Banality of happiness
Unlike Miss Nagai and other women at work, I had no optimism toward marriage. My skepticism started with my parents, who demonstrated the inequality in a conventional marriage daily. Violence […]
Passivity of love
Since the arrival of Miss Morita and Miss Hashimoto, all four women had lunch together. The more we relaxed with each other and let ourselves be seen, I realized Miss […]
New assistants
Mr. Tada and other men were considerate enough not to keep me in an assistant position forever. He told me to get a bookkeeping certificate to prove I have some […]
Miss Nagai the killjoy
The fellow assistant, Miss Yoshino, left the company and was replaced by Miss Nagai. She was 28 years old, small-build and round-faced, and while she wasn’t bad to look at, […]
Subsequent days and years
The next morning, I learned that airplanes were grounded in and out of the US. Had our return flight been several hours later, we would have been stuck in Guam. […]
September 2001
Early in September 2001, my sister and I went to Guam for a long weekend. My sister won the trip for two in a ruffle at the bar. She said […]
Future of assistants
Mr. Tada’s team supported the management of subsidiaries and affiliate companies. The responsibility ranged from budget planning to financing to general managerial decision-making support. They required sophisticated business skills that […]
Shame over empathy
When I got home that evening, I called my parents. I cried and ranted about the injustice done by my bosses and my undeservedness of such treatment. It was intentional […]
Terrible boss
After a few months working in the IR department, I realized how troubled Mr. Iwata’s personality was. He was arrogant and boastful about his achievements, but that wasn’t uncommon among […]
Turn of the table
My sister broke up with Nobu shortly after I returned from the US. One day I entered the living room where they were talking, and she asked me to excuse […]