THE PENNY PUB
No Love in Tokyo
A pivotal transition that would be the demise of my marriage
We were five years into our marriage, beginning to settle into our startup home with our daughter while making strides in our respective careers. The time felt right to plan for a second child, and by Thanksgiving that year, when our daughter turned two, we knew our second child was on its way in June.
That November, my husband wanted to pursue an expatriate assignment in Tokyo for two years. He believed it would be a good career move that would set him off on a different trajectory. If we decided to go ahead, the move would happen in January with hardly a month to plan.
I traveled to Japan as a child and took Japanese language lessons in college, as I was intrigued by its language and culture. Having already immigrated to the United States from India, moving to a new country was not new to me either.
But something about this move and its timing didn’t feel right from the very beginning.
My needs, dreams, and aspirations were not being considered. As the self-proclaimed “breadwinner” of the family, my husband was convinced he needed to make this move.
I felt conflicted.
