Prints in the Sand: My Journey with Nanea

I vote for babysitting. Spending time with Tommy left me oddly homesick for my brothers, and I’m eager for another shot at feeling useful. Mrs. Suda tallies the votes and declares that babysitting has won by a single ballot, which means my vote broke the tie.

Nanea looks every bit as thrilled as I feel, and Lily invites all of us to stay over at her house tonight so we’ll have time to plan. The first round of babysitting was a disaster, apparently. Nanea says she’ll ask her mom, and then she turns to me. I mutter something about asking my babysitter. Before I can even process what I’ve agreed to, I’m already standing in the hotel lobby.

Have I actually just committed to spending a whole night with a girl living through World War II? This afternoon was so much fun that where, and when, I am had slipped my mind. But standing there in that pink lobby, staying feels right, even if only for a little while.

After dinner with Lily’s family, Nanea and I trail her into her bedroom to brainstorm activities for tomorrow. But after a while, Mrs. Suda announces it’s time for the blackout. The what?

Lily yanks heavy curtains shut over her window while Tommy darts down the hall to turn off all the lights, too. Curious, I ask Tommy why, and he tells me it keeps enemy planes from spotting our lights from above so they don’t bomb us.

At first I laugh, certain he’s joking, but then Lily’s expression stops me cold. She admits she tries not to dwell on it, though it’s a real possibility. Airplanes. Explosives. Suddenly all I want is to be back home.

Nanea, though, seems oddly fearless about the blackout and proposes we finish planning in Lily’s father’s den instead, since its windows are completely covered. Lily brings us into the den, where I see the windows are actually painted black. Not a shred of our small lantern’s light can escape outside.

Mrs. Suda sits nearby with her knitting while Tommy plops down across from me with a deck of cards, eager to teach me a game called Eights. Every card in the deck features an airplane, and playing with him eases my homesickness. Puffing out his chest, he holds up his six of clubs and identifies it as a Japanese torpedo bomber. Lily comments that Tommy’s teacher showed the whole class pictures of Japanese planes so they would all recognize them if they flew overhead.

Tommy points an imaginary gun at the ceiling and boasts that he’d shoot down any plane that dared fly over. Mrs. Suda quickly corrects him, saying he’d tell an adult instead, and Lily chimes in that he’d better tell someone fast. Setting my card down, my stomach clenches. It seems wrong that a kid this young has to think about torpedo bombers at all.

Sleep doesn’t come easily. With Nanea and Lily dozing on either side of me, I lie there watching the ceiling, my thoughts circling back to airplanes. Eventually exhaustion wins, and my dreams fill with the growl of an enemy engine.

Morning arrives to find Nanea and Lily wide awake and eager to babysit, while I feel like I haven’t slept at all. But although the others may have energy, none of us are prepared to babysit. The blackout got in the way of us making any of our plans.

Nanea concludes, with a resigned sigh, that we’ll just have to play games. Lots of games. Lily proposes another round of Simon Says, and Nanea volunteers to grab crayons and paper. I briefly consider asking to borrow Tommy’s cards, until the memory of those tiny painted planes stops me. Torpedo bombers have taken up more than enough space in my head already.

Lily’s mother packs a simple snack for the kids, crackers spread with butter and guava jelly. Just as Gene offers us a ride, Lily realizes at the door that she’s missing her gas mask, and Nanea confesses hers is still sitting on the porch. I don’t understand why they’re freaking out about these gas masks.

Startled, Nanea turns to ask if I left mine back at the hotel. I stutter, confused. Gene says that if I forgot mine, I can borrow his. He doesn’t carry his around anymore. It’s too much of a hassle. Lily plants her hands on her hips and reminds him that going without one could earn a fine. Gene tosses his hands and says that’s just a rumor. Anyway, he’s not too worried about another attack now that the Battle of Midway has been won.

I take a look at the ugly elephant snout gas mask in Lily’s hand, and decide I’ll take my chances, too. After all, I know that there isn’t another fatal bombing on Oahu anyway.