The Red Kimono: A Novel

54. Nobu

lighten the mood? She didn’t care. It was Valentine’s Day. She had to do it—the cards wouldn’t mean as much tomorrow. She grabbed her pajamas and hid the cards beneath them. “I made these for you,” she whispered. “Happy Valentine’s Day.” Her stomach aflutter, she was too uncertain, too anxious to wait for their response. She hurried into Nobu’s room and pulled the curtain shut. She heard one envelope tear open. “Thanks, Sach. It’s really nice,” Nobu said. Mama spoke next. “Nobu, I am waiting. How can you think of answering ‘no’ to both questions?” What questions were they talking about? And why was Mama so upset about it? One thing was for sure. Her mother had more important things on her mind than a silly card. No sense waiting for her to open it. She tossed her satchel onto the bed, and threw herself next to it. What was she supposed to do while Mama and Nobu discussed whatever it was they were discussing? She opened the satchel. The kimono! How would she get it back into the box without Mama seeing? As she shoved it deeper inside, she felt the valentine Private Collins had given her. She took out one half, and felt for the other. She pulled each half out of its torn half-envelope, and held them together like puzzle pieces. Her heart raced as she read the words inscribed in the red heart on the front of the card. To my special Valentine . . . CHAPTER 54 Nobu MARCH 15, 1943 The silence had been long and lonely since the day Nobu received notice that he would be transferred back to California. All those who had answered “no” to Question 27 and Question 28 were being sent to a 236 JAN MORRILL maximum-security segregation camp called Tule Lake. He had known there would be consequences for the way he had answered, but he had no idea he would be sent away, separated from his family. He studied Mama from across the room, trying to determine her mood before approaching to sit next to her. Her rigid posture and expressionless face definitely read anger. But her attempt to wipe tears from her cheeks before they were discovered was futile. She couldn’t mask her sadness. Sachi sat on the edge of her bed, staring at her feet as she swung them back and forth. No mistaking her mood. Only sadness there. The previous night, he had tossed and turned with alternating waves of guilt and determination; guilt that he wouldn’t be at Rohwer to take care of Mama and Sachi, determination that he could not have answered the questions any other way. When he’d received his transfer orders, Sachi had begun to sob and asked, “Can’t you change your answers so you can stay with us?” Her question broke his heart. “I’m sorry, Sach. They won’t let me change them.” But he also bit his lip. I wouldn’t change my answers even if I could. Sachi would understand one day. But Mama was a different story. He had no idea what to say to her, how to respond to her anger and grief. Her shame. It didn’t matter anymore. The silence was killing him. He had to say something. “Mama, talk to me,” he said, maneuvering toward where she sat. Her gaze remained fixed on the blank wall across the room. He pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. “What are you thinking?” At last, she spoke, though she still stared at the wall. “How could you have answered as a disloyal?” Disloyal. The word was a flashpoint. A trigger for a barrage of angry words. He stood up and pounded the table. Sachi stopped swinging her legs and gasped. Mama’s eyes widened with surprise. “I am not disloyal!” he yelled. “It is America that has been disloyal!” Seeing Mama’s eyes fill with tears, he sat again and took a deep breath. The Red Kimono 237 Calm down. Is this how you want to spend your last hours with Mama and Sachi? His voice softened. “Don’t you see, Mama? How else could I answer? If I’d answered ‘yes,’ they might have sent me off to war. I’m sorry. I refuse to fight for a country that could do this to us.” Her eyes...