by Liz Tolsma
Her stomach churned.
She stepped backward. What if he hit her again? What if he attacked her again?
“If she is ill, take her to the hospital. Next time I will not be so kind.” With that, the soldier turned on his heel and stalked away.
Still shaking from head to toe, Irene turned to her aunt. “Are you hurt?” A gash marred Anita’s bony cheek.
“I know you wanted to bow, but it is the right thing to do.”
“There is one thing I agree with him on. I’m taking you to Santa Catalina as soon as we are dismissed.”
Rand pushed his way through the crowd of internees after they were let go from morning roll call. He heard the news that the guard slapped both Anita and Irene. Heat rose in his belly. From the time Rand was very young, Armando taught him never to hit a woman. Never. They were meant to be cherished.
He came upon them as they left the Main Building, not going in the direction of their shanty, but in the direction of the hospital.
The beast had hurt them. Rand clenched his fists.
He strode behind them and caught them in quick fashion. He touched Irene’s shoulder, and she stopped and faced him. “What did they do to you?”
“It was him.”
A tremor colored her voice. She didn’t have to explain any further. After the attack at his home, the incident at the office building, and now this … He stroked her tanned, bare arm. “I’m worried about you.”
She bit her small lip. “I’m much more concerned about Anita.”
Her aunt shook her head, her honey-colored curls bobbing. “With a little rest, I’ll be fine. She fusses over me too much.” Blood oozed from a cut on her cheek.
“Irene’s right.” He lifted Anita off of her feet and headed toward the hospital. She weighed little more than a child. Irene had cause to be concerned. The brutes were starving even the women and children.
They entered the hospital, and the Army nurse got a wheelchair for Anita and swooped her off to visit the doctor. Irene sat in a straight-backed chair, and Rand settled in beside her. “How are you?”
“I wish she would have bowed. I don’t want him to hurt her. I’m one thing, she’s another.”
Deep creases marred her face. He wished he could wipe them away.
“I don’t want him to hurt either one of you.”
Her blue eyes widened. “Don’t get involved, Rand. I begged you before, and I’m begging you again. Don’t make this situation worse for me.”
He touched her smooth cheek, and she calmed. The last thing he wanted to do was to agitate her. “I promise.”
He would do his best to keep that promise.
Would his best be enough?
“This will continue to be a problem twice a day for the duration. I have to figure out a way that she doesn’t have to bow.”
“Or be present at all.” Rand swiveled in his chair so he faced her. “She is awfully thin and frail, Irene. Malnourished. Ill. Perhaps you can persuade the doctor to keep her here for a while. Patients aren’t required to stand for roll call. At the very least, it will buy you time to either persuade your aunt to bow or figure out another way to keep her safe.”
A smile broke across Irene’s face, brighter than the Filipino sun. She leaned over and kissed him on his cheek. A thrill ran through him at the touch of her lips on his skin.
“Has anyone told you that you’re a genius?”
“A few people here and there, but I don’t like to brag.”
She gave him a playful swat on the arm. “No, I meant your plan is swell. I’ve been concerned about how thin Anita has become. I suspect she’s not eating much to save food for me. But I refuse to allow her to sacrifice her life for mine.”
“I’ll make sure that both of you come through this thing. Before the gate closed, I purchased all kinds of eggs and limes and pork. I hired a woman to preserve the eggs in the limes and to cook down the pork and seal it with the fat. I’m only one man, and I don’t need that much.”
He sensed her distancing herself from him. “You were going to sell it. A businessman like you can’t sit around the camp and not devise ways to earn a few pesos.”
“Money means less to me today than it did in January of ’42.” Did he really just say that? But he did. And meant it. There was more to life than money. There was survival. “Please, let me take care of you.” He clasped his hands as he spoke the words. They sounded like those of a man in love.
Could he be?
Dr. Young stepped into the waiting room. “Irene?”
She stood.
“I must talk to you about your aunt.” He wrung his bony hands together. “She is suffering from beriberi and malnutrition. I’m very worried about her condition.”
God wouldn’t be so cruel as to take Irene’s only family member.
He couldn’t be.
He wouldn’t be.
Chapter Nineteen
Mama, Mama, guess what I learned in school today?”
Mercedes held on to Paulo’s hand as they made their way to their shanty after dinner. “What is that?”
“Two times two is four. I’m smart, Mama.” He stood taller, and an adorable grin spread across his round face.
Mercedes smiled and tousled his curly brown hair. “You are for sure. What would I do without you?”
“You would have to eat all of our food by yourself.”
Her son was like his father—practical. Charles had left them with a good store of provisions. Mercedes was thankful they weren’t ruined during the typhoon. “That is true. You have to help me eat it all.”
“But you could give some to Miss Anita. She’s sick and needs some food.”
Mercedes couldn’t deny that. And, according to Irene, Anita’s condition hadn’t improved despite her hospitalization. “Yes, but you need to eat to become a big, strong boy.”
Paulo stopped and flexed his arm. “See my muscle, Mama. I’m already the strongest.”
“And so you are.” She laughed as they arrived at their shanty, grateful they were now allowed to sleep here as the men had been able to do for a long while.
