Yuiko Goes Forth

"I know. Hanako told me about it," Yuiko said. "It's one of the reasons I came here." She was so grateful for the opportunity to be part of this special process. The idea of leaving Japan and starting a new life in America with a loving, wealthy husband filled her with hope and excitement. "And when I have my green card?" she praised, barely able to contain her excitement.

The director laughed. "Then we get you a plane ticket to go be with your new husband!" Then Mr. Fujimoto paused, considering his next words carefully. "Now, Yuiko, I understand that the idea of marrying someone on the other side of the world might be intimidating. But let me assure you, our agency has a very rigorous, very careful selection process. We are the best in the business, and so only the best men can be our clients. By that and token, however, we are unfortunately unable to accept many of the girls who want to apply. Our clients are the best, and they will accept only the best. This is why our application process is so intensive and time-consuming; only a small number of girls each year meet our rigorous criteria for applicants, just as only a small number of men meet our rigorous criteria for potential clients. If, at any point, you'd fallen short of any one of those standards, we'd have had to send you home."

Yuiko winced a little. It made sense, though. Ever After Brides was running a business, not a charity.

"I know that this is an exciting time for you," Mr. Fujimoto said. "But I want to emphasize the importance of patience. While we will do everything in our power to find you your first match as quickly as possible, there is no guarantee when it will happen. It could be tomorrow, or it could be in six months. Here at Ever After Brides, we pride ourselves on quality, and quality takes time. Do you understand?"

Yuiko accepted this with a look of determination in her eyes. "Yes, I understand. I'm willing to wait as long as it takes for you to find the right person for me. I trust your judgment, Mr. Fujimoto."

The director smiled warmly at her. "Thank you, Yuiko. Your patience and trust mean a great deal to us. Now, a few final questions. Dr. Smith has informed me that you're set on finding a husband in America. Is this true?"

She gave him an emphatic nod. "Absolutely."

"Then we'll start our search there." He reached into a drawer and begin piling books and thick packets of paper onto his desk. "Now, before you go, let me give you a copy of our agency handbook. This will outline our expectations for you as a bride-to-be and explain the process in more detail. We also offer free English language classes here at our branch office four times a week for all our brides. They take place every Saturday and Sunday at 10 in the morning and I strongly encourage you to take advantage of them. I also have some reference materials for you to take home today. These cover a wide range of topics, from American culture and customs to basic overviews of each of the fifty states you might end up living in: their geography, weather, history, that sort of thing. This is all very important information, Yuiko. You have a duty to your future husband to be as prepared as possible when you eventually get on the plane to meet him. Dr. Smith has informed me that you've acquired some level of familiarity with America from TV and movies, but that only goes so far. While we search on our end, please make effective use of your time and do your homework. I know it seems like a lot, but you will be happy you did it when the time comes."

"I will study day and night," Yuiko promised him. Fierce determination swelled within her.

The director nodded, pleased. "Excellent. Then I do believe we have everything we need. You can head on home now, Yuiko. We will be in touch very, very soon and keep you updated at each stage of the process. Thank you for coming in today and taking this brave step--we have no doubt you'll be an excellent bride!"

Yuiko stood up and bowed deeply, then shook his hand one more time before leaving the office. Hanako was still in the lobby when she got off the elevator, and outside, it was starting to get dark. The whole interview process had taken the entire afternoon.

"I am so happy for you," Hanako gushed. "Yuiko, I hope you find everlasting happiness!"

Yuiko gave her friend a tight hug. "I wouldn't have done it if you hadn't mentioned it to me. This is all because of you, Hanako. Thank you so much!"

Hanako returned the embrace. "So, tell me everything! How was it?"

Yuiko blushed, but she couldn't hide the excitement in her voice. "It was... interesting. At first I was nervous, but the photographer was very kind and professional. And I was proud of how beautiful the pictures turned out. It felt empowering, in a way." She paused, reflecting on her newfound confidence. "By the end of it, I wasn't even shy anymore. I was enjoying it a lot! I..." Her face reddened and she leaned in closer to whisper. "I even posed nude, and let them do a short video of me while I was naked!"

