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On the fateful day when the Blue Boy's number one host collapsed and missed his date with Takamiya Katsura, Aoe Reiji was in Singapore hashing out the final details of a contract, which would allow his publishing interests to take advantage of the emerging worldwide market for yaoi manga. Most of the groundwork had been laid months before.

He'd flown in on Sunday and attended conferences all day Monday.

He came to a meeting of minds with the CEO of Regal Distributors Tuesday morning, and finally shook hands on the deal that afternoon with the last few details to be ironed out by the legal staff of both corporations.

Aoe, as was customary, accepted the invitation to the banquet that evening to celebrate the successful conclusion of the deal. The catered affair involved copious amounts of alcohol, fresh seafood and other Indonesian specialties. Aoe did not overindulge but was still exhausted by the time that he got to the Changi airport to catch the red-eye flight back to Tokyo.

Though he was slightly tempted to check his voicemail and email, the need for rest overcame his devotion to duty and not a half hour after take-off, Aoe dozed off and except for occasional momentary wakefulness, managed to sleep for almost the entire flight.

After Aoe deplaned at Narita at eight in the morning and finally cleared customs, the B&B's chauffeur met Aoe at the baggage claim, and waited while his boss checked voicemail.

There were ten messages from Aoe's girl friend, Mirella, the first two indicating how much she missed him. In the third and fourth call, she asked why he didn't respond to her first two calls. The rest were variations of the above with sprinkled hints about him stopping off at the duty-free shop to bring her a little token to show how much he'd missed her.

It would be easier to miss her if she didn't call so often. "Is this what it would be like if we were married," he wondered with a frown.

He was half-expecting a message from a grateful Takamiya who had to be pretty happy about being set up with the B and B's number one host, though come to think of it, after such a dry spell, Takamiya was probably still enjoying the services, Aoe thought with a chuckle.

Aoe noted a call from the night manager of the B and B. That was a surprise, but he would wait until he got to the club to find out what the problem was. Maybe it would solve itself before he arrived.

When he saw Kiichi had called, he hit two on his speed dial and his brother picked up at once.

"Reiji, where are you?"

"At Narita. I just got off the plane. Anything wrong?"

"I thought you should know, Izumi collapsed yesterday, but he's doing okay, now."

"What's the problem? Was he with Takamiya?" Aoe asked, now concerned that it might have happened during sex and wondering how that would affect his host and his friend.

"They never met," said Kiichi. "Izumi was so excited about the date, he forgot to take his medicine in the morning and fainted before the meeting ever came off. He keeps apologizing for letting you down. His condition is stable now, though."

"What hospital was he taken to?"

"By coincidence, Saint Maria's was the closest, so I've had plenty of opportunities to get out of the lab and check in on him."

"Maybe now would be a good time for you to give him that talk about the advisability of surgery?"

"I reminded him of the benefits this morning, but he was fairly adamant about avoiding it. He told me he would have been fine if he'd remembered his pills. It's probably true, so I didn't want to force the issue. I'm sure he'll come to the right decision in his own good time. A visit from you would lift his spirits, I'm sure, though I know you're probably jet-lagged."

"I'll swing by on my way to the office."

"Oh, by the way, little brother, Mirella called me twice. She was feeling neglected."

"I told her I'd be in meetings. Why did she call you?"

"To see if you called me and not her. I assured her I hadn't heard from you. That seemed to make her feel a little better. Do you think she may be jealous, Reiji?"

"Of a family member?" Reiji let out an exasperated sigh. "She knows how important my work is for the Aoe group. Long hours go with the territory. She knew that going in. I didn't sugar-coat it.."

"She's feeling neglected, little brother. I suggest you bring her a vat of perfume from the duty-free shop to make up for your shortcomings as a boyfriend."

"Shortcomings?"

"I got the impression from her that you haven't done "it" for a while"

There was dead silence on the phone until Reiji cleared his throat, and said, "She told you that?"

"I'm a doctor, remember? I inspire confidence. Still, the more I get to know her--Kiichi paused a moment before saying, "I just don't think she's right for you."

"It's none of your business, Kiichi."

"My brother's happiness is my business."

