The Purple Heart (25 page)

As Hiroshi padded down the
lapels along his chest, he suddenly felt something in his inner left breast
pocket. He reached in and pulled out a small off-white envelope. He flipped
open the flap and pulled out a singular piece of paper. On it was three simple
words, “From a fan.”

He showed the note to his
mother as his father peered over her left shoulder with his reading glasses.
They both read the simple note and the mother turned it over to find no
additional clues. Their expressions were one of confusion.

“It’s from a fan? As in
baseball fan?” asked the father.

“I guess so,” replied
Hiroshi.

The mother then grabbed the
pants away from her husband and inspected the inner lining.

“Mom, I’m sure there aren’t
any mouse traps in there,” said Hiroshi as he feared that his mother’s paranoia
was taking over.

However, it wasn’t her
paranoia that consumed her but rather a realization. She checked the seams on
the pants and then firmly held Hiroshi in place as she inspected the seaming on
the jacket. She looked up at Hiroshi and said, “Hiroshi, this suit is freshly
sewn. Someone on this base must have sewn this new suit because she must have
heard about your problem.”

“What makes you think it’s
a she?” Hiroshi asked.

His mother looked at him
with a look of annoyance. “What man on this camp would go near a sewing
machine?”

Hiroshi realized his
momentary lapse in judgment and replied in agreement, “Good point.”

“Well Hiroshi,” continued
his mother, “looks like you’re not only about to have a wife but also a secret
admirer.”

“Or she could just be a big
fan,” said Hiroshi as he sought to deflect the allegation. But whoever she was,
he was grateful.

It was a warm Saturday when
the day of the wedding arrived. The ceremony was to be conducted at one of the
administrative buildings outside of the prison camp. Only immediate family and
a small number of close friends were allowed to attend.

Hiroshi waited nervously,
tapping one foot annoyingly on the wooden floor. The room looked like a
debriefing room of some sort, but the chairs had been rearranged to allow an
aisle down the middle of the room from the door. The chaplain stood at the end
of the aisle waiting quietly as he swayed his shoulders back and forth as he
held the bible in front of him with both hands. He was a middle-aged gentleman
with slightly thinning hair that he combed backwards. He had a slender build
with slightly sagging shoulders that were slightly smaller than his hips. His
long face also had a long nose to match. But despite a sense of awkwardness to
him, his demeanor was calm and benevolent.

Hiroshi looked
uncomfortable in his suit, but it did fit him well. He was wearing one of his
father’s dress shirts and a dark tie that he had borrowed. His shoes were also
borrowed, and they had been polished to look like new. But Hiroshi found the
entire outfit constricting. He could barely breathe, and he felt like the suit
itself was literally suffocating him, slowly squeezing the very air out of him.
He began to feel hot under the collar as he looked across the aisle to see
Minami’s mother and siblings. The women were wearing their best dresses, and a
fidgeting Yoshi wore a white short-sleeve shirt and a pair of pants. He was
swinging his legs back and forth over his seat as he waited. There were a
handful of family friends behind them like the Yasudas and their two sons. Mrs.
Yasuda’s husband and oldest son were dropped off on the prison camp a few days
after Minami’s father was reunited with his family. Her younger son Kenji was
busily flirting and chatting softly with Miho.

Hiroshi looked to his left
to see his beaming mother. His father sat beside her and was able to borrow a
suit from someone on the prison camp. Hiroshi was sure his father was equally
uncomfortable as well, but he didn’t show it. A few family friends sat behind
his parents in quiet anticipation.

Hiroshi’s mind started to
wonder why it was taking so long. He was told that Minami and her father would
walk down the aisle at 12 o’clock and it was already two minutes past. He felt
like his head was going to explode but then he started to ask himself why he
was so nervous. This was what he wanted. He was about to marry the woman he had
fallen in love with. He was looking forward to spending the rest of his life
with her, having her and cherishing her. He closed his eyes to bring forth a
soothing mental image of Minami. He exhaled through his nose and he brought his
hands together to gather some sense of calmness.

