Jiro walked in the garden while the maid was cleaning the room.
Leaning against the trunk of a tall tree, he addressed Utako. She sat with
the mirror in front of her, doing her makeup.
“How would you like to go to Ashi-no-ko?” “Ashi-no-ko? . . .”
“Fuji and its first snow might be reflected in the lake. The weather is
certainly nice enough.”
“And it’s the equinox.”
“From what I’ve heard, you take a cable car up from here and go by bus
to the bottom of the lake. You take a tour boat from there.”
“Really?” Utako poked her face out from behind the mirror. “Are you
going? I don’t want to move. I just want to stay here and rest.”
“Well then, let’s not go.”
Jiro stepped up into the room.
“You certainly had a long bath, didn’t you?” “There aren’t very many
spas that you can see mountains from—I just sat there gazing out at the
mountains. I was wondering what it would have been like if I had come
here with you in the old days. I tried pretending that I had come with you
then.”
“I see,” Jiro said, nodding “Though in those days a man couldn’t really
go to a spa with a woman, could he?”“And now it’s just being cared for—
being comforted.”
Jiro was unable to respond.
“But that’s okay. Different things are necessary for people at different
times—I was thinking that earlier. And what's necessary for me right now
is care and comforting”
They ate breakfast quietly, taking their time.
