Entering the restaurant was entering an explosion of noise and cigarette smoke. The sounds and smells hit us from all sides, breaking on us like waves on a beach. Although the others may have found it unpleasant, for me it was nostalgic, reminiscent of my childhood and riding on trains with my grandfather during rush hour, the smell of the hair gel the businessmen put on their hair mixing with the "one for the road" they'd had on the way to the station. And nearly all the men in Japan smoked; apparently the Surgeon General's warnings hadn't made it over here yet. The restaurant was much as I remembered: Loud, crowded, murky, and redolent with the smell of ginger and soy sauce.

There were ten of us altogether, including a Phil, a Sam, and some other crew members whose names I didn't catch. The woman running the front of the house wasn't someone I knew, but she was obviously waiting for us, a large party of gaijin, or foreigners, because she greeted us effusively, told me to wait a moment, and disappeared into the back, presumably to fetch my grandfather's friend, Sugihara-san. She returned almost immediately with the man himself. I was shocked to see a wizened, stooped old man with pure white hair, closely shaved. I don't know why it surprised me so much; he had to be nearly 80. In spite of his age, he had a sprightly step, which quickened noticeably when he saw me.

All of the guys stepped back when they saw him approaching, giving us room for a proper greeting. Sugihara-san enveloped me in a strong embrace for someone with bones like a sparrow, releasing me almost immediately so he could look up at me, smiling through his tears.

"Lin-lin-chan! You got so big," he exclaimed in Japanese. "You're a grownup now. With a job and everything! Remember when you used to come here and sit on the little stool behind the sushi bar, and I would feed you little pieces of sashimi like you were a baby bird?" He patted me on the arm with pleasure. I smiled back at him. I couldn't talk, I was so choked up. He reminded me of all the times I'd come here to visit with my ojiichan, my grandfather, to while away the afternoons zooming up and down between the tables, going to the fish market to buy the evening's supplies.

The guys were looking on, smiling at the two of us, enjoying the reunion, and Ronan stepped in to take a quick picture, but some more customers had come in behind them, and we were blocking the entrance. The woman running the front of the house whispered to Sugihara-san that perhaps he should seat us.

"Of course, of course, this way, this way." Taking my arm, he led us through the restaurant to the back hallway. He opened a door to show an old fashioned, lowered Japanese entryway where everyone could remove their shoes and step up into a large, tatami filled room. In the middle of the room was a low table, underneath which was a large, square opening the same shape as the table, so people could sit Western style on the floor without having to fold their feet under them.

We all removed our shoes and sat down at the table while two servers busied themselves getting us situated with water, edamame, soybeans which were boiled and served in the pod at sushi restaurants the world over, and warm towels to wipe our hands, a nicety I missed when I was in the States. One of the servers asked me what drinks we would like to start with, and when I asked the table at large, they agreed that, as we were in a sushi/saké establishment, we should start off with saké. There was no need to translate this to the server, a pretty, middle-aged woman in a traditional kimono, and she left immediately to fill our order.

The saké arrived pretty much immediately, and with two people serving, the ten little warm bottles were passed around and consumed without delay, except for mine. I wasn't used to the taste or effects of liquor, and I took small sips, but the guys were on their second rounds before they'd even received their menus. In fact, when they got them, Gethin took one look and suggested to everyone else that they just leave the ordering up to me.

"Tink is the knowledgeable one, anyway, why don't we just toss back the drink and let her handle the food?" They all agreed as they toasted and re-filled yet again. Super. I needed to get them something fast or they were going to be plastered, with stomachs full of alcohol and no food. I quickly asked the server for deluxe combination platters of whatever was freshest. I knew they went to the fish market every morning and afternoon to buy what had come in that day, and they would serve us whatever was best. I also knew that with all the saké the boys were consuming they weren't going to be super picky about what they were eating.

"Is there anything anyone won't eat?" I asked the room at large. To my surprise and pleasure, everyone responded in the negative, and a couple of the boys said they were actually looking forward to "legitimate Japanese sushi", not some sanitized Western version of it.

