Sweet Saturday: Plum Blossom Covenant #5

Welcome back! I'm sorry I missed the Sweet Saturday hop last week, but a killer cold knocked me out for several days. I've got a short scene from The Plum Blossom Covenant (my current work-in-progress set in Japan at the turn of the twentieth century)

in which Yasa has an interesting conversation with his father, Hiro Tanaka:

“It is time you married.”

Yasa nearly dropped his chopsticks at his father’s pronouncement.  The hand holding his rice bowl went limp, and he felt some of his dinner fall into his lap. 

“Married?” he croaked.

Hiro, having finished his meal, took a long draw on his pipe, and leisurely blew the smoke out.  “I am getting older, and you will be taking over soon.  We need to start the next generation.  It is the way of things.”

Yasa’s mind whirled. Had his father found out about what had happened five years ago? Why would Hiro want him to marry and take over the farm? He was only twenty-five, younger than his father was when he married. Why would his father force the issue now, unless -

“Otousan, are you ill?”

Hiro’s brows rose.  “Ill?  No, I am healthy. But we must make arrangements so that your mother and I will not have to worry.  Besides, one never knows when the unexpected will happen.  There are many suitable young women in the area.  The Yoshimori family has three girls, all of whom would make good farm wives.”

Yasa’s jaw dropped. Next to him, his younger brother shook with silent laughter. The eldest Yoshimori sister was nearly twice his age, and twice his weight as well. The second sister, at least ten years his senior, was well-known for her cooking, as well as her sharp tongue. The youngest sister, only a few years older than Yasa, had a sweet disposition, but she’d already made a match with a farmer from the western part of the island.

Hiro continued.  “And then there is the Inoue family. They have a lovely young daughter.”

Yasa nearly choked. “Junko would be about twelve years old now, wouldn’t she?”

“Nearly fourteen, but she is intelligent, and will soon be of marriageable age.”

Yasa set his bowl down. “Otousan, what is going on?”

Hiro smiled. “Let’s go for a walk.”

****

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Sweet Saturday: Plum Blossom Covenant #4

Welcome back! I have another sample from my current work-in-progress, The Plum Blossom Covenant. In the previous three Saturdays, we've met the hero, Yasa Tanaka, his parents, and the heroine, Yumiko. They're childhood friends, but there's something dark in their past. Yasa has just returned to Japan from several years in America. Here, they meet again.

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Yasa couldn’t sleep.  His mind raced with all the things he wanted to do once he reached home. He couldn't wait to see all of his family, of course.  And his many friends.  But most of all there was his pet project, one he had been planning since leaving America.  He had always been interested in the development of new plants, heartier varieties, and during his days at the Agricultural College, he had spent more time in the laboratories than anywhere else.  During his time in America, he had met growers who had generously allowed him to tour their gardens and examine their plants.  One grower, Hiram Becker, had become a close friend and had actually given him some plants and seedlings to take home and try.  It would be interesting to see if these plants would grow in the cooler Hokkaido climate.

He dressed and tiptoed out of the house.  When his mind raced, he needed to walk.  He had spent the last two weeks cooped up on the ship, where walking was limited.  Now that he was back on dry land, he could walk.  He was familiar enough with the area around his uncle’s house - he would be safe enough.  Mindful of his mother’s tendency to worry, he left a note for her in case she awakened early, and slid noiselessly into the night.

The smells of the city assailed him as he made his way to the main street.  They were the scents of humans living in close quarters - rotting garbage, human waste, and bad sake. Yasa held his breath and walked more quickly to the open area in the marketplace. As he neared the area, he realized his solitary time was not to be. Angry voices arose from the crowd gathered there. Three women, one Japanese and two Caucasian, were surrounded by a group of men. Some of the men waved papers.  Yasa was relieved that they didn’t seem to pose a physical threat to the women. They were simply perturbed.  Still, it bothered him to see these men harbored ill will toward the women. What was the problem?  He stepped closer.

“You are poisoning the minds of our women!”

“Take your idiotic ideas back across the ocean with you!”

Ahh, the women were feminists.  He had seen some of them in action in America.  The women there were much more outspoken than Japanese women, and some of them actually wanted women to have the right to vote in elections!  Had some of them come over here to get the Japanese women to join their cause?

Yasa wondered if the women would need help, but a constable’s stern voice broke through the complaints. 

“All right, men! Leave these women alone! Go on back to your homes before I cite you for creating a disturbance!”

Grudgingly, the men left. Yasa shook his head at the difference between this crowd and some of the crowds he had witnessed in America. In that country, it would have taken more than one lone constable to break up such a large, noisy crowd. There might have been physical violence. But here, authority was respected and directions were followed without question. Yasa looked over at the women, who seemed to have recovered from their ordeal.  The constable was speaking with them.

“You ladies need to get to your destination. It is far too late for you to be walking outside unescorted.”

“I will accompany them.” Yasa spoke before he could think.

The three faces swung toward him.  One face looked vaguely familiar -

“Yasa?”

“Yumiko.” The nickname came on a sigh, and his mind went back in time. Lazy summer days, fishing at the stream behind his house. Happy times. And one excruciatingly painful time.

