“Surely my string of bad luck can’t cross the ocean with me to Japan.”
“You’re going to love it here. Trust me: you won’t regret it.”
Part Two
The Gaijin
Chapter 33
Cain slipped on a pair of Bose headphones and closed his eyes to the sound of jazz music playing softly in his ears. The international flight afforded him plenty of time to think.
“You an’ your sister are two peas in a pod,” Claude had said as he drove Cain to the Lafayette municipal airport.
“We are twins,” Cain said lightheartedly.
“Jus’ when I got you back home—you’re leavin’ again.”
“It’ll be just for a while.”
“Dat’s what Bonnie said, too. An’ now eet’s been over a year.”
“I’m going to go reconnect with Bonnie. Bring family a little closer to her until she can get transferred closer to home. Plus, it’ll give me the time and distance I need to clear my mind and make a little money. Then I’ll be back.”
“I’m thankful you an’ Bonnie are gonna be reunited. I jus’ fear you gonna stay like her—maybe even find a family an’ make Japan your new home.”
“I ain’t gonna stay there forever, Pops. And Bonnie ain’t, either. Look at the bright side. She’s doing really well with the airlines, and this keeps her far away from that ex-boyfriend of hers. You know: the one with that sketchy import-export business.”
“I never liked dat New Awlins man,” Claude said with a scowl. He sighed. “She had to git away from dat ol’ boyfriend, an’ I guess you gotta git away for a bit, too.”
“I do,” Cain said.
“I can tell someting’s eatin’ atcha. Fightin’ a man at da park in front of hees kid ain’t you.”
“That’s only half of it,” Cain said. “But I don’t feel like getting into it right now.”
The ANA flight attendant gently placed her hand on Cain’s shoulder. She was sharply dressed in a blue-and-gray suit, with a pink scarf loosely tied around her neck.
“I’m sorry to wake you,” she said meekly.
“It’s okay. I wasn’t asleep. Just thinking.”
“We are serving our in-flight meal now.”
“Great! I’m starving.”
“Would you like spicy octopus or freshwater eel?”
Cain was used to eating unusual things both abroad and at home in Louisiana, but these options did not sound appetizing. “Neither. I’ll just have a sandwich, please.”
“I’m so sorry. These are our only options on this flight.”
“In that case, I’ll skip dinner.”
“Skip dinner?” His American idiom confused the porcelain-skinned flight attendant, whose jet-black hair was pulled tight in a ponytail.
“Nothing for me. Thank you.”
“I’m worried you will be hungry. This is a long flight.”
It must be a cultural thing, Cain thought. She seemed genuinely concerned about him, but not enough to serve something palatable. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll survive, as long as you pour me a whiskey and turn the AC up. It’s hot as hell on board.”
She covered her mouth and giggled quietly. “Americans always complain about the temperature. But Japanese people get cold easily.”
“Well, tell ’em to bundle up, because I can’t disrobe.”
Cain’s remark fell flat on the charming flight attendant.
“I’m just joking with you. But I am serious about the whiskey.”
When the plane finally landed, Tokyo’s Narita International Airport was bustling with travelers, tour groups, and uniformed volunteers directing passengers to various immigration and customs checkpoints. Cain stood out from the Japanese population, and not only because he wasn’t Asian. He was taller than everyone else, and he wasn’t wearing a white mask over his mouth like so many other travelers he saw. He immediately spotted Bonnie near his gate. She was wearing her sleeveless blue-and-black fitted flight attendant uniform and had used her airline credentials to bypass security and meet him upon arrival.
He hugged his sister tightly, lifting her a foot into the air. Although they were twins, he was six inches taller.
“It’s so great to see you, brother! Welcome to Japan!”
“You look fantastic!” Cain was amazed at how Bonnie had flourished in Japan.
“Thank you. You look like shit!”
“Cut me some slack. I couldn’t sleep. It was so freaking hot on that plane, and I’m starving. They offered me snake on board.”
“You mean eel?” Bonnie laughed. “That’s a delicacy here. With all your worldly travels, I thought you would have known that.”
“If I wanted to eat snake—or eel, for that matter—I could have stayed back in Louisiana. I need a good ol’ cheeseburger.”
“Only place nearby for that is McDonald’s,” Bonnie said.
“How about a coffee shop, then? I can grab a sandwich.”
“That’ll work. There’s a Starbucks in Terminal One.” She grabbed the handle of his