Atonement for Iwo

by Lester S. Taube

  “Undress now,” she said.

  Then turning away from him, she quickly shed her own clothes, wrapped a sheet around herself, and slipped into a silk kimono, free of embroidery, of the same powder blue as Masters. He had already stripped and had wrapped the towel around his waist. Kimiko look dismayed when he put on the robe.

  “It is too small in the shoulders,” she almost wailed.

  “It’s all right,” he replied. “It would have fitted better when I first came to Japan, but with all this eating...”

  She gave him a pair of sandals and slipped a tiny pair on her own dainty feet. Then catching up two large towels, she led him down the hallway to a bathing chamber.

  It was a small room, completely tiled on the floor, walls and ceiling, with a showerhead and faucets at one side. Below the shower taps was a second set of hot and cold water faucets and a low, wooden stool. At the far corner was a sunken tub, about four feet square.

  Kimiko placed Masters’ robe on a hook by the door, then took off her kimono and hung it alongside his.

  “Sit, dear Keith,” she told him, moving the stool closer to the lower faucets. She picked up a small, bronze bowl and poured warm water over his body until he was completely wet, then soaped a hand cloth and started washing his head, neck, shoulders, chest, arms. At intervals, she laid down the cloth to massage him, kneading the muscles, then rinsed away the soap by emptying bowls of water over him.

  He sat there, mesmerized by the touch of her strong, yet gentle hands. She missed nothing, his ears, eyelids, fingers, nails. She washed him, massaged him, rinsed him then washed him a second time.

  She came around the stool and kneeled in front of him, bathing his legs and feet. Then she slid her hand under the dripping towel around his waist and began to soap his hips and stomach.

  He looked down at her. Her eyes were fixed on the floor and a calmness was written on her face. He tensed as her hand passed over his loins and he tried desperately to control his muscles. It was impossible. She continued washing him, attempting to appear unaware of the affect of her touch upon him. Tenderly, with great care, she cleansed him and in her hand was the touch of love.

  She rinsed him thoroughly, then finally raised her eyes. “Now you must go into the pool,” she said, leading him to the sunken bathtub. There she removed the towel from around his waist and placed it on a hook on the wall.

  Masters slid into the warm water and stretched out his legs. The water came halfway to his chest. He leaned back and turned his head to watch Kimiko.

  She returned to the faucets, and, with her back to him, loosened the sheet around her, draped it like a mantle over her shoulders, and washed herself. Then she came back to the pool, took off the sheet which had concealed her throughout, and hung it alongside Masters’ towel.

  He gazed, fascinated, at her body. Her slender appearance had been deceptive; she had a firm, full build, with rounded thighs and flat stomach, small breasts, half mooned and proudly high, and straight legs which tapered delicately into tiny, perfectly shaped feet.

  Like a maiden, she placed one hand over her breasts and the other over the soft hair of her womanhood and joined him in the tub. The water covered her shoulders.

  Then she took her hands from her body and held them out to him. He drew her in and kissed her fiercely, her legs rising to encircle his hips as she strained against him, her arms tight around his neck, her lips pressed to his with all her strength.

  His hand slipped down to her slender waist, and he pulled her in even closer, and gently, without further guidance, he began to enter her. She trembled in his arms and her lips melted under his. Her fingers bored into his shoulders, and she shifted ever so slightly, feeling for him, closing around him, bringing him deeper within her.

  Then she drew away, panting, her breasts swelling and her paps growing large and dark. “Come,” she whispered hoarsely. She leaned back against the other side of the tub, and turned him round, drawing his shoulders against her breasts, placing her legs around him. His head rested on the curve of her throat, and lightly, she caressed his chest and stomach, pressing her lips to his ear and cheek.

  He felt the raging desire recede and the tension leave his body. An overwhelming peace enveloped him as he lay relaxed in the water, and time stood still like in the garden when the moment of before was the moment of now, intermingled, fused, as if for the first time in his life there was no need to think.

  He opened his eyes. “You are a magnificently beautiful woman,” he said.

  She hugged him. “I am so glad, my dear Keith. I want to look beautiful for you.”

  He chuckled. “I never suspected you had so much hidden away in that little body of yours.” He could sense the smile in her face pressed to his cheek. His hand played idly with the water. “I remember when one of my fellow officers in Korea came back from rest and recuperation leave and told us what happened when he pulled the plug out of one of these tubs.”

  She laughed. “Did the owner of the hotel become angry?”

  “Angry? The fellow said he almost had a fit. He ran round the room holding his head in his hands and actually crying.”

  She was still laughing. “No wonder. The tub is just to relax in. The water is rarely changed as it has a closed circulating system. It must have taken an hour to refill.”

  “The fellow found that out. He had to pay three hundred yen for damages.”

  She kissed his cheek. “Come, my Keith.” They rose to their feet and got out. She placed a heavy bath towel around herself, then, taking up the second towel, she wiped him thoroughly and helped him don the silk robe. Then she dried herself, turning away from him to drop the towel and slip into her kimono.

  Their wooden sandals clacked as they walked back to their room. Two mats and headrests were laid out on the floor, side by side. Spotless white sheets and light quilts were folded neatly at the feet.

