Free The Purple Heart by Vincent Yee Page B

tossed her
bowl, and then the teacup, into the fire and watched with delight as they
shattered upon impact. She felt satisfied, as if some albatross had been lifted
off of her. Her mother bent down, picked up the last bowl and teacup and
straightened herself up as she sighed. Standing in the middle of her children,
she looked at each one of them and simply said, “This one belonged your
father.” Her children looked up and she tossed the bowl and teacup at the fire
that raged once more before it whimpered hungrily, its strength slowly ebbing
away. The fire coiled back in on itself and tried to preserve its remaining
strength as it slowly burned itself away into the ashes.
    The next day, the family
lugged their suitcases down into the hallway. Their assigned pick-up center was
the local elementary school. Their neighbor, Mrs. Yasuda, offered to pick them
up in her station wagon. Mrs. Ito had already sold the family car since she
wasn’t a good driver as Mr. Ito did most of the driving in the family. Minami wore
a pair of jeans and a sweater, and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
She had packed her two suitcases along with a backpack full of personal items.
Yuka was with Yoshi outside, playing catch. Miho was milling about in the
barren living room.
    The backdoor slammed and
Minami saw her mother walking in wearing a serious expression. “Your father’s
friend Joe–well maybe not his friend after I tell him what he offered for the boat,”
she said in an agitated voice. “We had agreed on a fair price a few days ago,
but he said he needed a little more time to raise the cash. So when I went to
collect the money, he gave me a few hundred dollars less than what we agreed
on. He didn’t say a word as if I was supposed to just take it, knowing that we
were leaving today. So I just glared at him and looked at the boat and
threatened to sink it.”
    “No you didn’t,” said a
surprised Minami.
    “Oh yes I did! That’s your
father’s pride and joy, and I know he wouldn’t want me to undersell it. So I
simply gave back the money and jumped into the boat. I said was going to ram
the boat into the jetty since I’m such a bad driver, which he knows since I
almost ran him over a few years ago. I was confident I could do it. I guess
that’s when he took me seriously so he pleaded with me to stop and I’m glad he
did–I don’t know how to start the boat.”
    Minami laughed and her
mother continued, “So the ungrateful man pulled out from his pocket the rest of
the money and handed it to me. He apologized and offered to help me out of the
boat. But I just took the money and walked away from him.”
    Minami was so amused that
she let out another laugh. Her mother laughed with her and then she went back
to check the kitchen drawers and cupboards to see if anything was neglected.
Her mother’s slender frame glided along the kitchen counter checking every nook
and cranny that she knew so well. She was wearing a dress whose hem was below
her knees. She walked more casually those days. Being a fisherman’s wife, she
didn’t need to carry the poise that she had when she was a younger woman and
before she bore four children. But she had an inner strength that carried
through especially in the last few months. Father would be so proud of her,
Minami thought.
    A honk came from the front
of the house and both Minami and her mother looked in the direction of the
front door. Miho yelled out, “They’re here!”
    Mrs. Yasuda stepped out of
the brown station wagon and greeted Mrs. Ito. Her youngest son, who was not
taken away, was driving. Her husband and oldest son had suffered the same fate
as Minami’s father and were also imprisoned in North Dakota. They had run the
local Japanese newspaper, which was high on the FBI’s list of suspicious
activities.
    Mrs. Yasuda’s son Kenji
stepped out of the car in a plaid shirt and jeans. He was a skinny kid with
spiked hair and slightly crooked teeth. He was in the same grade as