Christmas Eve. The next day, I just felt… led,” Tabitha replied lamely, dropping the last word like an anchor.
“So you’ve no idea how you ended up here on Christmas all those years ago?”
“Believe me, I’ve been trying to figure that out. Mrs. Okami remembered making a wish at the shrine for someone to inherit her inn, and the next day I showed up. She trained me to run the inn from the top down before she passed away, but I have no idea how we even managed to communicate for those first few months. It was like I just woke up one day able to speak Japanese.”
She showed Siobhan a sepia photograph of the late Mrs. Okami standing outside the entrance.
"Wow, the inn looked like it was on its last legs. You said she was running this inn by herself when you first came?” said Siobhan.
“Yeah. She was 95 years old by then.”
“Then I'm impressed by what you did here. It’s so modern, so chic! The difference is night and day! An absolute miracle.”
“Yeah, I know. After I started working here, a lot of windfalls came to this place. It’s like my every wish was coming true. The out-of-work businesses in town all had nothing better to do than to come help us. A carpenter came, then a landscaper, and even an interior decorator. In fact, a whole troupe of entrepreneurs came out of the blue to help bring this inn into the 21st century.”
“You were the catalyst, Tabby. The inn needed you and you responded. And I see it’s helped you out a bit too, huh?” Siobhan crooned, eyeing her old friend’s new physique.
“I know.” Tabitha lifted up her arms to show the obi around her waist that held her colorful yukata in place. I haven’t been this size since high school.”
“And you’re popular with the bachelors now, aren’t you?”
Tabitha blushed. “You might say that,” she conceded. “A lot of Japanese businessmen come here. They try to speak broken English to me before they realize I can speak Japanese, too. Then it’s like I’m the hottest thing on the market.”
“And are you dating someone now?”
“Well, yes, there is someone,” Tabitha demurred. “I met him at the shrine, actually, when I went there to pray.”
“Then pray don’t spare any details,” Siobhan cooed. “If you’ve found someone, you’ve got to tell me about it." Some chimes signaled a new arrival just then, and Tabitha went to greet her visitors feeling relieved.
“Coming!” Tabitha called from around the corner.
“Excuse us, but is the owner here?”
A man and woman stood in the entryway, their eyes momentarily widening when they saw her. Tabitha smiled.
“Welcome to the Okami Inn.”
She was used to the bewilderment of her guests being greeted by a foreigner. The duo looked to be in their thirties. Both of them wore red parkas emblazoned with a corporate logo on their chests. She dipped down to her guests in a reverent bow and straightened up again.
“That’s me. I’m Tabitha Small, the manager and proprietress here.”
“Sorry to be rude, but what nationality are you?” asked the woman.
“I’m from America.”
“And you can understand us?”
“I try my best,” Tabitha laughed. “I’ve been in this country for ten years now.”
The woman exchanged quizzical looks with her male companion who carried a black camera bag around his shoulder. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Small. Sorry for showing up without an appointment, but we heard good things about the Okami Inn while we were passing through town. We write for an independent travel guide and noticed the last publication for your inn was archived in the Shōwa period. We are always looking to interview entrepreneurs like yourself. Would you agree to showing us around?”
“Tabby, darling~ who is it?” Siobhan called as she sashayed into the entrance hall, buttressed in her ankle booties.
“Journalists. They want to write about this inn and asked me to show them around.”
“Brilliant. Count me in, too. I want the royal tour.”
Tabitha wondered why this pair of journalists in red parkas looked familiar. Her gaze oscillated between the reporter and her cameraman.
“By the way, have we met before?” Tabitha asked.
The two journalists looked at each other again before replying simultaneously. “No way, we certainly would’ve remembered you.”
About the Author:
John Jeng graduated with a B.A. in English Literature from the University of California San Diego in and an M.A. in Teaching from the University of Southern California. His hobbies are trying ethnic cuisines, climbing mountains (the highest so far being Mt. Fuji), and exploring big cities. He lives in San Jose, CA.
Also by the Author:
The Mission Peak Adventurer
「ミッション峠の冒険家」
Connect with the Author:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15567820.John_Jeng
https://authorjohnjeng.wordpress.com
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https://twitter.com/authorjohnjeng
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