Reunion Read online

  The Reunion

  Jacqueline Pearce

  ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS

  Copyright © 2002 Jacqueline Pearce

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced

  or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or

  mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any

  information storage and retrieval system now known or to be

  invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data

  Pearce, Jacqueline, 1962-

  The reunion

  “An Orca young reader”

  ISBN 1-55143-230-7

  1. Japanese Canadians--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945--Juvenile fiction.

  I. Title.

  PS8581.E26R48 2002 jC813’.6 C2002-910854-3

  PZ7.P302Re 2002

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2002109530

  Summary: When Rina and Shannon cannot resolve their differences, Rina’s

  grandmother tells them a tale of lost friendship from her own childhood,

  a story set in the small logging town of Paldi during WWII when Japanese

  Canadians were interned.

  Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support of

  its publishing programs provided by the following agencies:

  the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council

  for the Arts, and the British Columbia Arts Council.

  Design by Christine Toller

  Cover & interior illustrations by Darcy Novakowski

  Printed and bound in Canada

  IN CANADA IN THE UNITED STATES

  Orca Book Publishers Orca Book Publishers

  PO BOX 5626, Station B PO BOX 468

  Victoria, BC Canada Custer, WA USA

  V8R 6S4 98240-0468

  04 03 02 • 5 4 3 2 1

  For Craig and Danielle

  Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Author’s Note

  Chapter One: Shannon and Rina

  Chapter Two: The Fight

  Chapter Three: The Photograph

  Chapter Four: Jas and Mitsu

  Chapter Five: Supper

  Chapter Six: The Gift

  Chapter Seven: In Trouble

  Chapter Eight: The Bowl

  Chapter Nine: Enemies

  Chapter Ten: Gone!

  Chapter Eleven: Repairs

  Chapter Twelve: The Reunion

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank Bachese (Bea) James, Chiyoko (Chick) Akiyama and Pat McLean for sharing with me their memories of life in Paldi, and Bea James for lending me many of her old photographs.

  I am grateful to Joan Mayo for her book, Paldi Remembered: 50 years of life in a Vancouver Island logging town, which was a valuable resource on the history and life of Paldi. Joan also graciously invited my dad and me into her home to talk when we showed up at her Paldi house to ask for directions to where things used to be.

  I would like to thank Balinder and Amrik Parmar for help with Punjabi words, Jean-Pierre Antonio and his students for their help with Japanese words, and Donna Baknes and friends for checking my use of Punjabi and Japanese.

  Donna, whose parents both lived in Paldi, shared her memories of the Paldi reunion and read an early draft of my story with her daughter, Chloe.

  I would also like to thank my dad, Jack Pearce, who drove me out to Paldi and shared his knowledge of logging history and logging communities in the Cowichan area.

  Author’s Note

  The characters and actions in this novel are fictional. However, the town of Paldi is a real place, and the Japanese people really were taken from their homes during World War II.

  Paldi grew up around a sawmill built by a man named Mayo Singh in the early 1900s and was named after a village in India where Mayo Singh was born. When Mr. Singh started the sawmill on southern Vancouver Island he invited men who had come from India, Japan and other places to work for him. By 1942, when this story takes place, families of many different cultural backgrounds lived in Paldi, which had both a Sikh temple and a Buddhist temple. In other parts of Canada, many immigrants experienced prejudice. Even in the town of Duncan, down the road from Paldi, some stores would not serve non-whites, and people with different skin colors had to sit in different sections of the town theatre. In Paldi, however, everyone lived, worked, went to school and played together. Many friendships were formed between people of different cultures.

  In 1942 Canada was at war with Germany and Japan. Many people feared the Japanese army might attack Canada’s west coast, and they worried that anyone who looked Japanese could be a spy. In April 1942 the Canadian government ordered the “evacuation” of all people of Japanese descent (even those born in Canada). These people were removed from their homes to internment camps in the interior of British Columbia. Most lost almost everything they owned. Despite the suffering and hardships, many Japanese people from Paldi kept in contact with their friends back home. Some moved back to the area near Paldi after the war was over. Some met again at the Paldi reunion.

  Chapter One

  Shannon and Rina

  “You brought enough stuff to last a month!” Rina said as she bounced down onto the bed beside Shannon’s open suitcase. Her short dark hair swished against the sides of her face.

  “Just what I need for a week,” Shannon said, laughing. “I hope your little sister doesn’t mind lending me her bed.”

  “Who cares if she does?” Rina said. “I cleared out a drawer for you,” she added, pointing to the squat white dresser between the two beds.

  “Thanks,” Shannon answered. She took a yellow happy-face alarm clock off the top of her clothes and set it on a corner of the dresser, facing her bed. Then, she pulled out a photograph and placed it beside the clock, tucking an edge under the clock’s metal base to secure it.

  In the picture, the two girls stood with their arms around each other, grinning at the camera. One had short brown hair and a bright smile that shone across her whole face. The other had long blond hair and a shy tilt to her head. Rina had given Shannon the photo at the end of the school year. On the back, Rina had scrawled friends forever.

