“You'll need it for the boy,” he said kindly, and she accepted it, knowing he was right, and deeply grateful to him.
“You've done so much for us,” she said, thanking him and his wife, and Anne insisted on taking her to the boat, with the driver.
“I can take a cab, Anne,” Hiroko said, smiling at her. “You don't have to do that.”
“I want to. Somehow, we missed the boat,” she said, laughing at the pun. “Maybe if I'd been a little smarter then, or a little more worldly and grown-up, we'd have been friends. But I wasn't.”
“You've done so much for me,” Hiroko said, unable to imagine how much more it might have been if she'd added friendship. But she hadn't minded working for them. The job had been menial, but it had served a purpose, given her a home, and fed her and Toyo. That all made it worth doing, and the Spencers had always been extremely kind and pleasant, as had their servants.
She tried objecting again, but Anne insisted on taking her to the ship with the chauffeur. The others all came out to say good-bye, and her parents waved from an upstairs window. And Toyo watched them all sadly as they drove away, with his belongings in the trunk of the Lincoln. He had no idea where they were going, and he was too young to understand it.
“We're going to Japan to find your grandparents,” she had said to him, but he didn't know what that was yet.
And Anne looked at her with concern as they headed toward the Embarcadero. “Will you be all right there?”
“No worse than anywhere else I've been in the last four years.” Her life had been an adventure for several years now.
“What will you do if you don't find them?” It was a cruel thing to ask, but she felt she had to.
“I'm not sure.” Hiroko couldn't even imagine it. She still couldn't accept the idea that Peter was gone. She said she did to those who asked, mostly so they wouldn't argue with her, like Charles Spencer or Tadashi, but the truth was, she still didn't believe it. “I can't imagine that they're not there,” she said to Anne. “When I think of Japan, I think of my parents. I see them,” she said, closing her eyes, as though to demonstrate to her. And as she did, they reached the pier, and the car stopped slowly. “I'll find them,” she said, reassuring herself as much as Anne. “I have to.” She had no one else now, except Toyo.
“Come back, if you need to,” Anne said, but they both knew she wouldn't do that. More than likely, if she did come back to the States, she would join her cousins in New Jersey. But she didn't want to be with them now either. They had their own lives. She had to find hers. And she wanted to go home. For Hiroko, it would complete an important circle.
She and Anne stood looking at each other for a long moment, with the ship behind them. Toyo was holding Hiroko's hand, and the chauffeur was watching their bags, ready to find a porter.
“You always seem to be there when I leave,” Hiroko said, trying to find the words to thank her for all she'd done, but she couldn't.
“I wish I'd been there in the beginning,” Anne said softly, and this time she took her in her arms and hugged her.
“Thank you,” Hiroko said, with tears in her eyes, and when she pulled away from Anne, she saw that she was crying too.
“I hope you find them,” Anne said hoarsely, and then turned to Toyo. “Be good, little man, take care of your mommy.” She gave him a kiss, and then stood to look at Hiroko. “If you need me, call me …write to me …send a telegram … do something.”
“I will.” Hiroko smiled. “Take care of yourself, Anne.” And she meant it.
“Be safe, Hiroko. Be careful. It will be dangerous over there.” It was what Reiko and Tadashi had told her, and she knew they all were right. The entire country was in chaos. People would have moved mountains to get away from there just then, and instead, she was going. But she knew she had to.
“Thank you,” Hiroko said, and squeezed her hand, and then she walked away with the chauffeur and waved, and so did Toyo.
He found a porter for her, and she went up the gangplank holding Toyo's hand, waving at them. And a little while later, she found her cabin. It was small and spare, and it had a single porthole. At least they'd have air on the two-week trip. And she went back up on deck with him then, so Toyo could see the ship set sail and see all the excitement. There were, as always, balloons and music and a festive air, even though they weren't going to a happy place. But it was the first ship that had sailed for Japan since Pearl Harbor.
And as Hiroko looked down at the pier, holding him, she saw her, still standing there, still as beautiful as she had been the day she had first seen her, getting out of the limousine at St. Andrew's, and then discovered that they were roommates. She had thought they would be friends then, and for a time she had been wrong, but finally, she wasn't. Hiroko raised a hand and waved, and pointed her out to Toyo. And he wa'ed and blew her a kiss and Hiroko and Anne laughed and waved harder.