Chapter Four

That evening, just as I finished dinner, I heard the familiar sound of a car pulling into the garage next door.

The last time I visited, I must have arrived just as Mr. Sasagawa had come home, changed his clothes, and was preparing to relax for the evening.

This time, I hurried next door before he had the chance.

When I pressed the intercom, he answered with a brief “Yes?”

As soon as I gave my name, the front door opened.

Good. He was still wearing his staff jacket from the botanical garden.

“I’m sorry to bother you when you’ve just come home. There’s something I wanted to ask you. Do you have a few minutes?”

I had been unable to get the idea from earlier that day out of my mind, so I had decided there was no harm in asking.

“We don’t have to stand out here. Would you like to come inside?”

At his invitation, I shamelessly accepted and stepped into the house.

A frosted-glass door stood at the end of the hallway leading from the entrance. Beyond it was the living room.

The house had been built around the same time as my grandmother’s, and some features—such as the position of the kitchen sink—still felt rather old-fashioned. However, the walls separating the living room, dining room, and kitchen had been removed, creating a large, open, and comfortable space.

Perhaps it had been renovated so Ro could move around freely.

“Please, have a seat there. I’ve only just got home, so give me a moment to make some tea.”

He placed a kettle on the stove.

“Oh, please don’t go to any trouble. I’m sorry for turning up immediately after you got home from work.”

“It’s no trouble at all.”

Mr. Sasagawa answered with his back to me as he faced the kitchen.

Ro sat beside him, pressed close against his leg.

He really was completely attached to him.

The sight was so endearing that I could not help smiling.

Once the tea had been served, I explained the idea I had come up with earlier that day.

“That should be fine,” Mr. Sasagawa said. “I already have several pumpkins hollowed out for carving, so it wouldn’t take long.”

“Really? That’s wonderful. I think the children will be delighted.”

“I can bring them directly to the library on the day of the event.”

“What? No, I couldn’t ask you to do that. I can take them with me if you let me collect them beforehand…”

“They’re small, but several of them together will be quite heavy.”

In the end, it was decided that Mr. Sasagawa would bring the pumpkins to the library himself on Halloween.

Ro, who had already eaten his dinner, came over to our feet when he had finished. He stopped beside me as though paying a polite social call, so I gently scratched beneath his chin.

“Does Ro stay home alone while you’re at work?”

The dining room was immaculately tidy. I could see Ro’s crate and, beyond it, his indoor toilet area.

Despite the presence of such a large dog, the house barely smelled of one.

“No. I take him to work with me.”

“Really? That’s wonderful. Ro must be very happy.”

“He is. Soon after he first came to live with me, I left him alone one day. There was electrical work going on outside, and the noise terrified him. By the time I returned, the house was in a terrible state. When I spoke to the garden director about it, he suggested making Ro the botanical garden’s official mascot.”

“What a lovely director. I used to visit the botanical garden often when I was a child. I haven’t been back since moving here, so I had no idea Ro worked there. I’ll have to visit soon. I’d like to see him on the job.”

Hearing his name, Ro looked up at us and thumped his tail against the floor.

Mr. Sasagawa laughed.

“Yes, please come and see how hard he works. You’re Ms. Takanashi’s granddaughter, aren’t you? Did you used to live here?”

“No, I only stayed with my grandmother during school holidays. But I went to the botanical garden all the time when I was little. Have you lived here long?”

“No. It will be three years this December.”

He explained that the house had belonged to his uncle and had stood empty for a long time before being passed on to him.

Our conversation continued easily after that.

He told me that he had known my grandmother after moving in, and we talked about the botanical garden’s Halloween events.

Before I realized it, more than an hour had passed.

Ro had curled up beside Mr. Sasagawa and fallen asleep. When I noticed him, I glanced at the clock on the wall and was startled by the time.

“Oh! I came in when you were already tired from work, and now I’ve stayed far too long. I’m so sorry. You haven’t even had dinner yet, have you?”

I hurriedly began to rise, and Mr. Sasagawa pushed his own chair back and stood at the same time.

“It’s fine. I can prepare it quickly in the microwave.”

Apparently, his usual dinner consisted of frozen meals delivered to his home.

“I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’m not much of a cook.”

“But you carve pumpkins. What do you do with the insides?”

“…I throw them away. They’re decorative pumpkins, so there isn’t enough flesh to be worth eating.”

*What a waste.*

The words nearly escaped my mouth, but everyone had their own way of living.

It was not my place to comment.

I thanked him properly and stepped outside.

As always, the thirty paces back to my house made me strangely nervous.

*Mr. Sasagawa is definitely watching until I get inside.*

I closed my front door behind me and released a long breath.

Honestly, what was this ridiculous tension at my age?

I was simply far too conscious of him.

My lack of social skills—particularly where men were concerned—had become painfully obvious.

I could not help feeling disappointed in myself.