Poston

Chapter twenty-two : Bakersfield, California

It took about five and a half hours by train to finally arrive in at the Los Angeles train station. Everyone was so sore from sitting for so long and they were so anxious to get outside that it almost felt like a race to who could get outside the fastest. From there, they would take a bus to Bakersfield which would be another hour or so before they arrived at their destination.

There were a lot of people out and about, and a lot of them on the platform couldn't help but stare at each Japanese who walked off the train. It had been so long since anyone had seen anyone with blue eyes and blonde hair that people arriving from Poston couldn't really help but stare back either. The children stood closer to their parents as men and women stared, and Nino and Satoshi couldn't get the luggage off the train fast enough. Satoshi and Masaki had decided to wear their Army browns as a way to symbolize to those around them that they too had fought for their country. As soon as everyone had their stuff, the walking to the bus station began.

Nino had only been to Bakersfield once or twice since Masaki moved, but it still looked the same as he remembered it. He could see the earth colored buildings and street lights and cars. They saw people and stores with glass in their windows. All these things that they hadn't seen in years was now coming back to them as 'normal'. No one said a word, but they knew that everyone was thinking the same way.

Masaki rented a truck and loaded everyone and their bags in the back. The children and Mao squeezed inside the truck while the men held onto the bags in the bed and soon Masaki started driving on the dirt road towards the familiar Aiba Family Farm.

As soon as the farm came into eyesight, Masaki stopped the truck and looked out the window. Everyone else looked too and saw that it looked untouched. The fields were full of crop as men were out picking them, but they were green and well-watered. The house looked like it had just been painted with a fresh coat of paint, and everyone could see some kids playing up by the house. After a minute of taking in the scenery, Masaki smiled brightly and got back inside, driving as fast as he could back home.

When he pulled up to the house, a young Korean woman came out and smiled when Masaki got out of the truck. "Mr. Aiba! You're finally home!"

"Mrs. Lee!" Masaki smiled as he hugged her. "It's so nice to see you again. How have you been?"

"We've managed," she said. "We've had to deal with rationing and air raids. Howard had to fight off a couple White farmers who wanted to buy this land, but he stood firm and proud. We've tried to keep it as much in the same way as when you left it."

"I cannot thank you enough," Masaki told her. "You have made this entire ordeal worth coming home to. Mrs. Lee, I want to introduce you to my family. These are my two children Koharu and Katsurou, my brother in law Sho and my niece Yuki, my cousin Kazunari, and this is Jun Matsumoto with his wife Mao and two children, Samantha and Charlie, and his cousin Satoshi."

"My!" Mrs. Lee laughed. "You left with only three of you and came home with an entire village!"

"Oh! Mr. Aiba!"

Masaki turned around and smiled at the young Korean man approaching them. "Howard Lee! It's so nice to see you again!"

"We were just talking about you the other day," Mr. Lee said as he shook Masaki's hand. "Most of the Japanese from this area have finally come home but you had yet to show up. We wondered if you got lost or something!"

"We just got out a little later. I really like what I see around here. You've kept up the land as far as I can see."

"We've done our best. The first year was the worst, but let me tell you more inside. And introduce me to your visitors! We have a lot to talk about."

Mrs. Lee served tea and cookies for everyone with the help of Mao who insisted, and Mr. Lee and Masaki started talking farming and family and everything that had happened over the past three years. Mr. and Mrs. Lee had two small children aged three and two so the children went off and played with them while the adults stayed inside. After a while, Mr. Lee stopped to sip some tea. "So what have you decided to do now that you're back?"

"I'm wanting to get to work as soon as possible," Masaki answered. "I know that you've just finished picking for the year, but I'm very anxious to get back in the swing of things. If you want to stay here with us, you're more than welcome to. I can use all the help I can get."

Mr. Lee shook his head. "I couldn't go back to being a farm hand," he said. "I've loved having my own place to work on. Besides, me and Patty want our own house, our own home, to raise our children in so that one day I can pass my legacy onto my son."

"I understand. At least stay for the winter while you find some land. When you find it, we'll help you build your dream house. It's the least I can do for everything you've done."

--

That night was the weirdest night for everybody. Mr. and Mrs. Lee had their own bedroom who shared with their children, Jun and Mao had a bedroom with their two children, Masaki and Sho shared a room with their children, and Nino and Satoshi got the last bedroom to themselves. For everyone who had just come from a barrack where they shared and slept together every night, being alone and separate from each other was both nice and unsettling. Nino could hardly sleep even as he lay in Satoshi's arms, and he could tell by how uneven Satoshi's breathing was that he wasn't sleeping either. It was so quiet that it was freaking them both out.

