Akiko wandered aimlessly for some time after leaving the shrine, and eventually found herself in a cafe, sitting in a booth away from the door and nursing a single cup of coffee. The job magazine sat on the table in front of her, but she couldn’t bring herself to open it again. What was the point? They were just going to have reasons to reject her again, and she wasn’t sure she could take that right now. She had tried calling Naoyuki again, but again he had ignored her. Sitting with her phone in her hand, she suddenly decided to call her mother. She could explain the situation, and get some sympathy, at least, and probably real help.

Still, she found herself holding her phone, looking at it, for several minutes before she could bring herself to dial.

“Hello, this is Mrs Tanahata.â€

“Mum? It’s Akiko.â€

“Akiko? This is a nice surprise. You hardly ever call me.â€

“Sorry, Mum.â€ Akiko paused, intending to explain her problems, but couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. “So, how are you? How’s Dad?â€

“We’re both doing just fine. I was talking to Mrs Yamada at my calligraphy class; do you remember her?â€

“Er, maybe…â€

“Noriko’s mother. You were friends with Noriko.â€ Noriko Yamada… Akiko thought for a moment, and then remembered.

“Well, she was in my class. I wouldn’t say that we were friends.â€

“Yes, well, anyway she was telling me that Noriko is getting married this summer, to the son of the president of the company where she’s been working. The second son, admittedly, so not the heir, but still, she’s done very well. And she was just an office worker, like you.â€

“Mmm.â€ This really wasn’t what Akiko wanted to hear.

“So, when am I going to be able to tell Mrs Yamada about your wedding? He’s at a different company, right? Will you still quit when you get married?â€

“Ah, well…â€ Now or never, Akiko thought, but she still couldn’t make herself say it.

“It’s getting a little embarrassing, you know. Most of my friends’ daughters are already married, or at least engaged, and some of them are even showing me pictures of grandchildren. I’m really looking forward to being able to show them pictures of mine.â€

Akiko was frozen in place. What on earth could she say now? “My boyfriend dumped me because he caught me in a shrineâ€? That would hardly make her mother happy. And it didn’t seem particularly likely to elicit support, either. More likely, her mother would just berate her for throwing away such a great opportunity to get properly married, and at her age, too.

“So, how are things going with him? Any proposal yet?â€

For a long moment, Akiko couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

“Akiko? Are you still there?â€

“Yes, Mum. Sorry. Things are going perfectly well, but I’ll tell you when he proposes to me. You don’t think I’d keep that secret, do you?â€

“Well, you never tell me anything, you know. I’m your mother, Akiko. You should tell me things.â€

“Yes, I know. Anyway, I’m sorry, I need to get back to work.â€

Akiko hung up, and put the phone down at the table, staring blankly at it. Who <em>could</em> she talk to?