But after he had died, Fumiko had worried about when best to tell Asami, right up until the day before the meeting would take place.

When it came to the condition that she didn’t have to bring Asami if she was married and happy, she interpreted that to mean, if Asami can’t get over Kurata and is unable to marry anyone else, then he wants her to come.

If Asami was doing her best to forget Kurata and put him behind her, however, Fumiko didn’t want to make her meet him just because she wasn’t married.

It would be a meeting with someone who was dead: not something to be taken lightly. Badly handled, it could really mess up Asami’s life. Fumiko mulled over the different possibilities incessantly, but two years went by with no solution to her worries nor any insight into Asami’s feelings.

Asami mourned Kurata after his death, but after about six months, she went on with her life. From what Fumiko could see, Asami had not let his death hold her back.

But based on this alone, Fumiko was unable to decide whether to bring Asami along on the day set for the meeting. Asami hadn’t married, but whether someone was married or not was no measure of their happiness. But Fumiko had not heard anything close to a romantic rumor about Asami since Kurata died. Then, before she knew it, the chosen day was only a week away.

After much agonizing, Fumiko decided to consult her husband, Goro. Although she recognized his prowess as a fellow systems engineer, her faith in him normally didn’t extend to affairs of the heart. However, they had agreed that if either of them had any troubles, they would talk it over as a couple. So, clutching at straws, she sought his advice.

When she did, Goro looked at her with a serious expression.

“I don’t think he considered that you would worry so much over it,” he pronounced.

Fumiko didn’t know what he was talking about.

“He had complete faith in you,” Goro said.

“But I don’t know what I should do!”

“No, no. He didn’t have faith in you as a woman.”

“Huh? What are you saying?”

“He had faith in you as a systems engineer.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about what he said. The conditions for which he didn’t want you to bring Asami were, one, if he had not died, and two, if after he died she was married and happy.”

“Okay.”

“If you see it simply as a program that judges whether those conditions apply, you can dismiss any other conditions as not in the program...”

“If Kurata’s conditions don’t apply, you go ahead.”

“Right. For example, she might be happy, but she is not married. That doesn’t meet his conditions for not bringing her.”

“...I see.”