Today's Reading
After a while, she noticed that something was not quite right. She wasn't getting her period. Initially, she wasn't too worried; it was irregular at the best of times. Only when she was late by over a month did she really get concerned. She went to the hospital. "Congratulations," the doctor said. "You're already into the third month."
She simply couldn't accept it. She couldn't believe what was happening. She shared her confusion with Hiroshi, who just burst out laughing.
"You're pregnant? Thought you might be. No big surprise when we've been screwing like rabbits week in, week out! Besides, people say that the pullout method doesn't really work."
"What should we do?"
"Simple enough. You're going to quit your job and I'm going to have to do enough work for two. No, make that enough work for three, for when the baby comes along. It won't be easy, but what other choice have we got?"
"What are you saying? What am I supposed to do after quitting my job?"
"Move in here. Let's live together. It's not the biggest place, but we'll just have to make do for the time being. As soon as I start earning more, we can move somewhere bigger."
As soon as Hiroshi said that, the gloom that had been enveloping her like a fog instantly lifted. He was pleased at the news.
He even went a step further and took the opportunity to ask her to marry him.
She wrapped her arms around his neck.
They still had one problem to deal with. She had not told her parents about Hiroshi. She knew for a fact that they would be furious to discover that she was pregnant out of wedlock. On top of that, as country people, they had a powerful and instinctive prejudice against the nightlife world in which Hiroshi worked. They were hoping that their daughter would find herself a respectable husband.
They talked it over and decided that the best thing to do was to pay a formal visit to her parents after the baby had been born.
Surely when her parents saw the baby's little face, they would forgive her on the spot!
She handed in her notice the following month. She moved out of the factory dormitory and into Hiroshi's little apartment, bringing as few things with her as she possibly could.
Alongside his job at the bar, Hiroshi got himself a part-time gig delivering newspapers. He would work until the early hours of the morning, then head straight for the newspaper delivery office. He got home at around 7:00 a.m. and slept through to the afternoon.
He was able to keep up this routine because he was physically robust and capable of holding his liquor. Hiroshi always said, "It's for our family. I'll do whatever it takes."
She made a doll for the baby she was expecting. Not knowing if it was going to be a boy or a girl, she kitted the doll out with a blue-and-pink-striped sweater and gave it longish hair. With all the Japanese pop groups copying the Beatles, plenty of men had started growing out their hair too.
Even if they were not well-off, they were happy. They weren't expecting anything bad to happen to them.
Then, on a Friday morning the month before she was due to have the baby, the janitor knocked on the door of their apartment.
"Phone call for you," he said.
Hiroshi had collapsed while he was out delivering papers.
She rushed to the hospital. She almost fainted at the sight of Hiroshi laid out in the ward. Someone had placed a white cloth over his face.
It was a cerebral hemorrhage. The doctor wasn't sure what had caused it. He said that overwork could have had something to do with it.
She cried for three days and three nights. After her tears finally dried up, she sank into deep despondency. She didn't want to do anything and she just stayed in bed all day.
That was when she unexpectedly went into labor, almost a full month ahead of her due date! She dragged herself on all fours to the janitor's room, where the startled man called an ambulance.
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