and brother did too.”
Three people out of this entire enclave? I couldn’t be too worried about that.
“I’m sorry if you’ve been hurt,” Grace said.
I shrugged. “I’m not hurt.”
“We all have secrets,” she went on, still trying to comfort me.
I figured that meant I was supposed to ask about her secret, but I wasn’t fast enough, because she blurted, “I ran away from home. My dad beat me …”
Hardly a big surprise, given the bruises her clothes didn’t quite cover and the cut she tried unsuccessfully to hide under lipstick, but I nodded sympathetically. “I’m sure you did the right thing.”
Neither Helen nor I followed up with additional questions. I can’t speak for Helen, but I didn’t want Grace to lose any more face than she already had, poor thing. Grace and I now turned to Helen.
“Japanese and Chinese have always been against each other. And it’s not just this war,” Helen said, her voice as distant yet impassioned as my mother’s. “Japan is powerful. It can face any country—”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I mean, really. Like this was news? “You want to know what my parents taught me ? They say all you Chinese think you’re great because your culture is so much older than our culture. You accuse us of stealing your language—”
“You did,” she responded, not wanting to let it go. “Japan has long held a grudge against China. Japan wants to dominate China politically and militarily. It wants to take control of China’s raw materials, food, and labor—”
“I hate all that,” I said, repeating what I told my father when he boasted about Japan’s imperialistic aspirations. “Those things have nothing to do with me.”
“I lived in China, as I’ve already told you,” Helen went on. “When the Jap bombers came, we …” She took a breath and held it. “I mean, Monroe and I were walking on the road. We saw the red sun on the sides of the planes. We heard a warning gong from a nearby village, but what could we do? We saw a pilot in one of the cockpits. He shot at us.”
“That’s terrible,” I said. “But those things still have nothing to do with me.”
“Really, Helen, you can’t blame Ruby for events that happened in another country,” Grace threw in, defending me.
“Because it’s not my country,” I added. Again, I’d often said that to my parents, which drove them nearly crazy. “I was born here. I’m an American, just like you and Grace.”
Helen stared in the direction her father had gone.
Grace, still anxious, fumbled for something to say. “We’re still friends, aren’t we?”
Helen gave herself a small shake. Even I—who had known her less than a week—could see that somewhere deep inside a struggle was going on. She shifted her gaze to me, and we locked eyes. Finally, she spoke.
“I will keep your secret.”
Was her change of heart a little too quick? My entire life I’d heard about the centuries-long animosity between Japanese and Chinese, but I knew almost nothing about Chinese girls or how one like Helen might think and act.
“What about your father, Helen?” Grace asked. “You’ll be disobeying him if you see Ruby.”
“How am I disobeying him? He said watch out for her, not don’t ever see her. I went to school with Negroes and Mexicans. He didn’t like that either, but he had to live with it. Besides,” she added, “Ruby won’t be working at the Forbidden City, so it’s not like I’ll be with her every day.”
Grace needed to know one more thing. “Are you really going to give all your money to your father?”
“Of course,” Helen answered. “My brothers and I all do. He provides for us. We live with him. And he gives us spending money. Anything else you want to know?” The way she asked seemed designed to put an end to the conversation. “Are we set then? Good. Now let’s get some noodles.”
We began to walk, with Helen in the middle. I peered around her and into Grace’s face. She still
Three people out of this entire enclave? I couldn’t be too worried about that.
“I’m sorry if you’ve been hurt,” Grace said.
I shrugged. “I’m not hurt.”
“We all have secrets,” she went on, still trying to comfort me.
I figured that meant I was supposed to ask about her secret, but I wasn’t fast enough, because she blurted, “I ran away from home. My dad beat me …”
Hardly a big surprise, given the bruises her clothes didn’t quite cover and the cut she tried unsuccessfully to hide under lipstick, but I nodded sympathetically. “I’m sure you did the right thing.”
Neither Helen nor I followed up with additional questions. I can’t speak for Helen, but I didn’t want Grace to lose any more face than she already had, poor thing. Grace and I now turned to Helen.
“Japanese and Chinese have always been against each other. And it’s not just this war,” Helen said, her voice as distant yet impassioned as my mother’s. “Japan is powerful. It can face any country—”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I mean, really. Like this was news? “You want to know what my parents taught me ? They say all you Chinese think you’re great because your culture is so much older than our culture. You accuse us of stealing your language—”
“You did,” she responded, not wanting to let it go. “Japan has long held a grudge against China. Japan wants to dominate China politically and militarily. It wants to take control of China’s raw materials, food, and labor—”
“I hate all that,” I said, repeating what I told my father when he boasted about Japan’s imperialistic aspirations. “Those things have nothing to do with me.”
“I lived in China, as I’ve already told you,” Helen went on. “When the Jap bombers came, we …” She took a breath and held it. “I mean, Monroe and I were walking on the road. We saw the red sun on the sides of the planes. We heard a warning gong from a nearby village, but what could we do? We saw a pilot in one of the cockpits. He shot at us.”
“That’s terrible,” I said. “But those things still have nothing to do with me.”
“Really, Helen, you can’t blame Ruby for events that happened in another country,” Grace threw in, defending me.
“Because it’s not my country,” I added. Again, I’d often said that to my parents, which drove them nearly crazy. “I was born here. I’m an American, just like you and Grace.”
Helen stared in the direction her father had gone.
Grace, still anxious, fumbled for something to say. “We’re still friends, aren’t we?”
Helen gave herself a small shake. Even I—who had known her less than a week—could see that somewhere deep inside a struggle was going on. She shifted her gaze to me, and we locked eyes. Finally, she spoke.
“I will keep your secret.”
Was her change of heart a little too quick? My entire life I’d heard about the centuries-long animosity between Japanese and Chinese, but I knew almost nothing about Chinese girls or how one like Helen might think and act.
“What about your father, Helen?” Grace asked. “You’ll be disobeying him if you see Ruby.”
“How am I disobeying him? He said watch out for her, not don’t ever see her. I went to school with Negroes and Mexicans. He didn’t like that either, but he had to live with it. Besides,” she added, “Ruby won’t be working at the Forbidden City, so it’s not like I’ll be with her every day.”
Grace needed to know one more thing. “Are you really going to give all your money to your father?”
“Of course,” Helen answered. “My brothers and I all do. He provides for us. We live with him. And he gives us spending money. Anything else you want to know?” The way she asked seemed designed to put an end to the conversation. “Are we set then? Good. Now let’s get some noodles.”
We began to walk, with Helen in the middle. I peered around her and into Grace’s face. She still
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