"For sure?" I pressed. "Octopus? Sea Urchin? Marinated Squid?" Instead of looking grossed out, they merely looked interested, though a couple of the crew did look a little green at the mention of the squid. So we would see.

I asked the second server, a slightly stout woman, to slow down a little on the saké and get the food in as fast as possible. She nodded her understanding and left the room. The conversation was already noticeably louder around me. I was used to men who were drinking, as it was all around me whenever I was in Japan, but I didn't want to be in charge of nine of them all at once, if possible. Ronan's cheeks were already bright red, while Gethin was just the opposite; he was getting pale. Different people responded to liquor in different ways. With Matty's coloring I couldn't tell, and on Theo it didn't seem to show at all. I continued with small sips, but I didn't enjoy the taste, and I doubted if I could ever consume enough to get drunk.

"Theo?" I shook my head when I said his name and laughed a little.

"You know," he said, taking a drink, "that's, like, the third time you've done that little laugh thing when you've said my name. Might I ask why?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing, really."

"It's obviously not nothing, or you wouldn't keep doing it, Foster," he said, tucking a loose strand of my hair behind my ear.

I sighed. "My neighbor, back in LA, had a pet named Theo, and when I say your name, I'm reminded of him, that's all. It will fade, I'm sure."

"What kind of pet?" he questioned.

I tried mightily to keep a straight face. "Um, a pot-bellied pig."

"I see," he said. "Perhaps you should call me something else?"

"Yes, I was thinking of Teddy," I said, no longer able to keep from smiling. "What do you think?"

His face collapsed into a smile too. "Yes, I think Teddy will do just fine." He laughed, pulling me into a hug, surprising me into hugging him back. The smell of him was intoxicating.

At that moment, the food arrived, and the next few minutes were taken up with me explaining what the different pieces were called and what they were in English. With the exception of the octopus tentacles, which everyone knew by sight, no one could tell what anything was, and each piece was held up for me to explain. The boys weren't kidding; they were game for anything. Ronan snapped pictures of the beautiful plates of food before they were demolished and asked the servers to take a couple of pictures of us with the loaded tables as well.

"Geth, Geth, watch me eat this; what's it called again, Tink?" Ronan looked at me as he precariously held a piece of sushi with his chopsticks. I took a quick pic of him holding up the food.

I laughed and said, "Sujiko. It's salted salmon roe in the sac. It's just like ikura; you've had that before, right?"

He stuffed it in his mouth and nodded. After he swallowed, he said, "If it's just like the other, why is it called something different, then?"

I shook my head. "Well, it's prepared differently. It's left in the egg sac, and it's salted, so it's different."

Matty carefully picked something up and held it aloft. "Um, Tink? What's this?"

I looked at it. "It looks like kohada. See how it's braided? I forget what it's called in English; Shad, maybe? It's been pickled."

He nodded, put it in his mouth, and chewed thoughtfully. "Very good," he pronounced.

I laughed at how serious he was. "I'm glad you think so, it was one of my favorites when I was a little girl." I smiled at him, and he smiled back at me.

"Oh, god, you are so full of shit!" Gethin responded to something Sam said. For emphasis, he picked up an edamame pod and threw it at him. Sam ducked and it hit one of the crew whose names I didn't know in the face. He swore and looked around for something to throw back at Gethin. "Don't you dare!" Gethin warned. "Don't you dare!"

The servers came in with more food, which I knew I hadn't ordered. When I questioned the server, she told me it was on the house. "Sugihara-san is so happy to see you," she said with a smile, "he told the kitchen to prepare something special. This sea bream was just caught this morning." It was beautiful, fried tempura style, and the server explained to the room in surprisingly good English that it had been prepared "especially in Lin-lin-san's honor". They all clapped, whether for me or the food I wasn't sure, but it was delicious, and we devoured it. More "specialties" prepared in my honor followed, until I wondered if there was any food left in the kitchen. Special red snapper sashimi, the aforementioned squid, beautifully prepared. All of it received applause, all of it consumed with what must have been gallons of saké.