“Nervous, son?” asked the
chaplain.

Hiroshi was caught off
guard as the chaplain had a deeper voice than he expected. Hiroshi opened his
eyes and looked at him.

“Yes, I guess you can say
that,” replied Hiroshi.

“Don’t worry, son, it’ll be
all over before you know it,” the chaplain said reassuringly.

Hiroshi didn’t get a chance
to say thank you before his attention was diverted to the door opening. His
head turned immediately as he took in a quick breath and found himself tensing
up.

There was a bright light
coming directly from the window beyond the door and Hiroshi could only see
paired silhouettes in the doorframe. The blinding moment seemed to go on
forever until finally Minami stepped out of the light and into the room. She
was smiling and her eyes were beaming. Hiroshi simply thought she was like an
angel stepping out from the clouds and into the room.

Hiroshi stared at her.
Though it was impossible to find a wedding dress, she was wearing a light
floral print white sundress with straps that hung delicately over her soft
shoulders. A white sash was wrapped about her waist that accentuated her
figure, and she was wearing her white shoes. She had her hair bound tightly up
and had used a pair of ornate chopsticks to hold it place. There were even
hints of small white flowers interlaced in her hair. In her right hand was a
small bouquet of white flowers. She was absolutely the most beautiful sight he
had ever seen as she slowly strolled down the aisle.

Minami took her last step,
looked at her father as they reached for each other’s hands. Her father had a
firm look on his face and she wasn’t sure if he was holding back his emotions.
He looked at his daughter and there was such pride reflected in his eyes. He
nodded his head as the muscles around his mouth pulled taut and he managed a
tight grin. He was seeing his oldest daughter being married off, and he
couldn’t help lamenting the circumstances in which she was being married. His
daughter deserved better, he thought. However, she had made the decision to
marry, and so he must be happy for her. He then slowly released her hands and
stepped back toward his seat.

Minami turned slowly to
meet Hiroshi’s gaze. It was the first time she had ever seen him in a suit, and
she was very impressed. The suit fit very nicely as it hugged his body. She
offered a reassuring smile to Hiroshi, who seemed surprisingly calm. She was
somewhat hoping that he would look a little nervous, but his handsome looks
stole her attention.

Hiroshi took a step toward
Minami and reached out with his left hand. Minami placed her hand into his. A
sudden reassuring warmth passed between them as they both turned toward the
chaplain.

“Dearly beloved, we are
gathered here today in holy matrimony between Hiroshi Satoh and Minami Ito. Two
people who found themselves in the unlikeliest of all places. But God works in
mysterious ways to join two people who have fallen in love, and it is love that
will always persevere over all adversity.”

“So today, I have the
privilege to marry these two as they share this auspicious occasion with their
family and the closest of their friends. So without further ado…” The chaplain
then gestured to Hiroshi and Minami to face one another. The chaplain then
looked in Hiroshi’s direction and continued, “The ring please.”

There was a pause as both
Hiroshi and Minami looked at one another. What did he mean by “the ring
please.” Hiroshi thought to himself. It was already on Minami’s finger.

“Son, do you have the
wedding band?”

Hiroshi and Minami quickly
realized what he was referring to. With a slight tone of amusement, Hiroshi
turned to the chaplain and simply said, “We’re in a relocation camp–we haven’t
had time to leave and buy them just yet.”

It took a moment for the awkward
truth to dawn on the chaplain, and his expression turned to one of reddish
embarrassment.

“Of course. We’ll do it the
easy way, then,” the chaplain replied. He found his composure and turned to
Hiroshi once more. “Do you Hiroshi Satoh, take Minami Ito to be your lawfully
wedded wife?”

Hiroshi’s confidence came
swelling back as he raised his chest and simply said, “I do.”

A smile blossomed onto
Minami’s face as she then took a quick breath when the chaplain turned to her.
“And do you, Minami Ito, take Hiroshi Satoh to be your lawfully wedded
husband?”

