Alice-Miranda in Japan 9 (14 page)

Tatsu looked up from his work. He was pleased that Obaasan had found the old lady to take the first vacant room so quickly. But now there was a second space to fill. He didn't care how many of them died in a day, as long as the rooms didn't stay empty for long.

That wasn't his only worry. That afternoon, two police cars had pulled up outside the house. His first response was to panic: had the boy Yoshi seen something? Had he told someone? The thought made Tatsu's stomach churn.

Then his screen had shown the nosey tourists from the inn clambering out of the cars. The police had climbed out too, taken some photographs with the tourists, and then left. It was strange indeed, but nothing to do with him, he'd decided.

Now Tatsu wasn't so sure. He'd seen another car pull up outside the house. A black, unmarked vehicle that tried so hard to be discreet, it stood out like a red bean in a bowl of rice. The car had parked at the end of the alley beside the house and not moved since. Tatsu's mind raced. What if the police had sent detectives to spy on him? What if they'd really been taking photographs of his house? Perhaps someone had reported the black vans and their dead cargo to the authorities. But surely the prefecture would send some officials and not the police? It had to be that Yoshi boy – he would get rid of him as soon as he could.

 

‘Good morning, girls,' Cecelia greeted the trio as they arrived for breakfast the next morning. She and Ambrosia were wearing their yukatas and both women had wet hair pulled back into sleek buns.

‘Hello Mummy, good morning, Ambrosia,' said Alice-Miranda. She gave her mother a hug. ‘Where are Aunt Charlotte and the boys?'

Cecelia Highton-Smith set her cup back on the table.

‘Cha's having a lie-in and the boys have gone to the bath,' her mother replied.

‘Oooh,'
Millie whispered and poked Jacinta.
‘Lucas.'

‘What? Oh, that's disgusting,' Jacinta rebuked her, but began to blush just the same.

Her mother raised her eyebrows and the girls and Cecelia giggled.

‘Ambrosia and I have been to the bath too,' said Cecelia. ‘I wasn't sleeping so I got up early and popped down for a soak. Ambrosia was already there.'

‘And it was heavenly,' the woman said.

‘Can we go?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘I don't see why not,' Cecelia agreed. ‘Why don't you have your breakfast first and then have a soak. Perhaps after that your father might take you for a walk somewhere close by, although he's been talking about a trip to the National Gardens this afternoon. I want you to have a restful day so you can fully appreciate dinner tonight.'

‘What are you doing today, Mummy?' the child asked.

‘Charlotte and I have an appointment in the city and Ambrosia is coming with us. We're hoping to be back just after lunch.'

‘I can't wait until tonight,' Jacinta said. ‘What do you think it will be like?'

‘Mr Kenzo said that it would be very informal,' Alice-Miranda said.

Cecelia nodded. ‘So your father said. I suspect that Japanese Imperial Palace informal could be a little different to what we imagine.'

Millie grinned. ‘So you don't think we'll be having a barbecue in the garden?'

Cecelia shook her head. ‘No, I don't think so.'

‘I'm sorry about that,' Jacinta said. ‘I'd love a steak.'

‘What should we wear?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘We could wear our Harajuku outfits,' Jacinta said.

Millie pulled a face. ‘I am
not
going to the Imperial Palace dressed as a flying squirrel.'

Jacinta giggled. ‘I bet they've never had any other flying squirrels come to dinner. It might cheer up the Emperor.'

‘As if.' Millie rolled her eyes.

‘Your mother and I have just been talking about that,' Ambrosia said, ‘and we have a surprise for you, so don't give it another thought.'

‘Really? A surprise?' Millie's eyes widened. ‘What is it?'

‘A surprise, Millie,' Cecelia said with a wink.

The girl's mouth drooped with feigned disappointment.

‘Sorry, Millie, it won't matter how much you pout,' Alice-Miranda told her friend. ‘Unlike Daddy, who can't keep a secret to save his life, Mummy is like a steel trap.'

‘It's all right,' Millie said, grinning. ‘I was just teasing. I love surprises.'

The girls sat down next to Cecelia and Ambrosia, who soon disappeared upstairs to get dressed.

 

After breakfast, the girls made their way down the hallway towards the bathhouse. Alice-Miranda's father, Lawrence and Lucas were just exiting the men's bath as the girls arrived.

Hugh grinned at his daughter. ‘Hello darling.'

‘Good morning, Daddy, did you enjoy your bath?'

‘Oh, yes. It was very relaxing.'

Lucas's face was red and Millie wondered if he was embarrassed that the girls would know that he and his uncle and father had all been in the bath together. She'd never been skinny-dipping with her parents either. Alice-Miranda noticed the boy's colour too. ‘Are you all right?'

‘Yeah, fine,' Lucas replied.

‘You just look so . . . pink,' Millie said.

‘We'll see what colour you are when you get out, Millie.' Lawrence grinned at the girl with her flaming red hair and freckles.

‘Why do you say that?' she asked. Millie wondered if the water had some sort of colouring in it.

‘Because the water's about a hundred degrees,' Lucas said.

‘As if,' Millie scoffed. ‘You wouldn't be able to get in at all.'

‘You'll see,' Lucas replied. ‘Besides, I thought you were the resident authority on all things Japanese. Didn't you read the bath section in your guidebook?'

Millie shrugged. ‘I skimmed that part. We have baths at home all the time.'

‘Not like this,' Lucas grinned.

‘Daddy, can we go for a walk later?' said Alice-Miranda. ‘Aki said that there's a park around the corner.'

