Tokyo Love Read Online Free Page B

first week if she had to both eat on the floor and sleep on a
futon
. She also had a small bathroom with a separate room for the toilet. She’d even gotten something of a crazy deep tub, though it wasn’t long enough for her to stretch out. She knew Japanese people tended to soak in bathtubs, but Kathleen only knew how to work the shower.
    She leaned heavily against the table, pressing the cold can of beer to her cheek. It was cheap Japanese beer, but it was tolerable. And on nights like this she needed it. Her back and legs ached from sitting at her desk for the rest of the day, desperately trying to make a format for the reports she would soon be filing. She pulled her computer from her bag.
    It was only a small black cube with a power button and some access ports. It was surprisingly heavy for its size, simple, and a little outdated compared to newer models. But Kathleen had been using it since she was a programmer in America. Mashida would provide her with an upgrade, but Kathleen wasn’t quite ready to get rid of the device that had started her career. She placed it in front of her, tapping it so her screen and keyboard displayed before her as holos.
    Her document was up, slightly translucent as she was able to see her kitchen behind it. She flicked it aside, looking for a better distraction.
    Her wrist buzzed and her computer, automatically synching with it, displayed that she had an Internet call from her brother.
    Sitting up, Kathleen opened it. “Good morning, Dave.”
    He looked like he had just gotten in from one of his ungodly early morning runs. His curled hair was damp and his cheeks were flushed. He smiled at her and she felt her heart squeeze. With all her family living in a thirteen-hour difference, it was hard to find good times to call them. Dave had done better than her parents. But that was probably because he seemed to only sleep four hours a night. “How is it in Japan-land?”
    “Humid, all the time.” It had significantly gotten worse in the past couple of weeks. No matter how much AC the trains pumped in, it still smelled like an elephant enclosure during rush hour. “Rush hour is rancid.”
    He laughed. “You know, I saw a vid of Japanese rush hour with people with white gloves helping to push commuters in the train. Have you had that?”
    “Not that exactly. It’s pretty cramped in there. Last week I got pressed against the door. When it opened, I thought I was going to smack into the platform. But luckily some of those attendants were there and caught me.” It was actually pretty embarrassing to have a total stranger catch you as you were squeezed like toothpaste from a crowded train.
    Dave was laughing loudly and it made Kathleen feel a little energized again. Dave’s wife, Juliet, overheard and stepped in from the kitchen to chat with Kathleen. It was all small talk and some not-serious news about her parents. Kathleen soaked it in. She didn’t have friends in Japan. Her coworkers only treated her with distant respect and her superiors obviously didn’t want to spend more time with her than required. She used to have so many friends in Champagne, IL. They went out drinking after work or did stuff on the weekends. She’d even had Brandon for a while. But they had broken up long before she was given the promotion.
    Kathleen saw Juliet kiss Dave as she went off to work early. She was lonely. But she knew that might happen, suddenly moving to Tokyo without knowing any Japanese. At least work kept her busy most days of the week.
    “So,” Dave turned back to her, “anything new at work? Still making sex dolls?”
    Kathleen frowned, though she knew he was just joking. “They are not sex dolls.”
    He smirked. “Ah, and all the single men who buy them just want to dress them up?”
    “Sex dolls are inanimate. Nothing more than large, expensive toys. The Personal Love Companions are much more complex.”
    “Ah, so they can talk to you while you’re having sex with them.”
    If Dave