Come See the Paradise Page #5

MINI:

Mama?

MAMA K:

Mini? Mini-chan? Come here. Come here. Oh, Mini-chan! I

missed you, Lily.

LILY:

I'm here now, Mama.

SCENE 42

LILY:

Did you see him?

CHARLIE:

He's okay. He's depressed, but he's okay. He's asked for his

shaving stuff and some clean shirts and socks. He left without

any socks.

HARRY:

They're going to keep him here on Terminal Island for a day or

two and then they're sending him away.

LILY:

Where to?

CHARLIE:

He thinks North Dakota.

LILY:

But why? What did he do?

CHARLIE:

They say he was a member of the Nippon Bunka Kyokai and Nichibei

Kinema, so he's had direct contact with the enemy.

LILY:

But they were only cultural societies. They were plays he was

bringing over, not machine guns.

CHARLIE:

And movies. Don't forget the crummy movies. They're a dangerous

weapon. They can bore you to death.

LILY:

What are we going to tell Mama?

HARRY:

The truth.

LILY:

But they could be home in a week.

CHARLIE:

People say they're going send all of us away.

LILY:

All of us? Nisei, too?

CHARLIE:

All of us.

SCENE 43

LILY:

We're not open. Mr. Matsui is not here.

JACK:

Where's Mr. Matsui?

LILY:

He's been arrested. So has my father.

JACK:

Why?

LILY:

They're Japanese.

JACK:

I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry.

LILY:

I heard you were in jail.

JACK:

Probation.

LILY:

What happened to your arm?

JACK:

A horse.

LILY:

You were on a horse?

JACK:

Under it.

LILY:

Oh, Jack!

JACK:

Oh, Lily! Lily! I'm sorry. It's all right. It's all right.

Oh, Lily. I missed you so much.

SCENE 44

JACK:

They could break both of my arms and my legs and it could never

hurt me as much as losing you, Lily. You have a happiness inside

you that makes you so beautiful. It's as if someone gave you a

little bag of magic that only you can dip into. And I see the

way you look at Mini and in your eyes is something so perfect no

one can touch it. No one can cheat you or steal it away from you

because it's something no one else can have. I love you so much,

Lily. You're braver than anyone I ever knew. You have

everything that I never had. And I was still so blind and stupid

I didn't see that you were looking at me the same way as you

looked at Mini and that nothing else mattered. You were just

giving me a little handful of that magic. And no one, and no

thing, is ever going to take that away from us. No one. Never.

SCENE 45

JACK:

So you're going to be really nice to him, okay?

MINI:

Yes.

JACK:

Now what you do is tell him who you are, and you tell them that

you're the goodest girl in America, and then you just sort of

slip in about what you want for Christmas, okay? And then he's

gonna tell his elves. And his elves, they work for him. They

work overtime for no pay. And they make all the toys for all the

boys and girls in America. Did you know that? Here you go. Sit

on Santa's lap.

SANTA:

Scoot, pal. I ain't sitting no Japanese kid on my lap, for

Christ's sakes.

JACK:

Wait a minute. Wait a minute, Santa. We're the next in line

here.

SANTA:

No Japs. Sorry, fellah. It ain't my rule. Just read the sign.

Japs don't have Christmas anyway, they're Buddhists.

JACK:

No, wait. Just a second. Please ma'am. Please, just a second.

Baby, come here, just for a second. I'm going to sit you down

right here and Daddy's gonna talk to Santa. Okay?

MINI:

Yeah.

JACK:

Okay. Look, that little girl ain't no Buddhist, pal! As a

matter of fact she's a Christian and she believes in Santa Claus.

Now either you're going to sit her on your lap and let her tell

you what she wants for Christmas or I'm gonna stuff this f***in'

beard down your f***in' throat, fattso!

SANTA:

Mickey! Will you get over here. A trouble maker!

MICKEY:

Come on! Come on! Out! Out! Out!

JACK:

Get your hands off of me! All I want is for my little daughter

to sit on this jerk's lap!

MICKEY:

We don't serve Japs here, pal. Read the sign. Read the sign.

What, are you from an orphanage or something?

JACK:

No, I'm not from an orphanage! She's an American and I'm her

father! She's an American! Merry Christmas!

SCENE 46

JOYCE:

Should we leave the latch up on the door Mama, in case Papa comes

back and we're asleep?

CHARLIE:

He won't be back tonight.

DULCIE:

He might be.

HARRY:

Jack, your turn. Everyone has to sing.

JACK:

I don't sing.

CHARLIE:

C'mon, Jack! Whoever heard of an Irishman who didn't sing?

JACK:

I don't sing.

LILY:

He can sing.

JACK:

I do not.

LILY:

Yes you do. He's just shy. Make him sing.

JACK:

*Jack sings a song from an old 1930's Japanese movie.

SCENE 47

CHARLIE:

4C? Enemy alien? I can't believe this sh*t!

HARRY:

"Friendly" enemy alien.

CHARLIE:

Yeah, what about the Germans and the Italians? Is Joe Di Maggio

an enemy alien for Christ's sakes?

HARRY:

Shikataganai!

CHARLIE:

Shikataganai, sh*t! It's wrong, Harry! It's terribly wrong!

SCENE 48

LILY (VO)

Those were very bad days for us. At the time, the Japanese Army

seemed to be winning all the battles. And every time a couple of

whales popped their heads up from the ocean, someone said they

were Japanese submarines about to attack California.

SCENE 49

LILY:

For us the war was so far away. We were in Los Angeles and we

were Americans. Or we thought we were Americans. But people

looked at our faces and we weren't Americans anymore. We were

the enemy.

MINI:

Were you frightened?

LILY:

No, not really. Because we really couldn't believe what was

happening. And then Mr. Roosevelt signed the "Executive Order

Number 9066" saying that all Japanese families must be sent away.

MINI:

To the camps?

LILY:

At first we didn't know where, and suddenly in March, they told

us that we had six days to go.

MINI:

Six days?

LILY:

Six days, to pack up everything and leave.

MINI:

I remember that part.

SCENE 50Mini has to leave school.

SCENE 51

DULCIE:

If there's not going to be thyphoid where we're going, why do we

have to have typhoid shots?

JOYCE:

What's typhoid?

DULCIE:

I'll be scarred for life. I heard some people got crippled from

these shots.

LILY:

Stop it, Dulcie. Don't exaggerate.

DULCIE:

It's true! Judy Hayashi told me.

JOYCE:

Do we have to get rid of everything, Harry?

HARRY:

We can only take what we can carry. Seventy pounds. The rest

has to go.

FRANKIE:

Everything?

HARRY:

Everything.

FRANKIE:

What about the chickens?

HARRY:

We'll leave the chickens.

DULCIE:

The Ogawas had to kill their chickens.

JOYCE:

How about the dog?

FRANKIE:

We can't take the dog?

LILY:

Mrs. Fu is taking the dog.

DULCIE:

Don't Chinese eat dogs?

FRANKIE:

What about my mitt? Can I take my mitt?

DULCIE:

Sure you can take your mitt. Wherever we're going, they're not

going to stop you from playing baseball. Are they?

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