Page:Tayama Katai and His Novel Entitled Futon (Reece).pdf/251

 Even if Tokio supervised Yoshiko by having her live upstairs in his house, he could not feel easy as long as her lover was going to stay in Tokyo. It would be absolutely impossible for him to prevent the two from meeting. He could not forbid them to write letters, nor could he say anything when Yoshiko openly gave him advance notice by saying, "Today, I'll be one hour late, as I'm dropping by to see Tanaka." Nor could Tokio now prohibit Tanaka's visits, although he felt exceedingly uncomfortable about them. Before he knew it, Tokio found himself taken by these two as a "cordial guardian" for their love.

Tokio was always restless. He had various kinds of papers to work on which he was requested to complete by his publishing company. He wanted to earn money. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not concentrate on writing compositions. Even though he forced himself to write, his ideas rarely settled into shape. He tried to read a book but could not concentrate for more than two pages. Every time he saw the passionate behavior of these two lovers, his blood boiled with anger, and he vented his rage on his innocent wife by drinking saké. Occasionally he kicked over his small dining table saying that he did not like the meal which his wife had prepared. Quite often he came home drunk after midnight. Yoshiko was quite worried about his disorderly behavior and said apologetically to his wife, "As I gave him cause to worry, I'm to blame." Yoshiko tried as much as possible to hide her exchange of letters with Tanaka and one of every three visits with him she made by secretly cutting classes. Upon noticing Yoshiko's secretive behavior Tokio's anguish increased all the more.