The Purple Heart

by Vincent Yee

  “I can’t say I know too much about that. It was never taught in class.”

  “Well, I got something better than any history lesson. My grandmother told me of her experience in the internment camp and how my grandfather volunteered for the war effort. We talked for six hours!”

  “Wow, so in the time that you talked to your grandmother, I was having sex,” said Cat.

  “Cat!” exclaimed Aiko as she laughed. “You are so bad sometimes!”

  “I’m sorry! It’s still fresh in my mind,” as Cat let out a low growl.

  The two women laughed together as they finished their brunch. The waiter came over and removed their plates. They had their coffee refilled and they both took a sip.

  Aiko placed her cup down and continued. She started to weave her grandmother’s intricate story for Cat. At first Cat just listened. But her attention was drawn into the story of how Aiko’s grandmother was interned, how she met Hiroshi, the baseball game, the assault on her grandmother and how Hiroshi saved her, their romantic overtures, the starry proposal, their marriage, and how the war eventually split them up just when her grandmother realized she was pregnant.

  “Oh fuck! She was pregnant?” as Cat finished the last sip of her coffee and placed the cup down on the saucer.

  “I know–can you believe it?” replied Aiko.

  “Why didn’t she tell your grandfather that right there and then at the fence? I’m sure that would have made him stay,” asked Cat.

  Aiko put down her cup and thought about it, “Hmm… I’m not sure.”

  “Damn, Aiko, you should bring your grandmother in for like ‘show and tell’ or something. She’s like a walking time capsule,” exclaimed Cat.

  “Tell me about it, but she lives on the west coast.”

  “So what happened to your grandfather?” asked Cat. “He sounded like a great guy.”

  “Yes, he was,” Aiko said with a newfound sense of pride about her grandfather. But her mind drew a blank with Cat’s question and she could offer only one answer, “I don’t know what happened to him. He went into the war but I had already talked to my grandmother for like six hours. I was getting really tired.”

  “Well Aiko, you should call her and find out mo…” just then, Cat’s cell phone rang. “Hold on.” Aiko nodded and dabbed her mouth with her napkin as Cat answered her phone.

  Cat pulled her phone out and smiled. “It’s Tom. I knew he’d call!” Cat looked at Aiko devilishly. Aiko smiled as Cat answered the phone, “Hey, big boy.”

  Aiko zoned out Cat’s conversation and her mind drifted to the question Cat had asked: “So what happened to your grandfather?” Aiko realized that she still didn’t know. But then she had thought her grandmother would know. But her grandmother had said, “That was the last time I saw your grandfather.” She also hadn’t mentioned the desertion. Maybe her grandmother didn’t know that she knew. Then Cat, who was putting the phone away, interrupted her.

  “Hey hon, I gotta go. Tom wants to take me out tonight and do wild things to me,” said Cat.

  “He didn’t say that,” Aiko said disbelievingly.

  “Okay, he didn’t say that to my face, but I want him to.”

  Aiko laughed, “You’re so bad sometimes.”

  “I really think I like this one,” said Cat affectionately.

  “That’s what you said about the last guy,” Aiko said teasingly.

  “Yeah, well, Tom is different.” Then with a devilish tone, “Tom’s Asian AMERICAN.”

  Aiko laughed and then said, “Yeah, he is and undoubtedly he’s not going to let you forget it.”

  It was already in the late afternoon when Aiko entered her apartment after Cat dropped her off. She threw her pocketbook and keys onto the hallway chair, slipped out of her shoes, and strolled into the living room. Her coffee table was covered from all the items used over the last few days. She walked into the kitchen and lamented over the bowl and chopsticks she had left unwashed on the kitchen table. The last bit of soup had dried up, leaving a dark ring stuck to the bottom of the bowl. She placed the bowl and chopsticks in the sink and ran some hot water over them. When she turned, she spotted her notebook and picked it up from the table. She pulled out another bottle of water and headed to the living room.

  Aiko placed the notebook onto the coffee table and leaned up against the sofa. She pulled at the family album once more and started to peruse it again. Now there seemed to be more energy coming from the photo album. When she got to the pictures of the internment camp, there was so much more meaning to them. Before, the empty barracks evoked no feelings.

