murakami, haruki - Norwegian wood

anybody's said to me in the past year," she said. "Really."
"All I want for you," I said, blushing, "is for you to be happy. It's
crazy, though. You seem like someone who could be happy with just
about anybody, so how did you end up with Nagasawa of all people?"
"Things like that just happen. There's probably not much you can do
about them. It's certainly true in my case. Of course, Nagasawa would
say it's my responsibility, not his.'
"I'm sure he would."
"But anyway, Toru, I'm not the smartest girl in the world. If anything,
I'm sort of on the stupid side, and old-fashioned. I couldn't care less
about "systems' and "responsibility'. All I want is to get married and
have a man I love hold me in his arms every night and make babies.
That's plenty for me. It's all I want out of life."
"And what Nagasawa wants out of life has nothing to do with that."
"People change, though, don't you think?" Hatsumi asked. "You mean,
like, they go out into society and get a kick up the arse and grow up?"
"Yeah. And if he's away from me for a long time, his feelings for me
could change, don't you think?"
"Maybe, if he were an ordinary guy," I said. "But he's different. He's
incredibly strong-willed - stronger than you or I can imagine. And he
only makes himself stronger with every day that goes by. If something
smashes into him, he just works to make himself stronger. He'd eat
slugs before he'd back down to anyone. What do you expect to get
from a man like that?"
"But there's nothing I can do but wait for him," said Hatsumi with her
chin in her hand.
"You love him that much?"
"I do," she answered without a moment's hesitation.
"Oh boy," I said with a sigh, drinking down the last of my beer. "It
must be a wonderful thing to be so sure that you love somebody."
"I'm a stupid, old-fashioned girl," she said. "Have another beer?"
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