A Queer Turn of Events

  by Lisa Lees

The phone rang. Carys had sworn off answering the house phone after Kay's call a few weeks before, so Sandy picked it up.

"Hello?" She took the phone away from her ear, looking puzzled. Covering the mouthpiece, she said to the others, "This isn't English. Maybe Chinese, or Japanese? Emiko?"

Emiko leaped to her feet, ran over to Sandy, and took the phone. She had a short, agitated conversation, then hung up and took her place again. Everyone was looking at her.

"Japanese," she smiled, then returned to the book she was reading.

Jami, sitting by the front window with her laptop computer, was looking at Emiko, a thoughtful expression on her face. She typed a few commands and her eyes went wide.

"Uh, I think this is Japanese. Emiko?"

Sapporo is the capitol of Hokkaido!

"Who was that, hon?" asked Rachel.

Emiko looked up from her book. "My mother. I gave her this phone number to use only in case of emergency. I did not expect her to call. She misunderstood. Sorry for confusion!"

"So your parents still speak Japanese with you?"

Emiko nodded. "My father speaks good English. He helped me learn when I was in school. My mother knows very little."

"That must be hard on her," said Rachel, "to be surrounded by people she doesn't understand."

Emiko bit her lip and looked at her book, away from Rachel's eyes.

"Emiko?" said Jami, looking up from her laptop. "I think you need to know that the house server I set up has a modem that strips the caller ID from every phone call, logs it, and emails it to me. That's so we have our own record and don't miss important calls. I've been meaning to tell everyone, but it's slipped my mind. Sorry."

Emiko closed her book and stood up. Her face had gone pale and she looked scared.

Emiko put a hand to her mouth. "Oh, oh! Jami-cat let Emiko's cat out of bag." She tried to smile, but couldn't.

"I'm sorry, Emiko," said Jami, closing her laptop.

Rachel looked back and forth between Emiko and Jami. "Okay, I am totally confused. What the fuck is going on here?"

Emiko said nothing, but her eyes were wide, peering around her hands at Rachel. Carys, Tam, Sandy and Crystal were all looking confused also, though Tam and Sandy each had a look of dawning comprehension.

"Where did you go to school, Emiko?" asked Jami, gently, trying to help her out.

"It was a good school. Very competitive. I had top honors." She was looking at Rachel now.

Rachel tossed the magazine she had been reading at the coffee table and stood up, walking toward Emiko. "Where? What's going on?"

Emiko put her hands down, took a breath, and said, "Sapporo."

"Sapporo?" said Rachel. "I can't place it. Southern California?"

"Sapporo is the capitol of Hokkaido," said Jami. "My parents were there this spring."

Carys, who'd been watching from where she sat by the fireplace, set the script she was reading down on the hearth, closed her eyes, and leaned back against the wall. This is not going to be pleasant.

I did not expect her to call!

"Holy shit! Why didn't you tell me?"

Rachel looked at Jami, realized what she was saying, looked back at Emiko. "Japan? You were born in Japan? Why didn't you tell me!"

Emiko bowed her head, talking softly through her hands, which now covered her face. "I do not know. There has been so much to talk about. We have been so busy making decisions, moving, being in love. Is it so important?"

"I suppose not," said Rachel, sounding uncertain. "I mean, you did tell me your parents were Japanese. I just assumed that you had grown up in this country."

"Um, Emiko?" said Tam. "Are you here on an F-1 visa?"

Emiko nodded.

"What does that mean?" asked Rachel, looking first at Tam, then at Emiko.

"I am here to go to school. When I am not in school, I must return to Japan."

"Return to Japan? Holy shit! What does that mean for us? Why didn't you tell me!"

"I was afraid you would not want to be with me if you knew." Emiko was beginning to cry. "I love you so much. I was afraid." She looked at Rachel. "I am afraid now."

"You should be afraid! You lied to me!"

Emiko winced. "I did not lie," she said. "I would not lie to you. I was afraid that with the problems with your parents, having to leave your studies, you would not want the added complication of me. So I said nothing."

"And before then? We had lots of time, Emiko." Rachel turned to stare out a window, turned back. "How can I trust you now?" She gave Emiko one last furious glare and ran up the stairs, slamming the door behind her when she reached their room.

Emiko tried to wipe the tears from her face. She looked around at her friends and said, "I have been very stupid. I must go beg her to forgive me. I do not want to loose her." She stood up, took a deep breath, and slowly walked up the stairs.

"Wow," said Tam, softly.

Carys looked at Jami. "That's more like the Rachel we knew a year ago. Emiko is in for a rough time, I'm afraid."

What have I done? Stupid, stupid, stupid!