by Lois Lenski
“I hate Chinese school,” said Mei Gwen. “I’m not going today.”
“Well, if you’re not going,” said Aunty Rose, “you might work a little while. Come and do some stapling—we’ve got a rush order on.”
Mei Gwen walked leisurely over to the stairs. She heard the women asking for their coffee. They said they were tired of waiting. Finally Jessie Chong came in with it and set it down. The little ones crowded round her.
“Give us one! Give us one!” they cried.
Mei Gwen stood still and watched. Jessie took a large paper tablet out from under her arm and an envelope from her pocket. Mei Gwen knew where Jessie had been, even before she began to pass out sheets of paper, and before she took the gold stars out of the envelope. Jessie had stopped to see Edith and had called up under Mr. Pete’s window. Edith and Mr. Pete liked Jessie too! Well—what of it? What did it matter, anyway? Felix was in trouble—that was the important thing. Mei Gwen tried to keep her mind on Elder Brother, but she couldn’t. She had to have it out with Jessie, once and for all. She stepped forward where Jessie could see her.
“So you’ve taken my job away from me, Jessie Chong!” she said. “You think you are baby sitter around here now, don’t you?”
“When you started going to Chinese school,” said Jessie quietly, “there was no one to look after the little children but me.”
“Did Aunty Rose tell you to do it?” asked Mei Gwen.
“Yes, she did,” said Jessie, “and I told her I’d help her.”
“Does she pay you for it?”
“Fifty cents a week,” said Jessie.
“O. K. then,” said Mei Gwen. “It’s your job.”
Aunty Rose came up. “What’s the matter here? You girls quarreling?”
“No,” said Mei Gwen. “I’ve just been hearing the latest news.”
Aunty Rose looked from one girl to the other. Then she said to Mei Gwen, “Jessie’s been so good about helping with the little children. She’s as good a baby sitter as you.”
“Is that so?” said Mei Gwen.
Tears came to Jessie’s eyes, but she said nothing.
“Yes, it’s true,” said Aunty Rose.
“Then I’ve lost my job, have I?” asked Mei Gwen.
“I’m afraid you have,” said Aunty Rose. “You can’t look after the children while you’re in Chinese school, can you?”
“I hate Chinese school,” said Mei Gwen.
“I can’t help that,” said Aunty Rose, walking away.
All at once, Mei Gwen crumpled up. She sat down on a pile of jeans and began to cry, hiding her face in her hands. Cousin Dorinda came up and said, “Don’t cry, Mei Gwen.” The other little ones crowded around her, showing their gold stars. At least they still loved her. The little children went away and she was left alone. She listened to the roar and vibration of the machines. Then she felt an arm around her neck. Looking up, she saw that it was Jessie. She turned away, but Jessie held her tight.
“I didn’t want to take your job away from you,” said Jessie. “I knew how much you like the little kids.”
Mei Gwen sobbed and did not look up.
“I never asked Edith and Mr. Pete to give me things,” Jessie went on. “Honest, I didn’t, Mei Gwen. I never asked Aunty Rose for this job either.”
“I know you didn’t, Jessie,” said Mei Gwen when she could talk. Suddenly all the old bitterness was gone. “I was only kidding you.” She cried a while, then she added, “I’m sorry your mother hurt her finger, Jessie.” Jessie gave her a hug.
“Tell us a story, Mei Gwen,” begged Cousin Dorinda and the little ones, coming back in.
“Jessie will tell you a story,” said Mei Gwen, getting up. “I have to do some stapling for Aunty Rose.”
Back at the apartment late that afternoon, Mother was cross because Mei Gwen had stayed away from Chinese school. It seemed very quiet there with only Mother and little Susie and the two younger boys. Every time she heard a sound, Mei Gwen thought it was Felix coming in. She kept watching the clock. She knew he could not get home until after Chinese school—nearly eight. It seemed a long time to wait. She sent Frankie and Freddie down to the front door to watch for him. Ellen and Elaine, the twins from across the hall, came over to play, but Mei Gwen sent them home. She had not the heart to make up games. She sat on the kitchen floor and played jacks, while Mother started the evening meal.
The garbage can was full, so Mother told Mei Gwen to take it down to the back yard. Mei Gwen hated to go down the open zigzag back stairs. There were thirty-six of them and they were so narrow, winding and steep they made her dizzy. Up on the top floor, she felt safely remote from the neighbors. But on the back stairs, passing the open doors to their kitchens, she could hear what they were saying and doing. She felt as if she were intruding into their private lives. She picked up the heavy can and started down.
In the Yang apartment on the third floor, Lester had his telescope and was looking out the back window, across the bay. His supper was on the table and his mother was scolding him for not coming to eat. Across the hall, Mrs. Ping was having trouble with her electric washer. It was flooding the floor and soapy water ran down the back steps and made them slippery. On the second floor, the radio was playing very loud, so people would not hear Mr. and Mrs. Quan quarreling again. The Sungs’ kitchen smelled of fish which Sandra was frying. She put her head out and asked Mei Gwen to stay for supper, but she shook her head and went on.
