Unbreak My Heart(32)

She nods and whispers a quiet thank you.

But dating, and loving, involves harder stuff too. I clear my throat, pushing past the prying nature of the question I need to ask. “May I ask if you went with him to his appointments and stuff? Like Dr. Takahashi?”

“I did, but Ian didn’t see him every time he was here. He saw him perhaps a half dozen times,” she says. That’s another puzzle piece, but I can’t quite slide it in. I don’t know if a handful of appointments means Takahashi was a voodoo doctor or something else. “He brought me along because he loved to spend time in the Asakusa district of town, where the doctor is, and he wanted to share it with me.”

“He did?”

She smiles. “After his appointments, we’d walk through the nearby shopping arcade. You know the kind that sells fans and little cat statues with the waving arms?”

She mimes the movement, and I nod.

“And we’d grab chocolate-dipped biscuits or jelly crepes. He liked to joke that it was a good thing the doctor was located in such a cool area.”

“I need to see the doctor. I left him a message a few days ago. But I went there today, and there was no answer.”

“Oh,” Kana says, her expression turning sad.

“What’s that for?”

She winces as if she has bad news. But I can handle bad news. It’s what I do. “He’s in Tibet for a few weeks. I came to know one of the ladies who works there, a receptionist. She mentioned it to me during one of Ian’s appointments while I was waiting for him. The doctor treats the indigent for no charge for a month every summer.”

“He’ll be gone for a few weeks?”

She nods.

I sigh heavily then shrug. “I guess that means I won’t see him for a few weeks, then.”

She flashes a smile. “Tokyo is not a bad place to pass the time. I’ll be working, but I’m happy to show you around when I can. Maybe to see some of Ian’s favorite places?”

She’s an angel. “I would love that.” Feeling a bit like a cartoon character batting his or her eyes, I ask, “Can you take me to the teahouse?”

“Yes, but it’s closed right now. Would you want to meet again on Wednesday to go?”

I would love to. That’s another step closer to knowing Ian better. Already, I’ve learned the person who drew my brother to this side of the world is exactly the kind of woman I’m glad he spent his final year with—one who is passionate, kind, and loving.

That’s a damn good thing to uncover.

Even so, a tinge of sadness hangs over me as I look back on the last few months I had with him. I was so damn busy with school. Hell, he’d wanted me to stay busy. He’d urged me to focus on classes.

And I still wish . . . I still fucking regret that I didn’t toss out the final semester and finish law school another time.

Ian would have killed me if I’d done that, though, and that thought makes me laugh out loud.

Kana smiles curiously. “Everything okay?”

“I was just thinking how I wish I had ditched all my classes last semester to hang out with Ian more.”

She cracks up. “As if he would have permitted that.”

I crack up too, picturing the look on his face. “Yeah, you’re right. He would have won that battle.”

“He definitely would have won that battle. In fact, I think he did.”

“He got what he wanted.”

“You finished.”

I nod, smiling. “I did. He wanted that.”

And maybe that’s more important than what I wanted.





19





Andrew



The next morning is different.

I know what to say to Holland when I wake up.



Andrew: What’s on the agenda today, tour guide?





Holland: I’m your tour guide now?





Andrew: Um, yeah. Hello? Sidekick duties call.





Holland: Oh, but of course. Part of sidekick duties includes serving as your tour guide. Let me go check the TripAdvisor in my brain.





Andrew: It’s right next to your Yelp reviews.





Holland: It is! Let’s see . . . I need to pick up a few things for my apartment, so we could run errands or . . .





Andrew: I love errands. But I like the “or” better.





Holland: Meet me at the station in thirty minutes.





I like this option, and I don’t even know what it is.



*

We exit Nakameguro Station, and after one block, we’re walking through a quiet residential area of the city.

“This is unexpected,” I say.

Holland nods excitedly. “One of my former co-workers lives here. She invited me to dinner last year, and I’d never been to this neighborhood before. I fell in love with it instantly.”

As we wander down a cherry-blossom-lined canal, I can see why. There’s a calm energy here that’s a counterpoint to Shibuya. Tiny restaurants without English menus run the length of the canal, and little old ladies carry shopping bags with groceries, while young parents push strollers.