the universe inside her head;;
her mother hates this house. yoko’s heard isoko sobbing about the english estate to her father many-a night. it isn’t big enough. it isn’t grand enough. how is she meant to live here in peace ?
it’s nothing like what they’ve left behind. the ono’s tokyo estate was something to be coveted; it was a materialistic show of their station in life, with it’s many rooms and beautiful garden.
but maybe isoko isn’t happy just because, well, western homes are just so different. the doors don’t slide, they rock back and forth on squeaky hinges. and all of the house is in the front, and the garden is in the back, as opposed to the middle. in actuality, without the skewed cultural view, the chelsea home is extremely grand, indeed.
yoko doesn’t mind the move so much. perhaps because her life, whether it be in tokyo or london, has remained constant. her parents have brought both her and her brother’s tutor along ( in the fear that the english schools would not be sufficient ) and their shared nanny. a strict older woman who has done her job of teaching yoko to be see and not heard, well.
but of course, their home could not run on just a tutor and nanny. isoko has taken it upon herself to hire a new staff, seeing as she gained lots of free time in the move, having lost her tokyo socialite status. another reason she loathes their current refugee status.
there’s so many positions to worry about. there’s the errand-runner, and the cook, and the maid. at least the local times were happy to publish her want ad.
