My Summer of Love and Misfortune by Lindsay Wong

Author:Lindsay Wong
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: 2020-05-05T00:00:00+00:00

20

Secrets

There’s serious scream-arguing when I get back to the penthouse. The kind of extreme soap-opera shouting that reminds me of the fight that I had with Dad in the parking lot. It feels like a lifetime ago, almost in another reality, with a completely different Iris Wang. Has traveling already changed me?

My body tenses up, either from a shitty association or from the fact that I’ve never liked confrontation. I don’t know whether I should creep backward down the hall or make a nonthreatening noise to let them know I’m here.

Are you supposed to politely cough or sneeze? Which one is less obvious and more convincing?

I start to half cough, half sneeze.

It sounds like I’m choking on a Life Savers candy, but it causes the two people to suddenly stop screaming.

At first, I think Auntie Yingfei and Uncle Dai were arguing, but it’s an older, tiny Chinese lady. She’s wrinkled like a Star Wars character and sobbing uncontrollably. She gasps in shock when she sees me. At first, I think she’s horrified by my outfit, but she’s looking at me like she’s seen a real-life ghost.

She’s actually so startled that she knocks over a vase of pink chrysanthemums and yellow night-blooming jasmine. CRASH! Glass shatters everywhere. I rush to help clean it up. This woman seems to be as clumsy as I am.

Uncle Dai turns the color of an unripe banana as soon as he sees me. “Weijun! I did not know you were home. Mr. Chen is driving around looking for you!”

The old woman starts crying even louder as soon as she hears my name. She grasps my arm and pulls me toward her into an awkward, one-armed hug. I am so shocked that I can’t react. I still have the soggy wet flowers in one hand.

Normally, I’d polite-hug her back. It’s not very nice to ignore an attempted embrace, especially from a senior citizen. The poor lady could be confused and mistaking me for someone else.

While the old lady keeps crying and trying to hug me, I stare at Uncle Dai for instructions or a clue. He looks as shocked as me.

Finally, he says, “This is your nǎinai, grandmother.”

I stare at her. I drop the gathered flowers. I am literally being hugged by a ghost or a zombie.

I don’t know how to react.

I’m not sure if I should keep letting someone who might not be real hug me, or if I should pull away. What is the proper Chinese etiquette here? My parents never mentioned what to do if someone who is supposed to be your long-dead grandma puts you in a headlock. I decide not to move until Uncle Dai explains the proper custom to me. I don’t exactly know when I should clap or bow or run away. There are too many viable options to choose from.

“So I DO have living grandparents?” I manage to sputter after she lets me go. “Why did my dad tell me that my grandparents were dead? Why would he lie about it?”

At my words, Uncle turns even whiter.

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