The Purple Heart
Page 19
Minami walked over without any expression on her face. Hiroshi stood there, not knowing what to expect. She stopped in front of him and simply looked up at him with her arms crossed.
“I should be mad at you,” said Minami.
“And I would totally understand why, and if it would make you feel any better, I’d let you slap me,” offered Hiroshi.
“But I’m not. Well, not anymore,” said Minami.
“Really?” asked Hiroshi, almost stupefied by her answer.
“What did you say to him? Because whatever you said to him, it seemed to have gotten through. He seems to be back to his normal self.”
“Well give him a couple of days, he still has a few fights left but now, he can fight them without any more fear.”
Minami looked confused, “What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, I think you’ll need to ask your father once he’s ready.”
Minami gave Hiroshi a blank stare, then just nodded and reluctantly accepted his answer. She let out a small laugh.
“What’s so funny?” asked Hiroshi.
Minami looked up but she had a smile on her face. “I was just thinking about you. I don’t understand what it is with you and violence. First you let the general tell your two friends to punch you in the stomach and as it turned out, your friends faked the entire thing. And just now, you kicked my father out of our window, and he actually appreciated it. What is it with men and violence? Is it some primal form of communication? Because I don’t get it.”
Hiroshi looked down at Minami in amusement and was about to reply when Minami continued. “Well, except for Kiddache, you can keep beating him up, for all I care. Kick him out the window any day.”
Hiroshi gave out a laugh as Minami chuckled. Hiroshi then simply said, “I think it’s a guy thing.”
“I guess it is,” replied Minami. “Well whatever it is and for what it’s worth, thank you for getting through to my father.”
“You’re welcome. I just hope I don’t have to kick him out of another window.”
“You better hope not!” admonished Minami. She shook her right fist at Hiroshi as she scrunched up her face in mock anger.
Hiroshi leaned backwards playfully. “Whoa, what’s that?”
“That’s my secret weapon and you better watch out for it,” as she extended her fist outward in a punch.
Hiroshi easily leaned into the inside of the punch and quickly turned left to throw his left hip against Minami’s right hip and pulled her inward and upward. Minami was caught off guard by his swift move and gleefully tried to pull away, but it was too late. She struggled playfully, pushing down on both of his arms, which were not too firmly around her waist. She twisted left and right and then finally settled down into his grasp and looked into his eyes.
“So what is it going to take to get you to set me free?” asked Minami.
Hiroshi didn’t hesitate and said with a naughty grin, “A kiss.”
“Oh, a kiss? Something like this?” Minami then leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Hiroshi’s lips.
Hiroshi responded, “Actually, I was thinking more of something like this.” Hiroshi turned his head slightly to the right and placed his lips on Minami’s soft lips and gently twirled his tongue on them.
Minami then shook her head disapprovingly. “No. I think it’s more like this.” She grabbed the back of Hiroshi’s hair and cocked his head to the right with her hand. She then placed a firm kiss on his lips and delved her tongue into his warm mouth as she sensually wrapped her arms around his neck.
Hiroshi immediately loosened his arms around her waist and was about to embrace her again when Minami snuck out from underneath them. She had a mischievous smile on her face as her eyes glinted beautifully from the partially exposed moon.
Hiroshi arched his body backwards and let out an “Argh!” to reflect on his missed opportunity and her successful escape. He straightened up and saw Minami beaming. She found herself happy with Hiroshi’s frustration.
“I told you so,” said Minami playfully.
Hiroshi placed his hands to his sides, shifted his weight to one foot, bent his head down and looked back up with his boyish grin. “I guess so.”
Minami suddenly looked to the broken window as she heard voices coming from her family. “I better get going,” said Minami.
“Okay and don’t worry about the window. I’ll be back in the morning to fix it.”
“I’ll see you in the morning then. Oh and Hiroshi, thank you,” Minami said as she turned away.
F I F T E E N
The next morning, Hiroshi woke up bright and early, even though he had a restless night. He was still numb from the previous night’s events. Even though Minami had reassured him that she wasn’t angry with him, an immense sense of guilt weighed on him. Guilt was not a common emotion for Hiroshi, but then he’d never kicked his girlfriend’s father out the window before either.