Mei Gwen walked past old Mr. Wong’s back door and the landlord’s. She could hear Mr. Wong playing Chinese music, but she did not stop. Four more steps took her down to the back yard, where the large garbage cans were. She opened one and dumped her garbage in. Several cats came up and rubbed against her legs. She wondered who they belonged to. Mei Gwen picked one of them up—a little gray kitten. She looked at the others, the old ones.
“You mustn’t make so much noise at night,” she said. “It keeps us awake and it makes my father angry. He will pour water down on your backs if you do it any more.”
She petted the fuzzy little kitten. It was much nicer than a pet chicken. The kitten curled up in her arms and began to purr. On her way back, Mr. Wong opened his door and called to her. He wore a black skullcap and a long black Chinese gown. He had a wispy white beard.
“You want to play my harp?” he asked.
“I can’t stay long, Mr. Wong,” said Mei Gwen.
She set her garbage can down and put the kitten on Mr. Wong’s bed. She sat down on a stool, took the tiny bamboo sticks in her hands and tapped lightly on the strings. The wooden body of the instrument was shaped like a butterfly.
Mr. Wong laughed and said, “You do it better every time. Soon you will make real Chinese music. Now I have something for you. Please take it to your mother with my compliments.”
He brought a ripe winter melon and laid it in her hands.
“But how can I carry the kitten and the garbage can and the melon?” asked Mei Gwen, laughing.
“I will put the melon in a paper sack for you,” said Mr. Wong.
“Thank you very much,” said the girl.
Mei Gwen counted the steps as she went back up, hoping not to drop anything. Mother was pleased to have the gift of the melon. Mei Gwen sat on the davenport and played with the kitten. She tied a pink ribbon around its neck. But she did not forget Felix. Eight o’clock came and went. Then Father came home. They ate and Mei Gwen started to dry dishes.
“Where is my eldest son?” asked Father suddenly.
Mei Gwen, nervous and tense, dropped a rice bowl. It fell to the floor with a clatter and broke into pieces. Mother scolded her for being careless and the tears began to come. Mei Gwen ran to the front room, picked up the kitten from the davenport and began to pet it.
“Whose cat is that?” asked Father sternly.
“I don’t know …” said Mei Gwen. “Maybe the landlord …”
“Where did you find it?” demanded Father.
“Down in the back y
ard when I emptied the garbage,” said Mei Gwen.
“Take it down and put it where you found it,” said Father. “Do not bring stray alley cats into our home.”
Mei Gwen cried all the way down the thirty-six steps and all the way up again. She hated to part with the kitten, but she told herself she was crying, not for the kitten, but for Elder Brother. Her important secret grew heavier by the minute. How could she tell Father that Felix would not come home tonight because the policeman had arrested him and put him in jail? No—no—a little girl could not tell her father that. Instead, she went quietly to the bathroom, undressed for bed, crawled into her cot and cried herself to sleep. Once toward morning she thought she heard a bell ringing and someone talking a long time on the telephone. But she was too sleepy to listen.
The next morning Mei Gwen looked in to see Felix’s bed. It was empty—Felix had not come home all night. The girl looked at Mother, but Mother said nothing. Was Mother’s face pale and were her lips a little tight? Why had Father left earlier than usual? Why wouldn’t Mother talk? Did Father and Mother know that Felix was in jail? Had Father gone to get him out?
Mei Gwen’s eyes filled with tears. She could not eat her breakfast and Mother scolded her. Mother packed the children’s school lunches and put clean shirts on Frankie and Freddie. Then she wasted no time in sending the three children off to school.
That afternoon, Mei Gwen went straight from school to the jeans factory, but Mother was not there.
Uncle Leon met her at the door and asked, “Has Felix come home yet?”
“I don’t know,” said Mei Gwen.
“Is your father home yet?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” said Mei Gwen.
“When a family has trouble,” said Aunty Rose, bustling up, “we must all stand together. I will send the workers home and go to my sister. I must give her advice and comfort.”
“Now that is foolish, Rose,” said Uncle Leon. “The worst is over by now. You always exaggerate everything. Besides, the workers do not like to be laid off for even part of a day. And it will make me late in filling our orders.”
“At other jeans factories around here,” said Aunty Rose, “they work long hours, on day and night shifts. But we are easy on them, we give them piece work—they work only as much as they please. They are always taking time off to stay home for any old excuse. Today, I will send them home early, when we are in trouble.”
Mei Gwen looked from her aunt to her uncle. She did not understand what they were arguing about.
“Run along home quickly, Mei Gwen,” said Aunty Rose. “Your mother needs you. Stop at Aunty Kate’s and take Grandmother Yee with you. At a time like this, we all need Grandmother’s advice and wisdom to guide us.”
“Is he … Is Elder Brother … in jail?” asked Mei Gwen, bursting into tears. “Can’t Father get him out?” But Aunty Rose and Uncle Leon had rushed off to talk to the workers and did not answer her.