Hanako's eyes widened in surprise. "No way! You didn't!"

"I did," Yuiko winked. "It was amazing, I felt so powerful and sexy. The video was like a short introduction, telling my potential suitors who I am and why they should pick me. It was so naughty but so exciting! By the end of it, I didn't feel embarrassed at all."

Hanako laughed, clearly impressed. "That's a side of you I don't think I've ever seen before, Yuu-chan. Well, I'm sure that will help you stand out to them."

"In more ways than one!" Yuiko joked. "Though I might leave that part out when I tell our classmates about this tomorrow."

"You'll be the talk of the whole school," Hanako agreed.

And it was true. As she walked to school the next day, Yuiko told one of her other classmates, Aoi, what she'd done. By the time she got to homeroom, word had already spread like wildfire. Many of the other girls in her class crowded around Yuiko's desk, peppering her with questions about her experience and why she'd done it.

"You truly wish to be married?" Tsumugi, a quiet, soft-spoken girl with glasses asked. "But you are only 18! Why the rush? It is such a huge decision!"

Yuiko smiled at her classmate. "I know, but in my heart I'm sure this is the right path for me. I want to start a new life, build a family, and I believe this is the best way for me to do that. Besides, it's not like I'm being paired off with a complete stranger. The agency will ensure he is a good match for me, and I will see his picture and stuff in his portfolio."

"Is it true he's going to be rich?" another girl asked.

"Probably." Yuiko couldn't help sounding just a little smug. "The agency only allows a certain type of man to use their services. Hanako told me that their fee is equivalent to millions of our Japanese yen."

The other girls in the class gasped. They all looked at her with a combination of awe and envy. Even though some of them were a year or two older than Yuiko, they were all still in high school and had no such prospects. It was unheard of for a girl their age to even consider getting married, much less to someone who was so rich and successful.

"But an American? A foreigner?" Rin, an athletic girl with short-cropped hair, folded her arms over her chest. "I am not sure about that. America is a dangerous place, with lots of guns, and it is said they are all very racist. I do not believe you will like it there at all."

Yuiko laughed. "Oh, come on. You're not serious, are you? Don't believe everything you see in the movies or on TV. Assholes can be found in any country. Do we Japanese always welcome foreigners with open arms? We closed ourselves off from the outside world for more than two hundred years. I do not think we have a right to judge--I am sure most Americans are very nice people, just like us."

"Well, if you're sure," Aoi said, shrugging. "But what about the language barrier? How will you communicate with him if you don't even speak English?"

"I am going to take classes on it," Yuiko said proudly. "The agency provides them for free."

"Have you told your parents yet?"

"Not yet, but I will when I get home this afternoon."

"Aren't you scared of how they'll react?" Tsumugi asked.

"I don't know. Maybe a little," Yuiko admitted. "But I think they'll come around. They've always been supportive of me. They just want what's best for me, and they know I'm old enough to make my own decisions."

"Can I apply too?" Rin asked. "Would they accept me?"

"Maybe." Yuiko shrugged one slender shoulder. "They are very selective, both about their clients and the girls who wish to become mail order brides. They might accept you, and they might not. I had to go through a very long process."

As the morning passed, the other girls and even some of the boys continued to ask Yuiko questions. Some were curious, some were skeptical, and some were downright disapproving. But Yuiko didn't mind. She knew she was making the right decision for herself, and she was prepared to face whatever challenges lay ahead. She was more excited about this than she'd ever been about anything before. She stood on the cusp of a dramatic, sweeping change in her life, and she exulted in it. As school wore on, she imagined going on road trips with her husband, real American road trips just like in the movies she'd seen. She imagined visiting the Grand Canyon, the national parks, and famous battlefields from American history. She imagined holding her first child in her arms, a child that would be the product of two wonderful cultures.

It was almost enough to bring her to tears.

As she walked down the hallway, Yuiko's heart swelled with anticipation. She could feel the weight of her backpack pressing down on her shoulders, but it didn't seem heavy anymore. She felt free, weightless, like a bird.

That is, until she heard Katsuhiro's voice.

Her ex-boyfriend. The one she'd broken up with after he'd tried to pressure her into bed.