  These were the homes of people who looked like her, Japanese Americans who were forced to relocate to the prison camp to live out almost four years of their lives. It was so unfair that the government could accuse a group of people of disloyalty without justification, then rob them of years of their lives just because they looked different, in this case, not white. What gave the government the right to deny freedom to a group of Americans? Aiko wondered if something like this could still happen today.

  When she came across the few pictures of her grandmother, she smiled. She could see the woman she once was. Cat was right about one thing: She was a living time capsule. In a sense, what her grandmother endured was a part of American history. Aiko suddenly realized that even growing up, she was taught very little about the contributions and sacrifices of Asian Americans to the American society. Surely Asian Americans were not bystanders when a great country was built around them. The only time she learned about Asian American history was when she took a class on Asian American history and then she had a thought: Why is Asian American history an elective when it should really be part of American history?

  She found the picture of her grandmother holding her father when he was a mere infant. But Cat’s question came back to her: If her grandmother was so insistent on having her grandfather stay, why didn’t she tell him that she was pregnant? Surely, that would have changed his mind and made him stay. Or would it? Did her grandfather eventually learn that she was pregnant? Did he learn before he died in the war that he had a son? Then the hardest question came to Aiko: Was her grandfather a deserter?

  Aiko’s eyes shot down to her bag. She pulled it aside and carefully removed Joey’s drawing, unfolded it, and laid it across the album. She looked down at it and was drawn to the scene of Joey’s grandfather placing a bandage on the wounded soldier. Her eyes then focused on Joey’s grandfather. “He’s the key to my grandfather,” she said to herself.

  * * *

  The next morning, Aiko arrived early to class and found herself feeling awkward and nervous with anticipation of talking to Joey. She needed to talk to his grandfather. The children started to filter into the classroom one by one. Joey then walked in, smiled and happily called out, “Good morning Ms. Satoh.”

  “Good morning Joey,” replied Aiko calmly. She found it odd that a little second grader was making her nervous but it wasn’t really him. It was his unknown answers.

  As the last of the children strolled in and took their seats, Aiko closed the door and walked back to the front of the room. She loosened up by assuming her role as the teacher and greeted the class, who greeted her back cheerfully. Aiko was wearing her dark navy skirt and royal blue collared shirt. Aiko always liked to look proper, not a thing out of place, down to her shiny black pumps.

  She assigned the class a fun project as a continuation from the previous week’s drawing assignment. The children were told to draw their favorite animals and if they could have it for a pet, what room in their house would it be in? The kids looked excited and then took out their paper and crayons and magic markers. Once the children were fully engrossed, she walked up to Joey.

  Joey had his head bent downward and was busily working on his drawing. It looked like he had just about finished an outline of an elephant when Aiko knelt down by him and caught his attention.

  “Joey, would you mind if I have a moment with you?” asked Ms. Satoh with
a smile.

  Joey looked at his teacher with a quizzical but friendly face. “Sure Ms. Satoh,” he replied.

  “Why don’t we go to the back of the room and talk?”

  Joey looked back and then back at Aiko, “Okay,” he said. He started to get out of his seat when Aiko softly asked him, “Oh, can you also bring the drawing you did last week with you?”

  Joey obliged and reached into his desk for the drawing and followed Aiko back to a small round table. They both sat down as Aiko tried to balance herself on a chair made for children. Joey sat to her right, spread out the drawing and looked up at Aiko.

  “That’s a great drawing, Joey. You’re very talented,” Aiko commented.

  Joey’s cheeks flushed with a little redness and he answered, “Thank you.”

  “I was wondering, Joey, could you tell me a little more about this scene right here with your grandfather?” Aiko gently circled the scene with her fingertips as Joey looked down.

  “Oh, sure, Ms. Satoh. This is my grandfather, and he was kneeling over his best friend, who got shot.”

  “Do you know his name?” asked Aiko with some anticipation and she would have been utterly shocked if Joey said Hiroshi.

