On a Friday at the end of May, I finished work early and got on the train after 7:00 p.m., calling my wife's cell phone from the deck. I
called to ask for a ride to the station, as usual, but no matter how many times I called, the phone was dead.
When I got to the station, got off the train, and tried again, it was still dead, so I tried calling our house phone.
Maybe it was dead.
I've been using the same phone for ages.
It probably drains quickly.
While I was thinking about this, my daughter answered the phone.
"Where's Mom?" "
She said she was going out for tea with a friend, but she hasn't come back yet."
Oh, that's right, it's earlier than usual. I guess I'll have to take a taxi home.
So I got in a taxi and headed home.
Come to think of it, she went out the other day saying she was going out for drinks with a friend from college.
Now that I think about it, my wife's life is all about housework and work.
It's good that she's finally starting to get some
time to unwind. When I got home, Mana was preparing dinner.
My wife had called earlier, and apparently she'd left dinner to Mana.
Apparently, she'd become good friends with a new part-timer at her company and they were going to karaoke.
Well, it's okay for today. I felt lonely, but I was positive that my wife was having fun.
That night felt different than usual.
Whenever I came back here from Kitakyushu, my wife would make dinner for me, and I'd eat it, take a bath, and relax in the living room.
But she hadn't come home yet. The living
room felt somehow deserted.
It was only after 9 o'clock, after all.
She could have gone to karaoke and then gone for drinks.
But she should have at least let me know.
Just then, I heard the sound of the front door unlocking.
My wife had returned.
"Sorry, I was out."
She should have at least called, she'd be worried. But I wasn't the type to be so honest in front of my wife.
"Where were you?"
Noriko answered.
"I was just planning to have tea and go to karaoke, but I ended up eating dinner too. I got along with a new part-timer at work and we had a great conversation."
Noriko said, and went to her room on the second floor to change.
It wasn't often that my wife, Noriko, went out alone before.
I wondered if my feelings toward my wife were like a sulky child feeling left alone, but that wasn't the case. She was
probably just not used to a different night.
We had a child soon after we got married, and I've been busy raising a child ever since. She's
probably at an age where she wants to have tea and chat.
Apparently, the housewives in the neighborhood always get together and spend hours chatting about trivial things. They probably ramble on about
celebrities, about that person, about things that men aren't particularly interested in. Is
my wife going to end up like that? I don't want that.
I don't want her to become that typical middle-aged woman.
But there's something I really want to say. I
ended up taking a taxi home. Noriko came out of the car
, changed into her loungewear.
"Why are you going out? You should have called if you were going out. I came home by taxi today."
I decided to vent my frustrations for now.
For some reason, I felt irritated when I got home and saw how unfazed my wife was.
I didn't particularly mind her being out, but I thought she would come home looking apologetic, so I thought that.
"Sorry, I think my phone was off."
I felt a little annoyed, not sensing any remorse, but I continued watching TV as if nothing had happened.
It's always like this.
I'm stubborn and can't be honest. I figured
that this is how it is in married couples who have been living together for a long time and are truly family.
My wife has always been a very honest person. And because of
that, she's also honest with me, her husband.
We don't fight or antagonize each other over this.
It's always like this, and Noriko always makes a point of not arguing
with me. In a way, maybe that's what saves me.
The next day, our relationship returned to normal. We were just like our usual
happy couple.
Even when I invite the kids to go shopping, they rarely come along anymore.
They're building their own lifestyle. They're at that age.
With both of our children in their final year of elementary school, we've mostly been talking about their future careers.
We need to start saving for their tuition now. We both
work, but we want our kids to pursue the careers they want.
That's what we're thinking right now.
They go shopping together, joke around, and live the normal life of a normal couple.
There's nothing new or exciting about it, but perhaps they're happy with their current life where they feel nothing.
Living a life where they're not at home half the week has made them realize once again how grateful and important their family is. They
buy lunch boxes and come home to an empty room, with no one to say "I'm home" to. The
only way to kill time is to watch TV or surf the internet. However, they haven't
been that bored, as they've had a string of busy days at work.