During the days which followed he enjoyed a sense of elation, triumph that his dream had at last come true, the ideal attained. This was perfection, just as he wanted it all, the girl herself to be. With this he could be fully happy, content. Sitting in his office, smoking idly, he found pleasure in living over in his mind every incident, every detail of this delectable adventure.
He roused himself, irritated. Hang the telephone and all modern contrivances which mankind had worked out painfully to plague it.
"Hello, hello, who's that?" he inquired briskly.
"Is that you, Kent-san?" By the gods, it was she. He felt as if he must be trembling visibly in his eagerness. "Yes, yes, this is Kent-san."
"I thought you might care to come over for some tea." He could hear her laughter. These prosaic wires had their excellent uses, after all. "Yes, thank you, of course, I'll come right over."
As he scrambled up the stairs he noticed that the offices were deserted; the promoters of Japanese-Bolivian harmony and the rest had left early, apparently. She received him, smiling mischievously. "I am so sorry to have disturbed you, but every one goes home so early here, and I felt a little lonesome. So we shall have tea."
After that he came often, in the late afternoon, and chatted with her about the events of the day, the modern music, art, pictures, or, again, about old Japan, the ancient fables, beliefs, poetry, as her mood would have it. It seemed as if she possessed two distinct and complete personalities, one the quaint, conventional, yet emotional maiden of old Japan, the other the eager, nervous young intellectual, thirsty for knowledge, for attaining progress. They became very intimate. He learned that her first name was Sadako, so after that he called her that only, and she came to call him Hugh,--Heeyu she pronounced it. They made short trips Sundays, into the country, to Kamakura, Inagi, up the Sumida River, to temple festivals and street fairs. Thus it remained. At times he might hold her hand, simply, like that of a child, but that was as far as it went, as far as he craved to go. He had attained the fulfillment of his desire for constant enjoyment of her charm, her beauty, her companionship, intimate, serene, undisturbed by desire to go further.