THE KIMONO
by Herbert Ernest Bates
The Kimono tells us the story about a man called
Arthur Lawson, who was going to an interview in order to get a job. When he
finished it, he thought that he had got the job, so he decided to search for a
hotel to rest. However, he couldn’t find it, so he went to a sweet shop to get
some ice to stand the heat.
There, he met Blanche, a woman wearing a sensual
kimono, who was the shop assistant of the shop. As it was late and he hadn’t
found the hotel, Blanche let him sleep in the shop, because they were renting
some rooms. They started going out, even though Arthur was married, and he fell
in love with her. After a long time, Arthur left his wife and his job to work
in the shop with her.
One day, Arthur discovered that Blanche made love with
a lot of men and that she wasn’t in love with him. Nevertheless, he was so much
in love with her (even blind of love) and the shop was doing well that it
didn’t bother him. But then, Blanche’s father was released from prison and
began to steal money from the shop and from Arthur.
In the end, he wondered what would have happened if he
hadn’t seen Blanche in that sensual kimono and if he were still married to his
former wife.
