Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky (22 page)

“Louder,” someone called.

Tomi raised her voice and repeated, “ ‘Why I Am an American,’ by Tomi Itano.”

Her hand shook as she raised the paper. Then, slowly, she began to read. “The day my father arrived on America’s shore, he found a silver dollar lying in the street.” Tomi looked down at Pop feeling even more nervous.

“He kept that silver dollar. There were times during his first days in this country that he could have spent it to buy food or a place to sleep. But he wouldn’t part with it, because it was his lucky dollar. He told me that every time he looked at it, he remembered the luckiest day of his life, the day he came to America.”

Tomi stopped and glanced again at Pop. He had removed his hat and was turning it around and around in his hands.

Tomi gulped and went on. “The first sound I remember hearing when I was a little girl was my father jingling that coin against pennies and nickels in his pocket. Not long ago, however, I stopped hearing it. That’s because my father no longer has the silver dollar. He sent it to my brother Roy, who is serving in the U.S. Army in Europe. The dollar was such powerful good luck that he gave it to
Roy to keep him safe. And it has.”

Tomi looked at Pop. To her surprise, Pop was standing up straight, his head held high. Mom reached over and took his hand.

Swallowing again, Tomi continued her essay. “In the old country, Pop knew he couldn’t go far. By law, everything in the family was inherited by the first son. Pop was the third son. But in America, everyone had an equal chance. If he worked hard, he could have his own home, with running water and a bedroom for each of his children. He could build his own business. His children would be free to choose their future, too. He came to America not just for himself but for his children.

“Pop’s business was a strawberry farm, and one day, he pointed to the red berries, white clouds, and blue sky. He told me those were the colors of the American flag, the flag we raised in our front yard every morning. It was the flag of
his
country—and mine.

“My father is an American because he chose to be one.” Tomi looked up at the crowd and concluded, “And I am an American because he chose America for me.”

As Tomi finished, people clapped. A few cheered and whistled. Pop clapped the loudest. Then, before Tomi
could leave the platform, he jumped up beside her. He bowed to the audience, then held up his hand, and people grew quiet. “I am Tomi Itano’s father,” he announced. “And I am the proudest man at Tallgrass.” Then he took Tomi’s hand, and the two walked off the stage.

Tomi was so shocked that at first, she couldn’t speak. Then she said, “I thought you wouldn’t like my essay, Pop. I thought you’d be mad that Mom and I found out about your silver dollar.”

“Oh, I knew you would. I know Mom reads all of Roy’s letters. American women do that, and she’s an American woman.”

“And you’re an American man,” Tomi said.

Pop looked at Tomi a long time. “I had almost forgotten that,” Pop said softly. And then he added, “You reminded me, Tomi. Thank you.”

1945 | CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

TOMI MEETS
the
GOVERNOR

AT THE
end of the VE Day celebration, Mrs. Glessner came up to Mom and Pop and Tomi. “I have your tickets. “You take the train first thing Monday morning.”

Pop looked confused. “What train?”

Mrs. Glessner frowned. “Didn’t Tomi tell you? The governor himself is presenting Tomi with her award. The whole family, even Hiro, has been invited to the ceremony.”

“We’re going to Denver, on the train?” Pop asked.

“Yes, the judges are paying for the train tickets,” Mrs. Glessner said.

Mom smoothed her kimono and asked, “Does the governor know we’re Japanese?”

Mrs. Glessner laughed. “He will soon enough. But don’t worry. Governor Carr has a Japanese housekeeper.”

“Do the judges know?” Tomi asked.

“I didn’t tell them,” Mrs. Glessner said. “But then, nobody asked. The contest was open to all American ninth-graders in Colorado, and Tomi’s an American.”

Pop grinned. “So am I.”

Two women stood on the platform at Union Station, the train depot in Denver, looking around. One of them held a sign that said: “Tomi Itano.” When Tomi approached them, they ignored her.

“Excuse me,” Tomi said.

One of the women glanced at Tomi, then looked past her to watch the people getting off the train. “Yes,” she said.

“I’m Tomi Itano.”

At first, the woman didn’t seem to hear her. She craned her neck to look down the track. Then she turned back and stared at Tomi. “What?” she said.

“I’m Tomi Itano.”

“We’re looking for a boy who won an essay contest,” the second woman said. She had stopped watching the
passengers and was staring at Tomi.

“I’m Tomi Itano. I’m a girl, not a boy. I won the contest. I go to school at Tallgrass in Ellis.”

The woman frowned. “You wrote an essay on ‘Why I Am an American’ ”?

Oh, no, Tomi thought, as she nodded. What if the women refused to let her win? What if they told her to get back on the train to Ellis?

