Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Keiko is in school the next day, so Henry tells her about his wild ride on the wagon. She tells Henry that she has a surprise for him to thank him for taking her to the Black Elks Club. After school, she leads him to Rhodes Department Store outside the International District. In the audio section she shows him a surprise: a vinyl recording of “Oscar Holden & the Midnight Blue, The Alley Cat Strut.” At the register, she attempts to purchase the album, but the Caucasian clerk refuses to serve her. Henry shows the woman his “I am Chinese” button and insists on buying the album and getting a receipt for the purchase. Keiko is humiliated, explaining that she expects such treatment from the children at school but not from adults.

They agree that Keiko will keep the record at her house, since her parents appreciate jazz. Keiko insists that Henry will have to come to her house and meet her parents. As they walk past the waterfront, a line of soldiers is waiting at the ferry terminal. While they watch, hundreds of Japanese people come off the ferry, carrying suitcases and bundled in extra clothing. These are the people of Japanese descent who have been evacuated from Bainbridge Island. Many Seattle residents are watching this sad parade, some even cheering.

Keiko is scared; Henry tries to comfort her. They run into Sheldon, who points out that although the United States is also at war with Germany and Italy, the government isn’t rounding up Germans and Italians.

Later in the week, Keiko calls Henry at home and invites him to meet her family. Meanwhile, the evacuation of Bainbridge Island becomes old news with other reports of the war. Henry, afraid of being misidentified as Japanese, is careful to wear his “I am Chinese” button.

Henry meets Keiko’s family for lunch at the Japanese market. They thank Henry for walking Keiko home after school and explain that although they know that attending an all-Caucasian school may be difficult for Keiko, they also trust that eventually her classmates will respect her as an American. Henry feels strangely at ease talking with Keiko’s family; his own family has never discussed things so plainly with him. Keiko’s parents invite Henry and his family to a jazz concert that evening, but Henry knows it would be impossible to even mention this to his parents. Their conversation is cut short by the arrival of army trucks on the streets. Soldiers began passing out copies of evacuation orders to all people of Japanese ancestry.

Henry returns home, upset. He tries to discuss the unfair treatment of the Japanese with his family, but his parents don’t understand. His mother reminds Henry that China (and the United States) is at war with the Japanese. Henry complains that he can’t talk with his father. He admits that his friend from Rainier Elementary is a Japanese girl, and his mother is horrified and disappointed. She defends Henry to his father, but only to an extent—she knows it would be futile to take a different position from her husband regarding the Japanese.

On Tuesday, Henry skips school and heads instead to Nihonmachi in search of the Okabes. He finds thousands of Japanese people lined up with their belongings, ready to board buses and trains. Although he tried to call Keiko since their lunch over the weekend, there was no answer at Okabe’s home. Scanning the crowd, Henry mistakenly believes he sees Keiko’s family several times. One person notices him, though: Chaz Preston, who has skipped school to mock the Japanese as they are being evacuated. Chaz is wearing the “I am Chinese” button he stole from Henry, and this, combined with Chaz’s attitude, causes Henry to punch Chaz. They fall on each other, fighting, and suddenly Sheldon is there to break up their fight.

Henry continues searching the crowd and finally locates Keiko’s family, all wearing labels that read “Family #10281.” He offers to take Keiko with him and find a safe place for her to stay, but the Okabes explain that they all must stay together. Keiko’s father says they are being taken to a place called Camp Harmony on the Puyallup Fairgrounds south of Seattle.

After saying goodbye to the Okabes, Henry wanders through the crowded streets. He doesn’t want to go back to school or go home, so he finds Sheldon on the edge of Nihonmachi. Together, they walk through the deserted streets of Japantown. Henry feels the absence of the once-vibrant community. As a tribute, Sheldon takes out his saxophone and plays a haunting melody.