  Shannon smiled to herself and thought of the photo she’d given Rina in exchange. On the back of hers, she’d printed neatly for a purr-fect friend and drawn a little picture of a cat. Rina had stuck her photo on one side of the mirror that hung above the dresser. Underneath it, she’d taped a cutout of two cartoon cats.

  “What’s that?” Rina asked, peering into Shannon’s suitcase.

  Shannon pulled a bulky object free from the sweatshirt it was wrapped in.

  “Roller blades!” Rina exclaimed. “When did you get those?”

  “My mom and dad gave them to me a couple days ago.”

  “What for?”

  “Because they’re going away, I guess.” Shannon looked down at her suitcase. She felt a sudden lump in her throat.

  “Wow! Are you ever lucky,” Rina said.

  Shannon swallowed and shrugged.

  “Hey!” Rina said. “My feet are the same size as yours. We could take turns using them. If you don’t mind,” she added.

  “Good idea, but shouldn’t I finish putting my stuff away first?”

  “Nah. Come on, let’s go!” Rina jumped up and tugged Shannon after her.

  The summer sun was still high in the sky. Shannon sat down on the grass beside the driveway to pull on the roller blades. She fumbled with the knee and elbow pads, wondering why she didn’t feel as excited as Rina seemed to be. She tightened her bicycle helmet and got unsteadily to her feet.

  “I’m not very good yet,” she said.
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  “That’s okay. You only just got them,” Rina told her. “Wait till you see me. I’ve never tried roller blades before at all.”

  Shannon smiled. Rina was always good at giving encouragement. Shannon skated jerkily up and down the driveway a few times, then gave up the skates and pads for Rina to try.

  At first, Rina was just as shaky on the skates as Shannon — but only for about five minutes. By the time she’d skated down the driveway and back, Rina was gliding like someone who had been roller blading for months.

  “Hey, you’re doing really great!” Shannon said. She should have known that Rina would be better than she was — even though Shannon had already been practicing on them for two days.

  “Can I just go down the driveway one more time?” Rina asked.

  Shannon hesitated, then said, “Sure.”

  One more time turned into another. By the time it was Shannon’s turn again, Rina’s mother was calling them in for supper.

  “Look out!” someone yelled from behind them on the driveway.

  Shannon whirled around to see Rina’s two older brothers speeding toward them on their bikes.

  “Watch it!” Rina called after them, as she and Shannon scrambled out of the way.

  The two boys laughed. They jumped off their bikes, dropping them onto the grass, and ran ahead of Rina and Shannon into the house.

  “Brothers are so annoying,” said Rina as they walked past the bikes, which lay with their tires still spinning. “Sorry you didn’t get another turn,” she added. “You can go as long as you want after supper.”

  Once inside, they washed up and headed to the kitchen.

  “I got to pick what we’re having for supper tonight — in honor of your visit,” said Rina. “Guess what it is.”

  The answer was easy. Shannon knew what Rina’s favorite food was.

  “Hot dogs!” Shannon said with a grin.

  The kitchen smelled of boiling wieners and something else Shannon wasn’t sure about. Shannon and Rina squeezed in at one end of the already crowded table. Everyone seemed to be talking at once. Rina’s brother, Rob, bumped Shannon’s arm as he reached past her for the mustard. Nobody noticed that he didn’t say excuse me or ask for someone to pass it to him. He squirted the mustard onto his hot dog with a rude noise.

  Shannon never would have gotten away with that at her house. Suppers with her parents — just the three of them at a big roomy table — were always quiet and polite.

  “Try a samosa,” said Rina’s grandma, who had joined them for supper and was sitting across from Shannon. She held out a plate of what looked like some kind of fried dumplings. “I made a big batch for the Paldi reunion.”

  “They’re East Indian food,” Rina explained. “They have potatoes and peas inside. They’re great with ketchup.”

  Shannon knew that Rina’s family background was part East Indian — and part English or Scottish or something, like Shannon’s. “You’re supposed to eat samosas with chutney,” Rina’s mom explained. “But these kids like them with ketchup.”

  “These kids like everything with ketchup!” Rina’s dad teased from the other end of the table.

  “That’s right!” Rina said, reaching in front of her little sister to grab the ketchup bottle.

  “Hey!” Julie protested, pushing Rina’s arm out of her way.

  Rina ignored Julie and squeezed ketchup onto her hot dog and her plate. Then she took a samosa in her fingers, dipped it in the ketchup and took a big bite.

  Shannon copied Rina. Her teeth sank into hot potatoes, peas and unfamiliar spices.

  “It’s good,” Shannon said politely as the others watched her. Then she felt the heat of the spices growing in her mouth. She grabbed her glass of milk and took a long drink. Everyone at the table laughed.

  “It’s a good thing I didn’t make them hot!” Rina’s grandma said, her eyes twinkling.

  That night, Shannon and Rina lay on their beds in the warm bedroom, their covers thrown back. Shannon’s mind whirled with pictures from the day. Her legs felt like they were still roller blading down the driveway. After supper, they’d skated even longer, and Shannon had finally felt herself beginning to improve.

  “I’m sure glad you’re here!” Rina whispered across the space between them.

