First thing, as I looked toward the kitchen, my gaze landed with a thud on the enormous sofa in the living room. Against the backdrop of the large kitchen with its shelves of pots and pans – no table, no carpet, just “it.” Covered in beige fabric, it looked like something out of a commercial. An entire family could watch TV on it. A dog too big to keep in Japan could stretch out across it – sideways. It was really a marvelous sofa.
In front of the large window leading onto the terrace was a jungle of plants growing in bowls, planters, and all kinds of pots. Looking around, I saw that the whole house was filled with flowers; there were vases full of spring blooms everywhere.
“My mother says she’ll get away from work soon. Take a look around if you’d like. Should I give you the tour? Or pick a room, then I’ll know what kind of person you are,” said Yuichi, making tea.
“What kind?...” I seated myself on the deep, comfy sofa.
“I mean, what you want to know about a house and the people who live there, their tastes. A lot of people would say you learn a lot from the toilet,” he said, smiling, unconcerned. He had a very relaxed way of talking.
“The kitchen,” I said.
“Well, here it is. Look at whatever you want.”
While he made tea, I explored the kitchen. I took everything in: the good quality of the mat on the wood floor and of Yuichi’s slippers; a practical minimum of well-worn kitchen things, precisely arranged. A Silverstone frying pan and a delightful German-made vegetable peeler – a peeler to make even the laziest grandmother enjoy slip, slipping those skins off.
Lit by a small fluorescent lamp, all kinds of plates silently awaited their turns; glass sparkled. It was clear that in spite of the disorder everything was of the finest quality. There were things with special uses, like…porcelain bowls, gratin dishes, gigantic platters, two beer stains. Somehow it was all very satisfying. I even opened the small refrigerator (Yuichi said it was okay) – everything was neatly organized, nothing just “left.”
I looked around, nodding and murmuring approvingly, “Mmm, mmm.” It was a good kitchen. I fell in love with it at first sight.
