on the dining-room table—the Examiner and the Chronicle, the Vallejo paper, and the Sacramento Bee. Andrew was proceeding around the table, reading every word about an unfortunate incident outside of Nanking. The incident looked quite straightforward to Margaret—the Japanese army had taken Nanking, which Chiang Kai-shek then had to abandon. In the course of this, Japanese planes sank an American boat because the pilots didn’t see American flags. Though lots of men were wounded, only three were killed, and most of the sailors were rescued by nearby British boats. Roosevelt complained, and some admiral apologized. By the next day, the Japanese had offered to pay for the sinking of the boat, and the Foreign Minister himself apologized.
Andrew decided to go over to the island (he hadn’t been there in months) and hear what they were saying in the Officers’ Club and anywhere else he could manage to eavesdrop or to get someone into conversation. He was alight with investigative purpose. Margaret was glad to get him out of the house. At the end of a week, he even put in a call to Pete. Andrew wasn’t the only person interested, of course—the ladies at the knitting group had talked about it for an hour. When he hung up, she reported what they had all agreed upon: “But, Andrew, when most governments make a mistake like that, they cover it up for weeks, and then go for more weeks insisting that there was provocation, and then wait to be sued for years after that. I think this incident speaks well of the Japanese.”
“Perhaps it does. But it’s a mystery. The sailors on the boat said that the flags were completely visible.”
“And, anyway, it seems outside of your usual area.”
“It is an interesting event, in and of itself.” He paused. “And I have been feeling of late that I’ve let the world get away from me. What did I come across the other day? Oh yes, my bird list, from so long ago. Remember how we walked about the island and looked at gulls and hawks? I realized that I haven’t always been a dull boy.”
She thought, What harm can come from his getting out of the house and diverting himself with this? She said, “It’s worth looking into, then.”
She said reassuring things like this all the time now, while she was going about her own business, passing in and out of the rooms he was in on her way to shop or weed or visit someone or go knitting or work with the aid society she collected for. Though her happiness had taken a while to set in, she traced it directly to this house Andrew had purchased. It was pleasant to wake up in, convenient to all of Vallejo, and quite suitable for hosting her share of knitting circles and get-togethers. After a few days, she quietly put the newspapers away, and in fact forgot the whole thing until she ran into Mrs. Kimura around Christmas.
They talked about Naoko, Margaret asked after Mr. Kimura, and Mrs. Kimura asked after the captain; then Mrs. Kimura declared that she had just heard from Joe that morning. Joe had moved to Japan as a dentist, thinking there would be more opportunity there, but in the three years since going had never made up his mind whether to stay in Japan or to come home. Lester could not make up his mind whether to join his brother or to continue working for the Pacific Trading Company. Mrs. Kimura, Naoko, Cassandra, Mrs. Wareham, and Margaret had been over the pros and cons of all the choices—it was one of their standard topics of conversation. Now Mrs. Kimura reported that Joe and two of his friends were planning to go to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo before Christmas, to leave off a letter of sympathy, and also a monetary contribution toward the medical and dental needs of those wounded aboard the boat in China.
Margaret exclaimed, “That’s very kind!”
Mrs. Kimura said, “Many have done same thing, wealthy businessmen down to simple schoolgirls. American ambassador wife doesn’t have moment to herself from receiving wives of high families. I admit Joe not think of this, but two friends ask him.”
“Even so—”
“They agree to donate two weeks from their employment to this.” She gave Margaret a happy smile. “And Joe says he found bride from good family, twenty-six-year-old. She has business sewing Western-style dresses for wealthy Japanese wives.”
“Two weeks’ pay, though!”
“To me, I see because of this that Japanese people