With tools and a ladder in hand, Hiroshi found himself second-guessing his intentions. He had promised that he would fix the window, but he hoped that that would be the only thing he needed to fix. Anything can change after a night’s sleep. Perhaps Minami would react differently than when she left him the night before. But he soldiered onward and decided that he would deal with whatever situation may present itself.
Hiroshi quietly arrived at the back of the barrack. In the morning light, the entire area looked worse than it did in the moonlight, and it shook Hiroshi’s confidence even more. On the ground were glass and shards of wood that converged around the spot where Mr. Ito had landed. He looked up at the window and saw the jagged splinters of wood and glass protruding out of the frame. A blanket was hung up against the window. Only silence could be heard from inside the barrack. Minami and her family were either still sleeping or they had already gone to breakfast. He was relieved that he didn’t have to see Minami yet.
He carefully placed the bucket of tools by the wall and propped up the ladder against the window. With a pair of work gloves, he began gathering the remnants of the window into a pile. He was making steady progress when a welcoming voice broke the morning silence.
“Good morning Mr. Fix-It man,” called out Minami.
Hiroshi straightened up. Minami had appeared from underneath the blanket with her chin resting in the cup of her hands, propped up by her elbows along the windowsill. She was smiling at him, admiring him from afar. “Good morning,” replied Hiroshi cautiously. “How long have you been there?”
Minami tilted her head and her eyes upward to the right and responded, “Mmm…not too long.” She then brought her head back down and focused her eyes on Hiroshi as she grinned at him.
Hiroshi looked down for a moment as the guilt continued to gnaw at him. But he deduced that Minami wasn’t mad, or at least he hoped she wasn’t.
“You know, Hiroshi, you’re full of surprises,” said Minami.
Hiroshi looked up at Minami and asked, “What do you mean?”
“Mmm… well when I first met you, you were like the water boy, then you were this rooftop astrologer, then you became this incredible baseball player, then you were this karate master, and ultimately my hero.” Minami then glanced down at Hiroshi with her wondrous eyes and looked up as if pulling words out of the sky. “Then you’re also a carpenter… Mmm… I might even say you’re some unconventional psychiatrist who has an interesting way of curing his patients by kicking them out of a window.”
That’s when the unbearable sense of guilt finally took its toll as Hiroshi burst out in an apologetic tone. “About last night, I’m so sorry. I’m so really am sorry. I don’t know what came over me…”
“Hiroshi,” Minami said sharply catching Hiroshi’s attention.
Hiroshi’s ears perked up along with an apologetic expression as Minami motioned with her right index finger to climb up the ladder. Hiroshi took a few steps forward and hoped that it wouldn’t be some humorous joke at his expense where she would push the ladder over once he reached the top.r />
“Minami…” said Hiroshi as Minami quickly placed her finger to her lips beckoning him to be quiet. Hiroshi reached the top and was inches away from her face. She smiled at him and she whispered, “Ready?”
Hiroshi was convinced that she would push the ladder back, so he braced himself and whispered back, “Ready for what?”
With a smile, she extended her left arm underneath the blanket that draped behind her and gently pulled it back. Hiroshi had to focus his eyes to the barrack’s darkness, as he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be seeing. Then he saw Minami’s parents sleeping.
Hiroshi looked back at Minami bewildered and shook his head. “I don’t get it,” he said.
Minami then let the blanket fall gently back into place and shook her head in disappointment. “Men! You’ll never get it,” she said.
Hiroshi stared at Minami blankly, but then Minami placed a quick kiss on his lips and leaned back.
“He’s holding her. He hasn’t held my mother since he’s come back. But after last night, he’s held her all night. I think both of my parents are smiling too,” whispered Minami as a sense of happiness was reflected back in her eyes. “It’s so cute.”
Hiroshi smiled after finally understanding. He wished Mr. Ito all the best and perhaps, he could finally rejoin the family as the man he once was. Whatever demons he still had with him, he could now find the will to defeat them.