Reiji was silent as he digested this.

"Chanel No. 5, Reiji," Kiichi advised him. "I'll see you at the hospital. Good-bye."

Aoe went to the duty-free shop and tried to push back his annoyance at Kiichi's interference in his love life. As he bought the large bottle of perfume for Mirella, it dawned on him that the thing he hated most was that his brother had a point.

He walked outside to the limo, got in and the driver took off.

On the way into Tokyo, Aoe gave Takamiya a call but his room didn't answer. It was unusual for his friend to be out and about at that time of day. He found himself wondering what had disrupted the routine.

When Aoe called, Takamiya, had just left Izumi's house, over the moon with his dinner invitation. Since falling in love with Izumi, everything had become so clear to the handsome translator.

His indecision about whether to stay in Japan or go back to England had vanished, and that very morning on the way back to his hotel, Takamiya stopped off at a real estate office. He wasn't quite sure if he was looking for, but he felt the strong need to set things in motion.

All he wanted was a place, just about any place, close to where Izumi was living.

The real estate agent's astute questions about renting or buying and what Takamiya might need in terms of square feet brought the translator down to earth. The agent volunteered to research some properties and set up an appointment with his new client to view them the following day.

After stopping off for breakfast, Takamiya finally went back to his hotel. The concierge at the desk gave him a list of messages, two from his editor and one from Aoe. When he got back to his room, Takamiya called Reiji but got voice mail instead of his friend.

"Just touching bases," he said after the tone. "I'll be out this evening. Try late tonight or early in the morning, if it's very important."

As for the calls from his editor, he didn't even have to listen to know what was wanted. Chapter 14.

As excited as he was about his impending visit to Izumi's home, Takamiya needed to calm down and , so he turned his attention to translation and worked productively for several hours. After he faxed the completed pages, he started to prepare for his visit.

He dressed casually in turtleneck and khakis, then went down to the hotel gift shop to look for a hostess gift for Izumi's mother . He decided on a fragrant floral arrangement in pink and lavender tones that reminded him of spring.

Then it was time to go.

When he arrived, Izumi's mother opened the door.

Oh, do come in, Takamiya-san. What lovely flowers," she said as she received the gift.

"For your home," he said.

"Thank you."

Takamiya removed his shoes and followed her into the living room, saying. "What's that delicious smell?"

"Miso soup. A special recipe my mother taught me. Please, sit," she said when they neared the table.

"Izumi," she called. "Our guest is here."

A few moments later, Izumi appeared with a sulky look on his face as he kneeled at his place at the table.

The boy's dislike was barely controlled, but Izumi's mother kept the conversational ball rolling and when the subject went to travel, Takamiya came into his own.

"...St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice? Exquisite is the word that springs to mind. Surprising is another. It simply has to be seen. Not many cities in Europe struck me as jewel-like, but Venice was one. Toledo in Spain is another. I was also very taken with Nimes in France and Penzance in Cornwall."

"And what about Paris?"

"Well, when you go, you absolutely must visit the Louvre and the Pompidou museum . For shopping, the Galeries Lafayette is still the place for cutting-edge French style. And of course, Versailles, outside Paris, is certainly worth a visit if only to see the fountains and gardens."

"Are they very beautiful?"

"In their own way, I think the fountains are magnificent. As for the gardens, Europeans had a very different notion of gardening than we do in Japan. The royalty of Europe had such vast expanses of space to play with, I can hardly imagine such a garden in Japan, yet the scale of it has to be seen to be believed."

Although Izumi was interested by what Takamiya was saying, he resented the fact that the man was in his house again. It was getting harder and harder to maintain the façade of politeness.

When his mother asked Takamiya," "Which do you prefer, Japanese gardens or European ones?" Izumi was close to fed up.

"To tell the truth, I love them both," Takamiya replied. "England has beautiful gardens and countryside. I miss it sometimes, but I'm very happy to be--"

"Can we eat now, Mom?" Izumi interrupted with a sigh.

She made a sound of disapproval but pretended to clear her throat.

"Help me bring the dishes to the table," she said to her son who followed her into the kitchen.

