the hell are we going? Japan, really? I don’t think it’s a good time to go to Japan.” Em could feel his face getting hot. His anger only intensified when everyone laughed when he stopped talking.
Jeff was the only one who remained quiet. Jack was still at Jeff’s side. He looked like he was about to say something. Jeff reached out and put a hand on Jack’s shoulder and said, “Excuse me, Jack. Let me say something.” Jeff stood up, and everyone suddenly got quiet. “I know some of you know why we’re here. The rest of you deserve to know more. Jack, Em, and Sergeant Barnes are still a little in the dark.”
The boat continued to sway back and forth, back and forth, and Em could feel the nausea returning. He looked at Jack and thought that he had a look of knowing on his face. He had been talking to Jeff since he had crash-landed on the deck. Jeff had a calm look on his face that had not been there for the past few weeks. He was actually smiling. Jack looked like the cat who ate the canary. Em knew that Jack enjoyed being “in the know.”
“The past couple of weeks have truly been an adventure. I am so sorry that we were delayed. You will understand in just a minute. Colonel Roth will be out shortly. He will inform you of what our specific plans are henceforth.”
Em sat back in his makeshift “chair” and waited on Jeff to continue. Jeff told them that when they left Hawaii, they had anticipated a quick trip and an uneventful pickup. After all, his parents were simply visiting family. Em tried to sit up when he heard him say parents. He lost his balance and nearly toppled out of his chair.
Jeff stopped in midsentence and began again, “My parents always assured me that it was completely safe. They have made this trip dozens of times. I have even made it a couple of times. However, as you all are aware, things in Hiroshima have been strangely quiet. My mother’s family has lived there for centuries. The people there are scared. My mother just had to go back and see her family one more time before the war advanced.” Jeff seemed eerily at ease.
Em thought that if his parents were in Japan, he would be frantic. Em did not even find it strange that Jeff was talking about a Japanese mother. Em was aware that Jeff spoke fluent Japanese and also knew that he had spent time in Japan before the war. Now that Em looked at him, he could see the Asian features in Jeff’s face. He remembered that Jeff had told him and Jack that his dad was a merchant marine. He had retired from the US Navy and now made a living on a boat in the Pacific. He went wherever the trades were most profitable. He had met Jeff’s mother while he was spending a few months recovering from a bout with dysentery. They had fallen in love over a hospital bed. She had run away with him two weeks after he had been discharged. She returned to America with him and became a citizen long before Jeff was born. His father still went on trading expeditions. His mother often accompanied him. Some of the men in her family were fishermen, and she would go home to see her mother periodically. Her father had never forgiven her and had forbidden her to return home. When she learned of her oldest brother’s death in the war, she became distraught. She feared for her entire family’s safety. Jeff’s father had no choice but to let her go home one more time. They had met a friend of Jeff’s father’s in Saipan before the Allies had invaded. From there, they boarded another fishing boat. This one belonged to Jeff’s uncle. His mother’s brother was a prominent fisherman and delivered fresh halibut to the port in Hiroshima every day. He was well respected and sailed through the passageway into Hiroshima harbor unobstructed every morning at four-thirty. They had no trouble getting into the harbor. His mother had departed the docks inside the fish trailer with the ice and fish. She knew the routine well. She waited until she had crossed three sets of railroad tracks and then climbed out of the back, and no one ever paid her any attention. She thought the city had not changed. It was still clean and had no indication that a war was raging all around it. From there, she took the familiar path up the hill to her neighborhood. She knew her father would not be home. Her mother’s last letter had told her that he spent most nights at the fort near the harbor. His military career had become the most important thing in his life. When he learned that his oldest son had died, he had not even come home. Jeff’s mother told him that his grandmother had secretly expressed her desire to come to America with her daughter. She thought her two other sons, Jeff’s other two uncles, would follow in her husband’s footsteps and make a military career out of their lives. She was deeply concerned that none of them would survive the war.
Em came back to reality with a thud when the boat slammed into another rogue wave. The room went totally sideways, and everyone grabbed onto the nearest supported structure. Em’s chair rode the wave quite easily. He remained upright. Jeff abruptly became quiet. Em heard nothing but the crashing waves until he spoke again.
“And if everything goes according to plan this time, then we will only be near the coast for the low tide. When high tide rolls in, we will ride it back out and be on our way home.”
Em had heard most everything he had said. He was not, however, ready for what came next. He heard noise coming from topside and looked up just in time to see a pair of legs descending into the cabin. Colonel Roth barely had any rain on his uniform. Em wondered if an officer could command even the weather. He barely had a chance to get to the bottom of the stairs when Em saw another pair of legs emerging into the interior of the small cabin. This time, the legs were smaller and definitely not male. The woman was covered in heavy rain gear, but Em had no doubt that she was a woman. One more pair of legs came down the ladder. This time, they were covered in a military uniform. The plain fatigues were filled with a large man. He was black, and he had very dark skin. He immediately reached for the woman and embraced her, before he turned and looked at all the men gathered in the small lower deck of the boat.
“Jack, Em, Sergeant Barnes, this is my mother and father. Hank, Mari, meet Jack, Em, and Kevil.”
Before Em’s mind could even process this, a loud air horn sounded from up top. Em had no idea what to do and only knew that something was not right when Sergeant Cannon got up and sprinted toward the stairs. Jeff quickly followed him. Jeff’s father smiled at his wife and turned to follow the other two.
Colonel Roth turned toward Em and said, “Good to see you again, Story. I guess we can catch up later. I better get up there.”
All of them climbed the stairs and left Sergeant Barnes sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him on the floor. He had sat down in the only dry place that he had found when he came down there. Em thought that his legs had looked a little wobbly since the sling ride. “And why the hell are we going to Japan anyway? I think we got what we came for, so let’s just get the hell back to Hawaii and away from them little nips.” The first thing that Em noticed was that the sergeant was no longer laughing after he spoke. As a matter of fact, he seemed more serious than Em had ever seen him.
“I’m getting too old for this shit. I don’t think Philip is thinking straight. What the hell is he thinking? Goin’ into enemy territory and picking up a couple of civilians. Even he ought to know better. I know you boys like Jeff and everything, but his parents made a decision. They should have to live with it. Risking our lives for Mommy and Daddy. I should have my head examined for coming back out here. I had it good in Mississippi. Come on out to the sunshine, he said. Just a couple of quick missions and you get to work on a new plane. Well now, here I am in the middle of the goddamned ocean, and I ain’t seen a plane in two months. What the hell does he need me for?” Em no longer felt like Sergeant Barnes was talking to them. His tone was morphing into a mumble. Now he got up and walked over to the hatch and looked up into the storm. “This little tub probably won’t make it back to port anyway.”
Now Em was sure that Sergeant Barnes was not talking to them. He wasn’t even finishing his words. He was almost grunting when he turned around and threw a towel. It sailed past Em’s shoulder and landed in a heap in the corner. The sergeant began to climb the ladder when Em heard someone coming toward the open hatch.
Jeff was coming back down. He had a very serious look on his face. Before he even descended all the rungs, he blurted out, “We are going to need you guys up top. The captain says we need to turn around and follow the Indianapolis. The storm is getting stronger. He wants to sail north and try to get out of it. The Indianapolis will lead the way. He has already signaled them. She says the storm is only a few miles wide. We should be clear