Barry was very proud of his father and would tell his friends a little more exaggerated story about him. Barry’s mother had maintained a correspondence with his father throughout the time they had been in Indonesia, and he knew all about Barry. Like his mother, his father had remarried, and he had five brothers and one sister living in Kenya. He had been in a bad car accident, and he had to come to Hawaii because he was part of his recuperation after a long stay in the hospital.
The big day has finally arrived, he met his father. He was a tall, dark figure, and much thinner than he had expected. They would be together for a month. They were together in his grandparents’ living room almost all evenings, during the day on drives around the island or short walks past the private landmarks of a family. His father had a little stubborn character. One evening, he said to Barry, “If the boy has done his work for tomorrow, he can begin on his next day’s assignments. You have been watching TV constantly, and now it is time for you to study.” Barry was so disappointed because that cartoon was a Christmas favorite, that he had been looking forward to it all week. He went to his room and slammed the door, listening as their grandparent’s voices outside grew louder. Before his father’s departure, Miss Hefty who is Barry’s teacher had invited him to come to school one day. She wanted him to speak to the class. His father spoke of the wild animals and the tribes that still required a young boy to kill a lion to prove his manhood. He also spoke of the custom of Luo. And he continued to tell them of Kenya’s struggles to be free, just as they had in America. When he finished, all his classmates applauded heartily. His father’s speech gave courage to Barry’s friend, Coretta, too.
On the day of his father’s departure, Barry danced with his father to the old stereo tune of his continent. He feels his father still: As he follows his father into the sound, he lets out a quick shout, bright and high, a shout that leaves much behind and reaches out for more, a shout that cries for laugher. P.-70. August 13, 2021
