The phone rang. The hour was late, long past the time when any reasonable person would have called, and when he answered, Saionji dreaded hearing Anthy's voice crackling over the distance of an ocean.
It was Kanae.
"Please, meet me somewhere. I just want to talk."
He almost scolded her for making such a proposal to a man who was not her husband, but then he recalled that the man she was married to was Ohtori Akio. It seemed cruel to ask a woman to behave with propriety when the knowledge that her husband did not do the same was a well-established fact.
"Couldn't we talk like this, over the phone?" Saionji asked
"I'm sorry. I've asked too much of you."
"No! Wait!"
Was it his imagination, or could he hear, across the line, Kanae holding her breath?
"Where do you want to meet?"
She named a place, a tea shop not far from a train station that they could both reach easily. They worked out the time hesitantly, neither of them really wanting to name the prior obligations they were working around. When the matter was settled, they fell silent, neither making the move towards hanging up. For his part, Saionji could not forget that there was fault with what they had arranged, and felt as if, so long as they were still in a position to cancel the plans, there was still some chance of avoiding wrongdoing.
And Kanae? Did she, too, regret the imprudence of her actions? Or was she merely so lonely that she was afraid to release her hold on even the slimmest thread of connection to another person?
At last, she said, "I'm very grateful to have spoken with you tonight," and Saionji heard the line go dead.
Laying the phone back in its holder, Saionji saw Touga watching him.
"Who was that?"
"Nothing that concerns you."
Touga leaned closer, eyes narrowed. "Really?"
"Really."
Saionji turned and walked away, still feeling Touga's glare fixed on his back.