  “I don’t know his name, but all his friends called him ‘Home Run.’ See, I wrote his nickname underneath him,” responded Joey as he pointed out the name.

  “Did your grandfather know him well?” asked Aiko.

  “My grandfather said they were good friends during the war, and that he also saved his life,” said Joey.

  Aiko’s sense of pride swelled up again as she heard this. It was something that didn’t surprise her about her grandfather. But she knew she wouldn’t be able to solve the mystery of whether or not her grandfather was a deserter with Joey alone. She needed to talk to Joey’s grandfather.

  “Joey, when did your grandfather tell you this story?”

  “Oh, sometime last week,” replied Joey.

  Aiko was instantly on alert. This happened quite recently. “Did you talk to him by phone?”

  “No, in person. He’s here visiting my parents,” replied Joey.

  Aiko’s heart skipped a beat. The key to her grandfather’s mysterious fate was here in Washington D.C.! She looked at Joey with a sense of excitement and urgency, “Your grandfather is here right now?”

  “Well, no, he’s at the airport. He lives in Los Angeles. My parents are taking him there,” replied Joey.

  “Right now? Joey, do you know what time his flight leaves?” Aiko asked.

  Joey leaned back. The urgency of Aiko’s tone startled him, “Uh, I think 11 o’clock?”

  “Do you know what airline?” asked Aiko.

  “United, I think,” Joey said in an unsure voice.

  Aiko immediately glanced down at her watch. It was 9:20 A.M. Then a crazy thought barreled into her mind. She could catch Joey’s grandfather at the airport! She immediately placed her arms around Joey, placed a soft kiss on top of his head and stood up.

  “Thank you Joey, you can go back to your desk now,” Aiko said eagerly.

  Joey looked both embarrassed and confused as he walked back to his desk.

  She could do it, she thought. A cab ride down to the airport would take about thirty to forty minutes. But how would she recognize him? There was bound to be many older Asian American men at the airport, especially if they were going to Los Angeles. Then another thought ran through her mind: The key to her grandfather’s mystery was living in her own backyard all those years. But before she could even leave, she had to take care of one problem.

  “You want me to do WHAT?” Cat asked.

  “I need you to take over my class. It’s easy, just give them the same assignment you’re giving your class, and then it’ll be all over. I’ll be back by the end of the day, I promise,” said Aiko as she put on her jacket.

  “But hon, why are you doing this?” asked Cat.

  “I can’t tell you everything now. But someone at the airport knows about my grandfather’s past and I need to get to him before he leaves,” said Aiko urgently.

  “Are you serious?” Cat exclaimed.

  “I am. Please do this for me Cat. I really gotta go. And tell the principal for me!” Aiko pleaded.

  “Sure, sure… damn, this is like Mission Impossible. I’ll take care of your little monsters. You go and find out what happened to your grandfather,” Cat answered with a wink.

  “You’re the best,” said Aiko. She leaned in and gave Cat a quick hug and then turned away.

  “Hey wait, how are you getting to the airport?” asked Cat.

  Aiko turned around and said, “I’m going to get a cab.”

  “A cab?” Cat pulled out her car keys from the front pocket of her black slacks and tossed them over to Aiko.

  Aiko caught the keys with both of her hands and smiled appreciatively. “I owe you one!” She turned around once more and dashed down the hall.

  Aiko made her way into the parking lot and immediately found Cat’s car. She unlocked it, jumped into the car and turned on the ignition. The engine and CD player roared to life. Aiko put on her sunglasses, shifted the car into gear and peeled out of the parking lot.

  Aiko hit traffic and her patience was wearing thin. She methodically tapped the steering wheel with her fingers and gazed ahead as the cars’ red taillights shone back at her. She looked at the clock on the dashboard. The time changed over to 9:55. Aiko’s usual calm demeanor cracked. “Shit! I can’t believe this!” she groaned.

  She had to catch Joey’s grandfather before he left. Traffic suddenly eased up, and Aiko focused her attention on the road. She made a couple of aggressive lane changes, then headed steadily down the last stretch of road on George Washington Memorial Parkway before the exit to Reagan National Airport.

