Happily ever after

Talk about managing emotion. What about this one? A short noticed assignment at 11 pm somewhere in the middle of nowhere West of Tokyo. When I arrive earlier at the location, the wind is blowing hard, omen for the rain to come. The air is a little warm. A curved street. Large corporation buildings and in a nook close by the suspended highway a triangular block of small buildings. The atmosphere is gloomy. I can't notice the cafe for a while, then I discover a board on a wall. A crime scene for the future. I have my doubts. I climb the staircases. They lead at the upper floor to a bar with a different name. I ask for that other bar. I am told it has been closed for a year at least! Sounds fishy. Definitely. I wait longer outside though. Then a phone call. I am asked about my location. I tell the client I am not far but that the bar is closed. He will be late coming by car. I suggest we meet in front of the small police box where I asked for the bar location first hand. Later, another call. I am suggested to wait in the lobby of the hotel close by the police box. I still spend time outside watching the cars and taxis coming and leaving. Everything is suspect, imagination rules. After a while, I retreat in the hotel lobby. It is close to midnight. I know I will probably miss the last train to go back home. At long last they arrive. Hard hand shaking. Then, the following takes probably 10 minutes, not more. He must be somewhere around 25 or 30. On the other side is an elderly Japanese very affable and listening. I could go into the details of the conversation but this would go against privacy. To keep it short, he asks for the elderly man daughter's hand. The elderly man smiles and agrees. It's over. This was the shortest assignment bar the waiting so far. I board the last train back to central Tokyo and will have to fetch a taxi further East because the train will stop before my destination. I listen in the carriage past midnight tired and elated to music on the iPod : Try a little tenderness, I want you back, Somebody to love, not to forget Never Alone.