The Purple Heart (27 page)

Hiroshi then reached down
for her hands and interlaced his fingers into hers and in one smooth arcing
motion, brought her hands up over her head and held them there. Minami felt
entirely helpless as she endured his growing desire for her. Hiroshi glided his
hand down toward her sash and slowly worked it free. The ends of the sash fell
to her sides and her robe fell open. Hiroshi pulled back and gazed into his
wife’s eyes, which had just fluttered open. There were a few strands of hair
splayed across her face, and her breathing grew heavier. He looked down as the
parted robe revealed her true beauty. He watched her breasts heave up and down
in heated excitement. He admired the curves that outlined her hips and her
slender silky legs. But there was something more as he held her up against the
wall. He felt an unexplainable surging desire for her. It was almost as if he
was admiring Minami for the first time all over again.

Minami was held captive by
the intensity of Hiroshi’s passion, and when he gazed back into her eyes, she
felt as if her body went lithe from his searing passion. She wanted Hiroshi
more than anything, to be with him, to love him and to be a part of him. But at
that moment, mere words of love were the last things on her mind. Hiroshi
slipped his right hand down as he continued to hold her arms above her head. He
gently caressed the slight curves of her breast, watched as his fingers glided
down along her torso and then he slid his hand behind her waist. Minami was subdued
in anticipation of Hiroshi’s next move. He leaned in, placed a warm kiss onto
her lips, and delved his tongue into her mouth. Minami twirled her wet and warm
tongue against his when he released her wrists. She allowed her arms to fall
around his neck as he slipped his other hand around the back of her neck.

He pulled her forward as
they were still locked in a passionate kiss. He broke away from the kiss, and
as Minami gasped for air, he scooped up her legs, cradling her in his arms
toward the mattress. Minami at first giggled and kicked her slender legs a bit
to protest but soon stopped. She looked up at Hiroshi and reached up to him and
laid a few kisses on his neck. She had never felt so desired before and settled
into his strong arms.

Hiroshi gently laid Minami
onto the center of the mattress and as she settled in, Hiroshi stood up,
quickly tugged on the drawstring of his pants, allowing them to fall around his
ankles. Minami laid there with the robe partially covering her, draping gently
over every single curve and hiding everything that made her a woman. Her eyes
glistened back at him sensually as her chest heaved up and down. Hiroshi then
settled on top of her with his full body weight. They gazed into one another’s
eyes. Hiroshi was so seduced by her wondrous eyes, he felt as though he could
fall into them. Minami wrapped her arms around Hiroshi’s neck and admired his
gaze. She whispered, “I love you.”

Hiroshi stared back into
her eyes as he brushed aside a few strands of hair from her cheek. He kissed
her gently and pulled away to see her eyes flutter for a moment. Then he
whispered back, “I love you too.”

Minami suddenly reached up
to kiss him and drew in a long breath. Hiroshi kissed her back intensely and
then made love to his wife.

Hiroshi and Minami settled
into their new roles as husband and wife soon after their wedding. Minami moved
in with Hiroshi and didn’t waste time in arranging his side of the barrack.
Minami’s mother expressed the most sadness, as her oldest daughter was leaving,
but soon got over it with the realization that Minami wasn’t far away.

Minami’s new routine every
morning was to greet her new parents-in-law, and instead of waiting for Hiroshi
at the water pump, they would go together. They would first arrive at Minami’s
parents’ barrack, where they would fetch their water pail. Upon their return,
Mr. Ito would usually be by the window waiting for them and would graciously
thank Hiroshi for the water as he watched them walk away.

Minami found the new
routine a bit sad. She started to feel a little homesick. As much as she loved
Hiroshi, she also loved her family, and she couldn’t help feel that perhaps she
had abandoned them. But she was married, and she needed to be with her husband
and live up to the responsibilities of a wife. It comforted Minami to know that
Hiroshi was very attentive to her family as well. Minami’s guilt started to
ease when she realized that she still saw her family several times a day.

Life, it seemed, had
returned to normal. Then the Loyalty Questionnaire appeared. It was after her
morning class when one of the other teacher assistants mentioned it. Minami got
her hands on one before leaving the school and read the questionnaire on the
way to lunch. The questionnaire asked Japanese Americans to affirm their
loyalty to the United States government. Minami fumed over the request and
thought it was offensive. She was an American citizen and she was being asked
to confirm her patriotism? She had to wonder whether or not the questionnaire was
being distributed to every American in the nation. Once again, she felt the
sting of being singled out due to her ethnicity and did not like it one bit.

Minami could see many
people loitering around the main entrance of the mess hall in agitated
discussion. She presumed that the questionnaire had caused a great stir.
Hiroshi was leaning up against the wall, not too far away from the main
entrance, in his usual work clothes. She noticed that he was reading a piece of
paper, undoubtedly the questionnaire. His expression seemed tense and focused.
Minami walked right up to him, but he didn’t even notice.