"Behave yourself," she hissed as she gathered the hotpot and a platter of raw meat and vegetables and motioned to Izumi to bring the rice and pickles back to the table.

Takamiya did not react to Izumi's rudeness. He only thought of how charming the boy had been at the restaurant the day before, and realized that the change in behavior was an index of Izumi's unhappiness. Still Takamiya was a little relieved to see rudeness. It was better than tears, but he wondered how he could earn forgiveness when Izumi was so angry.

I have a captive audience, Takamiya thought. Izumi has to be a little polite in his mother's presence. She wants to know some things about me. If Izumi listens, maybe he will find out I'm really not such a bad person as he thinks.

While they cooked and ate the communal meal, Takamiya was happy to answer any question she had if it would help Izumi get to know him better.

"So, you're done with European travel for a while?" she asked.

"Oh, yes, I'm very happy to be back in Japan," Takamiya said, "but I haven't decided where to live yet."

"You're living with friends then?"

"No, I have a suite at the King's Hotel. I've been there for over three months."

"Three months at The King's Hotel! It's so expensive, I've heard, and a suite at that. What floor are you on?"

"Well, the top floor."

"The penthouse? The view must be fantastic! Oh, it must be just like in the movies."

Takamiya shrugged and said, "The view is fine if all you want to see is the bright lights of Shinjuku, but I can barely see the stars at night. Did you know that you can see the stars much better here than from the terrace of my hotel.?"

"Is that so? And your suite must be terribly expensive...You know, I really think you might be better off living here with us."

"You can't be serious, Mom!" Izumi objected, annoyance at the suggestion written clearly on his face.

His mother was surprised. "Izumi!" she exclaimed. "It's a perfectly reasonable offer. The house just doesn't seem as safe to me with your father away on business."

Izumi rolled his eyes at that.

"You have no reason to be here," the boy declared to Takamiya, "so why do you keep coming back?"

"Takamiya took care of you and brought you home, didn't he? You're being rude," Izumi's mother protested.

"Took care of?" Izumi snorted.

Takamiya sipped his tea nervously as the small drama between mother and son played out.

"When you fainted, he brought you home, and even carried you into the house. I thought it was very kind of him."

"I'm very sorry," she said to Takamiya. "I can't figure out why he doesn't like you," she sighed.

"No, don't apologize," he responded. "It's all right. Really."

Izumi said, "But that's not--" he broke off unable to finish the thought. All the talk about that man's hotel room---Izumi was so humiliated and ashamed by what had taken place there the night before, he couldn't stand to hear his mother chatting about the place so casually, but it would be worse if she found out. He didn't think he could bear that so he just sat there fuming without another word, while she cleared away the dinner dishes.

Takamiya looked closely at the youth. The boy looked so troubled, it was painful to imagine his feelings. The man wished he could do something to ease the situation, but he didn't know how to break through Izumi's resentment. If only they could spend some time alone like they had at the stable or restaurant, maybe he could get things back the way they were at the beginning between them.

"Izumi? If it's okay, why don't we go do something together?" suggested Takamiya.

"With you?" Izumi couldn't believe the man's nerve. "Absolutely not! You wanna die?"

Takamiya smile was sincere and gentle as he said, "So, you still can't forgive me?"

"Of course not, you jerk," Izumi responded with such contempt that the translator's hopes took a nosedive.

The words and tone hurt his feelings and only his love for Izumi and ingrained good manners saw Takamiya through the rest of the visit. He was pleasant and polite as he made his good-byes to Izumi's mother and when she extended another invitation for a home-cooked meal the following night, he didn't refuse outright.

"I have some appointments tomorrow, but I will be sure to call to let you know," he said.

He looked back at the boy, smiled one last time and said, "Good-bye, Izumi."

The young man didn't respond, but only stood beside his mother in the entryway, arms folded across his chest, as if he couldn't wait for the unwelcome visitor to be gone.

A melancholy mood fell on Takamiya on the drive back to the hotel.

"So that appears to be that," he thought.

Takamiya didn't have the mental energy to check for messages at the desk. By the time he got to his suite, he was too depressed to do anything but go to bed and sleep.