Her laughter dried up when she pushed open the flimsy door. A man sat on one of their two chairs. He scrambled to his feet when she entered. “Ah, Mercedes, I have been waiting for you.”
She pushed her hand to her chest in an effort to stop the pounding of her heart. “Mr. Tanaka, you startled me. I did not expect to find you here.” She remembered Irene’s warning about the soldier who attacked her. Was he the same one? Should she trust him?
He bowed. “I am sorry to have frightened you. Please accept my apology. I have a little time off, and I didn’t want to be seen lurking in front of your hut. It might make people wonder.”
She laid their meal tickets on the table. “Yes, I suppose it would. Paulo, run along and see if William would like to play with you.”
“Okay, Mama. I’m sure he will. He’s my best friend.” The door slapped shut behind him.
“Was there something you wanted?”
The Japanese soldier rocked back and forth on his feet. “Just to see you. I have been thinking about you and wondering how you have been faring.” He stepped forward and held her hands in his.
Irene’s warning again rang in her head, but his grip was firm. “We are well, thank you. As well as anyone here. We are hungry, and there is much disease.”
“I am sorry about that. The next time I come, I will bring you a bag of rice. And vitamins and meat for your son.” He took a step forward. “You look lovely tonight.”
A strange, fluttery sensation filled her stomach. One she had once before, with Charles.
Or was it fear? She stepped back. He might be dangerous. Such a look of tenderness crossed his face. “One of your soldiers attacked a friend of mine a couple of months ago.” She wished those words had not just popped from her mouth.
He paled. From the horror of the thought or from the revelation of his secret? “That is terrible. Who was this man?”
“The same one who was friendly to her and helped her get the pass to Hospicio de Santiago.”
“Does she know his name?”
“No.” She paused. Did she dare confront him? He promised to bring food and vitamins for Paulo. For her, she didn’t care. But for him? She had to provide for her son whatever way she could. And Mr. Tanaka was that way.
But could she trust him?
He stepped toward her once more. She moved in his direction. When he was within arm’s length, he drew her close and kissed her cheek.
Mercedes heard a gasp.
Irene stood in the doorway, red-faced. “How could you?”
Rand took the long way home from the chow line, through Shantytown, nowhere near Glamourville, in the hope he might see Irene. It had been a few days, and he missed her smile. Strange. He never missed any of his lady friends once the evening ended.
The only woman he had ever missed was his college sweetheart, Catherine. And once he returned from the States to Manila, that feeling faded.
All of the other women he knew wanted to be near him only because of his social status. Neither Catherine nor Irene knew or cared how many clubs he owned or who his father was. And the thought warmed him more than he ever believed possible.
He started down the street Irene’s hut was on. Paulo stood at the side of the road, a football in his hand.
Rand joined him. “What’s the problem?” He noticed a group of boys playing a little bit away.
“My friends won’t play with me.”
Rand shrugged. “Why not? I like to play with you.”
“Because sometimes Mr. Tanaka comes to visit us.”
“The Japanese soldier?”
Paulo nodded.
Mercedes was hurting her son by speaking to the enemy. Didn’t she realize the harm she was doing? The trouble she was bringing on not only herself but also her child?
“I’ll play with you.” Rand sprinted down the lane, waving his hand. “I’m open. I’m open.”
Paulo threw the ball in his direction. Rand caught it, cradled it against his body, and ran at top speed toward the boy, allowing him to catch him.
“Okay, my turn to be the quarterback now. Go long.”
Paulo raced a good distance away, and Rand tossed him the ball. The boy ran in his direction. Rand pretended he couldn’t catch him.
“Touchdown.” Paulo jumped up and down.
“Good job. You’re a great player. It’s their loss.”
A woman shrieked. “That’s him. That’s him.”
It couldn’t be. The second time he heard Irene scream when he was in Shantytown?
The hysterics came from the hut next to hers. Mercedes’s shelter. He tossed Paulo the football and raced toward the shanty. Upon flinging open the door, he recognized the curve of Irene’s neck and hips and her mustard-yellow dress. He ran to her. “What’s going on?”
He was in time to witness the back of a soldier disappear through the porch and into the gathering darkness.
“Get him. That’s the man who attacked me.” Fear filled Irene’s high-pitched voice.
No. No. Rage bubbled in Rand’s veins. “Wait until I get a hold of him.” He sprinted for the door, but Mercedes blocked his path.
“Don’t. It is not him.”
Irene came alongside him. “You don’t know. I do. It’s him. He haunts me. Get out of his way. Our way.”
Rand held her back. “Stay out of it.”
“I’m in it.”
“Let me by, Mercedes.” Rand didn’t want to lay a hand on her, but if she forced him … “He’s getting away.”
She stepped to the side. “He has gotten away. You would end up back in Fort Santiago if you went after him on the streets. I did you a favor.”
Irene wept beside him, tears streaking her beautiful face. “Why did you let him go? Why would you do that to me?”
Mercedes collapsed onto a chair. “Because it is not him.”
“Do you care more about me or some Japanese soldier?”
“He is only doing what his country demands of him. He has no choice.”
