Work Text:
Friday - May 13, 2005 - 7:59pm
The White House, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America
It was shaping up to be the worst evening of my life. Okay, okay. I’ve definitely had worse nights than the one I’m gonna tell you about, but you get my point. See, a week earlier, my dad signed the “Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Defense” with the Prime Minister of Japan. It was a big freakin’ deal. The Soviet Ambassador threw a shoe at my dad the day after. He kept the shoe in a glass box in the Oval Office for the rest of his term.
Anyway, to celebrate, Dad invited about two hundred American politicians and another two hundred Japanese politicians to the White House for a big state dinner. Turns out, the White House is actually designed for the President to host foreign guests at a big party. Who would’ve thought!? Of course, if there’s one place on Earth a twelve-year-old boy doesn’t belong, it’s a “black tie required” dinner party.
My mom and my sister were having a blast, naturally. I got sick of hearing Jackie talking about her dress before we even got to the State Dining Room… Oh, and “Jackie” is a nickname. Nobody called my sister “Jaqueline.” It’s a mouthful. So, there I was, stuffed into a suit that was never going to fit me and I was expected to “behave like an adult” for nearly five hours straight.
Yeah, I thought I was gonna die that night.
And there we were, the whole Robinson family together in the antechamber just outside of the State Dining Room on the second floor, waiting for the White House Chief Usher to give us the “go” signal. Mom held Jackie and I by the shoulders while Dad took the lead as the Chief Usher threw open the door in front of us and said loudly for everyone to hear:
“Ladies and gentlemen! The President of the United States and the First Family!”
The noise and sound coming out of the room was so intense that I thought I was gonna get pushed back out of the room again! The State Dining Room was set up for a feast. Mom, Dad, Jackie and I all went up to the high table and we all had to stand there and wait for a few minutes while an army of news reporters took pictures of us. Finally, I got to sit down, but then we had to wait five more minutes while Dad gave a speech! I was so close to getting something to eat and he just kept moving the finish line! I swear, Dad learned how to torture children from the principal of my old school! Just keep talking…
But at long, long last, the serving staff showed up, Dad stopped talking, and dinner was served!
And you know what happened next!?!? All of the food on my plate was strange… bizarre… un-American… stuff. I didn’t know what it was, so I didn’t like it by default. When I asked my mom what was on my plate, she said:
“All the Americans are eating Japanese food tonight, and our guests are eating American food. It’s a cultural exchange!”
Great, mom. Thanks.
So now I was stuck at a grownup diner party, dying of boredom, and I can’t even eat the food!?
Just when I thought the night wasn’t going to get any worse, I met a person who turned the whole night around. She did something that no one else had ever done for me so far, and many years later, I’d marry her.
Maybe about ten minutes after the State Dinner got started in earnest, a bunch of Japanese delegates and representatives started approaching the high table to talk to my dad. They all had something nice to say about the new American-Japanese alliance and how the Soviet Union’s days were numbered because of this. I tried to follow along, but the US Secretary of War lost me when he said: “Just last year, Communism totally fell apart in the former Warsaw Pact and NATO is picking up the pieces. The Soviet President must be feeling pretty alone right now.”
They might as well have been speaking Chinese. I was twelve! I had no idea how Japan and NATO relate to one another; and if Irisha Kimoto is the President of the Soviet Union, then she should never be alone, right!? She was ruling a freakin’ country!
Right when I was starting to think about going insane, a family of six Japanese people came to see the First Family. One of them was an old lady who called herself a “Princess.” Jackie and I were really surprised! Disney movies had taught us that princesses don’t look… well… like this Grandmotherly person in front of us.
“His Imperial Majesty the Emperor apologies for not being in attendance.” Princess Chiyako said. “He is ensuring that your hard work does not go to waste. Please allow myself and my family to convey his Majesty’s gratitude for your friendship.”
The Princess’ family came toward the High Table. There was a father dressed in a snappy-looking suit, a mother dressed to rival the First Lady, and three children: a fifteen-year-old girl, a thirteen-year-old boy, and a ten-year-old girl. The parents gave my family a gift first: It was a little stone statue of a fox. My sister thought it looked absolutely adorable and took it in both hands.
“I’m gonna love him and care for him!” Jackie squealed.
The oldest girl gave Jackie a little red scarf and said it was supposed to go with the fox.
“He’ll be happy if you let him wear it.” The teenager hinted.
The middle child, Prince Akio, gave me a medium-sized book called Learning Japanese without Losing Your Mind.
“A lot of people in our country learn English in school.” Akio said. “What about you? Do you have to learn a second language?”
“Spanish.” I said casually. “Lotta people in America speak two languages.”
