Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet Chapter 52 Summary

New York (1986)

  • After Sheldon's funeral, Henry flies to New York City and takes a cab to Keiko's apartment.
  • Nervously, he approaches the door and knocks. A woman opens the door, looking much different than he remembered. But then he sees her eyes and recognizes them immediately—it's Keiko.
  • She lets him inside and Henry sees that her apartment is filled with paintings of cherry blossoms and ume trees. Keiko became an artist after all.
  • When she goes to get him a drink from the kitchen, Henry looks at the photos in her apartment and sees her family, including her husband, who died three years ago. So they're both widowers—score.
  • He spots her record collection and immediately starts thinking about the song they shared together so many years ago, the one they heard at the Black Elks Club.
  • Then Keiko comes back into the room, and Henry feels like he's still looking at his old friend after all these years.
  • He says the Japanese phrase he learned from Sheldon when he was a kid.