Three days before he was to ship out, Zenji knocked on Ken’s door. When his mother answered, she beamed and reached out to Nami, who scooted close and licked her hand.
“Ken!” she called. “Ken!”
She hugged Zenji hard, catching him by surprise.
Ken pushed around his mother. “Nami! Nami!”
The dog leaped up, licking his face, whining.
Zenji felt a happy sadness. “Good as new. Got a little limp, is all.”
Ken looked up, his smile wide.
His mother bowed. “You are welcome at our house, always.”
Zenji nodded. “Thank you.”
When Zenji headed to the street, Nami followed. Zenji picked him up and carried him back to Ken. “This is your house, little warrior. But you will always be with me, I promise.”
Zenji walked away, head down, kicking pebbles, his mind swirling with questions.
Little warrior.
Was joining the army the right thing to do? Was it worth hurting Ma? Making her worry? Making her stop talking to him? Would the army help him figure out what to do with his life? Or should he have become a Buddhist priest?
He snorted. He’d never make it as a priest. He could probably think like them; but he sure couldn’t live like they did, so simply.
He needed more … excitement.
And that’s what he got when Henry came home that night. “Listen up, Buck Private. Tomorrow night, me and Tosh are throwing you a shipping-out party … and we got you a date!”
Her name was Mina.
She was barely seventeen, and Zenji had known her all his life.
Sort of.
Their fathers had worked together at Pearl Harbor, and though they’d rarely seen each other outside of work, Mina’s family had come to Pop’s funeral. Zenji remembered how grateful Ma had been for their thoughtfulness.
Mina was a year behind, a senior at McKinley High.
She looked different than she had in school. Grown up. High heels, a red dress.
The first thing Zenji noticed were her eyes, shining, almost sparkling. And her lips. Red, like her dress. And her perfume.
Zenji, Henry, and Henry’s new girlfriend, Lois, had just arrived at Tosh’s party of eight couples, all Japanese. Zenji’s friends didn’t mix much with other races. Big-band music filled the front room, cleared out so people could dance. Tosh’s parents had retreated to a back room for the evening.
“You remember Mina from school, right?” Tosh said.
Zenji nodded.
Mina smiled and reached out her hand. “Nice to see you again, Zenji.”
Her hand was warm and silky soft, but her grip was strong. “Yeah,” he said. “It’s been a while.”
Heat brushed across his face. Set-up dates were weird, but at least he knew her.
“You like to dance, Zenji?” Mina said, still smiling … as if no one else was standing there with them. “Swing?”
“Well, uh … I never, you know, tried it.”
“Oh my,” she said. “I can see I have some work to do.”
No! He was not dancing!
Mina grabbed his hand. “Come. I’ll show you.”
“But—”
Tosh put his hands to his face in fake horror.
Zenji stumbled around, following Mina’s patient lead. His clumsiness didn’t seem to bother her at all. The dance grew wild and fast. And fun. He actually caught on.
“Well, look at you,” Mina said. “You’re a natural dancer!”
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
Henry winked and Tosh cracked up, but Zenji didn’t care. He was having more fun than he’d had in months.
After a while, he and Mina went outside to cool off. The night was warm, with stars like diamonds tossed across the sky.
“Thank you for being a good sport,” Mina said. “Some guys won’t even try dancing.”
“A few days ago that would have been me.”
“So what changed?”
He shrugged. “Well, for one, you’re kind of hard to say no to.”
Mina laughed. “You’re funny.”
“And you’ve grown up. You used to just be … a kid.”
“It happens.”
Zenji grinned.
“Naomi told me you joined the army.”
“That’s supposed to be a secret.”
“Why?”
“They told me not to talk about it.”
He wanted to tell her about the Pearl of the Orient and ask her if she thought there were still people around who ate other people, and what she thought about Filipinos and machetes.
Instead, he turned toward the house and the sounds of Tosh’s party. “I really like that music.”
“Benny Goodman.”
“He’s good.”
“My favorite.”
“Want to go back in?”
“Not unless we have to.”
She gave him a gentle push. “How come we never got to know each other?”
He grinned. “I was too … handsome?”
That made her laugh, loud and friendly. “Well, even though you were too good-looking, I liked you anyway.”
“You did?”
“Remember … your dad’s funeral?”
Zenji looked down. “You were there.”
“You came up to my father and shook his hand,” she said.
“He made Ma feel better, just by being there.”
“My father talked about you for days, saying you were an eight-year-old who acted like a grown man. An old soul, he said, and very strong.”
Zenji smiled. “So what about you? After high school, what?”
“I’m going to be a nurse.”
He nodded. “You’ll be a good one.”
Surprising Zenji, Mina hooked her arm in his. “Thank you, Zenji Watanabe.”
“Yeah, sure.”
They were silent for a while, standing together in the yard. Zenji wondered where his nervousness about girls had gone. He felt as if he and Mina had been friends for a long time.
So strange.
“It’s too bad,” Mina said.
“What is?”
“You, going away. I mean, after seeing you around all my life, I’m finally just getting to know you. And more important, who am I going to dance with?”
Zenji laughed. “Lots of guys.”
She was quiet for a moment. A light breeze rustled the trees in Tosh’s yard. Mina gave his arm a squeeze.
“Can I write to you?”
His heart jumped. “Yes! I mean … sure.”