"What were you thinking?" he demanded, spinning her roughly around. "Are you insane?"

Yuiko winced at the pain in her shoulder as she tried to pull away from him. "Katsuhiro, please. Leave me alone. I don't want to talk to you."

"You damn well will talk to me," he snarled. "As if dumping me wasn't bad enough, now you go and sell yourself to some foreigner like...like some kind of broodmare?!"

"It's not like that," Yuiko protested. "I'm not selling myself. I'm just giving myself a chance at a new life, a better life. One where I can be happy. Don't you want that for me?"

"I want you to be happy with me!" he shot back. "Not some barbarian!"

Yuiko took a deep breath, trying to keep her temper in check. "Katsuhiro, you lost that chance when you tried to get me to do something I wasn't ready for. You made me feel disrespected, like a sex object. You didn't care about my feelings, what I wanted or what I thought. You just cared about using my body for your own pleasure. I'm sorry, but you do not have any right to say such things, or to try and stop me. I have made my choice, and I will not change it."

Katsuhiro's face reddened with fury.

"You're a fool," he spat. "A selfish, stupid fool. You don't know what kind of life you're getting yourself into. Do you think it's all roses and fairytales? Do you think some foreigner is really going to love you? You're nothing but a commodity to him, Yuiko. An exotic fetish. A thing he can buy and use and throw away when he's done."

"You would know," she spat back. "Since that's exactly what you tried to do."

Yuiko's heart pounded in her chest as she looked into Katsuhiro's furious eyes. She could see the rage and betrayal simmering there, but she refused to back down.

"Damn you," he snarled. "You stupid, stupid bitch. You'll regret this!"

"Even if I do, you'll never know," Yuiko promised.

But as she walked away from him, leaving him sputtering with anger in her wake, she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine. His words echoed in her ears, filling her mind with doubt. What if he was right? What if she was making a terrible mistake? Would she really find happiness with this man she'd only met online? What if he was nothing like the person she thought he was?

She shook her head, banishing such thoughts with an effort of will. No, that was just Katsuhiro trying to manipulate her, just like he'd tried to manipulate her into bed. She would not let him ruin this for her. She refused to.

As she made her way down the hall, Yuiko tried to focus on the future. On the life that lay before her with her future husband, whoever he turned out to be. She was certain he'd make her feel beautiful and wanted and cherished, something that Katsuhiro had never managed to do.

As the end of the school day drew near, she began gearing herself up to break the news to her parents. Yuiko knew this would be the hardest part, but she believed, truly believed, that she could make them understand and set their mind at ease once she explained everything to them. She rehearsed what she was going to say, going over it over and over in her head until finally, as she walked through the front door of her childhood home and took off her shoes, she said, "Mom, Dad, there's something I need to tell you."

Her parents looked up from where they were sitting at the kitchen table, their faces filled with concern at her serious tone. Yuiko took a deep breath and began to speak.

She told them everything. Well, almost everything. She left out some of the spicier details of the photo shoot, but other than that, she was completely up front with them about everything that happened during her long interview with Ever After Brides. Her parents listened, stunned into speechlessness, and as she spoke Yuiko couldn't decide if that was a good or bad sign.

When she finally finished, silence reigned in the kitchen.

Her parents exchanged glances, then her father cleared his throat. "Well," he said, his voice gruff with emotion, "we certainly weren't expecting that. Yuiko, we are proud of you for being so honest with us. We knew you were growing up, but..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "This is so much to take in. Are you sure this agency is legitimate?"

Yuiko nodded. "Yes, Dad, they're very well-known and respected. They've been around for years, and they've helped thousands of women find happy marriages. They even helped one of our neighbors, Kisu, become a mail order bride not long ago. I'm positive they're trustworthy."

"Kisu? So that's where she went," mused her mother. "I was wondering why we hadn't seen her around lately."

"But...sweetheart, this is such a huge step," her father went on. "You cannot take it back once it is done. How can you be so sure this is the right thing for you to do? You are so young. You still have plenty of time to date and find a good man. Why rush?"