  Kimiko took the robe from Masters, and when he lay down, she covered him with a sheet and quilt, then opened the door to the balcony so that the cool night air and the pale rays of the moon could enter. She turned off the small light. He peered at her dim form as she took off her kimono and hung it next to his robe, then came to her mat and lay down.

  He lifted his covers and reached out to draw her onto his mat. She came swiftly into his arms and they lay locked together, feeling the heat in their bodies grow. She stretched upward and pressed her lips to his, and he felt her begin to quiver. She kissed him hungrily and drew away so she could breathe, then searched again for his lips. His hand slid down her back and over her hips, and her trembling increased. He turned her onto her back and kissed her breasts and they swelled even more. A small, low sound escaped her lips. Her hand reached for his shaft with a tentative, exploring touch, and when his fingers passed over the smoothness of her thigh and down to the softness and wetness which waited below, she let out a gentle cry and pulled him on top of her.

  They met with an impact that brought deep sighs at the same moment, and they clung together, motionless, for the space of a long breath, heads spinning with the absolute knowledge that each would fulfill the other.

  She stirred under him, groping. He pressed in deeper, searching. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, drawing him even tighter, feeling his strength and desire driving within her. Drowned in their urgent need of each other, Masters and Kimiko coupled in breathtaking ecstasy.

  Their moment of simultaneous flooding was a predestined climax, for their oneness had been recognized from the start. They came surely and effortlessly, as if each had known there was no need to seek a sign from the other. They came slowly, and it built up in intensity, not bursting the flood gates, but flowing over smoothly, both conscious of the acute pleasure of giving and taking.

  They lay still, Masters with his lips against her cheek, breathing evenly, realizing to his surprise that, although his loins were empty and the heat had fled his body, he felt strong and fresh and rested.

  Kimiko was also breathing ev
enly, and her mind dwelt on the same incredible sensation. She felt even more she felt deep within her the hot flow of the man, and she tightened all her muscles, praying that it might permeate her very system as he had begun to fill her heart.

  Hours later, in the stillness of the night, she awoke. She opened her eyes and found him sitting cross legged on his mat looking at her. Immediately her mind flashed back to the night in her parents’ hut and her waiting by his side. “What is it?” she whispered.

  “I was just counting the ways I love you,” he said.

  She reached up and drew him down to her. They lay together, not speaking, then she caressed his flat muscled stomach and firm hips, feeling his desire awaken and grow.

  She gently turned him onto his back and covered him with her body, making love to him, tenderly, glorying in their mutual need of each other, and bringing forth the overwhelming flooding as if their union was being continued rather than renewed.

  They slept, Kimiko covering him with her light, soft body, still joined together, so that in the morning he need not search for her, but just lift his head to kiss her lips.

  CHAPTER 8

  Just before entering the outskirts of Tokyo the following evening, Kimiko turned down the car radio and glanced at Masters. “We will stop by your hotel and pick up your clothing.”

  “I don’t mind staying there. It will be a bit of a shock for Hiroko to have me move in lock, stock and barrel.”

  “What is this lock, stock and barrel?”

  “Moving into your house completely.”

  “Hiroko will understand.”

  “After us knowing each other a bit over a week? I doubt it. She may understand our feelings for each other, and perhaps our making love, but moving into your house suggests a rather permanent interpretation of the situation.”

  “Oh, Keith,” she said, lamely. “I never thought you might not feel as I do. Please forgive me.”

  “Pull over,” he said. When the car had stopped, he took her in his arms. “Listen, Kimiko, back there near the temple I gave you my tie pin.” His eyes twinkled. “I’d be lost without it. I have to protect my interest.” He kissed her warmly. “I don’t know whether that oath we took is legal or not, but I meant it more than if we had signed a dozen certificates and had as many ministers drone it over our heads. I want to live with you, permanently, but I am just wondering if maybe we should do this less suddenly.”

  “Oh, Keith,” she said, smiling broadly. She kissed him heartily. “I am such a stupid woman.”

  “Easy there. You are talking about the girl I married.”

  She started the car again and continued on their way. “You will move in, my dear. Hiroko must understand or she will have to accept it without understanding.”

  “How about the rest of your world? Your friends, neighbors?”

  She answered in her direct manner. “You are now my world, Keith.”

  “That Admiral Kowasachi didn’t eye me like I was part of anyone’s world. Who is he anyway?”

  “He is a gentleman I met three years ago. He wanted to purchase some stock I owned in a trucking company. Since then, he has been cultivating a friendship.”

  “Maybe he is interested in more than just a friendship.”

  “Admiral Kowasachi?” She shook her head. “I am not from his....” she searched for a word....“type of acquaintances.”

  “I am not speaking of marriage.”

  She said nothing, just concentrated on the road.

  “How about it?” he persisted.

  “He has suggested a form of relationship.” She was clearly uncomfortable.

  “What happened?”

  “Nothing. I did not expect him to go that far.”

  “He’s a rather imposing person. I would think you would be complimented.”