A sense of joy rushed over
Minami as she spoke, “I do.”

The chaplain looked at
Hiroshi and Minami, and continued forth with the most anticipated words of any
marrying couple, “Then under the authority vested in me by the United States
Army, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife.” The chaplain turned to Hiroshi
and said, “You may kiss the bride.”

The new couple then turned
to one another as Hiroshi beamed back happily toward Minami. Hiroshi wanted to
kiss Minami more than anything. He slowly slid his arm around Minami’s waist
and pulled in her soft body. Minami slowly threw her arms behind Hiroshi’s neck
as she watched his firm eyes come toward her. Hiroshi then placed a kiss on the
lips of his beautiful wife.

Hiroshi and Minami stepped
out of the administrative building and headed back toward the main gate with
their family closely behind them. Hiroshi held Minami’s right hand firmly,
never wanting to let go of it. Thoughts of happiness along with relief overtook
him.

Minami felt so relaxed
holding onto the hand of the man who was now her husband. She almost couldn’t
believe it, that in under a few minutes, they went from being a couple deeply
in love to husband and wife. She felt for a moment that her life had found a
newfound hope.

Hiroshi looked over to his
right, distracted from what he thought was the sound of applause, when he saw
the ever-hairy Eddie and the Goliath of a man Gordy. There were a small handful
of his teammates along with the coach on the end. They let out a firm chorus of
applause to express their happiness for their former teammate, and Hiroshi was
grateful. He nodded to them in appreciation and felt a sense of camaraderie
with his old teammates. They were good men, he thought. Even though their job
was to keep him and others like him safely locked away in the prison camp.

Hiroshi and Minami then
turned toward the gate and were shocked to see scores of people lined along the
wide path that split the prison camp into two. It was as if the entire prison
camp had emptied from their barracks to greet the newly married couple.

“Remind me which block
we’re in?” asked Hiroshi.

In a weak voice, Minami
responded, “It’s block twenty, the furthest one in the northeast corner.”

“Yeah, I thought so,” said
Hiroshi. He squeezed Minami’s hand reassuringly and he looked down at her and
smiled, “Well the sooner we get this over with, the sooner we’ll end up at our
barrack.”

Minami looked up and smiled
as the sun shone down on her, highlighting her features. She then responded,
“Let’s do it.”

“That’s my girl,” responded
Hiroshi confidently.

Hiroshi and Minami took
confident strides into the gauntlet of elated people and greeted every single
person. There were hundreds of people waving and reaching out to shake hands
with the most famous couple in the camp. People offered wishes of good luck,
longevity, and happiness. As they neared the barracks, people had swung out
their windows and leaned out from them. They waved and shouted additional well
wishes. During the entire meandering through the throngs of people, Hiroshi and
Minami never let go of each other. Though they may have had their backs turned
to one another while waving back to their well-wishers, they never once
loosened their clasped hands.

As they neared their block,
the crowds thinned out, and the adrenaline that rushed through Hiroshi and
Minami started to subside. Though their families were still behind them,
Hiroshi and Minami leaned into each other, reveling in comfort of being close
to each other.

Minami had decided to move
into Hiroshi’s barrack. A unit next to Hiroshi’s had become vacant as
opportunities for laborers lured his neighbors away. Hiroshi was quick to claim
it and with additional blankets, separated off his side of the barrack from his
parents’ side while expanding into the other unit. Minami’s departure also gave
more room to Minami’s family as well.

As they neared the steps of
Hiroshi’s barrack, with their clasped hands gently swaying between them, both
of their mothers suddenly walked in front of them. They stepped up onto the
second step and turned together to face Hiroshi and Minami, barring their way
in. Hiroshi stared at both of them, confused. He then looked at Minami, whom he
was sure would be equally confused. But instead, he saw a playful smile staring
back at him. He looked into her eyes and there was a sense of mischief in them.
He whipped around and saw both his father and his father-in-law smiling, and
then he realized they had all collaborated on whatever unknown event that was
about to befall him.