In a low voice, Mr. Ito called out to Minami from behind the blanket. Minami’s eyes darted to her left and then centered back onto Hiroshi. “That’s my Dad. I better get back,” said Minami as she began to pull away.
Hiroshi placed his hand on Minami’s and held it on the windowsill. Minami glanced back at Hiroshi as he asked, “When will I see you today?”
Minami offered a playful smile and responded, “Don’t be silly. You still have to help me get water.” Minami leaned in and placed another quick kiss on Hiroshi’s lips and gently pulled away and disappeared behind the blanket.
A sense of utter relief came over Hiroshi. A great big smile spread over his face. He grabbed the sides of the ladder, placed his feet alongside it and slid down. He clapped his hands, removed his gloves and threw them into the bucket. He gently kicked a few of the last remnants into the pile until Minami appeared at the corner. He walked over to Minami, who took his hand into hers and they stared into one another for a moment. Minami leaned up and gently kissed Hiroshi as they walked to the water pump.
After breakfast, Hiroshi had returned to the broken window and made quick work of the area. He removed all of the last remaining shards of glass and splinters from the empty window frame. Hiroshi had just fetched his hammer and climbed back up when he found Mr. Ito standing in the window frame. Mr. Ito was wearing black pants and a somewhat wrinkled white dress shirt that was untucked. He had his arms crossed but looked appreciatively down at Hiroshi.
“Good morning, Mr. Ito,” said Hiroshi in a cautious tone.
“Good morning to you too Hiroshi,” said Mr. Ito in a low and casual tone. He looked forward, inhaled deeply and outstretched his arms. He then spoke, “It’s not ocean air, but it’s a better day than yesterday and a pretty nice morning.”
“I agree with you, Mr. Ito.” There was a hint of nervousness in Hiroshi’s tone. He had never spoken to Mr. Ito in a conversation, and he was the father of the woman whom he had grown to love and care for. Hiroshi wanted to make a good impression on him but he couldn’t help remembering that he was also the man he kicked out of the window. He was simply hoping that Mr. Ito’s response would be the same as Minami’s.
“Let me help you with that,” offered Mr. Ito as he gripped the window.
“It’s okay, Mr. Ito, I can take…”
“It wasn’t a request Hiroshi,” Mr. Ito said sternly.
Hiroshi nodded and replied, “No, I guess it wasn’t.”
The two men worked together in silence. Mr. Ito held the window in place while Hiroshi used the hammer to pull out the nails. They traded roles when Hiroshi couldn’t reach the nails at the very top. Mr. Ito removed the last nail, and Hiroshi gathered up the nails that were placed on the windowsill into one hand and held them out. Mr. Ito took the nails and placed them alongside the other nails on the floor. Together they jiggled free the window out of the opening.
“I’ll lower it down to you,” said Mr. Ito.
“Will do,” said Hiroshi as he carefully gripped the broken window and climbed back down the ladder. He set the broken window against the wall.
“Come back up for the nails, Hiroshi,” said Mr. Ito.
Hiroshi climbed back up the ladder and Mr. Ito carefully tumbled the nails into Hiroshi’s hand. Hiroshi dropped the nails into the white bucket below.
“I have more for you, Hiroshi,” said Mr. Ito, as he leaned out the window.
Hiroshi diligently climbed back up the ladder and reached the top when Mr. Ito handed him a glass jar with a green metal twist lid. Hiroshi took the jar into his hands and looked at it. “What is it?” he asked.
Mr. Ito knelt back down with his elbow on the window opening and gently flicked the side of the glass jar with his fingertip, jiggling the contents momentarily. He stared at it for another moment before responding. “That, Hiroshi, is poison. Well, not really. It’s sake, and that’s what’s been destroying me. I want you to throw this one away for me.”
Hiroshi smiled and was moved by the trust that Mr. Ito suddenly confided in him. He pulled the jar away from Mr. Ito. “Sure thing. I’ll throw it…”
But before Hiroshi could finish his sentence, Mr. Ito produced a similar jar filled with sake. He placed it on the bottom of the window opening and before Hiroshi could even speak again, he brought up another and then another until four jars sat on the bottom of the window opening. Mr. Ito just gave Hiroshi a serious stare until he looked up.
