Page 60 of Strangers She Knows

Kellen waited, wanting her to confide whatever was bothering her.

But Rae sighed and looked around as if lost.

“You can tell me anything,” Kellen encouraged.

“I know. Maybe. I shouldn’t because I…” Rae visibly struggled again with some issue, then brightened. “While Daddy’s gone, let’s read more of Ruby’s diary.”

Kellen understood, Ruby’s youth and life spoke to Rae, and her resilience taught good life lessons. “Let’s do that.”

“Up in the attic!”

“You like it up there, don’t you?”

“It’s safe up there. Away from…all the problems.”

“Do you have so many?” What was Rae keeping from them?

“No… No.” Rae headed for the stairs. “Let’s go. You read first.”

22

Father did it. He did it. He demanded General Tempe transfer Patrick, and the general did it. I didn’t know until Patrick was gone. I went to the general and demanded to know why, and he said he had daughters and he understood my father’s love and concern. General Tempe seemed surprised when I laughed in scorn. I demanded to know where Patrick was. The general said he couldn’t tell me, but I was very young and Patrick was only my first love. There would be many more. I wanted to curse at him, and with great dignity, I declared I would never love another. I asked, rather cruelly, if he had found another to replace his beloved wife. He stirred uncomfortably then, said Patrick will probably survive the war and if it’s meant to be, we’ll be together. I wanted to pound him with my fists, to spit at him for his smug assurances. I didn’t, but my emotions, now released by love, hover close to the surface. As I turned away, he asked me if I spoke Japanese. I said yes, and that was the end of our conversation. I hope to never see the wretched villain again.

Patrick and I made promises to each other, promises we will always keep. But we never even got to say goodbye.

“It’s important to keep your promises, isn’t it?” Rae sat in the window seat, Luna’s head on her knee. She petted her dog and stared intently at Kellen.

Kellen picked her words carefully. “It is, as long as the promise was made freely and you know what you promised won’t harm anyone.”

Rae nodded. “Okay. I agree.” She leaned forward. “What happened to Ruby next?”

Today I got a letter! From Patrick! He writes me that he loves me, and that the transfer caught him completely by surprise and he begs my pardon for his abrupt departure. As if he was at fault! He says he can’t tell me where he is, but rather than fighting, the military has him writing dispatches from the front to be read by the public to reinforce civilian morale. He is allowed no byline, but it doesn’t matter—I hear his voice in his writing! I scoured the newspapers and found a story (in Father’s own paper!) and I knew it was his. He’s in Hawaii about to board a ship to the South Pacific. His descriptions of the port and the military roar and bustle raised hope in my heart that America will quickly win this war. Then he’ll be home and we’ll be together. What an inspiration my darling has become, to me and to others!

Father came home to announce I would marry a man named Alfred Herbert. I met him years ago; he is a crony of my father’s, an old newspaperman who tried to run his lewd hands over me when I was twelve. When Father announced I would marry Alfred, I told Father about the disgusting incident, and that Bessie said he did the same thing to her. Father said if I was willing to let a filthy Irish Catholic grope me without the benefit of matrimony, it should be a refreshing change to have a husband handle the goods.

That was so crude and so cruel, I ran to throw up. I told Hermione to pack, we were leaving, but Hermione told me we couldn’t go. We have no money, she said, and she said I didn’t understand what that meant. I’m clearly half-Japanese; I would be hunted down and interned in a camp, and the camps are dreadful places. With no family, I would be hurt, raped. She was very blunt, and she frightened me very much.

We spoke through the night, and at some point we resolved to appeal to Bessie to take me in. In the meantime, I must stay out of Father’s clutches. Mad as it seems, we moved my belongings up to the attic. It’s a bedroom tower, fanciful in its way, with a bathroom and door that locks. Because we know my father, we also transported many foodstuffs up the stairs. We did all this before dawn. Hermione went back down to her room, and I locked myself in. Now I wait to see what Father will do when he receives my letter. Rage, I imagine.

“Ruby’s tough, isn’t she?” Rae’s eyes were wide and her voice held awe.

“She is.” Kellen patted the couch cushion beside her.

Rae hopped off the window seat, came to sit with her mother, and leaned her head against Kellen’s shoulder. “Ruby’s going to make it, isn’t she? She’s going to be okay?”

“I hope so, but I don’t know. We could keep reading—” Kellen heard the chopping sound of a helicopter. “No, we couldn’t. Your daddy’s home. He’s going to be mad that we read Ruby’s diary without him.”

“No. Yes. You’re right.” Rae was all despair.

“Your daddy’s back, safe and sound. Let’s talk to him first, see what he has to tell us, then we can tell him about Ruby.”

“Okay. He’ll understand.”

“Probably.” Kellen stood and hauled Rae to her feet. “He’s a pretty great guy.”

23

Max arrived carrying an extra-large chicken and pesto pizza, ready for the oven, a six-pack of beer and a six-pack of Coke, and an assortment of gelato in a freeze pack. He stashed the gelato in the freezer, distributed the drinks and turned on the oven.

---