American woman
Story of a married man who finds an exciting relationship with an American woman

By Ken Maeda  
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On Saturday afternoon, I was returning from my weekly trip to Daiei. Kyoko was due on Sunday evening after performing at a wedding in Gunma-ken. I had at least six bags in my hands that I was trying to drag to the elevator after I had parked my car across the street. There she was. Dressed in a purple turtleneck and jeans, I saw her from the back. I think she had just picked up her mail and was opening one of them. The sound of the polyethylene bags got her attention and she looked up to see. As her heavy eyelids lifted to look at me, my heart must have stopped for a moment. "Ahh..domo...," she said in a greeting normally unknown to most non-Japanese. "Hello, how are you?" I replied and put my bags down to extend my hand. She quickly folded the letter and extended her hand. "Hajimemashite. Mariko desu. Or if you like, originally I was Mary but I love to be called Mariko now," she smiled. "I prefer Mary-san. How is that?" I looked questioningly. "Absolutely.  And you?" "Oh, I am sorry. I am Ken. Of if you like, Kenji Maeda to mooshimasu. I live in #403 and looks as if you are my neighbor."  I made a point of using the word "my" rather than "our."  "I live in #405 which is just around the corner on the floor. I guess that is why we have not seen enough of each other Ken-san. I arrived here only three weeks ago from Connecticut. I am doing some research on environmental impact of dioxins and will be here for a few weeks collecting some samples and analyzing them. Ohno-sensei has been a friend of my father since they met at a conference in Geneva many years ago and he insisted that I stay with him rather than at a hotel and I am glad that I get to experience real Japan this way.  Here, let me help you with the bags". I think my heart was still beating fast. My initial reaction was right - she was an absolutely adorable woman, as I had imagined after seeing her the first time. "Well I am delighted to meet you and welcome to the neighborhood. Hope you enjoy your stay here and get to see true Japan. I can tell you that you made the right choice by staying with us because you will get to see a side of Japan that one can miss as a tourist staying even in a ryokan." As I unlocked the door to my apartment, Mary put the bags on the dining table. "Thank you so very much. Would you like to come in for a drink?" I proposed. "Oh no. I smell bad. I have been out for a while, so I have been sweating pretty badly (How to stop excessive sweating). Maybe we go for a walk after dinner. I like to walk along the lake in the evening and can spend hours just looking at the waves. The breeze is so gentle and I just sit on a bench and dream for hours. OK I will run now but I will come get you later after having dinner with my host family," she said as she left. Before I could deposit the food in the refrigerator, I had to gulp a full glass of cold water to calm down. Being married for so many years now, no woman had caused me so much excitement as Mary did. I was too excited to think, so I simply decided to arrange the groceries in the meantime. It must have been the fact that she was the first gaijin woman with whom I had such a long conversation in a more informal setting. Mary was probably as attractive as other women that I had spoken to but I always thought of the others as colleagues or acquaintances. With Mary, I felt like a man talking to another woman. Since being married I had never given any thought to other women. Continued:  A walk on the lake followed by a head massage