Free The Scent of Sake by Joyce Lebra Page A

Shin’ichi’s erect posture, alert eyes, respectful manner.
    “Good. Yes, we can use someone who is not afraid of work, an extra hand. Well, Shin’ichi, you can begin by picking up an order of yeast this morning at the Hayashi place. Here, this is how to find it.” Kin sketched a map on a small piece of rice paper and handed it to Shin’ichi, who looked at it closely, then slipped it into his sleeve.
    “It will take you most of the morning to get there and back. You can take the cart outside the number one kura,” Kin instructed. He walked back through the corridor and out to the street, Rie and Shin’ichi behind him.
    He slid open the front entrance and ducked under the hanging
    noren banner bearing the White Tiger logo.
    “Here. You know how to pull one of these, don’t you?” Kin indicated the wooden cart.
    Rie watched Shin’ichi nod, adjust his straw sandals, then ma—
    60oyce Lebra
    neuver between the two handlebars. He picked them up and started off down the road at a run, bowing to Rie and Kinzaemon as he left.
    “I hope you’ll be pleased with his work, Kin-san. Be strict with him as you always are. Father won’t object, will he?”
    “Not if he does his work well,” Kin said.
    Rie had a hunch that Shin’ichi, young though he was, might prove more capable than any of the clerks working under Kin, and she followed her instinct in matters of business.

    Rie walked to her mother’s room early one evening several months later. Sounds of the baby playing in the room, mingled with voices, caused Rie to pause outside the shoji. She recognized Jihei’s and her mother’s voices.
    “Excuse me,” Rie called.
    “Yes,” her mother replied. “Come in, Rie.”
    Rie found her mother and Jihei playing with Yoshitaro, who was crawling back and forth between them, chortling. All three were enjoying themselves. Upon seeing them together, Rie suddenly felt dizzy as if she couldn’t breathe.
    “Come, Rie. Come and play with Yoshitaro,” her mother invited, smiling. “My first grandchild,” she said in musical tones. Hana clapped her hands rhythmically and laughed.
    No blood relation, Rie wanted to say as she fought down the pain in her chest.
    Yoshitaro crawled to Hana, then turned and crawled back to Jihei, fell on his lap, and squealed, never stopping his continual motion. He sat up and clutched Jihei, who helped him to stand. The baby kept one hand on Jihei’s shoulder and began to take halting steps around him.
    “Oh, look! His first steps!” Hana cried.
    Rie looked at Yoshitaro’s face next to Jihei’s and saw unmistak-able hints of the same large nose and long eyebrows.
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    “He does resemble his father,” Rie said finally. She tried to think of something more to say about the baby. “We can start taking him into the office soon,” she managed.
    Her mother laughed softly. “Not yet, Rie. He’s just a baby. But of course he can learn words, gradually.” She smiled and nodded at him.
    “He is learning now, just look at him. He’s bright,” Jihei said, taking obvious pleasure in the child.
    Hana clapped her hands and began reciting a nursery rhyme: “Momotaro, Momotaro, Momotaro. . .” Yoshitaro stumbled back to Hana and fell. She picked him up and hugged him. “Yes, that’s the way,” she cooed.
    Rie sighed, looked at her mother, and stood. “Good night, Mother.” She nodded, not quite a bow, toward Jihei and left the room. She walked slowly up the stairs to her room, dressed for bed, and took out the futon. As she sat in front of her mirror combing her thick hair she choked back a sob and wiped away tears forming in her eyes. She sighed and lay down. She wondered if she would ever have a child of her own, if someday she could find a way to remove the geisha’s bloodline from the house.
    The next morning when Rie went down to breakfast her mother looked at her and saw how dejected she was. Ri-chan, why don’t you and cousin Sunao go to the chrysanthemum festival