‘I'm sure we can manage it,' Hugh replied. ‘Enjoy your bath, girls. We'll see you upstairs in a little while.' Hugh walked off down the corridor with Lucas and Lawrence behind him.

Jacinta set off ahead of the other two girls. She was just about to go through a long blue curtain when Lucas turned.

‘Jacinta, that's the men's. The women's is further along.'

‘Oops.' Jacinta put her hand to her mouth. ‘Thanks. That would have been embarrassing.'

‘Yeah, especially if you saw the guy in the bath. Dad and I reckon he's a sumo wrestler.'

Millie giggled.

The girls went a few paces further and parted a long red curtain. They found themselves in a small vestibule, which was empty apart from a single chair and a delicate
ikebana
arrangement on a low table. Another doorway led through to a dressing-room.

‘I think that's the undressing-room,' Millie said with a grin as she and the girls walked through. There was a wall of pigeonholes with a white towel perfectly folded in each one.

‘Mummy said that you have to put your clothes in the pigeonhole and take a towel,' Alice-Miranda explained.

Millie pulled out the white cloth. It was barely larger than a face washer. ‘I know a lot of Japanese people are small but what's this supposed to cover?'

‘Someone must have put a handtowel in there by mistake.' Jacinta pulled a towel from the compartment beside Millie's. It was the same size.

Alice-Miranda pulled out a third towel. It was no bigger than the first two. ‘It looks like this is the only size we get.'

‘What are we supposed to do now?' Jacinta looked around the room, wishing that Millie had read up on bathhouse etiquette.

‘I gather we get undressed,' said Millie. She slipped off her robe and underwear and shoved them into the pigeonhole. She took her towel and walked through another set of curtains.

‘Is anyone in there?' Jacinta whispered.

Millie poked her head back through the drapes. ‘No, I think we've got the whole place to ourselves.'

Jacinta breathed a sigh of relief and followed Alice-Miranda into a large shower room. White plastic stools and handheld shower nozzles were dotted around the tiled walls. The girls spotted signs indicating that guests should sit and clean themselves thoroughly before getting into the baths, and keep their towels out of the bath water.

Millie pulled up a stool, crossed her legs and grabbed the shower nozzle off the wall. ‘This is strangely comfortable, you know,' she said, smiling.

The trio spent five minutes scrubbing and soaping before rinsing themselves off and heading to the adjacent room, where the bath was located. It wasn't like any bath the girls had ever experienced before. At least four metres long and two metres wide, it was more like a small swimming pool. On the far side, a torrent of water cascaded from a ledge, creating a waterfall effect. The steam on the surface looked like fog and Millie remembered Lucas's warning about the temperature.

‘I'm going in.' Alice-Miranda plunged her toe into the water and immediately pulled it out again. ‘Ow!'

‘Is it really that hot?' Millie leaned over and put her hand into the water. She pulled it out quickly too. ‘How are we supposed to get in there?'

‘Come on, it can't be that bad.' Jacinta dipped her foot in. She stood there for as long as she could bear it and then leapt out, hopping around. ‘That's ridiculous. How does anyone ever get in?'

‘You've probably just got to sink slowly and allow your body to get used to it,' Alice-Miranda suggested.

The three girls spent the next few minutes dipping their toes before eventually Alice-Miranda plunged into the hot water. Jacinta and Millie got in soon after and the three girls bobbed around like corks.

‘This water feels weird,' Millie said.

‘I think it's the mineral salts,' Alice-Miranda explained. ‘Mummy said that this was an
onsen
and the baths are only called that when they're fed by a mineral spring.'

‘Well, I don't care what it's called. It's soo relaxing.' Jacinta swam over to sit on the ledge with the water tumbling onto her shoulders. ‘It's like having a built-in masseuse.'

‘Since when have you ever had a massage?' Millie asked, paddling over to sit next to her. She let the water crash over her head, plastering her red curls to the side of her face.

‘I haven't but this is what I imagine it would be like.' Jacinta wrinkled her nose and sent a splash in Millie's direction.

The girls soaked for ages before Alice-Miranda held her hands out of the water and studied the deep wrinkles crisscrossing her palms like a bumpy road map. ‘I might get out. I'm turning into a prune.'

At that moment, the sound of voices floated in from the entrance vestibule.

Jacinta's ears pricked up. ‘That's enough for me too.' She swam to the other side of the bath and scrambled out.

‘Me three,' Millie said, following her. Although she was enjoying the bath and was quite okay with her friends' nakedness, the thought of sharing the pool with strangers was another thing altogether.

The girls towelled themselves off as best they could then headed back through the shower room and into the dressing area.

‘Oh hello,' Alice-Miranda said to the two women who were in various states of undress. The child quickly pulled her
yukata
from the pigeonhole and slipped her underwear on beneath it.

The ladies smiled and nodded.
‘Ohayou.'

Millie and Jacinta were dressed in a flash.

‘It's lovely in there but watch out for the water. It's boiling,' Jacinta said as the girls went to leave.

The two young women giggled.

Millie shook her head. ‘Seriously? You needed to tell them that?'

‘Well it was, wasn't it?' Jacinta frowned.

‘I'm pretty sure they're Japanese,' Millie replied. ‘They've probably been in a million baths and all of them just as hot.'

‘Oh, they must have thought I was an idiot,' Jacinta said, rolling her eyes at herself.

‘I disagree,' said Alice-Miranda. ‘I'm sure they thought you were kind, that's all.'

‘You're so naive, Alice-Miranda,' Millie chided. ‘But that's why we love you.'

The girls dashed upstairs to get dressed.