The third and youngest child stood out, not just from her family, but the entire room as a whole. All of the guests, both American and Japanese, were wearing formal outfits that ranged in color from white to grey, black to light brown, and maybe some softer cream-like colors. This girl, however, was the only person in the room wearing bright pastel colors.
Blue.
This girl was wearing all blue from head to toe. Her loafers, leggings, dress, and hair ribbon all varied in brightness and contrast, but were nonetheless blue. Her dress was embroidered with a wave-like pattern that made me think about the Great Lakes back home. That’s when I saw her eyes.
Now that I think about it, I can only count from memory about eight or nine people I’ve met who had blue eyes, but this girl will always be the first person to pop into my head when I think about that particular eye color. She introduced herself as “Princess Asami” and offered some odd-looking Japanese candy to Jackie and I.
“Thanks a lot!” I said, taking a piece.
Next to me, my mom snatched the sweet something out of my hand and said:
“Finish your dinner first!”
“Mo-om!” I protested. “I don’t even know what this stuff is!”
“Tonkatsu.”
While the rest of her family was having a good-natured laugh at my expense, Princess Asami was staring at my dish with barely hidden hunger.
“Tonkatsu.” She said again. “It’s pork.”
Well, that changed my opinion about this foreign mystery meal in an instant! I like pork! Asami sidestepped a little so I could see the table where her family had been sitting. She pointed to a chair and dinner setting that had its back to the High Table.
“And what’s that American stuff on my plate?” Asami added.
“That’s a crab cake.”
“Do you like ‘clab cake?” Asami butchered the pronunciation without meaning to.
“Sure. You wanna trade?”
“Deal!”
Asami’s parents were so busy chatting with my dad that they didn’t notice the exchange until it was far too late. The youngest princess had already returned to her family’s side and I was happily wolfing down the finest crab cake the great State of Maryland can produce.
Mom and Dad were definitely paying attention to Jackie and I during our first meeting with Asami and her siblings. Once the two of us finished our meals, the First Lady finally gave us a stay of execution:
“Blake and Jaqueline, why don’t you be good hosts and take the Japanese kids on a tour of the White House?”
We were so happy to get out of that stuffy dining room! So were the other kids! Jackie and I met the other kids in the Red Room, right next door to the State Dining Room. Asami, Akio, and their older sister Akeno all looked just as relived to get away from the party.
“I just wanna take my shoes off and lie down.” Princess Akeno sighed. “Does anyone know what time it is in Tokyo right now?”
“If I told you, you’d start feeling sleepy!” Jackie teased. “Hey, did you guys know the White House has a bowling alley?”
We all started the long walk downstairs to the old bowling alley, chatting and trading stories along the way. Somewhere around the Map Room, a fourth kid joined us. Here’s the thing about that fourth kid… from my perspective, all of this happened almost thirty years ago. I don’t remember the fourth kid’s name. I barely remember what she even looked like. All I remember was that she was an Asian girl with short hair… I don’t even remember if she was American or Japanese. She just kinda tagged along with us. All six of us hung out in the White House bowling alley for nearly an hour, knocking down pins and having a good old time until I had this talk with Asami:
“Is the Imperial Palace anything like the White House?”
“No. Our palace used to be an old castle. There’s a moat, so we kinda live on an island in the middle of the city. Plus, half of the palace grounds are a public park now, so there’s always people around. I bet you get some peace and quiet around here.”
“Sometimes.” I tried to talk while rolling a bowling ball at the same time. Gutter ball. “There’s always one or two nights a week when I can’t sleep because old Lincoln’s pacing in the hallway.”
Asami and Jackie spoke at the same time.
“Wait, who’s in the hallway?”
“Oh no, Blake! Not this again!”
Jackie tried to pull Asami away from me while Akio, Akeno, and the fourth kid all looked on.
“Blake won’t stop talking about that stupid ghost!” Jackie complained. “He says there’s a ghost haunting the Lincoln Bedroom upstairs!”
“There is a ghost!” I shot back. “It’s Lincoln! I’ve seen him, and so have a bunch of other people!”
“Oh, come on!” Jackie groaned. “Everybody who’s supposed to have seen Lincoln died years ago! It’s not like you can ask them!”
Akio, Akeno, and the fourth girl were all inching closer to Jackie. They were taking her side! In a minute, I was going to be all alone again. Just like always, nobody was going to believe me. Admitting defeat, I put my hands in my pockets, looked down at the floor and grumbled:
“Well, I know what I heard.”
“You said you heard him up on the second floor, right?”
Asami’s voice caught me by surprise. She was the only one who had taken a step closer to me. She was clearly still interested in what I was saying about the Lincoln Room’s ghost.
“Wait a second…” I said slowly. “Do you believe me?”
Asami nodded.
“Yeah, I believe you. Do you believe you?”
“Nnoooo.” Jackie moaned. “Don’t encourage him!”
