"Somebody said something about another party?"
"New Year's Eve. My big honcho and his wife invited us to go with them as a couple. The four of us. I told them that we would. I hope that's okay. If you don't want to, I can tell them we can't do it."
When he got no response he felt her breathing had changed and realized that she was asleep.
"Come on my Sukoshi One. I can't carry you up three flights of stairs."
"Why? You picked me up and carried me to bed last night."
Brad could see that she was reviving and was almost her smart-mouth self again. "You took all of my energy and strength last night. I'm weak and tired now."
She slowly started up the stairs ahead of him while he paid the taxi. Turning to follow her, Brad stopped and watched her go up one step at a time in her tight kimono. This is one very lovely lady. And a great figure as well. Cute butt even if it's half hidden by the obi.
He felt his heart skip and his stomach give a tumble as he watched her.
I really do love her. I can't imagine any other reason for feeling this way.
Tomi reached the apartment door before he did. She stopped and waited for him. "If you will open the door I'll feed you so you can get your strength back. It will only be necessary to carry me a very small ways. And I will not be very heavy without any clothes on."
Brad opened the door and instead of moving and letting Tomi go into the house, He turned and scooped her up in his arms and carried her in. Walked across the room and carefully lowered her onto the futon.
They kissed passionately for quite a while and were worrying each others clothes. "I think it would be better if I got up and took off my kimono. And I think that we should close and lock the door."
"Brad looked toward the door as he rose up and pulled Tomi up until she was sitting on the futon. "How come you didn't close the door? I carried you in, you could have helped by closing the door."
"Iie. I was in your arms how could I close the door? Then I was so busy kissing and holding my Darling that I didn't have time to close it."
Tomi stood, walked to the door, closed and locked it as she worked on taking off her obi. "Would you like to make us kohi, Brad. You make such good coffee. Mama-san said that you could work in the coffee house just making kohi."
"Where do you come up with these wild stories to butter me up?
"Butter you? What you mean? You want me to put butter on you? Where? Down there?"
"Iie, not if you're going to make love to me." She lost it and started laughing.
"I know that you don't always know what I'm saying means. And I do know when you are giving me a hard time and being a smart-ass. Mama-san never said any such thing. She thinks that I'm useless for anything to do with kohi or food."
"Here. dozo. Help me please." Tomi was holding her arms out for Brad to help here take off her kimono and silk underclothes.
"Don't touch!" Tomi exclaimed laughing and slapped at his hand. "I never wear a bra under a kimono. I don't need to wear one under many clothes."
Brad finished making their coffee and watched Tomi as she finished undressing, then still naked, carefully rolled up her kimono and obi before placing them in the cabinet.
I'm cold, but it is too late to light the heater, neh?"
"Yes, it is. Here, put on your robe. Kohi is ready, come sit down.
"I like your friends, Brad. They are very nice and their oku-sans were nice to me too. Would they be so nice if they thought that I was a bar girl?"
"Most of the men would probably hit on you. I really don't know how the women would react."
"Hit on me? I don't know that."
"They would flirt with you. Ask where you worked so they could go to your bar and have an all-nighter with you."
"Even though I am your girl friend?"
"Hai."
"That is not right. If anyone hits on me, I'll tell you."
"Do you want to go to the New Year's Party, Tomi? Mrs. Winters seemed very nice and she liked you."
"I don't understand where it is going to be."
"At the VFW. It is an American GI club. Very nice place in Machinato."
"Would you go if I didn't?"
"Never. It is a party for lovers and other couples like the Winters who have been married for a long time."
"I think it will be fun and interesting to go there. Shall I wear a kimono, or dress western."
Either would be fine. But maybe you would be more comfortable in western clothes. Most people there will be GIs with their wives and girl friends."
"Alright, I don't have anything to wear though if I wear a western dress."
"You can go shopping for one."
"Will you go with me?"
"Of course.
I'm tired and falling to sleep, and so are you, Tomi. Let's go to bed.
Tomi came out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth, slipped out of her robe and naked slid under the futon next to Brad. "I'm not going to wear anything to sleep anymore. I want to feel you all over." She said and wrapped herself around him.
Brad had ignored Tomi when she had gotten out from under their futon. He had no idea what time it was, but did know that the sun was up. It had been so many mornings since he was able to sleep-in that he wanted to take full advantage of their apartment's quiet.
The smell of fresh brewed coffee got stronger, then disappeared. Again the delicious smell got closer and stronger. This time he felt a light weight presence pressing against the futon. Feigning sleep he could hear her quiet breathing and the sipping sounds then again the scent of fresh coffee invaded his nostrils.
"Mmmm, this kohi is so very good. Too bad it is getting cold."
A hint of her warm breath caressed his cheek and the lips that touched his tasted of coffee. "I'll share my kohi with you if you will wake up."
He opened one eye cautiously. She was eyeball to eyeball with him. Laying on the tatami mat floor on her belly, her chin cradled in a small slim fingered hand. Her other hand was gently touching his neck and moving up onto his cheek. Opening the other eye he saw that she had set her coffee cup next to her elbow which was cradling her chin. It was within easy reach for him.