Rand shook his head. “How can you defend him? If he’s innocent, we’ll find out soon enough. If not, we’ll bring him to justice.”
“It is better you not find him. Your justice will cost you your life. And maybe Irene’s too.”
Irene sniffled. “You kissed him. After I warned you.”
Rand clung to Irene, more to keep himself upright. “You kissed him? You’re playing a dangerous game. Think about your son, if nothing else. Already the other kids don’t want to play with him.”
Her black eyes blazed as she came to her feet. “I am. I did not invite him to kiss me. And it was only on the cheek. But if he can help me and my son survive this place, all the better. Friends matter little when you’re starving.”
“Yes, I can see how little friends mean to you.” Irene spewed venom. “That soldier will hurt you like he tried to hurt me. You will be sorry you trusted him. And sorry you believed him over me. Sorry to lose a wonderful, years-long friendship.”
Rand rubbed Irene’s shoulder, holding her back as she leaned toward Mercedes. “Whether he is the man who attacked Irene or not, you are asking for trouble. If you continue to see him, it will not end well. Think about that if you are so concerned with helping him.”
“Please listen to us.” Irene turned and left the shanty.
Rand followed. “Wait up.”
Irene, already past her own hut, spun around. “I can’t believe she would do that to me.”
“You’re jumping to conclusions. You don’t know that he’s the same man.”
“But I do. Every time I close my eyes I see his face. I will never forget it. And his missing finger. That man was missing part of a finger.”
“Mercedes is a grown woman.”
“I thought she was my friend. I warned her, and she still did this to me. I’ll never be able to forgive her.” Irene stalked by in his direction. He tried to catch her as she passed him, but she pushed herself free. “Leave me be. I need to be alone.”
With that, she disappeared into her hut.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do, Bruce.” Rand marched in step beside his friend and business colleague as they patrolled the wall separating Santo Tomas from the rest of the world. Darkness had fallen on the camp, and with it, small relief from the heat of the day.
“You’re doing it by watching for theft. Curse those who steal from those who have so little.”
“Not about that. Every time I see that soldier and imagine him with his hands on Irene, and now Mercedes, I want to strangle him.”
Rand imagined Bruce rubbing the back of his neck with a weathered hand as he thought about the problem. “Be careful, Sterling.”
“Trust me, I will be. But it’s so unfair that a man like him gets to go free after attacking a woman.”
“Nothing about war is fair.”
“I thought all was fair in war.”
“And love. Speaking of which, I’ve never seen you so hung up on one dame before. What do you see in her? She’s a missionary girl. Sweet, but not your usual cup of tea.”
Bruce didn’t understand. “She’s pretty swell.”
“But a missionary? She’ll convert you.”
“No worries there.” The best people he knew were Christians. Was it the worst thing?
“It’s too bad Peggy went to the Los Baños camp. She would give you a dose of reality.”
“Peggy doesn’t hold a candle to Irene.”
“Yes, she’s beautiful in an innocent way, maybe, but you need a woman who fits into your lifestyle. Who understands the circles you move in. Flirt with Irene if you want to, but don’t keep Peggy and the other prominent ladies hanging too long.”
“Nobody said I’m ready to settle down yet.”
“Sure. But if I invest in you, I don’t want you to end up like Peter Williams.”
“No problem there. I wouldn’t do a
nything to risk my clubs.”
Bruce clapped him on the back. “I knew you wouldn’t.”
A light mist began to fall. “Hopefully this rain will keep trouble down tonight.” Rand had never caught an intruder, and he wasn’t keen to start now.
The camp was far from quiet as Rand and Bruce patrolled, even though curfew had passed. From one hut came the sound first of Benny Goodman and then Kate Smith on a phonograph. Two men argued in another shanty over who had gotten the larger portion of a can of beans, a common problem these days. Rand thanked his lucky stars he could afford a private hut. Cats screeched in another location, likely in a food fight similar to the two men.
Bruce stopped at one point to rub his legs. “All this walking is killing my calves.”
“Haven’t you been taking your vitamin tablets?”
“The measly few that came in the one Red Cross box we’ve received so far? Have you seen what they’re feeding us? And no more vegetable stand.”
Rand’s own legs ached from time to time. “Never thought I’d wish for some vegetables. Armando would laugh to know. Hey, why don’t you go back to your shanty? Everything is quiet.”
“Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t have said so otherwise.”
“Thanks, I think I will. I’ll return the favor.”
“I’ll make sure you do.”
In the stillness of the wee morning hours, an owl hooted. A rustle came from farther down, and Rand’s pulse rate climbed a few notches. He went to investigate. With the clouds hiding the moon, it was difficult to see. He switched on his flashlight and waved it back and forth, searching for the source of the sound.
Into the light popped a short, thin Filipino man.
Rand approached the man. The tilt of his head and the shape of his face were familiar. Then a glint of metal caught Rand’s eye.
The intruder carried a knife. “Stay back.”
Rand stopped about fifteen feet in front of the man. “Who are you?”
“You don’t need to know.” The man backed away.
“I do know you.” The voice was familiar.
“No, you don’t.”
“Ramon, it’s me. Rand Sterling.”
The teenager lowered the knife. “Rand?”