The two women looked at each other. “We chose an essay by a Japanese girl from an internment camp?” one of them said.

The other nodded. “Can you beat that!”

“Well, good for us.” She held out her hand. “Tomi Itano, I’m glad to meet you. I’m Mrs. Bennett, and this is Mrs. Knowles.”

Tomi grinned. Then she introduced Mom and Pop and Hiro, and Pop shook the two women’s hands.

“So you’re the man with the silver dollar?” Mrs. Knowles said.

“I’m the
American
with the silver dollar,” Pop told her.

“Yes, you are. You are a surprise,” Mrs. Bennett said.

“Didn’t you know Tomi was a Japanese girl?” Hiro asked.

“I thought maybe she was an Italian boy,” Mrs. Bennett replied. “But it doesn’t matter what you are, does it? Come along. The governor is waiting for us.” The two women led them to a big black car and told the driver to take them to the state capitol.

Tomi had never been to Denver before, and she stared at the capitol building with its gold dome. But not for long, because the women hurried them up the steps, and they walked down a long marble hallway to the governor’s office.

“This is Tomi Itano, the girl who won the state essay contest,” Mrs. Bennett told the receptionist.

At that, a man with a big camera came up to them and said, “I’m from the
Denver Post
. What a great story this will make. We’ll put it on the front page.”

The receptionist went into an office, then came back and motioned for everyone to enter. A man behind a desk stood up and said, “So you’re the little girl who wrote about her father’s silver dollar. What a nice surprise this is. I’m Governor Carr.” He held out his hand. Then he shook hands with Mom and Pop and even Hiro. He turned to the photographer. “Bill, you better get a picture of this. It’s a mighty good story. People ought to know about the kind
of
Americans
we put into those relocation camps. Maybe one day we’ll ask them to forgive us for what we did to them.”

The governor came around his desk to stand beside Tomi and her family. He presented Tomi with a certificate and a check for a hundred dollars. The photographer lifted his camera, and a flashbulb went off.

“By the way,” the governor asked when they were finished. “Did your son Roy come through the war okay?”

“You bet,” Pop grinned. “He’ll be coming home any day now.”

The receptionist came into the room then and said, “Sir, your next appointment is waiting.”

“Well, let him wait,” Governor Carr said. Then he turned to Pop. “My housekeeper is Japanese. She was at the internment camp in Wyoming. I don’t know what I’d do without her. What say you come home with me for lunch? She sure would like to meet all of you.”

Pop grinned. “Ah, she is an American, too.”

“You bet,” the governor said. “By the way, Mr. Itano, I have something for you to jingle until Roy comes home.” He reached into his pocket, then handed Pop a silver dollar.

Two weeks later, Pop received a letter. “It’s from Mr. Lawrence,” he announced. “I’ll read it to you so you don’t have to sneak a look at it when I’m out.” Pop grinned at Mom. He chuckled a little as he took his time opening the envelope, but at last, he removed a note and began to read.

“Out loud,” Mom said.

Pop laughed. “It starts ‘Dear Sam.’ ”

Mom waved her hand. “I know that.”

“He says,

We didn’t know where you were until we saw an article in the newspaper here in California about Tomi receiving an award. The story must have been published in papers all across the country. You sure looked proud in the picture
.

We want you to know that your house and farm are waiting for you whenever you want to come back. We rented it to a young couple, but we told them they could stay only until you returned. They are nice people, but they can’t grow strawberries like you do, Sam. Nobody can
.

It won’t always be easy for you here, because there are still people in California who do not like the Japanese. But I think
you can deal with them. You’ve been through a lot, and it hasn’t broken your spirit
.

Let me know when you will arrive. I’ll meet your train. I’ll bring Martha with me. She can hardly wait to see Tomi again. She told me to send you this photograph with the picture of Tomi’s doll in it. There’s a note from Martha, too.”

Pop fished in the envelope and took out a picture of Martha, who had been Tomi’s best friend in California.

Tomi studied the photograph. There was Martha holding Janice, the Japanese doll Tomi’s grandparents had sent her. Janice had been Tomi’s favorite possession, and she’d asked Martha to take care of the doll for her. She smiled, remembering how carefully she had played with Janice, because the doll was fragile. Then she frowned. Janice had once worn a beautiful kimono. Now she was dressed in a brown suit. Why had Martha changed the doll’s clothes? Had Martha been ashamed that Janice was Japanese? Had the other girls teased Martha because she had a Japanese doll?

“See what she wrote,” Pop said, handing Tomi the note.

Tomi sighed and opened the folded paper. Then she read out loud.