Mismatch (15 page)
Grandma Mei stared at Andy with no expression at all. Sue waited for the fireworks to start.
Andy took a deep breath. With shaking hands, he brought out a package from behind his back and handed it to Grandma Mei. “I bought this especially for you, Mrs. Mei.”
“Open it, Mother,” said Sue’s mother, and everybody joined in urging her to open the package.
“Yes, let’s see what Andy’s brought,” urged Sue’s father.
Sue tried to catch Andy’s eye and give him a “What’s this?” look, but Andy wouldn’t take his eyes off Grandma Mei. Sue remembered the package he’d had at the Chinese store. Did that have something to do with this surprise gift?
Slowly, Grandma Mei tore open the colorful wrapping paper and then the flimsy tissue paper. Everyone leaned in to see the contents. Inside was a doll dressed in an elegant Chinese brocade jacket with a high collar and buttons down the sides, and trousers of shiny silk. Grandma Mei stared wordlessly at the doll, and then looked up at Andy.
The doll! The doll the Japanese soldiers destroyed. He
remembered!
Sue ached to reach over and give Andy a hug, but she was waiting to see how Grandma Mei would react.
Andy cleared his throat. “I know that you lost your doll when those Japanese soldiers broke into your home. This is to make up for their actions.”
“Andy, your family had nothing to do with those soldiers!” Sue cried. “Your grandparents were in America at the time. In fact, your grandfather even joined the U.S. Army and served in Italy!”
“But I still offer my apology for the actions of the soldiers,” said Andy. “I hope you will accept it.”
Grandma Mei stared at the doll, and then she did the last thing they expected. She burst out into gales of laughter.
“This . . . this isn’t . . . isn’t . . . at all like the doll I lost. That was just a crude clay doll, wearing a cotton jacket!”
Andy looked nervous. “Shall I exchange the doll?” he asked.
Grandma Mei looked at Andy and then back at the doll. Suddenly she bent over. This time she was not laughing. She was sobbing.
Sue went over and put her arms around her grandmother. “Andy meant well, Grandma.”
Grandma Mei wiped her eyes and nodded. Cradling the doll, she turned to Andy. “Thank you,” she said huskily. “You’re right: the war is over.”
Sue raised her head and her eyes met Andy’s. She had been attracted to him because he was good-looking, because he was a wonderful violinist, and because the two of them enjoyed the same kind of humor. In buying the doll for Grandma Mei, he showed another side of himself, a side that touched her deeply.
Well done, Andy,
Sue mouthed silently. Andy smiled at her.
The past is done and the war is over.
Sue walked over and squeezed Andy’s hand.
Now we can start to think
about the future.
About the Author
Lensey Namioka was born in Beijing and moved to the United States when she was a child. She is the author of many books for young people, including
Ties That Bind, Ties That Break,
an ALA Top Ten Book for Young Adults, and its companion novel,
An Ocean Apart,
a World Away.
Her middle-grade novels include
Half and
Half; Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear,
a Young Reader’s Choice Award nominee;
Yang the Third and Her
Impossible Family; Yang the Second and Her Secret Admirers;
Yang the Eldest and His Odd Jobs;
and
April and the Dragon
Lady,
a nominee for the Utah Young Adults’ Book Award. Several of Lensey Namioka’s beloved Samurai mysteries have recently come back into print:
The Samurai and the Long-Nosed Devils, White Serpent Castle, Valley of
the Broken Cherry Trees,
and
Village of the Vampire Cat.
Lensey Namioka lives in Seattle with her family.
Also by Lensey Namioka
Half and Half
An Ocean Apart, a World Away
Ties That Bind, Ties That Break
Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear
Yang the Third and Her Impossible Family
Yang the Second and Her Secret Admirers
Yang the Eldest and His Odd Jobs
Published by
Delacorte Press
an imprint of
Random House Children’s Books
a division of Random House, Inc.
New York
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Namioka, Lensey.
Mismatch / Lensey Namioka.
p. cm.
Summary: Their families clash when a Japanese-American teenaged boy
starts dating a Chinese-American teenaged girl.
1. Chinese Americans—Juvenile fiction. 2. Japanese Americans—Juvenile
fiction. [1. Chinese Americans—Fiction. 2. Japanese Americans—Fiction.
3. Family life—Fiction. 4. Dating (Social customs)—Fiction. 5. High
schools—Fiction. 6. Schools—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.N1426Mis 2006
[Fic]—dc22 2005003669
February 2006
eISBN: 978-0-307-43356-5
v3.0