their dinner and shower long before their parents came back home.
Charlene’s cheeks flushed after the rubbing of the towel. Sharon couldn’t help pinching her cheeks.
“You haven’t changed. Still my little sister.”
“Ouch,” Charlene complained, “You haven’t either. Still playing mom.”
The mention of mom brought a brief silence between them.
“Have you seen dad lately?” Charlene broke the silence.
“No. The last time when I saw him was Christmas. But I call him once a week. We talk for n o more than five minutes though. We d o n’t have much to say to each other.”
“Well, I imagine all his thoughts are on the twins now.” Charlene sounded resentful. She hadn’t seen her father for a long time, and had never met his new family.
“The twins are very cute. You should see them when you go back home. ” S haron said, still trying to fix the relationship between her sister and her father.
Charlene changed the subject. “Do you think dad loved mom?”
Sharon’s shook her head. “I don’t know. He must have.”
Charlene responded with indignation: “You think so? Well, frankly, I don’t think he’s capable of loving anyone. He only loves property and money.”
Sharon tried to soothe her sister’s anger, “I think he loves us too. Otherwise he wouldn’t have given us that San Marino house.”
“He feels guilty about mom. That’s all. Poor mom, she sacrificed her youth and her dreams. And she had lived in that million dollar house for less than a year.”
The sisters couldn’t forgive her father for the way he treated their mother. He had never beaten her but he overworked her as if she were his slave. First it was the fast food restaurant that required the two of them to work twelve-hour days. Then when the business got better and could afford to hire employees, he purchased his first apartment complex. She not only had to help him with carpet-cleaning and painting, but also plumbing jobs. Sharon didn’t remember her mother resting at home. Even when she was pregnant with Charlene she worked in the restaurant and as soon as she got out from the hospital she carried the baby with her to work. Her stomach cancer must have started back then…
Sharon sighed and fought back the tears that threatened to rush out. Charlene held her hand silently, understanding how her sister was feeling.
At first Sharon had cried and asked her mother to take her back to China. She had missed the days when her father was alone in the U.S. while Sharon and her mother were in China. She was much happier then. Her mother, an elementary school teacher, would read her stories at nights and take her to the parks on weekends… Little did she know that the good days were gone forever when she boarded that plane at age eight. Even her little friends had envied her for the chance to go to America, a beautiful country in Chinese. Sharon had anticipated modern high-risers and fancy toy-stores that she had seen in movies , but upon arrival she was disappointed. Chi natown was not that different from the country towns in Sichuan, except that there were many cars and not enough trees. There weren’t any gold-haired, blue-eyed Americans that she had imagined, but people who looked rather like the various ethnic groups she had seen everyday in China. Their apartment, the elementary school, and their restaurant were all within five blocks of distance, therefore h er life was limited to those five blocks. For the first year, she would go to their restaurant to have dinner after school, and stay home alone until bedtime, when her parents came home. Thank goodness it didn’t last long, soon she had a little baby for company. Charlene was noisy and troublesome for sure, but she brought Sharon immense joy. Sharon remembered reading to Charlene before bedtime and answering her silly baby
Charlene’s cheeks flushed after the rubbing of the towel. Sharon couldn’t help pinching her cheeks.
“You haven’t changed. Still my little sister.”
“Ouch,” Charlene complained, “You haven’t either. Still playing mom.”
The mention of mom brought a brief silence between them.
“Have you seen dad lately?” Charlene broke the silence.
“No. The last time when I saw him was Christmas. But I call him once a week. We talk for n o more than five minutes though. We d o n’t have much to say to each other.”
“Well, I imagine all his thoughts are on the twins now.” Charlene sounded resentful. She hadn’t seen her father for a long time, and had never met his new family.
“The twins are very cute. You should see them when you go back home. ” S haron said, still trying to fix the relationship between her sister and her father.
Charlene changed the subject. “Do you think dad loved mom?”
Sharon’s shook her head. “I don’t know. He must have.”
Charlene responded with indignation: “You think so? Well, frankly, I don’t think he’s capable of loving anyone. He only loves property and money.”
Sharon tried to soothe her sister’s anger, “I think he loves us too. Otherwise he wouldn’t have given us that San Marino house.”
“He feels guilty about mom. That’s all. Poor mom, she sacrificed her youth and her dreams. And she had lived in that million dollar house for less than a year.”
The sisters couldn’t forgive her father for the way he treated their mother. He had never beaten her but he overworked her as if she were his slave. First it was the fast food restaurant that required the two of them to work twelve-hour days. Then when the business got better and could afford to hire employees, he purchased his first apartment complex. She not only had to help him with carpet-cleaning and painting, but also plumbing jobs. Sharon didn’t remember her mother resting at home. Even when she was pregnant with Charlene she worked in the restaurant and as soon as she got out from the hospital she carried the baby with her to work. Her stomach cancer must have started back then…
Sharon sighed and fought back the tears that threatened to rush out. Charlene held her hand silently, understanding how her sister was feeling.
At first Sharon had cried and asked her mother to take her back to China. She had missed the days when her father was alone in the U.S. while Sharon and her mother were in China. She was much happier then. Her mother, an elementary school teacher, would read her stories at nights and take her to the parks on weekends… Little did she know that the good days were gone forever when she boarded that plane at age eight. Even her little friends had envied her for the chance to go to America, a beautiful country in Chinese. Sharon had anticipated modern high-risers and fancy toy-stores that she had seen in movies , but upon arrival she was disappointed. Chi natown was not that different from the country towns in Sichuan, except that there were many cars and not enough trees. There weren’t any gold-haired, blue-eyed Americans that she had imagined, but people who looked rather like the various ethnic groups she had seen everyday in China. Their apartment, the elementary school, and their restaurant were all within five blocks of distance, therefore h er life was limited to those five blocks. For the first year, she would go to their restaurant to have dinner after school, and stay home alone until bedtime, when her parents came home. Thank goodness it didn’t last long, soon she had a little baby for company. Charlene was noisy and troublesome for sure, but she brought Sharon immense joy. Sharon remembered reading to Charlene before bedtime and answering her silly baby
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