前のエピソード――第7話 August, 1984 -- Chapter 7 --

　　　I was somehow finished with a half plate of the pansit Canton.

　　　Fortunately to me, Melba had not asked me any more questions during the meal.

And that had given me back some composure. I had come to think, ‘She must be in love with Takano-san. So she is jealous of me.' And the thought would answer my question why she was so curious about me.

　　　Now, I was feeling even that I was fully ready to return much wiser, mature answers to her next questions, if asked.

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　　　It was way after four o’clock in the morning that I laid myself down on one side of a bed. Lying on another side was Melba. We were sharing a bed -originally made for a single person- just as most of the girls there were doing.

　　　What Melba brought up first after we lay in bed was, as I had anticipated, Takano-san. As if being afraid to be eavesdropped by the girls lying nearby, she whispered into my ear. “Mr. Takano is a really, really good man, 'Ate'."

　　　I replied to her in a very low voice. “Well, I think he looked that way." And such awkward, euphemistic words were all I could utter.

　　　“How do you think about him, 'Ate'?"

　　　“How do I think?" I was lost again for an answer. “He was merely a customer of mine for a few hours, by chance, last night."

　　　“What did you two talk about?"

　　　“About the Philippines' economy and crimes, and movies... There may have been something else..."

　　　　After keeping herself quiet for several seconds, Melba said to me decidedly. “Mr. Takano has always been my very good customer ever since I started working here last month."

　　　“Oh, yes?" I responded to her. And now, it looked crystal clear to me that she was going to tell me not to get too intimate with Takano-san. If her voice had not been that peaceful, I might have been caught in some kind of dread.

　　　　　　　　　　-----

　　　Staring at a dark corner of the ceiling where headlights of cars somewhere on streets ran through sometimes, I was waiting for Melba’s next words.

　　　“So I can tell you this, 'Ate' Trina," finally said Melba, “Mr. Takano will fall in love with you. ..He may already have." Her voice contained no doubt at all in what she was saying.

　　　The wry smile Takano-san had shown me at the saloon flashed into my mind.

　　　Having taken a deep breath, Melba went on, “He is really a good person. You’ll be a very lucky woman pretty soon. ..No question about that."

　　　I remember Melba told me good night before falling asleep. But I am not so sure if or not I anyhow responded to her anything.