South of the Border, West of the Sun Page 0,45
forces,” I said. “Is it going to end up in some politician’s pocket?”
“A little,” he said.
“Bureaucrats’?”
My father-in-law stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. “That would be graft, wouldn’t it. They’d arrest me.”
“But everybody in your business does it, right?”
“I suppose,” he said. And he made a pained face. “But not to the point where they’re arrested.”
“What about the yakuza? They’re pretty helpful when it comes to buying up land, aren’t they?”
“I’ve never gotten along with them. Anyhow, I’m not trying to corner the market. It’s lucrative, but I don’t do it. As I said, I’m just a simple builder.”
I sighed deeply.
“I knew you wouldn’t like this,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter if I like it or not, since you’ve already included me in the equation and gone ahead, right? On the assumption that I’d agree.”
“I’m afraid you’re right.” He laughed weakly.
I sighed again. “Dad, to tell you the truth, I don’t like this kind of thing. I don’t mean because it’s illegal or anything. But I’m just an ordinary guy, living an ordinary life. And I’d rather not get involved in backroom deals.”
“I’m well aware of that,” he said. “So leave it all to me. I won’t leave you hanging out to dry. If I did, then Yukiko and the children would be involved too. And I’m not about to have that happen. You know how much my daughter and grandchildren mean to me.”
I nodded. I couldn’t very well refuse his request. It depressed me. Little by little, I would get snared by the world out there. This was the first step; first I say yes to this, then later on it’ll be something else.
We ate some more. I drank tea, while my father-in-law put away the sake at an even faster clip.
“How old are you now?” he suddenly asked.
“Thirty-seven,” I replied.
He looked at me fixedly.
“Thirty-seven’s the age when you play around the most,” he said. “Work’s going well, your confidence is up. So women come to you, right?”
“In my case, not that many, I’m afraid.” I laughed, studying his expression. For a second I panicked, positive that he’d found out about me and Shimamoto, and that’s why he asked me here today. But he was just making small talk.
“When I was your age I played around quite a bit. So I won’t tell you not to have affairs. It’s kind of strange for me to be saying this to my daughter’s husband, but actually I think a fling or two on the side isn’t all bad. It refreshes you. Get it out of your system every once in a while, and your home life will improve; you’ll be able to concentrate on work too. So if you were to sleep around with other women, I for one wouldn’t say a word. Playing around’s okay by me, but be very careful in choosing your partners. Get involved with the wrong person, and your life goes down the toilet. I’ve seen it happen a million times.”
I nodded. And suddenly recalled hearing from Yukiko about how her brother and his wife weren’t getting along. Her brother, a year younger than me, had a girlfriend and didn’t come home much anymore. I imagined my father-in-law was worried about his oldest son and that’s why he brought all this up.
“Anyhow, don’t get involved with some worthless bit of tail. Do that and you’ll soon be worthless yourself. Play around with a stupid woman, and you’ll turn stupid too. Which isn’t to say you should get involved with some high-class woman. That’d make it tough to go back to what’s waiting for you at home. Do you get what I’m telling you?”
“I think so,” I replied.
“As long as you keep a few things in mind, you’ll do okay. First, don’t set the woman up with her own place. That’s a definite mistake. Second, no matter what, come back home by two a.m. Two a.m. is the point of no return. Finally, don’t use your friends as excuses to cover up your affairs. You may be found out. If that happens, well, there’s not much you can do about it. But there’s no need to lose a friend in the process.”
“It sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”
“You got it. Man learns from experience alone,” he said. “There are some people who don’t; I know you’re not one of them. You have a very discriminating eye, something only experience can teach you. I’ve been to your bars just a couple of times, but it’s plain to see.