She read my mind. There goes the coffee.
"Get awake my lazy love. You will never get any of my delicious kohi by pretending to be tired and sleepy."
Tomi slid closer to him so she could kiss him passionately on the lips. "Mmmm you are alive aren't you? Even without any coffee." She got onto her knees which were now pushing against Brad's arm.
“Eeee.”
With a quick flip of the futon, Brad had Tomi next to him under the futon.
They held each other tightly, kissing each other softly still with the tentativeness of new lovers not quite sure what the other wanted or needed.
“You have nothing on under your robe.”
“Hai. You are making me a bad woman. I sleep with no clothes on and don’t get dressed properly when I have a man in my house.
Oh, yes. I like what you are doing to my breasts.
Do you want hot kohi? If you do, you had better stop doing what you are doing.”
“Kohi, dozo. I need kohi.”
“More than you want me?”
“That is not the same and I shouldn’t have to choose.”
"Are you going to get up. It’s Christmas morning and you said that I could have the present that you bought for me.”
“Isn’t this enough?”
“Iie. This is not the same. We share this present, it is not one way.”
“Oh really.”
“Get out of bed.” Tomi threw off the futon and started trying to roll Brad onto the tatami mats.
“I’m up. I’m up.” Brad protested as he put on his robe and took the cup of hot coffee a brightly smiling Tomi offered him.
“How can you be so cheerful so early in the morning?”
“I don’t think it i
s so early, Brad. We slept a very long time.”
He turned to look at the alarm clock that Tomi had placed on
the kitchen counter. “No. You changed the time, neh?”
“Are you hungry, my Love? Think about when we ate last night.”
“I’m starving. But that is because you don’t feed me.”
“You're like a farmer’s pig that he must feed?” Tomi was laughing at him and he knew that he had slept the morning away.
“Now I’m a pig? You are picking on me again. So, I slept until 1100. It isn’t lunch time yet. So we can still have breakfast, honto?”
What time is Yumiko coming to dinner?” Tomi asked.
“I told her anytime after three. Is that alright?”
“Hai. Do we have to go to her, or she coming here?”
“She’s coming here. I gave her our address and described the house to her. Why the questions?”
“I didn’t want to get dressed yet. We have lots of time though, so we can stay in our yukatas until later. Now -----where is my present?”
“You are so impatient. A baby-san. What are you? Twelve years old?”
“Hai. You have taken many years from me. I feel like I missed so much until I met you. Now I will be only a child and have the fun I never had before. That is okay isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s very okay. I want for you and I to enjoy your growing up together. I shall start by fixing my woman-child a good American breakfast. A Christmas breakfast.”
“But,—Brad?”
“What, Tomako?”
“You know, what.”
Oh. You mean this.” Brad opened the third drawer down on the chest of drawers and pulled out two Christmas paper wrapped parcels.
“Eeee! Two presents?” She jumped up from the table and ran to him. “You bought me two things?” Kissing him hard on the lips, Tomi took the offered presents and sat back down setting them gently on the table next to their coffee cups.
Brad reached for the coffee pot on the kitchen stove and poured them each another cup.
“Are you going to open them?”
They are so pretty. I don’t want to change them. Nobody has ever given me such beautiful things. It will make me sad to rip the paper.”
Brad took a knife from the kitchen and carefully slit the tape holding the paper together first on one present, then on the other. “Now you can have the paper and your presents.”
“Tomi, you don’t even know what are in those presents. Maybe they're just rocks and sand from White Beach.”
“You would not do that to me.” She said still excited and started to carefully remove the paper from the smaller of the packages. “The small one is first, always because the big one will hold more surprises.”
“Where did that come from?”
“I just made it up.”
She lifted the top of the unwrapped box and lifted out the top plastic envelope.
“Ahh. ---Stockings? I have never owned such stockings.”
“Open the package and take it out.”
Tomi gently removed the sheer nylon and as it unfolded towards the floor she gasped again. “They are pantyhose? I have never had any. How many are here, Brad?” She asked and took the remaining plastic envelopes from the box.
Six pair. All different colors. Look in the big box, Tomi.”
Gentle she placed the larger box in her lap and slip off its cover. Taking the dress out, still wrapped in tissue paper, her face showed her excitement. Eyes sparkling and a hug smile on her lips.
Brad stood next to her and reached for her hand and helped her to her feet.
“Here, let me hold it out for you.” He unfolded the dress and held it up in front of her so she could take it and hold it against her body.
“It is so beautiful, Brad. And it is silk, neh?”
“Yes, it’s silk. Your first western style formal dress, just for a very pretty woman to wear to a very special New Year’s party.”
“It is my favorite color and I love the flowers. Here, hold it so I can put it on.”
Tomi dropped her robe to the floor and naked slipped the dress over her head.
“I think it would be best if you at least wore panties under it.”
“That is okay my Love. Do you think I will have to wear a bra under it?”
She turned so Brad could close the tiny buttons up her back then turned back to face him.
