As my relationship with Okada-san and Ishida-san progressed, I began to have lunch with them once or twice a month. Usually we go to the same restaurant, and spend at least an hour together. The more I get to know them, the more I'm touched by their heartfelt expression of life.
"I'm so happy to get this off my chest after such a long time." Ishida-san said to me with a twinkle in her eye.
"I don't really know anything about the Catholic religion, but I think I must feel like a Catholic person feels when they go to confession and talk to a priest."
"As I said before, I did a lot of sitting at home waiting, and once my kids grew up I got really bored, and more than a little resentful."
"One day when cleaning out the pockets of my husband's suit jacket before taking it to the cleaners, I found the business card of a famous restaurant in the Ginza district. I got a bit jealous and angry upon seeing this. I didn't want to sit at home by myself while my husband went to expensive restaurants."
"I knew a host takes someone to such places, mainly as a way to show their guest how special they are. In my marriage, my husband never made an effort to show me I was special. Indeed the only time he seemed to really notice me, was when something was not to his liking."
"Somewhat impulsively I decided I would go on my own, to the restaurant shown on the business card. I wanted to find out what I'd been missing. I figured if my husband had been there recently, he wasn't likely to go there a second time so soon. So off I went, not giving myself a chance to change my mind."
"The restaurant held about twenty tables, and around fifteen of the tables were taken by older men entertaining much younger women. Upon seeing this I immediately sensed this was the kind of entertaining my husband was doing from time to time. Indeed when I walked in, being already in my fifties and by myself, the waiter seemed quite surprised when I told him I would be dining alone."
"I asked the waiter to help me order, and I decided to have the best of everything. ‘Why not?' I thought. If no one else is going to pamper me, I better get used to pampering myself. I must say I found the prices a bit overwhelming, but I made believe the bill was a business expense incurred by my husband. Needless to say, I paid in cash!"
"And thus, my little ritual began. I would carefully check my husband's pockets, and his credit card bills, and then once a month I would go to the very same places he went to. I must say I had a great sense of being naughty and subversive, and I found the whole experience quite delightful!"
"Beyond fancy restaurants, I had one other place I would go to when I wanted to be pampered. The beauty salon."
"The women working there were kind and attentive, and they always complimented me on my appearance. They did this with all their customers and I knew they weren't telling the truth, but it still made me feel good. Having someone treat me as if I'm special, is a feeling I've never grown tired of."
"One aspect of the beauty salon experience was always quite obvious to me. The more expensive the salon, the more they pampered you. At times when I was feeling particularly down, I didn't hesitate to go to a more expensive salon."
"Such is the life of many Japanese wives. If you want to be pampered from time to time, you realize you'll need to create the experience for yourself."
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