Baccano! - Volume 13 - Chapter 5.5

Interlude

Voyage, day two Night

As it turned out, I ended up writing the rest of my journal entry at night.

I just got off the phone with Hiroko, and I was way tenser than I’d expected to be. I felt like I did back even before we got married, when we’d just started going out. Except less happy and pleasant; half the tension was just awkwardness.

When we talked, though, it actually helped me feel better.

I’ll keep this up.

Right now, I’m just looking forward to calling her again in another twenty-four hours.

Seriously, it feels like I’m back in middle school. They say travel makes you brave, but maybe it’s more that being thrown into uncharted territory makes you feel like you’re a kid again, just a little.

Twenty-four hours from now… I forgot to reset my watch for the time difference, but if I have to factor that in at this point, I’ll just get confused. I’ll leave it alone.

Man, yesterday and today were full of surprises.

On the first night, after the party, I went to see that magician boy.

(Shoot. I forgot to mention that to Hiroko. I’ll tell her about it during our phone call tomorrow.)

I don’t know how to describe it, but the magic tricks were amazing. He produced a hat from a dove and guessed cards and all kinds of things.

It was a lot better than that, but I can’t really put it into words.

What startled me was the performer being a good decade younger than I am.

At the end, he took a beautiful Westerner (the one I spotted before we left port) up onstage. She looked even lovelier under the lights up there.

In the audience, I saw a guy filming her the whole time. He had a lady next to him who seemed to be his wife, but he didn’t pay any attention to her.

I’m not sure how I feel about that. If it was me and Hiroko, I wouldn’t have been filming another woman.

Anyway, I spent today—the second day—exploring the ship. I didn’t mention this to Hiroko, but something felt very weird.

It seemed like I saw an awful lot of red and black. Almost everyone was in tuxedos or evening dresses yesterday, but today, more people were wearing regular clothes. And it felt like quite a few of them were wearing this marbled red-and-black design—I’m not sure how to describe it.

Maybe they’re jackets from a movie or something and they’re being sold on board. Some people were even wearing hats in that pattern, so I really was getting curious.

The design seemed rather ominous, too. Almost cursed or something.

…Well, I think it was probably my imagination. Even little kids were walking around in pullovers with that pattern. When you take that into account, the guy going around in that foreign outfit and mask is a whole lot more suspicious.

He was wearing a mask in a different color today, though, so I think he probably is some sort of entertainer.

All that aside, the voyage is fantastic. The service is perfect. I feel like I died and came back as a millionaire.

Twenty-four hours from now, after I call Hiroko for the second time, maybe I’ll place an international call to Japan.

I really do have to say thanks to the photographer who gave me this trip.

…Although I’ll probably just end up rambling on about how great it is and hanging up.

I’ve started to hear singing. Maybe they’re congratulating me on my good luck.

Actually, it’s more like a prayer than singing. I’m not sure what it’s saying—it’s in another language—but they must be holding a wedding in the shipboard chapel.

I just remembered my wedding to Hiroko. I want to hear her voice as soon as possible.

Day two—Night —Misao