  “Me too!” Shannon whispered back. Then, just for a moment, tears stung the back of her eyes. But that was crazy. She really was happy her parents had let her stay with Rina instead of making her go on the holiday with them. Why wouldn’t she be?

  Chapter Two

  The Fight

  Rina’s mom took all the kids swimming several times that week. One day, she drove them all the way to Lake Cowichan. They passed through big stretches of forest, which Rina’s mom told them had been replanted when she was a girl. They passed areas where the view opened out to low rolling mountains, mostly green, but with some newly logged patches. Partway there, Rina’s mom pointed out the turnoff to the small town of Paldi, where Rina’s grandma had grown up.

  “We go there to the Sikh temple,” Julie piped up from the back seat of the van.

  “You get to come with us to the Paldi reunion,” Rina told Shannon. “It’s going to be at the Duncan Forest Museum, so it should be fun.”

  In between swimming trips, Shannon and Rina roller bladed, walked downtown and hung out at the school playground. They were having a great time, just like they’d expected. It was only when things were quiet at night, and once when Shannon was alone in the bathroom, that she felt that odd feeling in her throat. She told herself that she just wasn’t used to the constant noise and activity. At home, it was much quieter, just her and her parents. Here, she never had any time to herself. Once, Rina’s brothers had even wrestled their way into the girls’ room and onto Shannon’s bed. Rina had yelled at them to get out and tried to push them off the bed, while Shannon stood back, well out of their way. She was not used to older brothers.

  On the second to last morning, Shannon went back into the bedroom to get something from her drawer. Her clothes were messed up as if someone had been looking through them.

  That’s strange, Shannon thought. Could Rina’s little sister have been looking in her drawer?

  When she went outside to where Rina was putting on the roller blades, the striped socks caught her eyes at once.

  “Hey, those are my socks!” Shannon said.

  Rina looked up, her eyebrows raised in surprise.

  “I didn’t think you’d mind,” she said.

  Shannon reddened slightly.

  “Well, you could have asked first,” she mumbled.

  “You were in the washroom,” Rina said, shrugging it off.

  Shannon didn’t say anything more.

  “Hey! I have an idea,” Rina announced. “You can ride my bike and tow me to the school.”

  Shannon frowned.

  “I’ll tow you back,” Rina added.

  “Okay,” Shannon agreed.

  Shannon took her time buckling on her bicycle helmet and climbing onto the bike. Rina grabbed hold of the back of the rat trap, and Shannon pushed off. The extra weight made the bike unsteady and pedaling difficult.

  “Can’t you go any faster?” Rina called from behind.

  Shannon pushed harder on the pedals, and gradually the bike picked up speed.

  “Ya-hooo!” Rina cheered, letting the sound of her voice stretch out as she flew behind Shannon.

  Shannon pedaled hard, grimacing. Finally, Rina let go as they reached the school driveway. They both coasted to a stop in front of the school.

  “That was great!” Rina said. “Do you want to try it?”

  “No thanks,” Shannon grunted. She was sweating and out of breath. “Let’s go to the playground.”

  “Go ahead if you want,” Rina said. “I’ll just skate around here a bit first.”

  Shannon tugged the bike over the curb and pushed it across the grass to the playground. She leaned the bike against a bench, then plunked down onto one of the swings.
She stared down at the gravel, tightness creeping into her throat.

  The rest of the day did not go much better. All Rina wanted to do was roller blade. After supper, when Rina reached for the roller blades to head back out with them again, Shannon grabbed them first.

  “What are you doing?” Rina asked.

  “I’m going to put them away for a while,” Shannon said.

  “What for?”

  “They are my skates, aren’t they?”

  “Yeah, but why can’t I use them?”

  “You used them all week,” Shannon snapped.

  “What are you getting so weird about?” Rina snapped back.

  “I am not getting weird.”

  “Well, you’re acting pretty strange, then.”

  “You’re the one who’s strange. Like you’re obsessed or something.”

  “What are you talking about?” Rina said.

  Shannon hesitated for a moment. What was she talking about? Why was she getting so upset at Rina? They were supposed to be best friends, but she couldn’t seem to stop the words from coming. It just got worse and worse.

  By bedtime that night, the girls were not speaking to each other. After the light was turned out, Shannon lay on her bed, staring into the darkness. On all the other nights, they’d stayed awake talking long after they’d gone to bed. Now, she could hear Rina move in the bed just a few feet away, but neither of them said a word. Shannon thought of the photo of her and Rina that lay beside her on the dresser. Friends forever. For the first time since she’d arrived at Rina’s house, Shannon felt alone.

  Chapter Three

  The Photograph

  “You girls seem quiet today,” Rina’s mom said the next morning as they sat at the kitchen table eating cereal and toast.

  “Oh, we’re just tired, I guess,” Rina answered.

  “They had a fight!” Julie chimed in.

  “We did not!” Rina hissed at Julie.

  Rina’s mom looked from Rina to Shannon, her eyebrows raised. Was she going to ask them if what Julie said was true? Shannon looked down. What would she say? That she didn’t know what was going on? That she didn’t want to stay with Rina any more? Would that be true? A thump at the back door made Shannon jump.