For one, she was getting out much more than she used to. Of course, it still wasn’t to anywhere special—just to the shopping district or the park.
And today she was back to her usual routine. First she bought some groceries in the shopping district, then a few things for her home, and once she had done that, she carried on walking till she reached the park.
“Hey! She’s coming!” The children were already there.
The minute they saw her appear at the park entrance, they all ran up to her in a gaggle.
“Well? Did you bring it?”
The Woman in the Purple Skirt nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“Oh, wow!” they all shouted excitedly. Pulling her by the hand, they led her over to the Exclusively Reserved Seat.
Once she had sat down, the children all crowded around. Quickly! Quickly! they urged her. From a paper carrier bag, the Woman in the Purple Skirt pulled out a box of chocolates.
She gave it to a boy. Evidently the leader.
“Yessss!” he exclaimed as she put it in his hands. Now everyone turned and gathered around him. Come on. I want one! Give me one too!
“Now, all of you, you must share,” the Woman in the Purple Skirt said in a gentle voice. “There should be one for each of you.”
The children barely seemed to hear her, so eager were they to pick out a chocolate. Despite what she had said, they already seemed to be fighting over them.
These chocolates, containing the finest ganache made from specially selected cocoa beans from countries all over the world, and the purest cream made from the highest-quality milk in Hokkaido, cost 980 yen each. The lid was embossed with the hotel crest, comprising the letters m&h with a winged horse that had a ring of flowers around its neck. There was even a little card with a message from the patisserie that had made them.
Oh, yum. It’s so creamy. . . . The children all savored the taste, looking blissful, as if they really could appreciate the difference between these chocolates and the cheap chocolate squares they were used to. Meanwhile the Woman in the Purple Skirt looked on, an expression in her eyes like that of the Madonna.
When the children learned that the Woman in the Purple Skirt had a job, they were all astounded. It seems they had assumed—along with everyone else, myself included—from the way she was so often seen wandering around on weekdays, that she was unemployed.
“Well, I’ve had jobs, but it was always on and off,” the Woman in the Purple Skirt explained to the children, who looked at her wide-eyed. She seemed shyly pleased.
“What kind of work do you do?” some of the children asked.
“Cleaning work,” she replied.
“You mean that kind of work exists?”
“Yes, it does!” she replied.
“You get paid just for cleaning?”
“Yes!”
“That’s not fair! I clean my room every day! And the hallway. But I’ve never been paid a single yen!”
“Well, it’s work. It’s a little different from household chores,” the Woman in the Purple Skirt explained. This was certainly true.
“I’m going to get a cleaning job too, then. When I grow up,” one of the girls said.
“Me too!” echoed one of the boys.
“And me!” Another boy.
“Me too!” This time a girl.
One after another, their hands went up.
“Let’s all get cleaning jobs in the same company!”
“Yeah!”
“You can come and work for my company,” said the Woman in the Purple Skirt. “You know that big building right by the train station? The white hotel? The one with m&h in big letters on the front. That’s where I work. When you grow up, you can all get jobs there.”
“M&H? I’ve seen that.”
“You can see it from the train.”
“That’s right. That’s the one. It’s visible from the train, and the bus. It’s a very grand hotel. Lots of celebrities stay there,” said the Woman in the Purple Skirt.
“Wow! Which ones?”
“Well, last week, Akira Mine was one of our guests.”
“The enka singer?”
“Uh-huh. And the day before yesterday, Reina Igarashi, the starlet, stayed there.”
“Reina Igarashi? How cool is that?!”
“Is she beautiful?”
“Mm . . .” The Woman in the Purple Skirt thought for moment. “Pretty average, I’d say.”
“That’s so cool . . . ! I wish I could meet Reina Igarashi. Do you think someone like me could do cleaning work too?” This was one of the boys.
“Sure.”
“What about me?” asked a little girl.
“Of course, no problem. It’s a bit overwhelming at first. But you get the hang of it.”
“Isn’t it hard?”
“There are some parts that can be hard, but once you’ve done them a few times, it becomes easy. There’s nothing to worry about. If you come work in the hotel, I’ll be the one who trains you.”
It had been only a day or two since the director had suggested that one day he might make her a supervisor. In front of him, she had downplayed the possibility, but privately she must have been delighted. And now here she was, coming out with all these confident pronouncements. One would never have thought this newly certified housekeeper was only a few days into her job.
When they had finished their chocolates, one of the boys put his hand on the now empty box.
“Can I have this box?” he said.
“All right, you can have it. What do you plan to use it for?”
“To store coupons. My mother collects them to use in the school bazaars. The box she’s got now is way too full!”
“I want it!” A girl spoke up.
“No, it’s mine. She gave it to me!”
“I’ll let you have the next one, Mika-chan,” said the Woman in the Purple Skirt.
“When will that be?”
“I can’t say for sure. As soon as I manage to get hold of one.”
“I want one too,” another boy said.
“All right. Then we’ll make a waiting list. Top of the list, Mika-chan. Then it’s you, Mok-kun.”
“Promise?”
“Hey, I think I’ve seen
