Weasels in the Attic by Hiroko Oyamada

Author:Hiroko Oyamada
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780811231190
Publisher: New Directions
Published: 2022-10-04T00:00:01+00:00

YUKIKO

Yoko had a baby. It came early, and she and the baby had to stay in the hospital for a while. My wife was there during the delivery. She was visiting Yoko, who wasn’t due for some time, when things took a sudden turn. My wife drove her to the hospital. On the way, she comforted Yoko at every red light, holding her hand and speaking to her softly.

Saiki was out of town that day. He’d gone away for work. It was especially unfortunate because he’d set it up so he could be there with Yoko before she was due and during the birth. Apparently he was somewhere with no cell signal, and because he’d left without choosing a place to stay beforehand, there was no way to get in touch with him. Saiki hurried home when he heard the news, but by then it had already been a couple of days. My wife stayed at the hospital until Yoko’s mother came, and had even taken a few days off work. “It’s fine. Everyone’s always taking time off to have kids or spend time with their children. I can take a couple of days, no problem,” she said, full of excitement. But when Yoko’s mother came from Yamagata and my wife’s presence was no longer needed, she looked dejected. Despite the time that my wife had spent at the hospital, she still hadn’t gotten a good look at the baby’s face. Neither had I when I visited. The whole time I was there, she was in an incubator behind a pane of frosted glass.

* * *

Sometime after Yoko had left the hospital, we finally went to see their daughter. When we got in the car, we figured we’d arrive a little after noon and stay until evening. But as we made our way up the mountain, a light snow started to fall. It was the end of February, so it seemed likely that this would be the last snow of the winter.

When we pulled up to Saiki’s place and got out of the car, I looked back at the tracks that the tires had left in the white snow collecting on the ground. Saiki came flying out of the house.

“I’ve been calling your cell, but you weren’t picking up . . .”

“Yeah, I was driving, I didn’t notice.”

“I was just wondering if it might be best to head back, with the snow and all . . .”

The flakes of snow were as large as flower petals, but falling without a sound. It didn’t seem bad enough to make us turn around and leave. We’d already come all the way out.

“I’m sure it’ll stop in no time. Hey, you planted some new trees.”

“Where’s the baby?” my wife asked.

“She just went to sleep,” Saiki said apologetically. “She was up and crying until a second ago.”

“Hey, let’s go inside. It’s freezing.”

“Oh . . .”

When we stepped into the house, it was warm. The dining room was well insulated, with double-paned windows. A stifling heat was coming from the stove, but the cold still found its way in.

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