Shimura Trouble

25

I SLEPT WELL that night, the best night’s sleep since my arrival night in Hawaii. Maybe it was from whatever was in the IV drips the doctors had given me, or the Korean tea, but I suspected it was because the drugs had finally left me, as had my worries about needing to fight for Harue’s land.

Uncle Edwin wouldn’t get the land, but nobody else would, either. And chances were that the military would leave it alone in a wild and natural state.

Looking out my hospital window at a vivid rainbow, I knew that the sooner Uncle Edwin gave up on his dreams of land wealth, the better for everyone. What mattered were Braden, and his future.

I thought about all of this again a few hours later, when I was released from the hospital, as I’d predicted to Michael. Tom was driving, with Uncle Hiroshi at his side. My father sat in the back seat next to me. He fussed over our non-functioning seat belts, and swept cracker crumbs off the back seat.

“Hey, these crumbs are new. Who’s been eating sembei in the car?” I teased.

“Souvenirs from the trip to the beach,” Uncle Hiroshi said. “Your father didn’t eat any. The criminals are simply Tsutomu and myself.”

“Is that true?” I asked, peering at my father.

He sighed. “I tried something Hawaiian-crack seed. And I also ate a container of pineapple while we were in traffic yesterday. Does that pass inspection?”

“Oh, leftover pineapple is what I’m smelling. Great.”

“What can we say? We need you to keep us neat and clean, Rei-chan,” Tom said from the front, chuckling. “But take a rest today.”

“I will rest, but I would like for us to take a short excursion later today or tomorrow. Hopefully, Uncle Yosh and anyone else can come along, too.”

“We can fit seven in the van,” my father said. “Eight, if Courtney’s coming. But where do you want to go?”

TO MY SURPRISE, Uncle Edwin’s car was parked in front of the townhouse when we pulled in. Without us home to open the Pineapple Plantation gate, he must have convinced another driver to let him in.

“Welcome home!” He emerged from his sedan as we piled out of the minivan. “Are you really sure you’re ready to come home? You gave us a scare!”

I murmured politely that yes, I was fine, all the while thinking, Did he want me to be in the hospital? His greeting was strange. I had never considered that Edwin would want me incapacitated, but I had been a major stumbling block in his efforts to get my family involved in his land scheme. And I’d been at his house only hours before I fell ill, though I couldn’t remember eating or drinking anything.

I was distracted by Courtney, who bounded out of the back seat and thrust forward a fancy shopping bag. Packed in it were a variety of gifts-a bouquet of torch ginger and helicona from their garden, a plastic container of the famous Okinawa donuts, and Courtney’s own dog-eared Harry Potter book, plus a copy of Hawaii Brides.

“I’m finished with both of them. You can keep it after you’re done,” she said.

“That’s sweet of you, because I just finished the mystery I was reading.” I reached out to hug Courtney, and she relaxed into my arms with a happy sigh. I finally understood why she was always reading bridal magazines and Harry Potter novels; she lived for fantasy, because nobody seemed to notice her. The reality of always playing second fiddle to a troublemaker had taken its toll.

Braden and Yoshitsune had emerged from the car, too. To my surprise, Braden was holding his grandfather’s arm. Uncle Hiroshi, my father, and Tom all looked at him approvingly. This was good Confucian behavior, indeed.

“Braden been doing so much with the pond, I decided to go for broke and help him with that last bit of shoveling. Like a fool, I twisted my ankle,” Yosh said, as if sensing everyone’s attention.

There was a flurry of questions and Tom went to examine the old man’s ankle, which he pronounced, in the end, was fortunately just a minor strain.

“And how are you, Braden?” I asked.

“Hanging in there.”

“I’m glad you’re all here, because I’ve got some big news. Perhaps we can all sit down on the lanai together, with a drink, and talk over what it means…”

“I have news, too!” Edwin said. “Hey, Courtney, you run inside with your cousin Tom and get everyone fixed up with drinks.”

“Did you find out who poisoned you?” Braden asked.

“Not yet, but apparently the health department is making the rounds,” I said.

