Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Samantha falls asleep after dinner, but Henry and Marty continue their conversation. Marty has been trying to quit smoking, feeling especially guilty about the habit since Ethel died of lung cancer. He throws out a cigarette and grinds it to bits beneath his shoe. Marty again returns to the subject of his mother dying at home, saying that he has begun to understand his father’s reasoning: Even if home isn’t especially nice, the familiarity brings comfort. Henry reflects that he spent years loving Ethel and being faithful to her, even going far out of his way to avoid the area around the Panama Hotel and other places he associates with Keiko.

Henry seeks out Sheldon, hoping to track down a copy of the Oscar Holden record, which has sold out of stores. Sheldon has one record left but agrees to give it up for a higher cause—love—when Henry tells him it is for Keiko’s birthday. Henry is in good spirits when he returns home, but this ends when he sees his parents sitting with Keiko’s family photographs spread out before them. His mother is disgusted that Henry would hide these pictures in their home, but his father is furious. Henry calmly sits down for a conversation with his father. It is the first time in a long time that Henry is allowed to speak Cantonese at home, and the first time in a long time that he and his father have accurately communicated with each other. Although Henry explains that Keiko is his friend, that she is an American and not the enemy, his father refuses to listen. He picks up the Okabes’ photographs and throws them out the window into the wet street below. Henry immediately leaves to retrieve the photos, against his father’s orders.

Henry saves most of the photos, drying them on his leg. He gives them to Sheldon for safekeeping. As a result of their discovery, Henry’s relationship with his parents becomes extremely strained. Although his mother eventually relents and softens toward Henry, his father refuses to speak to Henry or even acknowledge his presence. With Keiko gone, Henry is also lonely at school. The highlight of his week is the trip to Camp Harmony.

Mrs. Beatty hides the gifts for Keiko in a massive sack of rice so they will not have to be inspected by soldiers. When he serves food this time, it is more edible—the result of Mrs. Beatty’s menu planning. Henry sees Mrs. Okabe and asks if he can bring anything on his next trip, but Mrs. Okabe points out that their stay at Camp Harmony is meant to be temporary and everyone will likely be moving to inland camps soon. Keiko meets Henry at the visitors’ area later, and he gives her the presents. Keiko is in good spirits despite the camp conditions. Henry tells her about the situation with his parents, and Keiko apologizes for causing any problems with his family. Henry admits that even before the war, he and his father never had a close relationship.

As he leaves, he hears the music of Oscar Holden from within the camp.

Keiko writes to Henry weekly, requesting things that aren’t available in the camp. Henry’s mother, quietly and in defiance of her husband’s wishes, intercepts Keiko’s letters and stashes them beneath Henry’s pillow. Finally, the news comes: The Okabes will be leaving for Camp Minidoka, in Idaho near the Oregon border. Mr. Okabe has already gone to help build the camp. Henry will have one more Saturday to visit Keiko at Camp Harmony.

On this visit, he leaves the restricted area for visitors and walks into the camp to find Keiko. Her family is staying inside a barn, their horse stall separated by flimsy curtains from the family in the next stall. Henry finds Keiko alone and confesses that he can’t handle the thought of her leaving. He apologizes for how he acted when they first met, when all he could think about was how much his father hated the Japanese. They agree to write each other letters. Henry holds both of her hands but can’t bring himself to give her a kiss.

On the way home, Henry is filled with regret. It is possible he will never see Keiko again, and he did not make the most of his last moments with her. When he arrives home, his mother is crying and a doctor is in their apartment to deliver the bad news. Henry fears the worst, but his father has only had a bad stroke that has left him mostly paralyzed. Henry feels that this stroke, most likely caused by stress, is his fault. Leaning over his father’s immobile body, Henry apologizes for his behavior. His father responds by whispering the word “stranger”—Henry is now a stranger to him.

Henry turns 13, but the affair is somber because of his father’s condition. Although his father can still communicate somewhat, he refuses to address Henry. Keiko has been gone for a month, but Henry has not received any mail from her. School is better, since Chaz was expelled after his arrest for vandalism, but Henry is lonely without Keiko. He runs into Sheldon, who can immediately see that Henry is depressed. He encourages Henry to take a bus to Camp Minidoka to visit Keiko, offering to accompany him. Henry doesn’t think he can leave his father in this condition, but then he receives a letter from Keiko. In her letter she apologizes for the rift she caused between Henry and his father and tells him that she won’t write again.

This convinces Henry that he must take Sheldon up on his offer, and the two of them board a bus for a weekend trip to Idaho. Henry leaves only a note for his mother. Farther inland, in Walla-Walla, Henry and Sheldon encounter friendly people who do not seem to have the prejudice toward Japanese Americans that is so rampant in Seattle.

Camp Minidoka is set in the middle of the desert, in dry landscape with no trees or grass. Thousands of Japanese Americans have been relocated here. Henry registers as a visitor, but it is six long hours before Keiko comes to meet him. They press their faces together and, through the barbed wire, share a first kiss.