Page 62 of Love Hollow at Last
“Don’t you miss it?”
“Not really.But it looks nice today.”
53
Aya
Aya and Martha arrived home to an empty house.Twyla was working, and their mother was still organizing the costumes she had used for the annual Christmas spectacular.The recital was a great deal of work, which was why Aya didn’t usually miss it.
“I have some work to do,” announced Martha, bringing out a sleek little laptop.“You’re making dinner, right?”
Aya nodded.“I can, but it’s still afternoon.”
Martha began humming.“We’re low on ingredients,” she said.“You should go to the Radner’s now if you want to get anything.Otherwise, there will be basically nothing to put in the ramen.”
Christmas ramen was a Hanson tradition.Though it had begun in the early years, when three children under the age of four made it difficult for Aya’s parents to get anything on the table, it became a dish they loved fiercely.It involved instant noodles, broth made from scratch, and lots of red and green add-ins that weren’t terribly traditional—sautéed red, green, and yellow peppers, kimchi whenever they had it, and boiled eggs dyed red and green.
Aya passed the museum on the way to the store.She knew it was still open somehow, but she didn’t have any of the details.Talking about it with her mother and sisters was taboo, and she was glad they hadn’t shared anything.But a few cars were in the parking lot, and she was intrigued.Usually, they closed for the whole holiday season, shutting down days before Christmas and not opening up until well into the new year.Certainly, they were never open on Christmas Eve.But it looked like several people were there.
Aya tried not to think about it.Her guilt over abandoning the museum, while it had lessened over time, would probably never really go away.She turned carefully into the Radner’s parking lot, making sure to stay close to the exit so it would be easy for her to get out.
By the time she finished her shopping, which she did hastily to avoid any Kato family members who might be present, it had started to snow again.And there were many more cars in the parking lot of the museum.She found herself turning in, drawn to the front doors by the attractive decorations.The night was absolutely freezing, so the groceries would be fine for a bit in her trunk.
Ella Chang, Noah’s musician friend, was dressed in a formfitting red dress with white trim and greeted her with a hug.
“Oh hi,” said Aya.“Are you here for the holidays?”
Ella looked mystified.“Um, I live here?”
“Okay.I didn’t know that.”
Ella frowned.“Anyway, I’m not going to ask you for a ticket.You can go through to the theater.”
“Theater,” muttered Aya, making her way through the people standing around with wineglasses and canapés.“That’s an interesting choice of words.”
The main exhibition room really didn’t have great acoustics, and it seemed a bit of a stretch to call the place a theater.They only used it for events because there was no other choice.
But at the end of the room, there were two doors.They didn’t use to be there, but as people were filtering through them, Aya realized there was a new room there—an actual theater.
As she walked through, some snatches of conversation came back to her.Generally, Aya didn’t interact much with scholars who studied the exact same thing she did.She worked with a lot of people who studied American history, but it was rare for her to speak to someone else directly researching the same internment camps.But one such scholar had passed through her campus only a few weeks ago, as they were going to a conference nearby, and they made some mystifying remarks about big donations to museums that were working to preserve the internment sites.
Aya had hardly paid attention at the time.In fact, she’d been annoyed, as she remembered how much she’d had to beg for money as a museum director.But judging by the size of this recently completed building addition, she realized some sort of sizable donation must have been made.
“Good evening,” said a beautiful woman to the assembled crowd.“How’s everyone doing this evening?”
Aya had to blink several times before she realized the beautiful entertainer was, in fact, Nami.Ella quickly joined her on stage, but it would have been hard to say who looked more glamorous.Nami was wearing a long green cocktail dress, and her hair was in a wavy bob reminiscent of a 1920s starlet.
Aya couldn’t help but smile.Twyla had gotten a bob, then Martha had followed.If Nami had been next, there must be a clear trend happening in Love Hollow.
“As you know,” Nami said, “we have done some very impressive fundraising to create this beautiful space.”
The crowd cheered.
“I’m sure you all know that some of our largest donations ended up being well into seven figures!”
More cheering followed, and Nami grinned, but her face then became serious.“But those are the kind of things we can’t rely on,” she said.“And none of it is as important as the work we are still doing in this town.”
The crowd was quiet, and Nami continued.“Our shared history is here, and our future is here too,” she said.“When Love Hollow students stopped coming, when we were slandered in the newspapers, it exposed work that we had neglected for years.That’s why all the proceeds from tonight are going to the Field Trip Fund.”
