My Luck

Sam looks at the clock by her bed and sighs. It is 11:30 p.m. She slept for the whole day. She drags herself out of bed and looks at the hotel menu, she hasn't had anything to eat since the coffee Ed brought her in the morning. Unfortunately, the kitchen closes at 11.

'Just my luck.'

She changes her clothes, and heads out. The Sakura Hotel is in the center of Ikebukuro, so there has to be a place that stays open late.

Sam looks for a few blocks. The streets are busy and lively. She turns to a less crowded street and finds a Japanese restaurant still open. It is very small but extremely cute.

"Good evening."

"Welcome." The host greets her and shows her to the only empty seat.

"Thank you." Sam studies the menu and orders a beef bowl.

All ten seats at the small restaurants are taken. Mostly office workers, Sam guesses from the clothes. Her food doesn't take long to be brought out. She starts wolfing it down right away, she is starving.

'This is delicious.'

Suddenly, she hears his name–Kei Ichihara. She looks up and finds that they are talking about him on the news. They show him at a party wearing a dashing tuxedo with his wife on his arm. She's wearing a beautiful white kimono. She looks like a princess.

Sam chuckles while shaking her head. Life is funny sometimes, she thinks. What are the odds of her being at this very restaurant at this exact moment when the owner has that specific channel on. She looks up at the TV again.

'They look happy together.'

They were opening a new mall in Kyoto. The gala looks so extravagant with so many important guests. They zoom in on the couple again as they smile. Sam pushes her bowl away. She has lost her appetite, already.

She pays and leaves the restaurant. She stops at a convenience store and buys a few cans of beer before resuming her walk back. She does not understand why she is feeling so down. What happened with Kei was more than thirteen years ago.

'How can you not get over someone after thirteen years? I even married someone else for God's sake.'

She walks by a park where she finds many people sleeping, they did not look homeless. She studies the place and the sleeping people for a moment, even though she thinks it's a bit strange, she goes in. She sits on the ground and drinks a few beers.

She would be lying if she said that she never thought of Kei over the years. She often imagined what her life would be like had they ended up together. If she would be happier had she made different decisions back then, or had she been braver. She also found herself cursing Kei Ichihara every time she was in a hospital room, feeling helpless.

'I would have sacrificed everything for him, but he chose someone else. I wasn't good enough.'

Sam opens her eyes. She had fallen asleep in the park. It takes her a few moments to figure out where she is. When she does, she gets up and wobbles back to her hotel. She chugs her last beer before crashing on her bed.

She wakes up the next morning to knocking on the door. It feels like whoever is knocking is banging on her head. She was never good with hangovers. She staggers to the door with her eyes half closed and yanks the door open.

"Why the loud banging?" she complains while walking back to her bed.

"Well, good morning to you too." Ed chuckles. "Someone is in a bad mood."

"Go away." Sam covers her head with the blanket.

"I got coffee and delicious viennoiseries." He opens the coffee cup and places it on the table. It only takes seconds for the aroma to fill the room.

Sam slowly moves the covers down and sniffs the air. "That smells good."

"Yup." Ed smirks.

"Fine, you can stay." She walks to the table and takes her cup of coffee. She smells it again before taking a rejuvenating sip. "God, this is good."

"I got you this too." He hands her a white bag.

"Oh, a new phone?" she asked as she opened the box inside.

"Yeah, it comes with the plan."

"Nice."

"So, did you go out drinking with your friend last night?"

"Not really," Sam answers, holding her coffee with both hands. "I drank alone."

Ed is silent for a while. "Sam… is everything okay?"

She frowns. "Of course, why do you ask?"

"Well, you had a panic attack the other day, didn't you? And now drinking alone-"

"It was just a couple of beers. Geez, Ed."

"You would tell me if anything was wrong, right?"

Sam sighs. "I promise you, I'm fine."

"Good, so you don't mind showing me around, since you've lived here and all."

"That was a long time ago." She laughs. "Everything is probably so different now."

"Then, do you want to see what has changed?"

Sam thinks for a moment. "Sure, but after I finish that croissant."

"I am not brave enough to come between you and your croissant," Ed says with his hands up.

They both chuckle.

Sam and Ed spend the day walking around famous Tokyo landmarks and trying some Japanese dishes. Ed is definitely more than her assistant. He had become a precious friend, ever since he was by Sam's side when she needed someone the most, right before the divorce. Sam appreciates and trusts him so much. Even though she still can't open up to him about a few things, it is not because of him, but because she just doesn't talk about that topic with anyone.

"Thanks, Ed. I needed this." Sam beams as the driver pulls up in front of her hotel.

"I had fun too." Ed nods, mirroring her smile. "By the way, they called from the apartment. You can move in within the week. They said you can go check it out tomorrow?"

"Oh, I'm meeting a girlfriend tomorrow."

"No problem, I can go see it and make sure everything is ready."

"Sounds good. Thank you."

"Have a good night, then."

"Good night, Ed."