A month passed, and my wife changed jobs at the end of the month and started working at a new company.
I'd heard about the job but didn't really understand it.
When she came home on the weekends, she looked tired.
Starting a new place is always mentally exhausting. That's what I thought at the time.
The next week, when I got home, my daughter was eating a bento.
"What about Mom?"
"She's at work. She bought a bento and left right away."
"I see."
"Oh, there's no one for Dad. Looks like she forgot."
"There's no one?... Well, let's go eat out."
She had been invited to join the company. Perhaps now was the time for my wife to work hard.
At that moment, I heard the front door open.
"I'm home,"
my wife said, returning with a bag of groceries in her hand.
"Do you have one for me?"
"Huh?"
"I didn't have my lunch. Oh well."
"Just kidding, sorry, just eat this!"
"It's alright, I'll just go out and eat. Perfect, let me borrow your car keys."
"Okay, then, go fill up your gas tank while you're there."
So I headed out. I
had dinner at a diner in a busy downtown area about a five-minute drive away, then headed to the gas station. Self-service
gas stations have been increasing recently, but the usual gas station I go to still has a student working part-time leading the way, loudly leading the way.
"Full tank,"
he said, opening the gas tank.
The part-time worker started wiping the window.
...As he wiped the windshield, the part-time worker kept glancing at me. It seems like part-timers
these days don't even know how to be polite to customers.
He was looking at me with a smirk.
I paid the gas and left the station, but somehow it left a bad taste in my mouth.
When I got home and told my wife about it, she just said, "Maybe it was just my imagination," and that was the end of it.
I didn't think much of it, and just went to the bath.
As I got out of the bath and headed to the living room, the front door opened and my wife came in with the car keys.
"Did you go somewhere?"
"Well, you said earlier that you laughed at me, so I thought it was dirty, so I cleaned the inside of the car.
" "I see, it was really dirty,"
she said, laughing.
My wife has been acting a bit awkward lately, which makes me feel a bit worried, thinking that it must be because she's so busy at work.
That day, I fell asleep in the bedroom while she was taking a bath.
The next morning, perhaps because I'd gone to bed early the night before, I woke up at 8:00.
My usual routine on my days off is to slowly wake up around 10:00, but waking up early feels good.
Even on days off, my wife prepares breakfast early, and we all eat together at 9:00.
If she's feeling tired, I should just sleep a little longer. Thinking this, I went downstairs to the living room.
However, my wife was nowhere to be seen. She was already out in the bedroom, so I assumed she was making breakfast in the kitchen, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
Maybe she was weeding outside.
I turned on the TV and read the today's newspaper, which was on the table.
I don't subscribe to a newspaper at the apartment where I live while working away from home.
I only read it on weekends when I get home.
After finishing the paper, I was absentmindedly watching TV.
I heard the front door open, and my wife came into the living room.
"Oh, you're awake?"
"Oh. Where were you?"
"I had a neighborhood association meeting."
"That must be tough in the morning."
I wanted to say something to show my wife some concern for her health.
But it was just my personality that made it difficult for me to say such things.
Well, that's just how it is for most men. I'm
sure there are many men who are too embarrassed to do so and continue acting like children forever.
Especially when I was feeling a little tired in the morning.
After finishing breakfast, I wanted to have a smoke, but I was out of cigarettes.
I walked to a nearby vending machine as a stroll. It felt so good to take a walk in the morning on a nice day.
I bought some cigarettes and decided to take a detour home.
I often see people out for early morning walks, but as expected, I was the only one there at this time of day.
Most people were in cars. I'm one of those people, after all.
Just as I was feeling a little strange, I suddenly noticed a notice on the bulletin board:
"The neighborhood association meeting will be held on June 9th, starting at 9 AM."
I checked the date on my watch. Today is June 2nd, so the meeting is next week.
My wife just went to the meeting, so is this the second week in a row?
That's strange. She's probably tired from work lately, but I can't help but feel a little
absent-minded. Maybe it's because I'm worried she's pushing herself too hard.
My wife, who used to be diligent at both work and housework, has been acting a lot more listless lately.
Is she worried or hiding something?
Well, it's probably not that unusual for the neighborhood association meeting date to change. I'm sure
she'll get used to her job and things will go back to normal in a little while.
I shouldn't be so worried about it... I'm not a child after
all. I ignored it and enjoyed my walk before heading home.