In the distance, I heard fireworks going off. A black dragonfly glided over the surface of the river. A boy swung his net at it, but the dragonfly darted away, then landed gently on the water. While we walked, I asked my brother-in-law a question: “What made you want to leave the house?” He put on a sad face for only a second, then broke into a broad smile. With his teeth showing, he really did look just like Grandpa. “We didn’t see eye to eye!” he said as he tried not to laugh. “What can I say? They’re not bad people. I know that. Mom, the rest of them, they’re all good folks. I’m an upstanding citizen myself — wouldn’t hurt a fly. Anyway, no one’s to blame. It’s just, families are strange things, aren’t they? You have this couple: one man, one woman. A male and a female, if you will. They mate, and why? To leave children behind. And what are the children supposed to do? Turn around and do the whole thing over again? Well, what do you do when what you’ve got isn’t worth carrying on? The things people do for family. My old man worked himself to the bone, my mom always took care of Granny — no blood relation of hers. And they never got along. Granny died when she was pretty young, but dying is no simple matter. A lot of things happened before the end. Mom’s still looking after Gramps, and he doesn’t really get along with anybody. I guess it never ends. She’s always putting someone else first. Seeing everything my parents did to keep the family going . . . It’s a little spooky. Well, it spooked me out. Know what I mean? Maybe you don’t, and I guess that’s for the best. One rebel per household, right? I couldn’t handle it, so I got out . . . Fortunately, I had a little brother with a good head on his shoulders. He found a bride of his own. It’s a real relief. I mean it, from the bottom of my heart. Then again, if you think about it, what’s the source of that relief? I guess on some level I’m happy that my bloodline isn’t going to stop. It’s a bit complicated, right? And a little embarrassing at this age! Even downright shameful. What a shameful life! Look at me, the family disgrace, hidden from my little brother’s bride and all . . .” The buildings on the opposite bank were starting to look familiar. This had to be the place. “I think it was right around here . . .” I looked around, but couldn’t find the hole. My brother-in-law kicked at the grass with the toe of his shoe, but there was nothing there, not even a click beetle.
Two children popped their heads out of the grass. “Sensei! What are you doing?” “Sensei, is that your wife?” My brother-in-law put a finger to his lips to shush them. “Don’t go starting rumors! You want to get sued? She’s my brother’s bride.” “Your brother’s bride!” “What’s she like?” “She’s a real good person.” “Sensei, what are you guys doing?” “We’re looking for a hole. Have you seen one?” “A hole?” the kids repeated in unison as they looked at each other. “This place is full of holes! They’re everywhere.” One of them leapt up, then vanished underground. The other child and my brother-in-law broke out laughing. Suddenly there were holes everywhere. The child had slipped inside one and was shaking with laughter. “Holes all around us!” And there really were. Some were narrow and others were wide; some were shallow and others were deep. There were holes partly covered with grass, almost like traps, and narrower ones that looked as if they’d been scooped out with some sort of tool. One hole was brimming with dirty water, trembling. Bugs were hatching on the surface. Children popped up all around me, wriggling out of their holes. My brother-in-law twisted in laughter. “Um, the animal . . .” “Sensei, I think your brother’s bride is trying to say something!” “I’m not going in!” My brother-in-law was shrieking. He screamed again and again. “I’m not going in! No holes for me!” I tried to find the hole I’d fallen in, but none of them seemed like the right one. “Full of holes! Full of holes!” I felt like I couldn’t stand there any longer, watching my brother-in-law howl with laughter. I made my way up the bank alone, assuming he’d follow me, but he didn’t. He didn’t say a thing. As I walked up the path, it looked like there were even more children playing by the river. Some were wearing tank tops and underwear. Another group was doing a weird dance, and several other kids were gathered in a circle around a boy defecating on the ground. As soon as I got home, I looked out the window to see what Grandpa was doing. He was in the garden, pointing the hose upward, covering the grass in mist. A rainbow fell over him.
Just like my brother-in-law had said, it wasn’t long until Obon. My husband and I drove out to see my parents. It was just the two of us in the car. On the way, there were so many times I thought about asking my husband about his brother, but I decided against it. What would I do if he said they weren’t brothers? If that were true, then who was he? And what would I do if they were brothers? How could I respond to that? What could I say? I pretended that the jazz he was playing had put me to sleep. We spent two nights with my mom and dad. When we got back, my husband still had one day off, which he used to go out with friends from his school days. He invited me, but I passed — as he knew I would. Tomiko had work off, too, so Grandpa stayed out of the garden. He had to be in the house, in front of the TV, sleeping the day away. In the evening, Tomiko went out to water the plants. The whole routine took her less than ten minutes. Once Obon was over, my husband and Tomiko went back to work.
In the middle of the night, I heard a sound in the dark. It wasn’t loud, not at all, but it woke me up. I got out of bed and looked out the window. The ring of light outside Tomiko’s house flickered for a moment. Looking toward the gate, I thought I saw someone under the neighbors’ running lights, heading out to the street. It looked like Grandpa. I turned to my husband. Asleep. He was almost like a porcelain doll.
I quietly left the room, hurried downstairs, slipped into my shoes, and walked out the door. Nothing was going on at To-miko’s. Maybe no one had noticed Grandpa leaving. I looked around to see if I could find him, but it was too dark. There were only a few streetlights and a couple of houses with lights on. He wasn’t in the light. I looked all around, into the thick darkness. I thought I could feel something move — a shift in the air — so I ran in that direction. It had only taken me a couple of seconds to run downstairs, put my shoes on, and come outside. I told myself that I should be able to catch up with him, as long as I didn’t run in the wrong direction. I was running as fast as I could, almost tripping over my own feet, when I saw someone’s back a few steps ahead of me. “What are you doing out here?” It was my brother-in-law. “I thought I saw . . .” “Gramps? He’s right there, walking.” I saw my brother-in-law’s bright white shirt sleeve rise up and point ahead. It really was Grandpa, striding forward. He was moving with purpose, as if he knew exactly where he was headed. I turned to my brother-in-law. “Where’s he going?” “How would I know?” He sounded annoyed. “I was in the garden. That’s the only reason I saw him. But I guess I wasn’t the only one who did.” “Me? I was in bed, but I heard something, so . . .” “Really? You must have a good ear. Do you have perfect pitch?” I shook my head. Apparently pleased, he said, “Me neither.” I couldn’t see the moon or a single star in the darkness overhead. All the houses on the street were silent. No cicadas. My brother-in-law stopped talking. I said nothing. Grandpa was walking even quicker now. I was afraid to walk that quickly, but tried to keep up.