  Aiko finally arrived at the United terminal and found parking in the adjacent garage. She shifted Cat’s car into park and then looked at the clock: 10:05 A.M. She had exactly fifty-five minutes to find Joey’s grandfather and what seemed like a great plan now seemed impossible. She bolted out of Cat’s car and ran toward the skywalk connecting to the terminal as it echoed with each racing step she took. The automatic doors opened and she raced down to the terminal. A crowd of people filled the area. Her heart sank. “This is impossible,” she thought.

  Aiko meandered through the throngs of people and made her way to the monitors displaying departure times. She scanned down the list until her eyes abruptly stopped at the 11:00 A.M. flight bound for Los Angeles. Hey eyes shifted to the right in alarm as she saw the word, “BOARDING” blink ominously. She let out a disappointed sigh and pulled back her left sleeve to see the time on her wristwatch. It was 10:20 A.M. Hundreds of people were standing about in the terminal building when another idea spontaneously popped into her mind.

  Dozens of people were lined up at the ticket counter. Aiko would have to be resourceful. She motioned to an airline employee. An older woman with short, curly, dirty-blonde hair, thick plastic-rimmed sunglasses on her nose, and big golden-balled earrings, waddled over. Aiko prepared herself mentally for the next few moments.

  “Yes, may I help you?” asked the airline employee. Her name badge identified her as Ruth.

  “I know that this is awkward, but I need to get onto that flight to Los Angeles. Can you let me skip to the front?” asked Aiko nicely.

  “I’m sorry miss, but you’ll have to wait like everyone…”

  Aiko placed her hands over her face and started to weep, although she was having some trouble creating actual tears. Think sad thoughts, she said to herself repeatedly. Through a fake choking voice, she blurted out, “I just found out a close relative of mine passed away and I need to get back to LA.”

  Ruth’s expression changed to one of sympathy and she immediately put her arms around Aiko. “Oh you poor dear, I’m so sorry to hear that. Let me get you to the front.” Ruth gently guided Aiko passed the throngs of people as she consoled her with one arm.

  “The 11 o’clock fligh
t?” Ruth asked.

  With her face still in her hands feigning a soft sob, Aiko bobbed her head up and down. But she still hadn’t shed a tear and she knew her story wouldn’t hold if there weren’t some tears to show for it. She thought of sad thoughts but it didn’t work. She tried to induce a yawn to no avail. She rubbed her eyes with her fingertips to cause discomfort and still no tears. Then she did the last thing that was left, she bit down on her inner cheek and her face winced in pain. She could suddenly taste the warm trickle of blood seeping around her inner left gum. Then to Aiko’s elation, she felt tears begin to well up in her eyes.

  Ruth brought her to the next open ticket agent as she gently rubbed Aiko’s back. Ruth mouthed to the agent, “Bereavement,” and the ticket agent nodded in understanding.

  “Here you go, dear, I’m sorry to hear about your loss but at least you’ll get back home on United. Kendra will help you,” Ruth said comfortingly.

  Aiko looked up and stared back at Ruth with her tearful eyes and managed a weak smile. “Thank you,” she said.

  Aiko looked up at the ticket agent, a black woman who looked sympathetic to Aiko’s situation. She was a slightly overweight woman with pudgy fingers. Her hair was pulled back taut displaying her gold shell-shaped earrings and a gold necklace around her neck.

  “I’m sorry to hear about your loss. What flight do you need to get on?”

  Aiko still struggling to feign her emotional distress calmly said, “The 11 o’clock flight to LA.”

  Kendra began typing into her terminal when a disappointed face came across her face. “I’m sorry, but the entire flight is full.”

  Aiko’s heart sank. It can’t be. She looked at her wristwatch and it displayed 10:35 A.M. “There’s got to be a seat,” pleaded Aiko.

  “I’m sorry but…” Kendra was about to repeat the bad news when Aiko sank her face into her folded arms on the counter and started to sob.

  “Okay, let me check again,” offered Kendra as she started to type again. “Oh wait, there is one seat left in business class but it’s going to cost a lot of mo…”