"Things will get better," Satoshi said finally. "They have to be."

The next morning, everyone seemed just as exhausted as they did when they went to bed. However, things had to be done. The children had to be enrolled in school and jobs needed to be found. "Nino," Jun said at breakfast. "Why don't you come with us? I'm going to see and apply at the high school to see if they need a teacher. You should come with."

"I can't be a teacher," Nino explained. "I don't have a degree. It would be useless."

"Then why don't you go to Bakersfield College?" Masaki suggested. "You could get a degree there."

Nino felt a nudge and looked over at Satoshi. "You should go," he encouraged. "You loved teaching. You should give it a try."

Nino frowned before finally nodding. "Okay," he said. "I'll go with."

"I'll come with you as well," Mao said. "We need to register the children for school. I'll even register Yuki if you want me to, Sho-san."

Sho bowed his head to her. "Thank you very much," he said.

"That means I can show you around the fields today," Masaki smiled. "While Mr. Lee and I look around, you guys can have the grand tour of the land."

"Yay!" the children cried nearly jumping out of their seats.

However, the one who looked the most happy about that was Sho.

--

It took no time at all for Nino to get himself registered for spring classes. After he walked back to the truck, he seemed in shock that he had, in fact, registered under the secondary teaching program. Four years ago, he never would have thought he would actually be giving school another shot.

The next place they went to after that was the high school. The three of them walked in together as sort of a support team and walked up to the main office where they were met with a nice lady behind the desk. It was still weird to see a white woman after so long, but they pretended not to let it affect them. "How may I help you?" she asked.

Jun walked up. "Hello, my name is Jun Matsumoto. I was wondering if I might apply for a teaching position here."

"Actually," the woman said. "We have a teacher who is planning on retiring this next school year. We might have a position open for you. What subject do you teach?"

As Jun was answering the receptionists' questions, Nino and Mao couldn't help but notice a man in the closed off office watching them. "What is he doing?" Mao whispered.

"He's suspicious of us," Nino answered.

After a minute, the man put on his suit jacket and walked out to the receptionist. "Hello, sir. I'm Arnold Thomas, the principle here," he greeted Jun. "May I help you?"

"My name is Jun Matsumoto," Jun said reintroducing himself. "I came to apply for a teaching position. Your receptionist was telling me that you will be having a history teacher retiring soon."

Mr. Thomas nodded. "Why, yes we do have a staff member leaving us this year," he said. "But I have already hired a replacement. I don't need another application."

"But Arnold, maybe if he could just—" the receptionist tried.

Jun cleared his throat. "Sir, can't I just leave my application here and if you need me—"

"Mr. Matsuto."

"Matsumoto."

"The war just got out. There's still a lot of ill-feelings towards your kind. If I were to hire a Jap teacher, can you imagine the outrage among the students? Among the parents? I can't have that kind of uproar."

Jun froze, anger starting to boil up. "My kind? What exactly is my kind, Mr. Thomas? The kind that risks their lives and their family's lives to obey a government that obviously hates them? The kind that lives detained in a desert for three years despite never being charged with anything?"

"Jun-san," Mao spoke softly, touching his arm in an attempt to calm him down.

"I have lived in this country my entire life," Jun continued. "I have never set foot on Japanese soil, let alone know what kind of people you are talking about! I am as American as you can get and my son will be ten times the American than you will ever be! If you don't want to hire me, that's fine. But it better be because of my ability as a teacher and not because of the color of my skin or the shape of my eyes! Good day to you, Mr. Thomas."

Before Nino or Mao could say anything more, Jun had turned on his heels and had all but stomped out of the building. They quickly followed, and Nino prayed that the police weren't on their way to get them.

--

"I can't believe you let me let Mao go in there by herself."

Nino looked back at Jun, who was sitting in the driver's seat of the truck next to him. "Would you relax?" he asked. "After your little blow up at the high school, it's better that we stay out here."

"I couldn't help myself," Jun said sighing. "I couldn't just let my pride get damaged."

"That's exactly what you should have done!" Nino yelled. "Jun, this country just got out of a war with Japan. A lot of people are going to continue to hate us for a while, and you blowing up like that isn't going to help their image of Japanese people in the slightest. They probably hate us all more now because of it."

