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“Well,” Lee added, “I’m sure they’ll be very happy. The only successful marriages I’ve ever seen between Indians and non-Indians occur when the Indian is totally absorbed in WASP culture. And my sister is well on her way to becoming an imitation WASP. Something,” he said with precision, “that I will never be.”
Je
“Your sister doesn’t mean to hurt anyone, Lee,” Je
“I’m not,” Lee said firmly. “I don’t know how people can just dismiss their heritage like that, no matter what it could gain them or how much they loved someone. I could never do it.”
Je
“Surely it doesn’t always have to be like that,” Je
“I’ve never seen it,” Lee answered.
Je
He turned his head and seemed to remember the reason for her presence.
“Let’s go, counselor,” he said, sighing. “Our chariot awaits.”
* * * *
The parade route began at the Museum of Art and traveled through downtown Philadelphia, winding up at Independence Hall. Lee rode a float with several other athletes, including Joe Thornridge, while Je
After the parade there was a short press conference, and Je
“Hi,” Lee said.
She had been so absorbed that she hadn’t realized he was already finished.
“Don’t creep up on me like that,” she said breathlessly. “How’d it go?”
“Fine. I waved at everybody and looked appropriately macho. The crowd seemed suitably impressed.”
His tone was dry. Obviously, being on display was not his favorite thing.
“Well, you have a couple of hours before you’re due at the hospital,” Je
“Are you going home, too?” he quizzed.
“I guess so. I have to change.”
“All right. You can drop me off on the way.” He folded his arms and surveyed the impressive facade of Independence Hall over her shoulder. She turned to follow his gaze, taking in the colonial brick structure with the gleaming white bell tower.
“Look at this place,” he said. “You ever been inside?”
“I took the tour once, a while ago.”
“The walls speak to you, don’t they? You can almost imagine old Patrick Henry making that speech: ‘Give me liberty, or give me death.’ Great stuff. Them’s fightin’ words. Quite a phrase to echo down through the generations. You have to admire those people. They risked everything, and I mean everything, for what they thought was right I remember some history teacher talking about that comment John Hancock made when he signed the Declaration of Independence. You know, ‘I’ll write this big enough for King George to see without his glasses on.’”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Well, this teacher said that people repeat it today as though it were a joke or something, but they forget that Hancock thought he might have been signing his death warrant What courage that took. When I saw the original, preserved, the way they have it, there was John’s signature, three times as large as the others, and I couldn’t believe it You hear about something all your life, and it becomes almost a myth, as though it doesn’t really exist anywhere but in your mind. It was a kick to finally see the real thing.”
Je
He saw her look, and knew its meaning. He shrugged. “Great Britain was wrong,” he said. “It’s my country, too,” he added quietly. Then he cupped her chin in the palm of one large hand and turned her face up to his. “In fact, it was my country before it was yours.”
That was certainly true. She locked eyes with him for a few seconds, and then stepped back, saying briskly, “I’ll go inside and call Max to pick us up.”
Lee leaned gracefully against a lamppost and said, “I’ll be here.”
As Je
On the way back he was quiet and merely nodded when she reminded him of the time she would return for him. She watched him walk up the path to his house, admiring, as always, the broad shoulders and narrow waist, the perfect proportions of his athlete’s body. The sun made a shining black helmet of his hair. Then she tore her eyes away and ordered Max, in a firmer tone than was necessary, to take her back to her apartment.
She told herself sternly that she really hadn’t been hoping Lee would ask her inside.
* * * *
They were due at the hospital at two, and Je
Je
Lee remained introspective during the ride to the hospital. He sat next to her in the back seat of the limousine, his knee almost touching hers, staring out the window. He had changed also, into dark slacks and a light blue shirt and a knit tie. He turned once to find her watching him, and she looked away.
A group of reporters and a news team from a local television station were already waiting outside the ward when they arrived. A cameraman with his equipment strapped to his shoulders zeroed in on Lee and followed his every move. Lee glanced at Je
The kids could hardly control their excitement. The ambulatory cases had been assembled at one end of the ward, where rows of folding chairs were interspersed with wheelchairs and cots. The children who were bedridden had been propped up with pillows so they could see better. Nurses and aides stood by, beaming, to shake hands with Lee as he entered. A hospital spokesman, who had met them in the lobby, cleared the way and led Lee to a vantage point where he could address the group.
Lee’s reaction to the sick children was not lost on Je