Office Diaries - Chapter 115

“My sister asked me to buy all kinds…”

“Oh? All kinds?” Mrs. James looked delighted that her eyes had diamonds in them as she clasped her hands together.

Yanee nodded. Chummy interviewed Ami before and discussed about weddings so she had some idea why her sister wanted to have weddings kimonos.

“Yes. Shinto style weddings are becoming less and less popular in the past few years. Before it was seventy percent, but now it’s down to twenty. My sister wants to bring back its popularity during the expo,” she said.

“That’s right. Most couples these days prefer to have western wedding ceremonies,” Mrs. James agreed. She looked thoughtful for a while before beaming. “The places we’ll visit will have everything you need.”

Er… Yanee wanted to say it’s for her sister not her, but just stayed quiet since Mrs. James looked so happy.

True enough, after eating, she, Marian, and Mrs. James got in a car and drove towards the place where the kimono shops were.

It’s been a while since Yanee came to Kyoto. At yesterday’s trip with Tohru, she had been too nervous and self-conscious to look around so she didn’t. But today, she was relaxed and so she let her yes wander out the window.

In Kyoto, one could really tell that the Japanese culture was alive and thriving. Many people walked the streets in traditional clothing. She noted the beautiful and colorful kimonos and yukatas the young people wore and she wondered whether she’d buy one or two for herself.

The car stopped in front of one of many shops that lined the streets.

“Yanee,” Mama James called and she turned her attention to her. “This is the Sanjo Street. There are many vintage kimono shops here and we’ll visit them one by one. Just take note if there’s something you fancy but don’t buy yet. We’ll transfer to the other shops on Shijo Street to look around first.”

Oh!

“That’s a good idea,”Yanee agreed.

She was actually planning to do just that. She’s someone who preferred to see everything first before she made final decisions.

“Ah, but if it’s for your sister you may want to send her a photo first. But some shops do not allow photos to be taken so you have to ask first,” Marian informed her and Yanee nodded.

“Don’t worry. When I buy clothes or dresses for Ami, she let me choose whatever I think is best.” Ami had no interest in shopping and she trusted Yanee’s tastes.

“That’s good then. There won’t be any problems,” the two said and they entered the first shop.

“Good morning,” the staff greeted them with a smile.

It was obvious that the staff knew Mama James well and was even delighted to serve her. They were ushered to a comfortable parlor where the manager was waiting.

“Sumire, you remember my daughter, Marian, right?”Mrs. James asked as she pulled Marian towards the elderly manager who nodded and smiled.

“Of course, how can I forget,” Sumire said as she guided Mairan towards one of the seats. “Your mother said you are expecting so you should take a sit,” she continued before turning her attention to Yanee. “And this one is?”

Mrs. James beamed as she pulled Yanee and pushed her forward as if presenting her to the manager. “This is Yanee, my daughter-in-law,” she introduced her.

Yanee stood frozen with a dumbfounded expression on her face.

EH? EEHHHH?

She couldn’t remember that Tohru already told his mother about them. Marian only knew because she told her. Ah did Marian tell her then? She looked at Marian with questioning eyes but she shook her head in answer to her silent question.

Huh? No? So, why? How?

“OOOOOH Did Little Tohru get married already?” the manager asked looking totally thrilled.

It seemed the manager was very familiar with Tohru as well— even more familiar to him that she was with Marian.

“Ah, not yet, but hopefully soon,” Mrs. James said with a giggle as she hugged Yanee. “He just brought Yanee yesterday after months of running after her,” she declared shocking her further.

Ha? Months of running after her?

Yanee mentally facepalmed. She already knew that Tohru talked about her to her parents. But she was not expecting that they knew everything— even some things she didn’t know it appeared.

“Ooooh! Is this why you want to see the wedding kimonos? Are they having a Shinto wedding?” the manager asked looking very excited.

EEEEEEH?

How would Yanee answer that question? She didn’t want to sound weird if she denied it vehemently.

“Ah, unfortunately not yet. The kids are still busy with work so they haven’t discussed that yet. Yanee just wants to check your collections for her sister— at least for now,” Mrs. James said meaningfully before continuing. “But I will buy four sets today for my use.”

It was very tactful, Yanee thought. Mrs. James was actually able to fend off the question about her wedding with Tohru by saying it’s for her sister. But at the same time, she gave the staff a reason to entertain them at the store even if Yanee didn’t end up picking something for Ami.

After the introduction, Mrs. James was able to get things in motion. The manager proceeded on showing them the different types of kimonos they had in the store. Yanee was amazed at the very beautiful clothes. She didn’t know that there were at least six types of wedding kimonos. Some were pure white some had colors. But of course, she still looked at the pure white ones fondly.

“The products they have here is the best so I took you here first,” Mrs. James whispered to her ear when the manager went to fetch the last wedding kimono from the backroom.

Yanee looked at her in surprise and whispered back. “I think their products are all amazing as well. Do we really have to go and check out the other stores, mama?”

Yanee usually preferred seeing everything, and was originally planning to check out all the shops that they could today before deciding which to buy for Ami. But after seeing the stores products, she was totally convinced that she didn’t need to go search somewhere else. The dye and the quality of the cloths the store had were really topnotch.

“Well, all the products here are handcrafted so they’re definitely special,” Mrs. James said. “But I was unsure if your sister wants a real traditionally made kimono or normal ones. The price difference is very high.”

Oh, so that’s why.

Yanee had told them that Ami would be using the kimonos for the expo so Mrs. James was not sure if she wanted the expensive ones or not. She reckoned that the price range for the custom made ones ranged from three hundred eighty thousand yen to ten million yen— that’s around three thousand nine hundred to a hundred and three thousand US Dollars. The more special ones were around twenty to thirty-five million yen or more.

But money was not really a problem. Ami earned a lot, and knowing her, she would be selling the kimonos to the clients as well. But Mrs. James still looked worried, and it was understandable. She was buying more than one kimono after all.

“Could you call your sister and ask first?” Mrs. James suggested and Yanee didn’t have the heart to object.

The elderly lady was concerned about her sister after all. Yanee whipped out her phone and called Ami.

“Sis, I’m at the kimono shop and they’re selling really high quality custom made ones,” she began, but before she could explain the reason for her call, Ami already beat her to it.

“Ah yeah, I forgot to tell you about that. I want only the high quality ones because I already have people who will buy them after the expo. One special kimono is around forty million yen so I wired you three hundred million just to make sure. If it’s not enough just ring and I’ll send more.”

AH…

She should have known. Ami did her research well.

“And the designs?” she prompted and Ami chuckled on the other end.

“I’ll leave you to choose for me. I trust your taste— oh but please try them on and take pictures. My clients want to see how they look. You have similar body types so it’ll be fine.”

EEEEH?

Yanee was about to protest but Ami cut her off.

“I’m going to a meeting now. Bye bye— send me the pictures asap okay?” she said and the call was cut before she was even able to reply.

“O…kay?” Yanee murmured before letting out a sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Mrs. James asked anxiously and Yanee smiled at her.

“Everything’s fine. My sister told me to get the special ones around forty million each,” she said with a helpless smile. “She already sent me the funds.”

Mrs. James whistled making Yanee laugh, but remembering what she had to do made her look upset again.

“What’s the matter now?”

Yanee sighed. “She asked me to try them on and take pictures. Will that be okay?”