Junko was watg televisiohe ph a few minutes before midnight. Keisuke sat in the er of the room wearing headphones, eyes half-closed, head swinging bad forth as his long fingers flew over the strings of his electric guitar. He ractig a fast passage and obviously had no idea the phone was ringing. Junko picked up the receiver.
「Did I wake you?」 Miyake asked in his familiar muffled Osaka at.
「Nah,」 Junko said. 「We』re still up.」
「I』m at the beach. You should see all this driftwood! We make a big ohis time. you e down?」
「Sure,」 Junko said. 「Let me ge clothes. I』ll be there in ten minutes.」
She slipped on a pair of tights and then her jeans. On top she wore a turtleneck sweater, and she stuffed a pack of cigarettes into the pocket of her woolen coat. Purse, matches, key ring. She nudged Keisuke in the back with her foot. He tore off his headphones.
「I』m going for a bonfire on the beach,」 she said.
「Miyake again?」 Keisuke asked with a scowl. 「You』ve got to be kidding. It』s February, you know. Twelve o』clock at night! Yoing to go make a bonfire now?」
「That』s okay, you don』t have to e. I』ll go by myself.」
Keisuke sighed. 「Nah, I』ll e. Give me a mio ge.」
He turned off his amp, and over his pajamas he put on pants, a sweater, and a down jacket, which he zipped up to his . Junko ed a scarf around her ned put on a knitted hat.
「You guys are crazy,」 Keisuke said as they took the path down to the beach. 「What』s so great about bonfires?」
The night was cold, but there was no wind at all. Words left their mouths to hang frozen in midair.
「What』s so great about Pearl Jam?」 Junko said. 「Just a lot of noise.」
「Pearl Jam has ten million fans all over the world,」 Keisuke said.
「Well, bonfires have had fans all over the world for fifty thousand years,」 Junko said.
「You』ve got something there,」 Keisuke said.
「People will be lighting fires long after Pearl Jam is gone.」
「You』ve got something there, too.」 Keisuke pulled his right hand out of his pocket and put his arm around Junko』s shoulders. 「The trouble is, I don』t have a damn thing to do with anything fifty thousand years ago—or fifty thousand years from now, either. Nothing. Zip. What』s important is now. Who knows when the world is going end? Who think about the future? The only thing that matters is whether I get my stomach full right now a up right nht?」
They climbed the steps to the top of the breakwater. Miyake was down in his usual spot on the beach, colleg driftwood of all shapes and sizes and making a pile. One huge log must have taken a major effort t to the spot.
The light of the moon transformed the shorelio a sharpened sword blade. The winter waves were strangely hushed as they washed over the sand. Miyake was the only one on the beach.
「Pretty good, huh?」 he said with a puff of white breath.
「Incredible!」 Junko said.
「This happens every on a while. You know, we had that stormy day with the big waves. Lately, I tell from the sound, like, 『Today some great firewood』s going to wash up.』 」
「Okay, okay, we know how good you are,」 Keisuke said, rubbing his hands together. 「Now let』s get warm. It』s so damn cold, it』s enough to shrivel your balls.」
「Hey, take it easy. There』s a right way to do this. First you』ve got to plan it. And when you』ve got it all arranged so it』ll work without a hitch, you light it slow-like. You 』t rush it. 『The patient b