I’m Anna, and I live with my husband, Takuya, and our preschooler, Asahi. Being a bit of a wallflower myself, I was naturally drawn to Takuya’s outgoing, charismatic personality. He’s always been so devoted to Asahi and me, and I truly felt like we had the perfect little life. Recently, we moved for Takuya’s job, and the first people to welcome us were the Moritas—Meiko and her son, Naoto. Naoto became Asahi’s best friend, and Meiko was the one mom friend I felt I could really trust. We even started visiting each other’s homes. But ever since she met Takuya, Meiko has been blatantly avoiding me. When I finally worked up the courage to ask why, she dropped a bombshell: Takuya used to bully her relentlessly back in school.
I hear what Meiko is saying, I really do. But part of me can’t help but think about the kids—is it right to make them suffer because of this? Besides, I just can’t wrap my head around my husband ever being that kind of person. I feel for Meiko, but could it all just be some big misunderstanding? That thought kept crossing my mind. However, when I talked it over with my friend Mariko, she ripped into me. She told me I was being incredibly insensitive. I didn’t realize it at the time, but now I’m left wondering… what exactly was I supposed to do?