"But the war is over!" Jun complained. "We aren't fighting anymore!"

"It doesn't matter! As far as they are concerned we are just as guilty as those Japs across the sea! We need to show them that we are better people than that. We will persevere with or without their help and if it takes them a hundred years for them to see that then so be it. But us getting angry at them for something they don't see or understand isn't going to help."

Jun frowned. "You're right. I was a fool."

"Yes, you were. Ah! Here comes Mao."

Mao came running out, smiling as she came up to the truck. "Jun! They took my application! They said they would have to wait for the next school year to place me with my own class, but starting after Christmas I'm going to be a teacher's aide to see how well I do!"

"Congratulations!" Nino beamed. "You did it!"

Jun leaned forward and kissed her gently. "You are amazing," he said. "Let's go tell the kids about it!"

--

When they told everyone about what happened, they went from pissed off at Jun to excited beyond belief for Mao. In a way, her getting the job was the first step in a long road ahead for all of them.

That night, Mrs. Lee (or Patty as she insisted over and over again) helped Mao make udon, and Mao helped Patty make a Korean dish named jeon which was a pancake with kimchi and green onion mixed together. It had been so long since anyone had tasted real udon that for a while nobody spoke.

"Mao," Jun said finally looking up at his wife. "This is the best udon I've ever tasted."

Mao beamed. "Thank you," she said.

"Papa," Charlie spoke up. "You should have married Miss Mao a long time ago!"

Everyone couldn't help but laugh, finally relaxing under all the silence and pressure.

--

Masaki took the rented truck back with Mr. Lee following in his own truck back to town. They weren't gone twenty minutes when they came rushing back, Masaki going straight into the house to grab his shotgun. "What is it?" Sho asked immediately standing up from the porch.

"A group of white farmers overheard that Mr. Aiba was back in town," Mr. Lee answered. "They are the same men that tried to buy or steal the land from me before. They knew the land wasn't mine, and they were really close to taking it if I didn't have Mr. Aiba's written contract."

Masaki came out of the house and handed Satoshi a shotgun as well just as everyone saw a couple of cars start coming down the dirt road towards the house. "Get the kids inside," he told Mao and Patty, who immediately listened and ushered the children into the house. "Mr. Lee, go be with your wife. This isn't your fight."

"You don't think they'll hurt us, do you?" Nino asked standing next to Satoshi. Quickly, Jun and Sho stood behind them as well as if to form a barrier between the white men and the farm.

"Not taking a chance," Masaki answered. He didn't raise his gun yet, but Masaki stood up straighter and only glared at the men who pulled up. Nino used to call this pose of his uncle's the protective-and-I-will-kill-you-if-I-have-to stance.

"Mr. Aiba!" one man said stepping out of his truck. He was one of two who came out and started walking up to Masaki. "We heard you were back in town. We didn't know if you would come back to this old place."

"This place is my home," Masaki told him. "Why wouldn't I come back here?"

"Well you see," the second man said. "A lot has happened since the war. There's a lot of word going around that a lot of farms out here are drying up, sort of like a side effect to the dust bowl ten years ago. Basically they're of no use to anyone, least of all if you can't make a living. We tried to tell your little Korean friend here, but we think it might be best if you were to sell your land to someone else who knows how to fix the soil if you can."

"If my soil needs fixing, I'll call you," Masaki answered, keeping his stern face. "I'm not interested in selling."

"Mr. Aiba, be reasonable—"

"No, you listen here! This land has been in my family for three generations, going on four as soon as my son is old enough to grow his own fruit. There is nothing wrong with the land I am on, so if you want to talk business, come back in the spring. I'm sure I can hire a few more farm hands. Now, get off my land."

The men took a step forward. "Just let us—"

Masaki cocked his gun and aimed it at the men. They froze and stared in disbelief. "Not only is this my land, but I am an American citizen with every right to defend my own home if I feel a threat. Second amendment rights, boys. I fought in this last war and helped the United States win against Japan so if you think I can't aim, think again."

After a minute, the two men got back in their cars. "You're making a big mistake!" one man yelled. "We should have never let you Japs into our country to begin with! This land belongs to the white farmer, not the Yellow Chink!"

This time, Satoshi cocked his gun as well and aimed it for the man's head. "I shot at least a hundred Nazi men," he yelled at him. "If Mr. Aiba here misses, you can bet that I won't!"

Quickly, the man got back in his car and they both drove off down the dirt road leaving a trail of dust behind them. When they were both out of sight, Satoshi and Masaki lowered their guns and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," Masaki said.

