Chapter 3, A Lonely Christmas Summary

Five days pass for the Sakane family without any word or news from Mr. Sakane. Yuki learns that none of the Japanese men who were detained have been returned. Yuki is very distraught and misses her father, and she spends the days seeking comfort among her father's chrysanthemums with her dog Pepper and the old gray carp in the fishpond. One day at school a boy calls Yuki a "dirty Jap" (p. 20), which stings her. Her schoolteacher immediately intervenes and explains that Nisei are citizens and should not be harassed.

Six days after Mr. Sakane is taken, a postcard arrives at the Sakane house. The postcard tells them that Mr. Sakane is healthy but needs clothing and a shaving kit, and it lets the Sakane family know that he is being detained in a prison facility in...