“Distance is not for the fearful, it is for the bold. It’s for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love. It’s for those knowing a good thing when they see it, even if they don’t see it nearly enough,” (Meghan Daum). Throughout the novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, Henry and Keiko’s relationship goes from being good friends to teenage love that is torn apart by distance. But after forty long years of being apart, their friendship and love for each other is renewed.
During the beginning of Henry and Keiko’s relationship they were just friends, but that feeling slowly progressed into something more. One day when Henry was serving lunch to the hungry students at Rainier Elementary, he noticed there was someone new behind the serving counter. After Mrs. Beatty left to eat her lunch, he introduced himself as Henry Lee, and the strange girl behind the counter said she was Keiko. Henry then questioned, “‘What kind of name is Kay-Ko? ‘ There was a pause… ‘Keiko Okabe,’ she said, tying on her apron and waiting for a reaction.
Henry was dumbfounded. She was Japanese” (20). So when Henry and his new helper Keiko introduce themselves, Henry finds out she is Japanese. Since it was World War II during that time, he was surprised that she was going to a white school. As they got to know each other more, Henry began to have some feelings for his new friend Keiko. Sheldon, who was a black man, and Henry’s friend, encouraged Henry to tell this to Keiko: “”Oai deki te ureshii desu! The words came out perfectly.
I did it! Silence. ‘Henry, I don’t speak Japanese. ‘… Henry shrugged. A friend just taught it to me, I thought you’d be impressed… ”T am impressed, just that you’d come all the way over here” (32-33). Sheldon told Henry to say those Japanese words to Keiko. Sheldon said she would like it because it was in her native language. However, she didn’t know how to speak Japanese, so she didn’t understand a word Henry said. Later on, Henry was going to see Sheldon play the saxophone at the Black Elks Club and Keiko wanted to go. With some persuading, Henry decided to let her join him in hearing Sheldon play.
When they arrived at their destination, “Dumbfounded Henry said the first thing that came to his mind. You look beautiful. ‘ He said it in English, watching Keiko beam, astonished at how different she looked, only vaguely resembling the silly apron-wearing girl from the school kitchen” (50). Now that Henry has some feelings for Keiko he gives her compliments because he doesn’t want to make her feel bad, and since he thought she truly looked amazing that night. Over the course of their friendship, and as they get older they develop more and more feelings for each other.
As Henry and Keiko matured a little more, they begin to develop a relationship that is more than friends, but is separated by distance and culture since Keiko was taken away to an internment camp because she was Japanese. When Keiko invited Henry to eat dinner with her parents, they were having a good time talking with each other, but they were interrupted by military trucks driving by delivering flyers that said that all Japanese people had to evacuate to the internment camps. On the day Keiko had to leave to Camp Harmony, Henry was there to say farewell to her.
When he arrived at the train station to say goodbye to her, “Keiko wrapped her arms around him and whispered in his ear, ‘I won’t forget you. ‘ She pinned the button reading ‘I am Chinese’ to the inside cover of her diary, holding it close. I’ll be here” (135). Henry got to see Keiko every Saturday because Mrs. Beatty told him he could come serve food to people at the camp where Keiko was. Afterwards, Keiko moved a new camp in Idaho called Camp Minidoka. Henry didn’t like the way he just let Keiko go without saying a proper goodbye, so he and Sheldon went to Camp Minidoka to see her.
During the end of Henry’s visit with Keiko, “His head turned to the left as hers did the same and a simple kiss found a home between their lips. When he opened his eyes hers were beaming back at him. He hugged her one more time, then let her go… Henry began to wave, then lowered his hand slowly as the words ‘I love you’ rolled off his tongue… but she knew, and her mouth echoed the same statement as her hand touched her heart and pointed it at Henry” (234). Henry had stayed overnight at Camp Minidoka with Keiko, and that was the last time he’d be seeing her for a while since they both agreed it would be best to write to each other.
They said that they would write to each other every week until they were reunited again. Three years had passed, and Henry still kept his promise of sending letters to her. Keiko, on the other hand rarely sent letters. Her replies were often three weeks or a month too late. Henry was tired of waiting, so he decided to send his last letter to Keiko. When Henry went to the post office for the last time to send his final acknowledgement to Keiko, the clerk there said Keiko was a lucky girl to have Henry as a boyfriend even if she didn’t write back very often.
After the clerk said that he thought, “Or ever, Henry thought, smiling to hide his sadness. ‘This is probably the last time you’ll see me, cause this is my last letter to that address… I don’t think she’s coming back,’ Henry said and turned to the postal clerk and smiled. ‘And I don’t think I can wait any longer” (252-253). Henry’s last letter to Keiko was different than all of the rest he had sent. This one was a true farewell. He wrote that he hoped she had a happy life, and that if she wanted to see him again, she should meet him in front of the Panama Hotel in March.
She never came. After three long years of waiting for Keiko, Henry has finally given up on sending letters to her and is moving on to other things in his life, but with her still in his mind. Many years had passed and Henry still had Keiko in his thoughts and heart. Sheldon was close to dying from diabetes, and he was happy that Henry had found the record “Alley Cats” by Oscar Holden even though it was broken. Before Sheldon drifted off to sleep he said, “We both’- Sheldon paused then caught his breath again. ‘
Know why you were always ooking for that old record. Always known. ‘ His breathing slowed. ‘Fix it” (272). What Sheldon means by fixing the old record, is fixing Henry and Keiko’s broken friendship. Later on, Marty, Henry’s son found out where Keiko lived. After Henry got home from his long walk, Marty surprised him by saying “‘| found her Pops. I know you were always loyal to mom, and that you’d never do this for yourself. So I did it for you. Pack your suitcase. I’m taking you to the airport; you’re leaving for New York City” (276).
Since Marty found Keiko, Henry doesn’t waste his only chance to find his long lost friend again. So Henry takes the flight to New York City, and he is now in front of Keiko’s door. As she opened the door for him, he saw, “The same eyes that had looked inside him all those years ago. Hopeful eyes… Keiko sighed, a confession in her smile, I’d almost given up on you. ‘… They stood there smiling at each other, like they had done all those years ago standing on either side of the fence.
‘Oai deki te… ‘ She paused. Ureshii desu, ‘Henry said, softly” (285). Henry goes to see Keiko and they relive moments from the past, such as saying “Oai deki te ureshii desu” like they did when they were twelve. Henry and Keiko finally found each other. Throughout this book, Henry and Keiko’s friendship blossoms into teenage love and is then separated by distance. At last, after forty years of being apart they find each other again. They are reunited. They finally fixed their broken record, their broken friendship, and their broken hearts. They fixed it.
