Cajun Justice(66)

“Yes. I like boxing. I like the music in the movie. And I like cheering for—um, I think you call it the below dog.”

Cain smiled even bigger. “Yes, Americans love an underdog! But I’ll have to show you some good Louisiana movies. Maybe something like The Big Easy, The Green Mile, or my mom’s favorite, Steel Magnolias.”

The waitress stopped by their table. “Good evening, folks. What can I get y’all to drink?”

Cain looked to Umiko to answer first.

“I would like an American beer.”

“Bottle or tap, sweetie?”

“Bottle.”

The waitress committed the order to memory and then turned to Cain.

“I’ll have some house wine of the South.”

“You wanna lemon in that?”

“Ain’t no other way to enjoy it.” Cain smiled. The waitress left the table.

“I could not understand what you and she were talking about,” Umiko said.

“We were just jabbering—speaking a little Southern. I asked for a sweet tea with lemon.”

“Tanaka-san is right. You use a lot of slang.”

Cain laughed. “It’s good for him. He told me he’s a banana.”

Umiko wrinkled her face in confusion.

“Japanese on the outside and American on the inside,” Cain explained.

Umiko smiled. “I can see that.”

“What about you?” Cain asked.

“I’m 100 percent Japanese. But”—she stretched out the word—“I’m a little more progressive. I moved out of my parents’ home in Osaka and took a job in Yokohama.”

“That’s not common, is it?”

“No. I don’t know for sure, but I imagine Tanaka-san still lives with his parents.”

“He told me he did,” Cain said.

The waitress returned with their drinks. “Y’all ready to order?”

Cain looked at Umiko. “Have you decided what you’d like?”

Umiko quickly studied the menu. “What do you recommend?”

“Would you like for me to order a bunch of different stuff and we can share?”

“That sounds fun,” she replied.

Cain ordered the chicken and sausage gumbo, the fried catfish, red beans and rice, and jalape?o corn bread.

When the food arrived, Umiko was shocked. “Wow! Look how big these plates are.”

Cain nodded. “Yep, these are American sizes. That’s why we have a little bit of a weight problem back home.”

“It smells so good, though,” Umiko said as she inhaled slowly. She then placed her hands together with a light clap and gave a quick blessing: “Itadakimasu.”

Cain knew that it was a ritual for Japanese to express thanks for the food they were about to eat, just as in his family.

“Bon appétit,” Cain replied.

They enjoyed eating and talking about everything from Zen to the cultural differences between the United States and Japan. Cain felt comfortable with Umiko. She was funny and respectful at the same time. He could tell she had a fiery spirit but a gentleness.

“You have an inner peace that I would like to find for myself,” Cain said.

“Kendo helped me, and it will help you. The retreat will be good for you.”

“I’m looking forward to it, and to getting outside the city and back into the countryside for a bit,” he said.

After some time, the waitress returned to the table. “Looks like you guys didn’t leave any room for dessert. Would you like the check now?”

“Why, we’d love some dessert,” Cain said. “How’s your bread pudding with bourbon sauce?”

“It’s the best west of the Mississippi River,” the lady replied, “and we make it fresh every day.”

“Please bring us some.”

“One plate?”

“One plate, two spoons.”

The waitress left, then returned with the bread pudding.

Cain turned to Umiko. “This is my sister’s favorite dessert. We’re twins, so it’s actually my favorite dessert, too.”

“Twins?”

Cain nodded.

“That is very cool. I knew you had a sister, but I did not know you were twins. I only know one twins. When I was in school, two boys in my class were twins. They could read each other’s minds.”

“I can’t really read Bonnie’s mind, and I probably wouldn’t want to. But we certainly have a unique connection. One that I don’t have with anyone else in my family.”

“I’d like to meet her.”

“I’d like for you to meet her,” Cain said.

Cain grabbed some yen from his wallet and paid for the meal. He and Umiko walked to a nearby park, where the main attraction was the imperial Japanese battleship Mikasa.

Cain sensed that Umiko’s mood had changed a bit.

“Is everything okay?”

“My grandfather was in World War II,” Umiko said.

“Is he still alive?”

“No. I never knew him. Most Japanese do not talk about the war, but my father is still very angry.”

Cain listened patiently.

“My grandfather was killed by the Americans during the war. My father was not born yet. My grandmother was pregnant with my father during the war. So my father blames the Americans for his growing up without a father. He would be so mad if he knew I was having dinner with you.”