"Until further notice, this is my home as well," Satoshi told him. "It's the least I can do."

--

School for the kids started that following Monday. The three older kids were terrified of going back, but with the help of their parents they made it to their classrooms okay. Sho said that Yuki looked like she was about to cry when he left, and Mao and Jun could easily say the same for Samantha and Charlie as well. "At least Samantha and Yuki will be in the same class," Mao said.

Life, unbelievable, got back to a strange kind of normal. Right before Christmas, the Lees found their own land to buy and build on and eventually they moved out after their house was built. With six men working on the house together plus lots of men from Mr. Chen's farm and Mr. Lee's family, it took no time at all.

It was strange, at first, having the farm back to themselves. The children finally had their own room, much to everyone's delight, while the adults still had their own rooms. Christmas was almost uneventful except that they got a bigger Christmas tree and more presents to go around. It was more of a surprise for the kids because no one had to tiptoe around them to place gifts under the tree. In town, buying things such as food and necessities became easier. Nobody seemed to stare as much anymore, and even the kids were doing a lot better in school.

Come springtime, Masaki officially hired Satoshi, Sho, Jun, and Nino as farm hands to help plant and care for the strawberries. It was hard work, but for a while it was all anyone could find. Nino was going to school full time, but he still needed work to pay for work.

Mao would work at the house and look after the kids while making sure food was cooked and the house was clean for whenever they came in. It was hard work for everyone, but it was manageable. And it was a decent salary until everyone could figure out where to go.

One day when everyone was out working in the fields, a car pulled up to the house and a man in a gray suit walked out. Nino looked up at him and called Jun over. "Isn't that the guy you yelled at from the high school?"

Jun groaned. "God, what does he want?" he mumbled as he took off his gloves and started walking towards the house. Almost immediately, out of habit, everyone else stopped too and followed Jun to the front of the house to greet the man. Taking off his hat, Jun bowed his head to the man. "Hello Mr. Thomasson."

The man seemed taken aback before clearing his throat. "Actually, it's Mr. Thomas," he said. "Mr. Matsumoto, I've come to formally apologize for the way I acted towards you when you came to the school. You yelling at me was entirely my fault and I see that now. And in all truth, I wanted to see if you would give my school another chance."

"Why?" Jun asked, not showing any emotion.

"We have quite a few kids with Japanese parents who are struggling to adjust. I know you taught high school level in the camp you were in, and I thought maybe your experience and your skills would help the kids. Mr. Matsumoto, will you give us another chance?"

Everybody looked over at Jun, waiting for his response. After a minute of thought, Jun looked up at him. "What is my pay?"

"Base salary for everyone. No cuts, no deductions based on your race."

"If I find out otherwise, I'm quitting."

"Yes sir, I understand."

Finally, Jun nodded. "Okay, I'll give you another chance."

Mr. Thomas smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Matsumoto!" he said shaking Jun's hand. "You won't regret it."

"I certainly hope not, Mr. Thomas." Even then, Jun couldn't help but smile back.

That night, Mao insisted on celebrating. She made soba and red bean ice cream, which was Jun's favorite, and everyone couldn't help but be excited because Mao's soba was always the best. Before everyone ate, though, Mao stood up and lifted her glass. "I wanted to formally congratulate my husband," she said, "for having an opportunity to make a difference not only in the school, but in the community. Jun is a phenomenal teacher, and I'm sure that as soon as the children see that then so will their parents. Then their idea of Japanese Americans will start to change and we'll no longer be looked down upon."

"Congratulations!" everyone called out as they applauded Jun. He only smiled and tried to wave everyone off. "It's really nothing—" he insisted.

"Also," Mao said, making Jun stand up. "I have something to tell you."

Jun looked at her, confused then concerned. "What is it?" he asked. Mao smiled, blushing before she leaned forward and whispered something into her husbands' ear. His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head as he just stared. "EEHH?!" Jun exclaimed. "Y-you mean you're—?"

Mao nodded.

"You're serious?!"

"What is it?!" Nino spoke up, whining and becoming annoyed that he wasn't being told anything. "You know we're all here too!"

Mao looked out at everyone. "I just told my husband that I'm expecting our first child together."

The children were the first to explode. "We're having a baby?!" they squealed with delight before hugging their parents. "Yay! We're having a baby! We're having a baby!"

Everyone else was just too excited to eat.

