he lightning struck as she walked down the street in her saddle oxfords and long skirt.
In other words, typical attire of nineteen fifty-eight.
She was on the wrong side of town, the border of races. The small town of Jacksonville was a racial Mecca for the former residents of internment camps and the deep south alike. Both walks of life became relevant in the town; both races felt safe and at home.
It was something her more conservative parents had been wary of. They were worried about their daughter, they were not sure to trust the other people in the town.
The storm was raging as she walked past the line. She took a path in a alley into the Asian part of town. It was safer, she thought. It would keep her from getting wet in the rain.
"Don't do that! Honda, it's no good!" She heard the sizzle of a fire going out: the scrapping of a pair of shoes on the ground.
She turned to see two boys also standing in the alley. One had cooper colored hair, spiked up in plenty of different angles. His arms were wide open in frustration. "Hey!"
The girl turned in shock. She was unsure if he was calling her out or not.
"I can smoke if I want to, Utsumi. Gimme me a break!" The cooper haired boy, Honda, got out his pack and another cigarette.
He lit it as his friend, one she found quite attractive, frowned. "I'm just looking out for you. You don't wanna get lung cancer, do ya?"
"You're such a square! A big, four cornered, square! Go home to your grandmother and listen to more of her tall tales, will ya'?"
"I'm fine. And I think you're rilin' that cute girl over there. She looks scared." He moved one of his hands to get his hair out of his face.
She stood there, helpless. Utsumi stared at her. "Are you alright?"
She was a little frazzled from him looking over at her. "I'm alright. Thank you." She clutched her purse. "I was trying to take a shortcut home.. I'm sorry for bothering you." Lightning struck again. All three of them shivered in the cold rain.
"I could walk you home if you want." He offered her hand, not being aware of the consequences.
"I'm not so sure... I don't live around here."
"Do you think I care? It's hard to be caught out here at night, sweetheart. Girls shouldn't be out alone this late."
She smiled at Utsumi and took his hand. "Just this once." She pulled back quickly, feeling a slight shock. "Ouch!"
"I didn't mean to hurt you.. I apologize." He grabbed her hand again and held her purse for her.
"It's fine.. What about your friend?" She glanced at Honda, who was busy smoking his cigarette. "You told him not to smoke."
"He never listens to me. As bad as it is, just let him. He'll learn his lesson someday anyway." He looked down at her, taking time to admire what he could see of her features in the dark.
"You're the only one right about that. It's certain, really." She was leaning on him to keep warm. "What's your name?" Utsumi saw her doe eyes looking up into his. "I don't think it's a good idea to go home with a man who has no name."
"Utsumi. And you are?"
"Say your first name. I've heard your friend talking to you."
"Oh. Well, I've gotta girl's name. Maybe not."
"I'm not going home until you tell me your name! My name's a man's name, so there!"
Utsumi thought she was too feminine to actually follow through with what she had said. She was too cute for that, he decided. "My name's Kinji. I didn't mean to rile you. I'm very sorry, miss."
"I forgive you. I'm Hudson." He recognized her name almost instantly. He assumed her father was the town engineer. The one who also worked in Little Rock to help create kitchen appliances, surely enough.
"Hudson Greystone?" He had asked her. She nodded her head yes, while shaking in his grasp. "Well then! I know exactly where to go. The kitchen man's house always intrigued me." Hudson laughed in response.
"It's not that pretty on the inside." She told him. "It's got the shutters and the pink siding, but it's chaos once you step inside those doors!"
Honda gave them a glare. "Ya' leaving without me?"
Kinji frowned. "Yup!" He then dragged Hudson further down the alley and in the direction of her house. The smoke from Honda's cigarette still filled the air long after the left the alley. "He's not only hurting himself, but us too." Kinji commented, as he carefully stepped into the white boundary.
"I know that. It smells awful! That's why I don't do it!" They stepped further down the street. "I can't stand it at school!"'
Kinji was appalled. "They smoke at the white school?" He expected them to have more manners and more diligence. After all they had done to chastise the other races about having none.
"Yes, they do."
"Why?"
"We just do. I don't participate, but we have breaks for smoking."
He had found it quite odd. The whole conversation and the situation. He was flirting and falling in love with a white girl and he was on the white side of town. Also, he was walking her to where she lived with the kitchen man. Another thing he found out was that the whites were just as bad. But they had a excuse, he concluded. It was because they were white.
"Strange..." He pondered as he stood in front of the house. The home of the kitchen man. On past ventures with Honda, he would end up by this house. The pink shutters only grew pinker every season, while his home grew less white on contrary. It was like a big wad of bubblegum underneath the desk of town.
Hudson held his hand tighter. "We're here already?" She then loosened her grip. "It was nice talking to you."
Kinji examined her once again. She was staring at him again. Her eyes were almond shaped, he could barely see the green color from the light of the night. Her hair still was nothing but pitch black. "It was nice talking to you too.."
They both stood awkwardly at the edge of her yard. "Well.. I better to inside then, right?" She felt like she was missing something. A small beat wasn't being played, she knew she needed one more instrument to complete the song they were singing.
"No! Not yet!" She was walking to the door and turned back to see him still standing in the driveway. His shout had scared her a little, and the way his hand was reaching for her shocked her a little more.
"I need to say goodbye.." She walked back to him again. He held her hand. He was becoming needy of her, despite knowing her for barely twenty minutes.
"Alright.. I wanted to say thank you for bringing me home." The storm had ceased while they walked. Both were too absorbed in the conversation to notice. "You helped me get out of the storm."
"You're welcome, sweetheart." She laughed at his comment. He smiled back at her. The goal was to get her distracted long enough to keep her outside for a while. He wasn't sure if she'd say yes to his question.
"I was wondering, before you go.. If you want to go to the diner with me tomorrow? It's a Saturday.." He was trying to give her a excuse to go with him. He wanted her to feel validated. It was as if that racially accepting diner wasn't enough of a pull on her sleeve.
"Yes, I wouldn't mind. I want to know you better." She was feeling similar about him as he had for her, however, it was much less obvious and almost hidden under her neutral disguise. It was something that nobody could know but her, due to the circumstances. Even safe zones had prejudice. And being white, she knew that all too well.
"How does noon sound?"
"Alright. Actually, perfect." She smiled at him. She almost continued about the subject, but kept quiet.
"Wonderful. I'll see you then." They let go of each others hands. He waited until she got inside of the house. As she looked out her window, he waved.
And she waved back.