“You know these women, sir?” The constable’s voice broke into his reverie.

Yuki shook off the cobwebs in his mind.  “Yes, sir. This woman is a childhood friend.  I will see her and her friends safely to their destination.”

The man nodded and left.

Yasa turned a rueful smile toward his former friend. “So,” he sighed, “we meet again.”

****

Thanks for stopping by! Please let me know your thoughts, and make sure to read the excerpts offered by other authors today. You can find links to their blogs at Sweet Saturday Samples.

If you want to know about Yasa's parents, be sure to read The Samurai's Garden, published by Astraea Press. You can get it HERE.

Sweet Saturday

Welcome back! I'm sharing more of my current WIP, The Plum Blossom Covenant, which takes place in Japan at the turn of the twentieth century. We've met the hero and his parents, and this week we meet the heroine, Yumiko:

****

“Tanaka-san?”

Hiro and Hanako both turned toward the voice. Several other heads turned as well, since Tanaka was a very common name in this area. But the person waving to them was a familiar face, and Hanako held out her arms in greeting.

“Yumiko-chan!  What are you doing here?”

Yumiko Sasaki, the daughter of Furano’s mayor, bounded toward them. She and Yasa had grown up together. Now, Hanako noticed, Yasa’s former playmate had grown into a beautiful young woman.

“I am working for a conference of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Two of the speakers are to arrive on this ship, so I have come to meet them. But why are you here?”

“Yasa is returning from America. We decided to surprise him by meeting his ship, rather than waiting for him to make his way to Sapporo.”

“I am sure he will be overjoyed to see you.” Her eyes clouded and she looked away. “I’m sure he wouldn’t be so glad to see me, though.” She took a deep breath, blew it out, and pasted her smile back on her face. “But until the ship disembarks, I can chat with you. How have you been?”

Hanako wondered about the girl’s reaction and a glance at her husband told her that he was curious too. But they put their questions aside and made conversation until the ship pulled up to the dock. The whistle blew, and they all turned eager eyes toward the lowering gangplank. By the time people began to disembark, Yumiko had disappeared into the crowds.

Hanako frowned. Why did Yumi believe Yasa would not be happy to see her? They had been childhood friends - sometimes enemies - but surely he would welcome the sight of another familiar face.  Had there been some sort of argument between them?

The answers would have to wait.  She turned toward the dock and watched eagerly for her son.

****

Thanks for stopping by! For more free excerpts, please visit the blogs of other authors. Their links can be found at Sweet Saturday Samples blog.

Sweet Saturday

Image credit: haraldmuc / 123RF Stock Photo

Welcome back! I'm still hard at work on the sequel to my samurai story, tentatively titled The Plum Blossom Covenant. Last week, we met the hero, Yasahiro Tanaka, as he returned to his homeland after several years in America. This week, we join his parents, Hiro and Hanako Tanaka, the main characters in The Samurai's Garden:

****

"Do you see it?  Over there, to the left."

Hanako Tanaka squinted and peered in the direction her husband pointed.  Lately, she'd had more and more trouble seeing things at a distance. Could she really be aged enough that her eyes were failing? Hopefully, she would not have to wear spectacles. It would be so embarrassing.

"I can make out the sails now! Surely it won’t be too much longer." Hiromasa’s voice rose with excitement, and Hanako's heart beat faster, both with excitement and with the thrill of being Hiro's wife. After all these years, her heart still fluttered each time she looked at the tall, strong former samurai who had swept into her life and made her world complete. At fifty-three, he still made an imposing figure. She'd noticed the admiring gazes of several other women. It happened everywhere they went. Her handsome husband stayed fit through hard work on the farm. But it was his intelligence and willingness to try new innovations that made Tanaka Farms a great success.

"Patience, Hiro," she reminded him. "Wishes won’t make the ship travel any faster."

They had traveled to the main island so they could meet Yasa’s ship. They'd been apprehensive about taking the train, but thanks to the new railroads traversing the country, the trip had only taken a fraction of the time it used to. They both missed him terribly and wanted to be reunited with him as soon as possible.

Hiro smiled at her now and put an arm around her. "You are right as always, my little flower. I must learn to be more patient. Our son will arrive when he arrives." He squeezed her harder. "But I have missed him so."

Heedless of the stares they garnered at their public display of affection, she turned toward him. She reached around to squeeze him back, reveling in the sheer power contained in his yukata.

"I have missed him, too," she reminded him. "But you told him he needed to go."

He chuckled. "Yes, it was my fault. Are you angry about that?"

"No, not at all.  I understand why he needed to go. Other than the visits we made to Tokyo, and the years he spent at the University in Sapporo, he never knew about life outside our village. If he is to be a leader, like his father, he had to learn more about the world.  So each day I went to the temple and prayed for his safety. And each day I felt better about him. He will be a well-educated, strong leader, like his father."

****

Thanks for stopping by! Please let me know what you think of this sample, and be sure to read the excerpts offered by other authors by going to Sweet Saturday Samples. If you haven't already read Hiro's story, The Samurai's Garden is available at Astraea Press, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and many other ebook outlets.