‘My father said I’m too much like him. Too stubborn. Men don’t like it,’ she continued. ‘He said if I were more like my mother, I would have been married with kids. But then, if I were anything like her, I probably wouldn’t be working right now.’

‘Uh-huh.’

Eri gazed off into the distance. ‘I don’t want to change for a man. If I were to change, it would have to be for myself.’ She finished off her wine and put the empty glass on the table. ‘I want to live by my own rules. And if that means I’ll be single forever, so be it.’

Shoji gave her arm a gentle pat. ‘That sounds like my sister.’

She responded with a chuckle, and then she said, ‘Hey, Shoji. Are you avoiding Fukuoka?’

His heart skipped a beat. ‘Why do you ask that?’

‘My father told me you haven’t been back in years, ever since you left to study in Tokyo. I phone him every Thursday and I told him we were meeting. He said your mother came to the bookshop and they chatted, and he was surprised to learn that you’ve never returned to your hometown.’

Shoji stared at his glass. ‘Did he say how she was?’

‘Kind of. He said she was all right.’ Eri gave a forced smile. ‘Just a little lonely and missing her son.’

He downed the rest of his wine.

‘I know it’s not my place to say this, but your parents are no longer young,’ she said. ‘Maybe you should visit them sometime.’

‘I know,’ he mumbled.

Eri stood, about to pick up the empty wine glasses, but Shoji stopped her. ‘Let me handle that. You should relax. You’re the guest, remember?’

‘Wow.’ She gave him a playful smile. ‘You two are spoiling me.’

‘Do you want anything? Coke, water, more alcohol?’

She shook her head. ‘I’m good.’

‘All right,’ he said, carrying the empty bottle with one hand and the wine glasses with another.

When Shoji reached the kitchen, he was surprised to see Liyun standing by the door. She gestured at him to keep quiet as she took the dirty glasses.

‘How much did you hear?’ Shoji asked in a small voice.

‘Let’s just pretend I didn’t hear anything.’ She turned on the tap and rinsed the glasses. ‘You said the two of you worked together? You seem close.’

He nodded. ‘She took care of me when I was working at her father’s bookshop. She’s like a big sister, though, back then, she used to be a little cold to everyone. She also introduced me to some books that started my interest in journalism.’

‘That’s great,’ Liyun said. ‘She mentioned earlier that you only got in touch recently, but I’m glad you managed to see her before she left.’

Wait. ‘What do you mean by “left”?’