It was ten minutes to seven when Ryo followed Aya through the gate that led into the side yard of the house. It wasn’t very big, but Ryo could tell at first glance that the small expanse had been carefully landscaped. Grass covered much of the area with a cobblestone path down the middle leading to a modest, rectangular porch. Two park-style benches stood at opposite ends on the porch and a couple of yard chairs sat together on the lawn. A border of various flowers and other non-blooming plants decorated the space between the edge of the grass and the fence.
“This is really something,” Ryo said. “Did you do all this?”
“I came up with the design, but we all had a hand in the planting and we all help to maintain it,” Aya replied, walking past Ryo and inspecting one of the plants. Even Ryo, with his limited knowledge, could tell it wasn’t doing too well. Its leaves were wilted and drooping.
Ryo watched as Aya put his overnight bag down on the porch and retrieved a plastic watering can, filling it from a nearby spigot. He returned to the plant and stroked a hand lovingly over its big, broad leaves before sprinkling water over the top.
The blinding flash of memory was so sudden that it took Ryo several moments before he realized what he’d witnessed. A series of images depicting a slightly different looking Aya bent over several flower pots with a metal watering can in his hand flickered rapidly over his mind, followed immediately by a throbbing headache. Ryo closed his eyes and winced, rubbing his aching temple with one hand.
“Are you alright?” He felt Aya’s hand on his shoulder and slowly opened his eyes. The concern on Aya’s face was obvious and Ryo forced himself to smile.
“Sorry, just a bit of a headache. Well, a bit of memory and then a bit of a headache. You really do like to work with plants and flowers, don’t you? I had this memory of you looking kinda different and watering some flowers. It was like you didn’t know I was there and I was spying on you.”
Aya stared back at Ryo, his expression thoughtful and… uncertain? Ryo wasn’t exactly sure. “That would have been back at the Koneko no Sumu Ie, in Tokyo. It was the flower shop where we worked,” Aya said.
“Where we worked?” Ryo asked, clearly surprised at Aya’s admission. “You mean we – you and I – worked together at a flower shop? I knew you’d worked at that flower shop and it’s not that I think you’re lying to me, but I admit I’m having a hard time believing that I worked there too. Flowers don’t seem to be my thing.”
“You, me, Ken, and Omi. Only you know him now as Takatori Mamoru.” Aya looked uncomfortable and Ryo had to wonder why the man was volunteering information so readily. “We all worked in the flower shop. Perhaps it wasn’t your favorite thing to do at the time, Ryo, but you weren’t horrible at it either. You had a particular way with the customers, especially the female ones.”
“Now that I can believe,” Ryo said with a smile. “But you do realize that working as a florist doesn’t exactly fit the stuff I remember or the physical state of my body, not to mention yours, right?”
“Yes, I know.”
“But you’re not going to explain that to me yet, are you?”
“Not until you remember something about it. You remembered about the Koneko, so I told you.”
“Aya, at this moment you’re not exactly being consistent with what you said to me yesterday. Why?”
“Because a certain know-it-all who is incapable of minding his own business managed to make me change my mind. You’ll be meeting him shortly.” Aya reached out and took Ryo’s hand, tugging him toward the door. “Let’s go inside. I’m sure everyone is eagerly waiting.”
“How much do the others know about me and the person I used to be?” Ryo asked after taking Aya’s hand.
“You used to work with Ken and you two were friends. Chloé knows what I’ve told him. The others know as much as Ken might have said. I haven’t spoken to them about you.”
“You said Chloé knows what you’ve told him. Are you two close?” Ryo was careful to keep his voice as neutral as possible. He was more curious than jealous, but he couldn’t ignore that niggling thought that reminded him how little he knew of Aya’s current life or the people in it.
Aya stopped in front of the door and let go of Ryo’s hand as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and met Ryo’s gaze. “We’re friends,” he answered, unable to keep the hint of defensiveness from his voice.
“You don’t have many of those, do you?” Ryo’s question was nearly a statement.
“No, I don’t and I’m still learning how to appreciate the ones I do have. Come on, Ryo, we should go inside.” Aya put his hand on the door knob and started to turn it.
“Wait a sec.” Ryo put his hand on Aya’s arm then gestured to the bench. “Sit with me. I just want to have a quick smoke.”
Aya stepped away from the door and followed Ryo to the bench. “Are you nervous?” he asked as he sat down beside the other man.
“Yeah, maybe a little.” Ryo dropped his carry-on bag at his feet and opened it, rummaging around until he found his pack of cigarettes. Shaking one free, he put it between his lips and pulled out his lighter. Once the cigarette was lit, he leaned back and breathed out a cloud of smoke. “Aya, can I ask you something?”
Aya nodded. “Of course.”
“I noticed that you left your katana in the hotel room. Why didn’t you take it home with you earlier? It’s yours, case and all. I want you to have it again.”
Aya turned away from Ryo and gazed out over the yard. “I don’t want you to disappear out of my life again. I had this irrational thought this morning that if I took back the katana then you had no reason to remain in my life. Your promise would be fulfilled.”
Ryo laid a hand on Aya’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. “Aya, that’s not going to happen. You’re the one I’m in love with. In fact, you’re the only one I can remember being in love with… ever. I loved Asuka, my wife, but I wasn’t in love with her. As for this other Asuka I knew, other than having some vague sense that she was incredibly important to me and my life, I don’t have any memory of loving her. I figure I probably did, but we weren’t together anymore when you came along, were we?”
Aya shook his head. “No, she’d already… passed away when we met. I never knew her personally. And yes, you did love her. You loved her very much.”
Ryo sighed, flicking the ash from the tip of his cigarette to the ground. “I wish I could remember loving her. I feel like I’m missing something important. I felt the same way when I couldn’t remember you clearly. But it was easier to think about you, wonder who you were, what you were doing, where you were at. With Asuka, my mind just shies away. I’m sure it has to do with how much it hurt to find out she was dead. I feel like I’m so close to solving the puzzle. I just need one more piece.”
Aya listened to Ryo in silence, an unreadable expression on his face. Before Ryo could ask Aya what he was thinking about, the back door opened and Ken stepped out, looking over in their direction.
“Hey, I thought I heard voices out here,” Ken said, giving them both a wide grin. “You know that it’s five minutes after seven, right? Chloé says you have one minute to get inside or he’s going to consider you both late. Here, let me take your bags into the house for you.”
Ryo chuckled and stood. “Sorry, just wanted one last smoke before coming inside. Aya was keeping me company.” Glancing around, he spied an ashtray on the ground beside the bench and picked it up, putting out his cigarette and suddenly feeling less anxious. It appeared that someone else in the house smoked. For some reason, Ryo took that as a good sign. Holding out his hand to Aya, Ryo smiled when the other man took it and together they followed Ken into the house.