“Ahem… no welcome for your
wife?” asked Minami coyly.

Hiroshi looked up and with
a smile, leaned in and gave Minami a kiss. “Sorry, I was distracted,” said
Hiroshi as he folded the questionnaire and shoved it into the back pocket of
his jeans. He reached out for Minami’s hand and walked toward the main entrance.

“Did you read the questionnaire?”
asked Minami curiously.

“Yeah. Looks like it’s been
making its way through the camp pretty quickly,” replied Hiroshi.

They waited in line. The
mess hall seemed louder than usual, as people were eagerly talking and ignoring
their lunch. Hiroshi spotted their families in their usual corner of the mess
hall and waved to them to let them know that he and Minami were coming. Hiroshi
believed that they had seen him, since Minami’s father waved a hand in the air.

“Wow, listen to everyone,”
said Minami. “I think I just heard someone say that the army is trying to find
all the traitors with the questionnaire.”

“Uh-huh,” said Hiroshi.

They picked up their trays
and moved along the line as they each picked up a plate of rice with a side of
thinly sliced meat and some green peas. Both Hiroshi and Minami thanked the
cooks, who nodded back in appreciation.

Minami noticed that Hiroshi
seemed a bit distracted and looked up at him. His demeanor was quiet and
distant. “Everything okay, Hiroshi?” she asked.

“Hmm… oh yes, everything is
fine. I’m just thinking about that questionnaire.”

“Yeah, when I first read
it, I found it really offensive.”

Hiroshi nodded in quiet
agreement as they walked back to their usual seats in the mess hall. Minami
greeted everyone with a smile. She sat down next to her in-laws while her
parents and siblings sat across from her. Mr. Ito looked at them as he turned
away from Mr. Satoh. His expression changed from a serious one to a more
pleasant one. “Ahh… welcome. I didn’t even see you two come in.”

“Didn’t you see me waving
to you while Minami and I were waiting in line?” asked Hiroshi as he unfolded
his napkin.

“I guess I didn’t. I was in
a discussion with your father and… oh, have you seen this?” Mr. Ito said as he
reached down for the questionnaire and held it out toward Hiroshi.

“I have one already,” said
Hiroshi.

“And did you read it? What
did you think?” asked an eager Mr. Ito.

Everyone turned to Hiroshi
to hear out his thoughts but Hiroshi simply shrugged and looked away, “I’m not
sure yet.”

Minami couldn’t help
interjecting her own thoughts. She turned to her father, “It’s offensive, and
Hiroshi thinks so too. I mean, they’re asking us to justify that we are Americans.
I didn’t know that we weren’t Americans to begin with. When was my citizenship
ever taken away? Because no one told me!”

Mr. Ito pounded the table
with his fist in agreement. “You’re absolutely right! Are they asking the
German Americans or the Italian Americans to sign this? I’m sure they’re not!”

Mr. Satoh nodded in
agreement and nodded at Minami as well. Mr. Satoh was the strong silent type,
which made him the perfect friend for Mr. Ito, who was quite the talker once he
got started. The two fathers had become quite good friends over the last few
months.

Minami pulled her copy of
the questionnaire out as she swallowed some rice and got the attention of her
father with a wave of her hand. “And listen to this. Hmm… where is it? Ah,
here… question number twenty-eight.” Minami cleared her throat and in an even
tone read from the questionnaire, “Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the
United States of America and faithfully defend the United States from any or
all attack by foreign or domestic forces, and foreswear any form of allegiance
or obedience to the Japanese emperor, or any other foreign government, power or
organization? Yes or No?”

“I think that’s implying
that we may have already committed ourselves to Japan and they want us to
re-examine our loyalty,” concluded Minami.

Mr. Ito then nodded once
more in agreement and looked over at Hiroshi, who was listening to the
conversation as he ate his lunch. “Hiroshi, you’re pretty quiet over there.
You’re lucky you married my daughter, she can definitely speak for the both of
you.”

“Dad!” stammered Minami
playfully. “I don’t talk a lot, do I?”

Her question got everyone’s
attention, including Hiroshi’s, and everyone let out a laugh.

Minami looked embarrassed.
“Okay, okay… but you can’t blame me for speaking out about this.”

Mr. Ito grabbed his cup and
banged the bottom of it on the table and nodded in Minami’s direction. Then he
picked up the questionnaire again and got everyone’s attention with a wave of
his hand. He cleared his throat. “Number twenty-seven. Are you willing to serve
in the Armed Forces of the United States on combat duty, wherever ordered?” He
slammed down the questionnaire and bluntly said, “That’s a stupid question for
any American to respond to! Any American who answers ‘no’ has shit for brains!”

Mrs. Ito then dropped her
fork and stared at her husband while cupping her hands over Yoshi’s ears. “Not
in front of Yoshi!”

