Actually, she didn’t see at all—she was just following up with the appropriate response. Her name was Yaeko Hirai. One of the café regulars, she had just turned thirty and ran a nearby snack, or hostess, bar. She always came in for a cup of coffee before work. Her curlers were in again, but today she was wearing a revealing yellow tube top, a bright red miniskirt and vivid purple leggings.

Copyright © 2020 by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

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Also by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Before the Coffee Gets Cold