Read Online Mismatch by Lensey Namioka - Free Book Online Page B

went over to the piano and played some Japanese folk songs to cheer him up. This touched him so deeply that he almost broke down and cried. She in turn was so touched by his reaction, she almost cried herself. The rest, she liked to tell Andy, was history.
    Andy’s grandfather stayed in America after getting married, but he never got over his homesickness for Japan. He would tell his children Japanese fairy tales, while Andy’s grandmother played Japanese songs. Andy’s father grew up speaking Japanese at home. His grandfather would point out to his grandchildren how, every year on December 7, Americans remembered Japan’s preemptive strike at Pearl Harbor. However long the Suzukis had been in America, Andy’s grandfather insisted, they were still regarded by some people as enemy aliens.
    Listening to his grandfather talk like this, Andy wasn’t surprised that people in America thought of him as an alien. Andy thought of Pearl Harbor as just another incident in American history, not something that had much to do with him personally. Occasionally he felt that people made assumptions about him because he was Asian, but he never felt that anyone discriminated against him because his ancestors were Japanese.
    The story of Andy’s mother’s family was very different from his father’s. During World War II, her family, like many West Coast Japanese Americans, had been forced into “relocation” camps. The American government felt that Japanese Americans were too Japanese to be trusted. The camps were situated in bleak, remote parts of the country, and living conditions were harsh. In spite of this, her grandfather still thought of himself as a patriotic American, and had even fought in the U.S. Army.
    At home, Andy tended to side with his mother. She was easier to get along with in general. He remembered her saying, “If you’re really looking for slights or insults, you can always find some. But why bother?”
    Andy’s mother was a history teacher, so she took a wider and longer view of things. Whenever Andy’s father started growling about discrimination by white people, she was always able to point out even worse cases of discrimination at some other place in some other time.
    The doorbell ringing and car washing made Andy start thinking about the trip as an opportunity to see the country of his ancestors. Of course, his father had made sure that he and his elder brother weren’t totally ignorant of Japanese culture. His father rented Japanese movies, mostly historical epics. Andy enjoyed these movies, especially those with samurai engaged in spectacular swordfights. But to him, the samurai movies were just like movies about Roman gladiators or American cowboys: they were action pictures, and fun to watch. He didn’t see them as being about his ancestors.
    On his own, Andy had gone to a number of anime films. He didn’t think of these as particularly Japanese, either, though the animation style had originated in Japan. In fact, they had become really popular among all his high school friends.
    Now Andy would get to see Japan with his own eyes. At his mother’s suggestion, he began to review the Japanese phrases his father had taught him years before. Andy also decided to review different types of Japanese writing, especially katakana, which his father told him was used on public signs.
    The whole orchestra worked hard ringing doorbells and washing cars, but as summer approached, they all knew that they still hadn’t raised enough money to pay for the tickets. Would the auction bring in enough?
    At lunch one day, Andy was sitting at his usual table, next to Sue. The first time he’d come back to sit with her, there had been significant looks and raised eyebrows from Mia and Ginny, but he pretended not to notice. After that, things pretty much went back to the way they were before.
    “So, the auction is next Sunday,” said Ginny. “I wonder what kinds of things people are going to sell.”
    “I heard that