The winds were blowing hard, so we used our drinking glasses on the corners of the photocopied maps and documents to keep them from blowing away. I thought that showing Edwin the signed military orders announcing the takeover of a portion of Pierce land in 1943 first, and then showing the series of maps, with and without government chain link fencing, would be stronger evidence than any words I could offer.

“So it’s not Pierce land. This is the proof,” Edwin said, as his finger traced a military boundary on an old map.

“The executives at Pierce Holdings may think that these forty acres along the water belong to them, but they don’t. And the beauty of the situation is that you don’t have to hire a lawyer to prove anything. The military’s got their own legal team who are alerted and apparently eager to save the land from development.”

“But will they give it back to us?” Yosh asked.

I searched for words to comfort my great-uncle, but there were none. “Even if we had a letter or deed, it wouldn’t matter. Michael explained to me that in times of national emergency, the military can seize property-”

“Or seize people.” Yosh’s voice was bitter.

“I’m so sorry, Uncle Yosh. If it’s any consolation, Mitsuo Kikuchi won’t be able to profit by building a restaurant complex in the special place where you lived-and I wonder whether the military might be agreeable to letting you move the actual cottage. I could help you renovate it as a little garden house. Maybe there’s room near your pond…”

“Enough.” Edwin’s voice came quick, and hard. “That place isn’t ours, it seems. Time to put away all thoughts of it, and who cares about making garden houses when my boy’s facing jail time?”

“Yes, certainly, there are much more serious things to discuss,” my father said, his voice consoling. “Please tell us how we can help, in this regard.”

“Well, I did what I should have done days ago, and fired the lawyer,” Edwin said. “I told Lisa Ping that I expected her to go to the police to try get the case dismissed. She said we need witnesses, sworn testimony, this that and the other. So I said thanks, and goodbye.”

“You shouldn’t have fired her!” I cried out. “Good lawyers don’t grow on trees.”

“She’s a lawyer who wouldn’t even try,” Edwin said. “That’s not the right attitude, you know? We need a real pro who’s a fighter.”

“Edwin, if Lisa Ping told you she can’t get the case dismissed before trial, it might be for legal reasons, not for lack of fight. After all, it’s a felony case-”

Edwin cut me off. “Oh, don’t worry about my business anymore. I’ll be getting an expert opinion quite soon.”

“Whose?” my father asked politely.

“Mr. Hugh Glendenning himself,” Edwin said, looking defiantly at me.

“Hugh Glendenning?” I’d been feeling well all morning, but now my stomach almost somersaulted back to the bad place where it had been.

“Yes, Hugh. This is the big news I came over to tell! I made a call to Tokyo and reached his office, and he took the call personally. He was very worried when he heard you were lying in the hospital maybe dying from poison.”

“You said what to him?” I’d been feeling well, but now my stomach was cramping.

“At the time, I didn’t know if you were going to live or die, so I thought he better know. He said he would fly out as fast as he could. You’re the main reason he’s coming, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind listening to the situation with Braden while he’s out here.”

Uncle Hiroshi, my father, and Tom only stared; I was sure they were as shocked as I was.

“I don’t believe it,” I said. “How could you do such a thing? You’ve tricked Hugh into helping you, just like you tricked us with your father’s birthday!”

“Rei-chan, please don’t make yourself sick again.” My father put a restraining hand on my arm, as if he thought I might strike Edwin.

“You can’t afford Hugh’s help; none of us can! He’s even more expensive than Lisa Ping, and I’m almost positive he’s not licensed to practice law in Hawaii.”

“Whatever the case, he’s flying in on JAL this afternoon. I offered to give him a ride from the airport to the hospital, but he said he’d already booked a driver. Gonna have to reach him somehow, tell him you’re not at Queen’s anymore.” Edwin pulled a mobile phone out of his pocket.

“Take care of yourself, Rei! Please don’t get sick again!” Courtney called after me as I got to my feet and unsteadily walked into the house.