Asami was starting to get animated. Excitedly, she was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.
“Let’s go up to the Lincoln Bedroom!” She said, “Maybe the ghost is there right now! We could catch him like those guys on TV do!”
“That’s cool and all…” I said, then added: “But there’s one big problem.”
I gestured my thumb to the hallway door and said as loudly as I could:
“Hey Jackie! Let’s go outside and talk to strangers!”
Almost immediately, an adult woman’s voice came through the door, speaking in English but with a very thick Irish accent:
“Robinson, whisht willya ya gobshite! You’re stayin’ in and I better not hear any giving out!”
Jackie and Akeno giggled. Akio looked shocked. The fourth kid raised her eyebrow. Asami’s eyes went wide.
“That…” I explained. “Is Secret Service Agent Kathleen Walsh. She’s been following us since we left the Dining Room. Jackie and I have been putting up with her since we moved into this place.”
This had the opposite effect I was expecting. If anything, Asami was now looking even more adventurous. The threat of being caught breaking the rules seemed to give her a thrill.
“How are we gonna get past her?” Asami squeaked.
A plan was already coming together in my mind. I had escaped from Agent Walsh’s supervision a few times, and I was very proud of the complicated plans I had used to do so. Making complex plans to get away from Walsh was a very fun hobby of mine.
“Okay.” I said in a hushed voice. “I think I’ve got a plan to get past Walsh, but we’re going to need a can of soda, a cell phone, Jackie’s hairband, and two of those bowling pins.”
The fourth kid rolled her eyes at us and said in a half-groan, half-sigh:
“Cool your jets, Robinson. It’ll be easier if I just take one for the team.”
“We don’t even know you!” Jackie whispered.
The fourth kid stepped over to the shelf full of bowling shoes and withdrew a black hoodie from behind the counter. She slipped it on, then put her hands in her pockets and slouched forward a bit. She looked like a genuine hooligan. The fourth kid gave us all one mischievous smile and then stepped out into the hallway. There was about ten seconds of silence… in which the five of us just stared at each other, shocked… and then there was a loud crash! Something expensive had just gotten broken! Secret Service Agent Walsh shrieked:
“HEY YOU FECKING EEJIOT!! GET BACK HERE!”
Two sets of footsteps thundered down the hall, the fourth kid giggling up a storm as she fled from Agent Walsh!
“Right! Now or never!” I said. “Who’s coming with me to see Lincoln’s ghost?”
Princess Asami grabbed my arm. I felt a weird lurch in my gut when she did that, followed by a sinking feeling when Jackie, Akio, and Akeno all shook their heads.
“Alright. Fine.” I said. “Asami, we’re dashing on three… two... one-”
Asami didn’t wait. As soon as I said “one” she launched herself towards the hallway door, dragging me along for the ride!
The hallway was empty. Walsh and her fellow agents were still trying to chase down the fourth kid. Keeping a hold on her wrist, I guided Asami up to the second floor. In the Southeastern corner of the White House, there was a guest suite. A small plaque on the door explained how an important historical document called the “Emancipation Proclamation” had been signed by Abraham Lincoln in this very room over a century and a half ago. I pushed the door open and let Asami inside.
She was determined to explore every inch of the room and flush out Lincoln’s ghost tonight! We opened closets, turned on all the lights, and looked under the bed. Then I let her sit at Lincoln’s desk.
When I reminded Asami about the significance of this place, she got an idea. She tried to explain her religion, Shinto, to me. I only understood a little bit. Basically, Asami thought some kind of spirit called a “Kami” was living in the Lincoln Bedroom and she tried talking to it… at least, that's what I think she did. It looked like she was just praying from my point of view. She saw me watching her and suddenly became very self-conscious.
“You think I look silly, don’t you?” Asami said as I watched her. “You don’t believe me at all.”
She looked like she was going to cry.
Well, I’d come this far. Not like I had anything to lose. I got down on my knees right next to her and said:
“I believe you. Honest.”
I don’t know how long we spent doing Shinto prayers, but that’s what we were doing when Agent Walsh came in and caught us. We were kneeling on the floor of the Lincoln Bedroom together, talking out loud to the President’s bed, asking his spirit to show itself. In hindsight, I bet we looked really weird!
Sure, we both got in trouble for our little escapade. My parents chewed me out something fierce the next day. I was “irresponsible and reckless” or something like that. Princess Asami got it pretty bad from her folks too.
But you know… getting in trouble together is, without a doubt in my mind, the fastest and most effective way for two children to bond. Asami and I became friends that night. We actually held hands during that long walk of shame as Agent Walsh took us back to our families. Before she flew back to Japan, Asami managed to sneak her phone number and email address into my hand.
The rest… well…
It’s history.