Interlude: A Visit to Nagafuji’s Meats, Part 1

Interlude:
A Visit to Nagafuji’s Meats
Part 1

RIGHT AS I ARRIVED out front, I bumped into Nagafuji as she was walking out. It was her own house, and yet she was carrying a sack over her shoulder like some kind of burglar.

“Oh, I found Hino. And earlier than planned. Yaaay.” She raised both hands in stoic celebration. Then I realized what the sack was for.

“Argh! You were trying to spend the night at my house again, weren’t you?!”

“Bingo.”

“Not happening! Now run along back inside!” I put a hand to her tummy and pushed her backward into the store with me.

Her father was standing at the counter; as we made eye contact, I inclined my head politely. Ever since I was little, I always called him the Meat Man. Supposedly he and his daughter had the exact same ear shape—the little vertical indent in her earlobe. I first noticed it one time when she asked me to help clean her ears out, and she told me the story from there.

“Oh, settle down. Another sleepover can’t hurt.” She pushed back against my shoulders, and because she had the size advantage, I started sliding backward.

“Yes, it can!”

“I miss the sound of the AC.”

“Well, not today. There’s too many visitors swarming the place.” That was why I came to hide out here at her house instead.

I abandoned hope of winning the pushing competition and instead dodged past her to the Nagafujis’ family living space. Then I threw off my hat and flopped down on the floor in protest. Still, I couldn’t be sure this would work. It was entirely possible she would say, “Okay, I’ll go by myself!” and call my bluff. Even after all these years, she was still so unpredictable at times… Why did she put all her stuff in a gunny sack, anyway? Was she trying to be as old-fashioned as us?

She fidgeted impatiently by my head, like a stray cat that refused to leave. I tried to shoo her with my hand, and she meowed back at me. The lack of resemblance was uncanny; to be honest, she sounded more like a bullfrog than anything. After meowing to her heart’s content, she sat down on the spot.

“Fine. Just for you, I’ll try to give up for today.”

“Why do you make it sound so condescending?”

With my toes, I switched on the three-blade oscillating fan, as I had done a thousand times before. How many summers had I spent in the service of this blue blur?

“Now I get it,” Nagafuji nodded to herself as she lowered her sack to the floor.

“Get what?” I asked, rolling over to the spot directly in front of the fan.

“It explains why you always try to come over during summer vacation.”

“I mean, yeah…”

After all these years, she only just now figured it out? …Nah, she probably made the same realization every year, only to forget it a day later. She wasn’t stupid; she just had the memory of a goldfish.

“The closer we get to the Bon Festival, the more it starts piling up. You know, work stuff, or…family stuff, I guess?”

My brothers would all come home for the holiday, and it was suffocating. If it were just them, I could tolerate it, but no—they had to bring all their wives and children, and I hated having to entertain every single one of them. Maybe if I had Shimamura’s sisterly powers, I could handle it. Alas, I was the baby of the family.

Thus, I left it all in Goushirou’s capable hands and hightailed it out of there. Of my four older brothers, he was the only one still single, but my family would probably arrange something for him soon. That was the kind of family I was born into. Not that I cared.

I glanced over my shoulder and noticed that the kotatsu blanket had already been packed away. No surprise there, of course. You did good hanging in there until June, buddy—see you next winter.

I ran a hand over my hair and realized just how hot it was on the walk here. What was winter like, anyway? I knew from experience that it was sure to roll around, and yet somehow it felt like the heat would never end. Looking up at Nagafuji, it occurred to me that maybe life was just a series of “Whoa, when did that happen?” moments until eventually we grew up.

Meanwhile, she continued to pace in my vicinity. Then I realized her chest was so large, it had its own shadow. What the hell?

“What’s wrong? Looking for something and can’t remember what it is?”

If so, it was a pretty common occurrence for her. However—

“Move, move!”

“Gwaaagh!”

She came sliding in like a battering ram, facedown, knocking me out of the way and stealing my spot in front of the fan. “Make way for Princess Nagafuji!”

“What kind of princess gives herself rug burn on her face?”

She remained there, flailing her limbs like a fish flopping on land. Not that fish have limbs, I guess.

“Hurry up and get where you’re going, Princess!”

“Let’s play a game! I’m bored!”

“Yes, I noticed.”

“And now my boobs hurt!”

“Oh, go to hell.” I swear, I’m gonna jab my fingers up your nose. “It’s too hot to do anything, anyway.”

This was not the season I wanted to spend roughhousing with Nagafuji. In the past, however, we would spend every day clinging all over each other, rain or shine… The memory made the tip of my nose burn. Shaking it away, I averted my gaze—and just then, I noticed a flyer sitting on the table. I picked it up.

“Oh, right, this thing.” It was an advertisement for the upcoming fireworks festival. All the local restaurants were going to have stalls there, so it made sense that they’d want to invite Nagafuji’s Meats.

Too bad they never sent flyers to my house. We always had a lot of family events, but absolutely no neighborhood events; if I asked my parents to take me to see the fireworks, they’d fly me halfway across the country to some famous festival that drew massive crowds. No, really, this actually happened once. Great fireworks and all, but it wasn’t quite what I wanted.

Oh, well. At least we got red bean snow cones afterward, so it wasn’t all bad.

“Tonight, huh? Hmmm…”

In the past, we would go to festivals together every summer. But after years of seeing the same thing again and again, it got boring. Besides, we could see the fireworks just fine from Nagafuji’s bedroom window.

“Wanna go to the festival?”

I figured I’d ask, just in case. Nagafuji rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “Maybe if the weather cools down outside.”

“Good call.” I put the flyer back on the table. Worst-case scenario, we could hang out in her room.

“Oh, that reminds me!” Suddenly, she bolted to her feet. Dizzy, she staggered for a moment, then looked back at me.

“What is it this time?”

“If I can’t sleep over at your house, then I need to figure out lunch plans! Moooom!” And with that, she ran off to the kitchen.

“Have her make me some, too!” I called after her.

In her absence, I could finally feel the fan again. The flyer fluttered restlessly in the wind; I grabbed it and gave it one more look.

“…Eh, I think I like it better in her bedroom, anyway.”

No jostling crowds, no mosquitoes, and best of all, no need to worry about Nagafuji slipping out of sight.