“No bra. Definitely, no bra.” Brad stated. “My God, it fits you so well and makes your body stand out and really show off your figure.”
Tomi stepped into his arms hugging him tightly to herself. “You're so good to me. I love these presents, Brad. I want to wear it to the party. I want to look nice for you.”
“You are looking great right now. And I am going to fix us something to eat before you fade away and the dress falls off your body.”
“No, wait, Brad. I have something for you. Not as good as my presents, but I think very nice. I didn’t go to Black Market Alley for this present.”
Tomi opened the small purse that she usually carried to work with her keys, ID and money in it. She took a small velvet jewelers case from it she handed to Brad. Her hands shook almost unnoticeably, but enough so Brad saw it. When she handed him the case, he took her hand and felt the nervous moisture on her palm.
He kissed her on her forehead, then feeling a protective urge, wrapped his arms around her drawing her tightly against him. “I love you, Tomi. You didn’t have to spend a bunch of money on me.”
Drawing her head back away from him she looked up into his eyes. There were tears in her eyes which she did not try to hide. Her mischievous smile appeared and with her free hand wiped her eyes. “Just open it. It is probably a very small rock from White Beach.”
Laughing with her, Brad took the velvet case and carefully opened it. The gold chain was the first thing that he saw. Lifting the heavy gold chain, he brought out an almost exact gold copy of one of his dog tags. His name, blood type and rating were engraved on it. Turning the tag over he studied the kanji characters engraved on the reverse side.
“It is the same things in Japanese, but also has my name saying that I gave it to you with my love.” Tomi looked up nervously.
Taking her hand again, Brad could feel the nervous sweat on her hand.
“I am afraid that I went too far. I wanted to give you something different and that you would always want to have on you.”
Brad slipped the chain over his head and let the tag hang from his neck before taking her in his arms and holding her. He wasn’t so sure that he could talk. He also had never received such a personal and beautiful present. His breaths were still raspy, but he wanted to express his appreciation and love to her so she would no longer think that she had screwed up in trying to show the same thing to him.
“It is beautiful, Tomi. I love it. You didn’t go too far, but you did catch my by surprise. To me this means that you have given yourself to me fully and with no holding back.”
“That is true. No matter what, I will always carry you in my heart for what you have done for me and when the day comes that you must leave and I must stay behind, I’ll know that you have my gift to you and I’ll always be close to your heart. I know that we cannot make promises to each other now. But maybe some day we will be able to. I ask no more than that.”
“Tomako, you put me to shame. I only gave you a dress. You gave me gold.”
“We both gave from our hearts, Brad. That is what matters. I have my very first western evening dress. I have my first date to a very fancy party with the first man that I have really given myself to and love very much. We are equal.
Now, fix my Christmas breakfast before I get so hungry that my new dress falls off.”
“That wouldn’t be all that bad. Would it?”
THIRTY-FIVE
“Brad, I want to go back to school. I want to learn more English and learn to u
se a typewriter so I can write to you in English.”
It was the first week of May, 1966 and they had been living together since mid-summer of 1964. It had been a good time for both of them. Tomako was now the full-time manager of the Kokusai Coffee House. When the coffee house mama-san realized that Tomi was not going to run off with her American GI boyfriend anytime soon, she decided that it was time to retire. Tomako was the obvious person to take her place and when she offered Tomi the position, she and Brad both knew it was good for her. The guarantee of a steady income that was based on how well the coffee house did, with other generous terms from Mama-san.
Brad had added another chevron to his arm and with it more responsibility which he thrived on. He was still as much his own boss as any enlisted man in the Seabees could be. For a day or two each month, he could help out his friend Johnny Stump with the Army’s ongoing People-to-People projects. He had made more connections with the various contractors on Okinawa and contractors with military contracts all over Southeast Asia. He debated with himself the possibility of going to work for one of them and staying in Asia. Then he could still live with Tomi or at least be close enough to Okinawa and spend every spare day that he could with her.
Brad had a major concern and a decision to make. The war in Vietnam was escalating rapidly and many of the Seabees that had been stationed on NAF Naha were ending up in Southeast Asia. His enlistment hitch was coming to an end. The decision that he had to make was whether to reenlist. A fast and guaranteed way to end up in Vietnam, or take his discharge on Okinawa and try to find a job to support himself and Tomi.
They had talked about marriage in very general terms which was all that Tomako would allow. She remained adamant that she did not want to leave Okinawa. It was her home and she loved the island and its people very much. “Everything I need in life is here except you. As long as you are with me I want nothing else. If you have to leave then I know I could lose you. If I leave Okinawa, I lose my home, my ancestors, my way of life and all of my friends. I love you very much, but to leave Okinawa is asking a lot of me.”
Brad seldom brought it up, but did think often about wanting to marry Tomako. Another time when he asked her what her thoughts were, she admitted that she also thought about marriage a lot. She admitted again, that the idea of leaving Okinawa or losing him was more than she wanted to think of. He was sure that at least part of her not wanting to leave Okinawa was the uncertainty of her ability to adapt and fear of the unknown.
An Okinawan Affair Page 21