Mr. Ito lurched backward
with an apologetic expression and smiled. Yoshi simply continued scooping peas
into this mouth as if nothing had happened.

Hiroshi then broke his
silence. “Aren’t all Americans supposed to fight anyways?”

Mr. Ito replied gravely,
“Yes, that’s what living in a country and being a man is all about. You’re
supposed to fight for your country, but this questionnaire questions us. It’s
not right to ask us this, and it’s not right to treat us like this.” Mr. Ito’s
face tensed up and he continued, “I should know. What they put me through in
North Dakota was not fit for any human being…”

Everyone listened to Mr. Ito
as his voice trailed off, but he quickly recovered. “I have to wonder sometimes
about the intent of our government that says it values freedom but then it
locks up its own people and questions their loyalty. Now where is the fairness
in that? Me, Minami’s mother, and your parents, we’re not citizens, but we do
consider ourselves American. But the rest of you, you are American by birth and
no one, no one should ever question that!”

There was a pause as
everyone reflected on Mr. Ito’s words and then Hiroshi added, “It’s almost
un-American, isn’t it?”

Mr. Ito pounded his cup on
the table once again and nodded in Hiroshi’s direction.

Hiroshi continued his stare
at Mr. Ito, nodded and went back to finishing his lunch. Minami watched Hiroshi
and took notice of his serious tone and added one more dreaded thought, “But if
we don’t say ‘yes’ to the questions, then they’ll think we’re really Japanese
spies and send us back to Japan.”

Mr. Ito replied, “Doesn’t
look like we have much choice in the matter. I wonder who wrote this stupid questionnaire?”

Yoshi mumbled through a
mouthful of food, “Shit for brains.”

Everyone suddenly laughed
and the tension broke. Mrs. Ito shot Yoshi a disapproving look and admonished
him firmly for swearing. The family went back to their lunch. Throughout the
mess hall, everyone else was having the same discussion.

Hiroshi slowly walked
Minami back to the school, since they had some time before her next class. She
was starting to really enjoy teaching. It was never a career option that she
had envisioned for herself.

“You were pretty quiet back
at lunch,” said Minami as she held Hiroshi’s hand.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I don’t
know why, but that questionnaire is just eating away at me,” replied Hiroshi.

Minami squeezed his hand
reassuringly, “We all have to sign it and though it questions us as Americans,
we’ll all sign it and answer those two questions with a ‘yes.’ It’s humiliating
but what choice do we have?”

“You’re right, Minami.”

Hiroshi dropped off Minami
at the school and they held each other for a little bit, stealing another
moment together. Then they went their separate ways as Hiroshi headed back to a
building in block seven that needed help with a leaky roof. He decided to take
a detour, and his thoughts drifted back to the fact that close to four weeks
had passed since he married Minami. He longed to simply take her away. He felt
a bit ashamed that he couldn’t whisk her away on some honeymoon like all newlyweds
do.

Hiroshi had emerged out of
a block and arrived at the road that led to the main gate of the prison camp.
He was about two hundred feet from it and he simply stared out into it until
the haze from the sun blurred the view in the distance. It was the road to
freedom, but a barbed wire gate blocked it with two watchtowers standing as
sentinels on either side. He began to think about his parents, Minami’s parents
and her siblings, and how they were all denied the very tenet that the United
States was built on, freedom. Were their parents destined to grow old and die
on the very prison camp itself? Would Minami’s sisters mature into young women
on the camp? Would little Yoshi continue his unruly outbursts for the remainder
of his time on the prison camp? How long would it be until they were set free
and the suspicions of a racist country lifted? It all seemed hopeless.

Hiroshi’s meandering
thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice.

“How’s the honeymoon, son?”
asked Captain Doxers as he strolled up to Hiroshi.

Hiroshi turned to meet him
but Hiroshi knew him as coach. The coach extended his hand out and for a
moment, Hiroshi hesitated but shook the coach’s hand firmly.

“It’s not much of a
honeymoon; the desert really isn’t an ideal place you know,” replied Hiroshi
with a hint of resentment.

The coach nodded his head
in mutual agreement. “It’s a shame, son, that you’re in this predicament. It’s
simply not fair. But look on the bright side, you did get married and it looks
like you got yourself a fine woman there.”

“Thanks, coach. She is
something,” said Hiroshi with a hint of appreciation.

“Did you hear about the
call out?” asked the coach.

“Call out?”

“Yeah, the call out. Seems
like the army is willing to give you boys a chance. There’s already one called
the 100
^th
out of Hawaii. I think you’ll be hearing a call out for
volunteers from the camps to join another all Japanese American fighting
regiment.”

Hiroshi nodded. “Yeah, we
kind of got wind of it with this questionnaire. But I guess I have some
resentment about this whole thing. Wouldn’t you find it tough to be part of an
army that is also holding your wife and family hostage?”