  She turned to him. “Keith, the day before I met you, I did not want to become involved in anything but my children and businesses. Something happened to me when you came to my house. Perhaps it is because you are the continuation of Ito. I felt him flowing back into my very being, regardless how you were part of his death. Then I realized even more that you are a very wonderful person. You touched my heart. I do not believe anyone else could have done that.”

  She had revealed herself more than was her nature, and it embarrassed her. A thought suddenly struck her. “Keith, I never thought of asking. Do you want to live in Japan?”

  He paused to consider it. “I don’t know, Kimiko. I haven’t really thought of it before. I do know that I want to live with you, and I guess one place is as good as the next. I didn’t come here expecting to stay, but I do like it.” He shook his head. “I’d better start learning Japanese if I’m going to stay around.”

  “You do not mind our way of life?”

  “If you’re speaking of last night, I sure don’t,” he said, grinning. “I like the food, the atmosphere, the hustle bustle without becoming nervous. I guess I like everything I’ve seen so far. But I just can’t sit around all day. I’ll have to find something to do.”

  “Are you permitted to work?”

  “The doctor said I could, if it wasn’t physically too taxing or exciting. Frankly, I haven’t the least idea of what I could do here.”

  “Does just resting bore you?”

  “Not so far, but sooner or later I’ll have to do something or turn into a vegetable.”

  “Then why do you not take a course in Japanese while you are resting? Later on, you can decide what you would like to do.”

  He kissed the side of her throat and slipped his hand under her jacket, fondling a breast. “Still babying me?”

  “I enjoy that,” she said smiling. “Especially after last night and today.”

  He took his hand away reluctantly when they entered the heavy city traffic. At the hotel, she came up to his room and helped him pack. He paid the bill, and they started off for her house. When they arrived, she got out, and he slipped behind the wheel to park the car in the garage. Kimiko and the old woman came out to bring in the suitcase and shaving kit. “Scoot,” growled Masters, carrying them into the house. “Where do they go?”

  Kimiko led him to a room at the rear, which he could see was hers. It was large, brightly papered with scenes of the countryside. Her bedding was rolled against one wall with a handsome chest of drawers and a matching vanity along the others. Low tables, holding vases of flowers, were placed round the room, and a small altar stood in a corner. Sliding doors opened into the garden.

  He put down the cases. “I’ll unpack,” said Kimiko. “Please go to the garden and lie down.”

  “I should have carried you over the threshold,” he quipped.

  She came to him and placed her arms around his neck. He smiled at how small she actually was, for she came just above his chin, and he was not a tall man. She kissed him. “Go, rest now, the trip was tiring.”

  He stretched out on the chaise lounge, and before long he sensed the approach of Hiroko. He opened his eyes. She drew up a stool and sat down. “Congratulations,” she said dryly.

  “Thanks. You can call me Papa if you want.”

  She suddenly grinned. “I can’t do that. I would be committing incest later on.”

  He had to laugh. “Didn’t you get the moral about the little boy who couldn’t pee with his friends?”

  “Sure. But he had to pee some time. I’ll wait. You’re on your honeymoon now, but sooner or later you’ll begin thinking how it would be with me. You’ll want to see what I’m like in bed.”

  “When I do, I’ll run home to mother and get it out of my system.”

  “Go right ahead. But one of these nights, while you’re making love to her, you’ll wish I was there instead. I can wait. Haven’t you heard of the Oriental patience?”

  “Haven’t you heard of the American crack in the face?”

  She raised her breasts so they would be more obvious. “I liked it when you struck me in the street. It made me want you all the more.”

  “I
t’s called masochism.”

  “I call it a good, healthy, sexual lust.”

  In spite of himself, he had to laugh. “You shouldn’t talk like that to your weary father. Also, you’re not supposed to know about those things. How in the hell will I be able to marry you off if all the boys know how lustful you are?”

  “They’d stand in line. So will you.”

  “I’m a happily married man. Go peddle your business elsewhere.”

  “Nope, I’m saving it for you. But I promise not to seduce you. However, I’m adding a codicil. If mother doesn’t remain the happiest woman I ever saw, then I promise to make you pay for it after we’re living together.”

  “How come you’re so concerned with her well being? It hasn’t bothered you up to now?”

  “I love her, Keith. Don’t get the wrong idea about that. I just don’t think you’re right for her. But I do know that you and I are perfectly matched. If I didn’t believe that, I’d back you two up, no matter how much I wanted you.”

  “You’re so damned full of contradictions that you give me a headache. How do you expect your mother and me to make a go of it with you hovering around ready to stick in the knife anytime you can?”

  “Come off it, Keith. The day you reach out for me is the day you admit that mother is not the woman for you. If I can take you away, then almost any other good looking girl could do the same. But if you get by me, then I know mother is safe. Furthermore, I want you badly. That’s killing two birds with one stone. If she has to find out, it would be better that she does so before she’s an old woman.”

  He sighed and shook his head. “Man, you give my headache a headache. Why don’t you be a good daughter and help your mother in the kitchen?”

  “Are you tired? Want me to rub your back?”

  “Like hell I do. The next goddamn thing you’ll have my pants off.”

  “See!” she chuckled. “You’re thinking about it already.”