"Dad, I understand what you're saying, but I've given this a lot of thought. I really believe that this is the best way for me to find happiness. I'm not saying I don't think I could find someone here in Japan eventually, but I just feel like my chances are so much better with Ever After Brides. They'll find me someone who loves me for me, who will cherish and appreciate me." She grinned. "Besides, you know I've always been fascinated by the U.S. This is a way for me to finally see all the things I've wanted to see. I am embarking on a grand adventure." She bowed to them. "Please find it in your hearts to be happy for me, and support me in this."

Her parents looked at each other.

"We...have reservations," her father said. "But you are of age to decide your own fate, and you have a good head on your shoulders, Yuiko. If this is what you are set on, we will not stand in your way." He snorted. "Doing that would just make it worse and poison what time you have left here with us. I do not wish that and neither does your mother. But if this...adventure of yours does not pan out, if whoever you are matched with makes you feel unsafe or unhappy in any way, I want you to promise that you will let us know so we can come get you."

Her mother nodded in agreement. "Yes, we want you to be happy, sweetheart. But we want you to be safe, too. And if things don't work out, we want you to know that you can always come home."

Yuiko blinked back tears and hugged them both, throwing an arm around each of them. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Her parents hugged her back, murmuring words of love and encouragement into her hair. It was then that her mother pulled away and looked her in the eye. "My headstrong little girl," she said. "All grown up."

There was a moment of silence as they all sat there, wrapped up in the warmth of their love for each other. Then her father cleared his throat, breaking the quiet. "Well, if you're really set on this, I suppose we should start making arrangements. How can we help?"

"I've already spoken with Ever After Brides," Yuiko said, grinning. "They've given me a list of things I need to do before I leave. I've also got homework to do, with some books and stuff that they gave me to take home."

Her father raised an eyebrow. "You're going to be a mail order bride, and you have homework?"

"I'll be living in a brand new country, Dad. I've got to become familiar with it if I'm going to build a life there."

Her father chuckled. "I suppose you have a point. So, what about a going-away party? We could invite all your friends and family to wish you well."

"I would love that! But let's hold off on that until I actually have a fiancé. The agency hasn't matched me with anybody yet and they said it may take a little time."

"Of course, sweetie," her mother agreed.

The next few weeks were a flurry of activity as Yuiko completed her homework, read the books and pamphlets the agency had given her, and prepared herself mentally for the journey ahead. She attended the agency's free classes to sharpen her command of English too, but she also made sure to spend time with those she loved. She wanted to cherish every moment they had together while she still could.

Then it happened. Exactly four weeks after she'd first entered the office of Ever After Brides,, a pink envelope arrived in the mail. The letterhead was from the agency and Yuiko opened it with shaking hands.

Its contents changed her life forever.

It was a letter from the agency, informing her that they had found the perfect match for her: a young man named Nathan. His portfolio was enclosed in the envelope and Yuiko read it eagerly.

Nathan, she learned, lived in the state of Wyoming, He was 6'2" and very well built, with green eyes and blonde hair. He was 29 and owned a very successful ranch where he bred thoroughbred horses and bred cattle. Many of his pictures were of him on horseback, with the wide vastness of Wyoming in the background. One of them even depicted him branding cattle.

Yuiko almost pinched herself. A cowboy! A real life cowboy, just like in the Westerns she'd watched with Hanako so many times!

She imagined herself riding a horse alongside Nathan as he worked on the ranch, wearing a cowboy hat just like his and pointed cowboy boots. The idea of living in such a rugged place, so different from the city she'd grown up in, was irresistible. And that wasn't even counting the fact that Nathan was absolutely gorgeous. He looked so tall and strong in his pictures. Yuiko had no doubt that he be able to keep her safe.

She called the agency right away and asked to speak to the Director.

"I choose him!" she blurted as soon as he picked up the phone. "I choose Nathan! I choose him to be my husband! Please, let him know right away!

Mr. Fujimoto burst into laughter. "I thought you'd like him!" he said. "Yes, of course. I will contact him right away to let him know of your response. He reacted much the same way when he saw your portfolio too! The photographs you took, made quite the impression on him, as did the, ah, bold video you made."