mother leaped to her feet. "So sorry, Kevin-san! We must get you home!"
"I can walk. It's not too far from here."
"Good! Minako can accompany you then! I would hate for you to walk home alone."
Kevin stood up quickly. "Thank you, Aino-san, but I'm quite capable of getting home by myself."
The mother regarded him with that all too familiar glower. "I insist."
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As Kevin went upstairs to grab his jacket, Minako's mother breathed out heavily and cheerfully said, "Now he seems like a nice young man!"
"Hmm," Minako replied, striving not to give up any sign of emotion to her mother's hawk-like gaze.
Her mother ventured again. "So well mannered. And he seems like he knows precisely where he's going."
The blonde could not help but steal a glance at her mother, who seemed to be waiting for an answer. "He's a nice guy."
There was a tiredness in her mother's voice that betrayed the older woman's intentions. It was the motherly advice voice. "Minako-chan, I realize that you and I have had our differences in opinion over the years. And I realize that you don't always listen to what I say. But at least hear me out this time.
"That one is going to go far. He's smart and savvy and knows where he's going. Far be it from me to push you into a relationship you don't want." That was not entirely a lie. "But if you have any feelings for him whatsoever...pursue him with every ounce of energy you have in your soul." The woman paused. "I would like him as a son-in-law."
The hatred which burned in Minako's gut abated for moment as she pondered that thought. He had outperformed her expectations in every single way. He had refrained from offending her parents' sensibilities, focusing on the positive aspects of his 'resume' with consummate ease. That he could so effectively deal with her mother alone made him a worthy candidate.
And, of course, she couldn't forget how he had defended her honor at dinner and simultaneously conveyed just how proud he was of her. It sent a warmth down her spine...a feeling she thrust from her mind as quickly as she could.
She looked away from her mother, up the stairs to see Artemis gazing down at her with his penetrating eyes. Her stomach knotted up again, and she clenched her hands into fists until Kevin came up from behind and lightly tapped her on the shoulder.
"Ready to go?"
Minako nodded slowly and moved through the open door into the darkness beyond.