The Red Kimono: A Novel

44. Terrence

CHAPTER 44 Terrence NOVEMBER 1, 1942 Mr. Blake’s question kept coming back to haunt Terrence. Yeah, the Japs killed his father, and he never thought he could hate like he’d hated that day he found out. Still, if he’d known that man he beat up—killed—in the park that day was Nobu’s father, would he still have hated him? No. So maybe Blake was right. It was a lot harder to hate someone when you knew something about them. Had something in common. You could say he’d tried to get to know something about Carter, sort of. They were hardly friendly to each other, but somehow in the last month, they’d settled in on their territories in the cramped cell and pretty much kept to themselves. Didn’t hurt none that they both disliked the guards enough that neither would give the weasels something to hoot and holler over. But in the cautious few words they did exchange, he’d learned a few things. He knew Carter graduated from high school. That was more than Terrence could say. And Carter grew up without a daddy. Not Terrence. Didn’t have that in common neither. Terrence’s daddy had always been around. Though Carter didn’t mention it, the week before Terrence had learned Carter had a sister when a guard announced his mother and sister were waiting in the visiting area. A sister. Now there was something they had in common. But when Terrence asked about the visit, Carter ignored him. Walked straight to the toilet, undid his pants, and pissed. Only when he zipped his pants back up, did he mumble, “That ain’t none of your business.” So they’d gone another week, talking to each other only when they 176 JAN MORRILL had to. Sure, it was better than the day Carter first arrived and said all those hateful things. But Terrence still had a knot in his stomach from the tense quiet. The kind when you know there’s things that gotta be said. But those things don’t get said—just keep building up behind a wall of silence that gets taller and thicker. You know one day it’s gonna explode from everything built up, but still nobody says a word. And more bricks keep getting added. It wasn’t helping that they’d been in lockdown since two troublemakers fought in the yard. When other inmates got in on the action, the guards ran waving their clubs to break it up. Terrence and Carter just stood and watched, but everybody suffered for the brawl. Lockdown. No yard time. They even had to eat their meals in the cell. So if he couldn’t figure out a way to talk to Carter, there’d be no one to talk to. That made the silence even worse. Damn. He’d been staring at the same old algebra problem on that page for over an hour. Couldn’t make sense of it. His mind was too full of wondering when that brick wall was gonna come tumbling down and what it was gonna take to set it off. It was time. Time to see if Mr. Blake was right about finding common ground. Way past time. He scribbled out the hundredth math calculation he’d attempted then blurted, “I got two sisters.” He inhaled deep to slow his pounding heart. Okay, that’s a start. Now keep going. “Patty. She’s eleven going on sixteen.” “Hey, man,” Carter said, “what do I care about your dumbass colored family?” Terrence’s fist clenched. Stay calm. He scooted his chair out and put his feet on the table. Let out a long, slow breath. “Then, there’s my little Missy, she’s three. She loves to sit on my lap and listen to stories.” “Man, are you deaf?” Terrence fought to keep his voice steady. “What about your sister? What’s she like?” He wove the pencil through his trembling fingers. “I told you, my family ain’t none of your business.” Carter flipped over on his bunk and faced the wall. “Now leave me alone.” Time to push harder. “Guess your white-ass family ain’t worth talking about then.” Carter bolted up. If his eyes could’ve shot bullets, Terence would be on the floor bleeding. The Red Kimono 177 He fought the urge to up the...