IN MY BATHROOM, I locked the door and leaned against it, ready to fight off anyone who might come after me. I put the lid down on the toilet and sat there with my head in my hands, unable to stop crying. This was nothing to get upset about-a comedy of errors, really. I’d apologize to Hugh as soon as he arrived.

There was a knock at the door, followed by my father’s voice. “You are justified in being upset with Edwin. But, please, look at the bright side of the situation.”

“How can there be a bright side to this…embarrassment?”

“You were once engaged to Hugh, and separated under unhappy terms. Now is a chance for closure. Rei, please let me in.”

I reached out and turned the doorknob, allowing my father in. He caught sight of my tear-streaked face, and his concerned expression grew. He beckoned me into his arms and I finally went.

“I’m just not ready for this to happen now,” I said into his shoulder. “I obviously have to see Hugh because he’s flown all the way here, but I feel really bad about it. He’s married and happy, and I’m still alone. It’s all so awkward.”

“This family would much rather have you alive and temporarily unhappy than to have you dead, with your pride intact. I’m sure Hugh will feel similarly.”

“Thanks for the kind thought,” I said sarcastically.

“I have many more of these thoughts, Rei-chan. We never know the way that fate will operate. Hugh is on an airplane right now, traveling to hold the hand of someone he fears is dying. Imagine his happiness and relief upon arrival, to hear from Edwin that you have recovered enough to leave the hospital. And what if the words you offer him are generous-go happily with the woman you love, for I am happy in my new life, too?”

I rolled my eyes. “Otoosan, that’s not the way I would speak to anyone.”

“Use your own words, then.”

I struggled for a minute. “I wish I could say that I’m happy, because I finally realize how much I have: my family, my friends, the ability to live anywhere in the world because I don’t have to worry about a mortgage or car payments. Some people might say I have a net worth of zero, but the reality is I have zero responsibilities, and that’s liberating.”

“Turn your statement around,” my father said quietly. “Could it be that because you have no responsibilities, you hunger for them? Is this the reason you labor mightily to take on everyone’s troubles as your own?”

“That’s not quite true, Otoosan. You’re the one who asked me to look into the business about Harue’s house, when I was ready to spend my days here swimming and reading.”

“It’s not the only thing you’ve done. You also helped your great-uncle by compassionately listening to his stories of the past, and you are helping your cousin Braden as much as anyone can, in this difficult circumstance.”

“Actually, I’d say Michael is the one who’s really done a lot of that work. I won’t take credit.”

“And why is it that Michael has done so much for the Shimura family?” My father’s voice was soft.

“Loyalty to me,” I said, without hesitation.

“And what have you done for him?”

“Excuse me?” I looked at my father suspiciously.

“Maybe the only responsibility you are shirking is the one you have to Michael.”

“But you don’t think he’s suitable,” I reminded him.

“I never used those words,” my father said. “I’ll admit to you that I disliked the way he allowed everyone to initially believe he was someone he wasn’t, but now I understand. You see, when we were all waiting in the hospital for news, and learned about the poisoning, Michael became extremely…agitated. He questioned the doctors and exhibited an unusual knowledge of toxicology.”

“He would know about drugs,” I said. “But it doesn’t mean he uses them, Dad, he’s the straightest arrow I know.”

“Agreed. When I confronted Michael about this behavior, he asked me to walk outside for a shaved ice. As we drank our ices, he explained about his work, and yours. He was concerned that you might never have a chance to tell me. I’m not happy about the risks involved in the work, but I understand the work you did with him had great meaning for the future of this country-and its relationship with Japan.”

“OCI is all in the past,” I said. “All I ever wanted to do is work with Japanese antiques. After this vacation, I’m getting back on track. For real,” I added, then laughed. I was picking up Hawaiian slang.

“I shall leave you to rest now, but I think more of Michael for telling me what he did. He’s a good man, Rei, and I regret giving you any other impression.”

“Oh?” This was magnanimous of my father, to say he’d been wrong about something.

“Yes, I was wrong. And you’re thirty years old now, my dear. Behave within reason, but don’t be afraid to follow your heart.”