The room was so loud I couldn't believe the other patrons weren't complaining. And that thought made me wonder what time it was. I glanced at my watch. It was nearly midnight. So much for my early evening. Whether it was knowing the time or the saké, suddenly I was exhausted. I scooted away from the table so I could lean against the wall. The merriment continued without me, which was fine. I was so tired I knew I could sleep against the wall, just as I'd known I could sleep on the chair in the conference room that morning. Jet lag would do that to a person. I took my zabuton, the cushion I was sitting on, and folded it in half to use as a pillow, and quietly lay down against the wall. I was asleep instantly.

After what seemed like just a few seconds Matty was gently shaking my shoulder. "Tink? Tink. Wake up. Time to go, sweetheart." Sweetheart. How...sweet.

I sat up. " What time is it?" I asked groggily.

"About one o'clock," he answered.

I looked around the room. The guys were picking at the food, a few were out, presumably at the bathroom, and the servers were clearing up the table.

Everyone was getting their shoes on, so I just stood out of the way and waited. One of the crew, who was extremely drunk, stumbled into me, and I fell into Gethin, who caught me neatly. "Do you need me to carry you to the car, poppet?" he asked with a grin, as he grabbed me under my knees and swung my legs up.

"No! Gethin!" I shrieked, laughing to cover my discomfort. "I'm not drunk! I'm just sleepy. I'm too heavy! Put me down! Gethin!" I struggled to be let down. And Gethin, who was drunk, promptly staggered, hit the wall, and nearly dropped me.

At my scream, Teddy, who was almost to the front door, turned and practically sprinted back to where we were to find Gethin sitting against the wall with me still in his arms, speechless with laughter.

"What happened?" he demanded. "Geth? What did you do?" We just looked up at him, and I think he could see a little fear in my eyes, though I tried to hide it; obviously Geth had meant no harm.

"Gethin?" he repeated in a voice like thunder. At the look on his face the attempt at a smile evaporated from my face.

"It was my fault," I said quickly, disentangling myself and rising to my feet. "I screamed and startled him and he hit the wall and fell. That's all, really." I turned to Gethin, who, still laughing hysterically, had pushed himself up to a standing position at least.

"Gethin, hush," I admonished, but it had no effect on him. He was wiping away tears of mirth.

Gethin reached out a hand and put it on Theo's shoulder. "You should've seen it mate," he gasped. "I hit the wall and we both nearly went ass over tits..." He began to slide down the wall again, helpless with laughter.

Teddy looked from Gethin to me and back to Gethin again, and his face relaxed into a grin, the previous expression evaporating so quickly that I almost wondered if I'd imagined it. But there was no way I'd imagined the voice in which he'd called his friend's name. I tucked it away for thought later.

The drive back was just as crowded, even though the hour was so late, and I could not keep my eyes open. I kept jerking my head up as I'd start to drift off; half of me was worried about Matty, who was complaining from the back that he felt sick. It would be difficult to get him out of the back seat and out of the car if he needed to throw up. I wondered if it would be worth asking the driver to pull over to move him to the front seat so he could get out quickly if he needed to, but I didn't have the energy to open my mouth and ask, and my head kept sagging to the side. Finally, Theo just pulled my head down to his shoulder.

"Sleep," he commanded. "No one's going to die if you're not awake to translate for us between here and the hotel." So, as my day had begun, I fell asleep to the words of a gray eyed boy with dimples and a mop of long brown hair.

I barely remembered getting back to the hotel, and only Gethin's offer to carry me again got me moving on my own two feet up to my room. Ronan took my key from me and opened my door. I heard "Good night, Tink," three times, and "Oyasuminasai, Miss Foster." once, but by then my eyes were already closed, so I could have dreamed that part.