Baccano! - Volume 12 - Chapter 1.5

Interlude

“How’s it going over there?”

“Lovely. I can’t believe how comfy this ship is! What about yours, Misao?”

“Ha-ha. The same, of course; what else would it be? It’s just like the one you’re on, Hiroko.”

“Still, our timing was terrible, wasn’t it? We’re going to sail right past each other. If you’d come while I was in America, I would have at least treated you to dinner.”

“Well, that probably wouldn’t have been a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“I still have feelings for you.”

“…You’re reading too much into it. Over here, it’s nothing for divorced couples to eat together.”

“Well, never mind that. I hope I get to see you during that Crossing event.”

“You really do still have feelings for me, don’t you? I wonder if it’s fate—like two ships passing in the night.”

“Could be. Seriously… My photographer friend won the grand prize in a lottery two months in a row, but he told me he had guests coming over from America and sold the ticket to me instead. Talk about timing.”

“Oh, is that the man who got attacked by the bear? I never would’ve guessed he had American friends… Wait, the last big prize was a trip to New York, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. I tell you, he doesn’t have a lot of money, but when it comes to things like this, his luck is fantastic. When I heard he’d won a department store lottery this time, I thought he must have made a deal with the devil or something.”

“I can imagine… Still, I feel a little bad for him. This is quite a ship; he’s missing out.”

“Speaking of, are there any odd people over on the Entrance?”

“We’ve got some movie actors and a director. I hear they’re going to hold some sort of event. You have any celebrities over there, too?”

“I dunno if he’s famous, but there was a guy wearing a mask that seemed sort of tribal.”

“What?”

“And he wasn’t the only odd one… I saw a big man who looked like a professional wrestler, and a stage magician… There were a few who gave me weird vibes, too, but they might be comedians from overseas. Seriously, it’s so hard to talk to anyone here. The ship is leaving from Japan, but the majority of the passengers are foreign.”

“Is that why you called me? You’re so funny—‘Phone calls are fine, but dinner? No way.’”

“I feel better when I hear your voice, but seeing your face makes me cry.”

“You’re like a little kid.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ll hang up soon. I didn’t mean to interrupt your trip.”

“It doesn’t bother me. Never mind that—are you going to be able to cover the phone charges?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m using the ship’s satellite link, so even a ten-minute call is going to be astronomical…”

“You’d better hang up, then. You’ve just started working, and you don’t have much money either, do you?”

“…Can I call you again tomorrow night?”

“Sure.”

“Two nights from now… Before the Crossing. I’d like to call you then, too.”

“Let me call you that time. We’ll probably spend the whole event talking to each other anyway.”

“Thanks. Now I have something to look forward to on this trip.”

“All right, then, see you tomorrow night… Although there is a time difference to deal with, isn’t there? In that case, shall we say twenty-four hours from now?”

“Okay, twenty-four hours. And also forty-eight hours. Oh, one last thing.”

“What?”

“Have a wonderful trip.”

“…Bon voyage.”