The woman turned to him and paused. ‘Shoji? You’re early.’ She took the seat next to him. Seeing the empty glass and dirty plates in front of him, she said, ‘You should have told me you wanted to have dinner. When you suggested meeting at ten, I thought we were just going to have a drink.’

Shoji was pretty sure he had said nine, not ten, but then again, the office had been noisy when he had made the call. But he didn’t want to make Eri feel bad. ‘I was supposed to go for a company dinner, but it got rescheduled,’ he lied.

‘Ah, I see.’ She looked him up and down. ‘Wow, you’ve changed a lot. When you were working at my father’s bookshop, you were so skinny. I was worried one day a strong wind would blow you away.’

He pretended to cough. ‘Are you saying that I’m gaining weight?’

‘Yes, and in a good way.’ Eri smiled. ‘It’s nice to see you again after so many years. Though I must admit, I was surprised when I received your call. How did you get my office number?’

‘Do you remember the poetry book you gave me on my last day?’

‘Ah, of course.’ Her face brightened. ‘Have you read it?’

He stumbled to answer. ‘Not really.’

Eri laughed, and Shoji laughed too.

‘I was kind of half-expecting that,’ she said, chuckling. ‘Let me guess. I wrote down my number, but when you called me, I had already moved out. One way or another, the person who picked up the phone directed you to me.’

‘Yes, someone named Watanabe.’

‘Ah, that’s Rie. I didn’t know she had my office number.’

‘She didn’t, but she knew you were working at Sumitomo Mitsui so I called the main branch,’ Shoji said. ‘Anyway, let me buy you a drink. It’s not every day I meet someone from my hometown. What would you like?’

‘Now I can see that you’re becoming a proper adult,’ Eri teased him. ‘I’ve got no preference. I’ll leave it up to you.’

Shoji ordered a medium-sized bottle of chilled Junmai Ginjo sake to share.

‘Cold sake is the best,’ she said. ‘The weather has been so hot recently.’

He gestured for a toast. ‘What do you expect? It’s summer now.’

‘That’s true. I’ve been so busy at work I haven’t had the chance to check out this year’s summer festivals schedule.’ Eri shifted her eyes to Shoji. ‘Hey, didn’t you say you wanted to ask me something?’

Yes, he had. He had remembered that the mysterious man on the phone had made mention of his past and that he thought she might know something. ‘Are you familiar with Kazuhiro Katou?’

‘Wasn’t that the politician who got murdered in Akakawa?’

Shoji paused. ‘Where did you hear that?’

She furrowed her brow. ‘Is anything wrong?’