“Don’t tell Mrs. Ito, but I kept them hidden under her side of the bed,” said Mr. Ito.
Hiroshi had to laugh. Mr. Ito chuckled as well, then he looked at Hiroshi square in the face with such seriousness that Hiroshi couldn’t do anything but give him his full attention.
“I’m trusting you with this secret. You helped me to see yesterday. Today you can stop me from poisoning myself. I owe it…” Mr. Ito paused. “I owe it to my family.”
Hiroshi nodded with a newfound respect for Mr. Ito and a silent understanding between the two was formed. Just then a startled look came over Mr. Ito’s face as a distant voice came from behind him in the barrack. “Dad, I’m back!”
Mr. Ito looked back in alarm at Hiroshi, “Quick, it’s Minami!”
Hiroshi didn’t hesitate and quickly slid back down the ladder and motioned to Mr. Ito to toss him the jars. Mr. Ito quickly tossed them one by one toward Hiroshi, who caught each one effortlessly. The last jar dropped out of his hands just when Minami appeared from the blanket partition to see her father straightening up.
“Good morning Minami,” said Mr. Ito.
“We’re all washed up, Mom and the others are close behind but I wanted to see how Hiroshi… wow!” Minami turned to look at the empty window opening, leaned out and saw Hiroshi busily working below. “Wow, you already removed the broken window?” she hollered down to Hiroshi.
Hiroshi smiled back and said, “Your father helped.”
“Oh, he did?” Minami turned to her father, “Thanks Dad, but you shouldn’t overexert yourself.”
“I’m fine, just getting to know Hiroshi a little better. A little male bonding,” said Mr. Ito as he brought his two clenched fists together and shook them vigorously.
“That’s really nice,” said Minami in a pleased tone.
Both men looked at each other and nodded in agreement when Minami suggested, “I’ll be right down to help you, Hiroshi.”
“No!” stammered both men in unison.
Minami was taken aback by the sudden simultaneous response. Mr. Ito quickly and reassuringly placed his hands along his daughter’s arms, distracting her from the window and
gently said, “What we mean is that Hiroshi is the only one with the gloves and we don’t want you to get cut by the broken glass or splinters. Isn’t that right, Hiroshi?” Both Mr. Ito and Minami looked down at Hiroshi, who nervously raised his gloved hands at them and shook them with a big grin on his face.
The rest of the family then entered the room and Mr. Ito directed Minami’s attention to them. “Let’s not bother Hiroshi. He has a lot of trash to throw away.”
“Okay,” said Minami. “Hiroshi, I’ll see you at lunch!” she hollered back before leaving.
Mr. Ito peered over his shoulders as he glimpsed Hiroshi quickly and stealthily gathering up the incriminating jars of sake into his arms as Hiroshi yelled back, “Okay, I’ll see you at lunch!” Then he scurried away.
* * *
That night during dinner, Mr. Ito took a really hard look at his children, admiring everything about them. His oldest daughter Minami had matured into a beautiful young woman and had taken much after her mother. Though he would have preferred it otherwise, she had developed a sense of independence that he unexpectedly grew to think of fondly. Miho was also maturing, and she too would be a lovely young woman. She was a little more self-centered than Minami, but after being on the prison camp, she had come to value the smaller things in life. Yuka was the awkward one, a little shy and more sheepish. He appreciated Yuka’s attention to the family, but wished she could break out of her shell and be more excited about life. But she was still young. Yoshi, on the other hand, was the family’s source of excitement. His good nature and sometimes-whimsical outbursts were always entertaining. He would always manage to break the tedium in the family’s daily routine and he had the uncanny ability to do so at just the right time. He will grow up to be a strong man, thought Mr. Ito.
He watched his wife, and saw her carefully helping Yoshi cut up his food. There were streaks of gray in her hair, but it was still voluminous. She had put her hair up in a bun that exposed her neck, and she still exhibited a delicate femininity. Her eyes were still vibrant but had grown more caring from her life as a mother.