--

As soon as the ground was soft enough, everyone started building. Down the road, not far from the main house and still on the Aiba property, they began to build a beautiful two story farmhouse. It had a magnificent kitchen, a huge living area, and four bedrooms on the second floor. It was for the Matsumoto's, and it had just been finished when they welcomed Jonathan Seiji Matsumoto in July 1946. With the Matsumotos finally in their own house, it was a quieter Aiba house for the remaining residents.

One night, Nino could have sworn it was past midnight, him and Satoshi were awakened to the sounds of breathy moans and lots of name calling and kissing from the room next to theirs. "Oh god," Nino said, sitting up now wide awake. "Satoshi—"

"I know," Satoshi said, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend's waist. "Leave them alone."

"Is that what we sound like?" Nino asked, still in a state of shock.

Satoshi sat up and kissed the nape of Nino's neck. "Let's find out."

The next morning, there was just something 'odd' between Sho and Masaki. They absolutely refused to look at each other and the entire air around them was best described as 'awkward'.

"Would you like coffee, Sho-san?"

"Yes please, Masaki-san. Thank you, Masaki-san."

"Are you going into town to look for a job, Sho-san?"

"Yes, Masaki-san. Are you working out in the fields again today, Masaki-san?"

"I need to check the water, Sho-san."

The entire exchange was driving Nino to the point of insanity. "What the hell is wrong with you two?!"

Both Sho and Masaki looked at Nino. "What do you mean?" Masaki asked.

Nino looked at the both of them like they were crazy. "What do you mean 'what do I mean?' You two—"

"Yuki-chan, you're going to be late for school," Satoshi spoke up, helping Yuki get her lunch box. "Twins, let's go say hi to Uncle Jun and wave your sister off for school."

After Satoshi was outside with the kids, Nino found that he really had no words to say to both Masaki and Sho. What could he say?! All he could get out was, "Are you two finally dating?"

The question made the two men blush despite themselves. "I'm going into town," Sho said, standing up before walking over to Masaki. "Babe, I'll come help you when I get back." Then, with that, he kissed Masaki tenderly on the lips before walking out of the house himself.

Nino literally felt like he was going to be sick.

--

Satoshi laughed when Nino told him what happened that night on the porch. "What's the big deal?" he asked. "It's about damn time if you ask me. Besides, if you're so disgusted by what they look like, what do you think we look like? Are we disgusting?"

"It's different!" Nino told him. "We don't kiss in front of everyone else! We hold hands and hug, but we've never really—"

"We did at Jun and Mao's wedding."

"That was different."

"Well, what if I wanted to kiss you around the house more often. Would you object?"

Nino smiled cheekily before turning around to face Satoshi. "Of course not," he said. "Maybe then everyone will finally realize that your fine piece of ass is mine."

Satoshi beamed, leaning in to kiss Nino. "Always will be." He released the kiss then and wound his long, beautiful hands against Nino's small ones. "Kazu, I've been thinking."

"Not good for you, you know," Nino joked.

"I want to really make you mine. Forever."

"How so? Matching tattoos?"

"More like this."

Nino looked over and saw Satoshi holding up a blue velvet ring box with two golden wedding bands placed inside. For a moment, Nino couldn't think. "Satoshi.... We can't get—"

"I know the marriage part is illegal," Satoshi said, taking one of the rings out before slipping it onto Nino's left ring finger. "But I don't need a wedding. Just knowing that you'll stay mine and be marked as so is enough for me. Kazu, will you promise to stay mine forever?"

Nino stared at the ring, still in shock. What did he feel? He really didn't know. He was surprised and happy and thrilled and scared.

Scared because he knew that one day someone would ask who the lucky girl was or they would ask what happened to his wife. Scared because the image of Satoshi's father came rearing back into his head, making him remember all the bad things that had been said about the two of them. Scared because of what Mao's father had said about them.

However, when Nino looked back into the beautiful chocolate colored eyes, he saw everything he loved about Satoshi. He saw Arizona, tar barracks, and beautiful starry skies. They had survived under immense pressure and rejection, half of a war, and near death. They survived a war together and apart, and Nino could see no way he could really ever survive without Satoshi's warm arms to come home to at night.

He saw his future, his everything, and it brought tears to his eyes before he nodded at Satoshi. "I love you," he said.

Satoshi smiled, slipping his own ring on his finger before placing a hand on Nino's cheeks to wipe away some tears. "I love you, Kazunari," he said before giving Nino the best kiss he had ever received in his life.