Read Online Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky by Sandra Dallas - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Sandra Dallas
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Mrs. Hayashi, “She bumped me, but I bumped her good.”
Mrs. Hayashi smiled as she rose from her chair. The pull-toy was in her hand. “You may play with this. Very carefully,” she said, handing the dog to Carl. Then she nodded at the table. She had covered it with an embroidered white cloth and set of four tiny china cups as thinas butterfly wings on the table. A teapot rested on the table, too. And there was a small bowl of Japanese crackers. Mrs. Hayashi must have brought them from California, because Tomi had not seen them in the camp store.
“Please sit down,” Mrs. Hayashi said. When they were all seated, Mrs. Hayashi poured tea into the cups. She was as graceful as a swan Tomi had seen once in California.
“Oh boy, crackers!” Carl said. “Thank you, lady.”
“She’s Mrs. Hayashi,” Tomi corrected.
“You may call me Aunt Hayashi,” Ruth’s mother said. “And if you are careful, you may play with some other toys I have.”
“Wow!” Carl said.
Tomi stared at the table. She was afraid that if she looked at Ruth, Mrs. Hayashi would know they were up to something.
After the tea was finished and Carl was rolling the dog back and forth, Mrs. Hayashi said, “I do not want to keep any girl from school. You may tell your friend I will watch Carl while she attends classes.”
“Really? I never thought about that, but I’m sure Helen would be happy. That’s a really good idea you have, Mrs. Hayashi,” Tomi said. She had to work hard to keepfrom breaking into a grin.
Mrs. Hayashi cleared away the tea things, and Ruth nudged Tomi in the ribs. “It worked. She thinks it was her own idea,” she whispered.
Tomi wasn’t so sure, because as she opened the door to leave, Mrs. Hayashi called to her. “Oh, Tomi,” she said, and Tomi stopped. “You are a very clever girl.”
1943 | CHAPTER TWELVE
ROY and the ROYALS
NOW that Helen was back in school, she ought to be happier, Tomi thought. She hoped Helen would smile and crack jokes the way the other bobby-soxers at the camp did. But she was wrong. Helen was as grumpy as ever.
Each morning, Tomi stopped at Helen’s apartment to pick up Carl. She took him to Mrs. Hayashi. Then she and Ruth went on to school. Mrs. Hayashi watched Carl until Helen came for him in the early afternoon.
But if Helen hadn’t changed, Mrs. Hayashi had. “Now that she spends the day with Carl, Mother’s as happy as she can be. She’s teaching Carl to fold paper into birds—it’s called origami—and they play catch and go for walks. Mother asked your mom to teach her to knit so she can make Carl a pair of mittens.”
“I know. Mom told me your mother’s even cutting out fabric squares and triangles, and plans to make Carl a quilt,” Tomi said.
“She’s happy again. She sings all the time. That was a good idea of yours, Tomi.”
“Well, Helen isn’t happy, and she doesn’t sing. She still hates Tallgrass. That’s all she talks about. She’s in my brother Roy’s class, and he told me she’s the most bitter person he ever met.” He’d also told her Helen was the prettiest girl he’d ever met, as pretty as a pinup. Pinups were the beautiful young women whose pictures were in magazines. Soldiers sometimes tore out the pictures and taped them inside their lockers. Tomi knew her brother had a crush on Helen.
“What’s the matter with her?” Ruth asked.
Tomi thought that over as they came across hopscotch squares someone had drawn in the dirt with a stick. She hopscotched to the end of the squares, then hopped around on one foot and went back to the starting point. “I guess it must be hard to have to take care of your brothers when you’re only sixteen. Helen blames the government. She told me once she wishes she’d gone to Japan.” At the beginning of the war, the government had offered to sendany Japanese living in the United States to Japan. A few, mostly those who had been born in Japan and had lived in the U.S. for a short time, left
Mrs. Hayashi smiled as she rose from her chair. The pull-toy was in her hand. “You may play with this. Very carefully,” she said, handing the dog to Carl. Then she nodded at the table. She had covered it with an embroidered white cloth and set of four tiny china cups as thinas butterfly wings on the table. A teapot rested on the table, too. And there was a small bowl of Japanese crackers. Mrs. Hayashi must have brought them from California, because Tomi had not seen them in the camp store.
“Please sit down,” Mrs. Hayashi said. When they were all seated, Mrs. Hayashi poured tea into the cups. She was as graceful as a swan Tomi had seen once in California.
“Oh boy, crackers!” Carl said. “Thank you, lady.”
“She’s Mrs. Hayashi,” Tomi corrected.
“You may call me Aunt Hayashi,” Ruth’s mother said. “And if you are careful, you may play with some other toys I have.”
“Wow!” Carl said.
Tomi stared at the table. She was afraid that if she looked at Ruth, Mrs. Hayashi would know they were up to something.
After the tea was finished and Carl was rolling the dog back and forth, Mrs. Hayashi said, “I do not want to keep any girl from school. You may tell your friend I will watch Carl while she attends classes.”
“Really? I never thought about that, but I’m sure Helen would be happy. That’s a really good idea you have, Mrs. Hayashi,” Tomi said. She had to work hard to keepfrom breaking into a grin.
Mrs. Hayashi cleared away the tea things, and Ruth nudged Tomi in the ribs. “It worked. She thinks it was her own idea,” she whispered.
Tomi wasn’t so sure, because as she opened the door to leave, Mrs. Hayashi called to her. “Oh, Tomi,” she said, and Tomi stopped. “You are a very clever girl.”
1943 | CHAPTER TWELVE
ROY and the ROYALS
NOW that Helen was back in school, she ought to be happier, Tomi thought. She hoped Helen would smile and crack jokes the way the other bobby-soxers at the camp did. But she was wrong. Helen was as grumpy as ever.
Each morning, Tomi stopped at Helen’s apartment to pick up Carl. She took him to Mrs. Hayashi. Then she and Ruth went on to school. Mrs. Hayashi watched Carl until Helen came for him in the early afternoon.
But if Helen hadn’t changed, Mrs. Hayashi had. “Now that she spends the day with Carl, Mother’s as happy as she can be. She’s teaching Carl to fold paper into birds—it’s called origami—and they play catch and go for walks. Mother asked your mom to teach her to knit so she can make Carl a pair of mittens.”
“I know. Mom told me your mother’s even cutting out fabric squares and triangles, and plans to make Carl a quilt,” Tomi said.
“She’s happy again. She sings all the time. That was a good idea of yours, Tomi.”
“Well, Helen isn’t happy, and she doesn’t sing. She still hates Tallgrass. That’s all she talks about. She’s in my brother Roy’s class, and he told me she’s the most bitter person he ever met.” He’d also told her Helen was the prettiest girl he’d ever met, as pretty as a pinup. Pinups were the beautiful young women whose pictures were in magazines. Soldiers sometimes tore out the pictures and taped them inside their lockers. Tomi knew her brother had a crush on Helen.
“What’s the matter with her?” Ruth asked.
Tomi thought that over as they came across hopscotch squares someone had drawn in the dirt with a stick. She hopscotched to the end of the squares, then hopped around on one foot and went back to the starting point. “I guess it must be hard to have to take care of your brothers when you’re only sixteen. Helen blames the government. She told me once she wishes she’d gone to Japan.” At the beginning of the war, the government had offered to sendany Japanese living in the United States to Japan. A few, mostly those who had been born in Japan and had lived in the U.S. for a short time, left
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