Jessie Chong came running up. Seeing Mei Gwen in tears, she put her arm around her. “You are my best girl-friend,” she said. “Do not cry—I love you.…”
Jessie walked with Mei Gwen as far as Aunty Kate’s Beauty Parlor. Mei Gwen went in, but Aunty Kate and Grandmother Yee were not there. The young lady in charge said they had left an hour before.
When Mei Gwen reached home, a family conference was going on. Aunty Kate and Mother and Grandmother Yee and Uncle Fred were all standing in the front room talking. They were soon joined by Aunty Rose and Uncle Leon. When Mei Gwen came in, they sent her out. She went back to the kitchen and sat on the floor. She played jacks a while and tried not to think of Felix. When Ellen and Elaine, the twins, came in, she played Shake, shake, shake with them. Frankie and Freddie were sent into the kitchen, too, and told to stay there. They all played school and Mei Gwen was the teacher. She scolded and spanked her pupils so hard that they all began screaming. Mother came and told them to be quiet.
Late in the afternoon, Father and Uncle Marvin and Felix came home. They went into the front room and the door was closed behind them.
Not until long afterward did Mei Gwen know what had happened.
While Felix was warming his hands in the mechanic’s garage the night before, he noticed a truck parked in the corner of the building. Suddenly someone in front turned the lights out. He made his way to the truck in the darkness, opened the door of the cab and climbed in. He curled up on the seat and fell asleep.
About five in the morning, the garage came to life again. Lights were turned on, a mechanic came in and walked to the truck. Felix was awakened when a light was flashed into his face.
“A Chinese kid!” said the man. “Asleep in my truck! How did you get in here, kid? I locked the outside door myself last night.”
“I came in before you locked the door,” said Felix.
“Come on now, get down,” said the man. “I’ve got to work on that truck.”
Felix climbed down, looked out the window and saw it was still dark. He did not know what to do or where to go. He began to feel hungry. The mechanic backed the truck around, opened the hood and set to work, whistling. Felix sat down on an oil barrel and watched him.
“Say, kid, I bet you’re hungry, ain’t you?” asked the man.
Felix nodded. The man went to his lunch box, took out a hot dog and handed it to the boy. Felix gobbled it down.
“Thanks,” he said.
“Don’t you think you’d better be goin’ wherever you’re goin’?” asked the mechanic. “Won’t your folks be expectin’ you?”
“No,” said Felix. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You any relation to that Chinese laundryman around the corner on Central Avenue?” asked the man.
Felix looked at the floor and said nothing. He knew the man meant Uncle Marvin.
“Where do you live?” asked the man.
Again Felix did not answer. He decided that he would leave the garage as soon as daylight came. He would go somewhere—anywhere.
Whistling cheerfully, the man went into the gas station in front. It had opened up, and the attendants were coming in. Felix could hear them laughing and joking with each other. He sat still, leaning against the wall, trying to figure out what to do. He dozed again, still tired and sleepy.
Suddenly he heard a familiar voice. He jumped to his feet and there stood Uncle Marvin Fong—just the person he did not want to see. The mechanic must have telephoned him.
“Hello, Felix,” said Uncle Marvin. “What are you doing here?”
Felix hung his head and did not reply.
“He’s my nephew, Felix Fong,” Uncle Marvin told the mechanic. “My brother and his family used to live back on this little street, and the boy always liked it here. Our Cousin Hom has just moved out of the Fong house. Felix came over to visit him, didn’t you, Felix?” He made it sound quite natural that a boy should be away from his home all night.
Felix did not answer. He saw Uncle Marvin go to the telephone and put through a call to Father Fong, but he could not hear what he said. He heard Uncle Marvin thank the mechanic for notifying him. Then he followed Uncle Marvin home.
Uncle Marvin’s wife was kind and set out food. But Felix could not eat and, somehow, he could not talk. When Aunty Lucy offered to show him the pigeons, Felix would not even look at them. He sat down on a couch and soon fell over in a deep sleep. He slept until the middle of the afternoon. When he awoke, he heard Uncle Marvin telephoning Father again. Aunty Lucy brought him food and he ate.
By this time, Felix knew that he had to go home again. He did not much care what happened to him. He could not seem to think for himself. It was easier to do what he was told to do. So before he realized it, he was riding the bus back to San Francisco, with Uncle Marvin at his side. They stopped first at the Lotus Garden Restaurant and picked up Father.
When they reached the apartment, Felix walked wearily up the stairs. A family conference was going on in the front room, with Grandmother Yee and the aunts and uncles ther
e. The boy sat down on a chair near the fireplace and listened. Across the room, over the davenport, hung the life-sized portraits of his Fong grandparents. As the others talked, the boy could hear Grandfather Fong and all his grandfathers before him talking. He knew that he was one link in the long chain of the Fong family ancestry. He felt the heavy burden of his inheritance on his shoulders. Grandfather Fong kept on looking at him and talking to him in plain words.
Felix listened to all that was said, and answered questions as well as he could. He felt free to talk now. He wanted to get the whole thing over with. He wanted to begin all over again—with the regained love and respect of his family. They did not make him feel a culprit. They tried to rebuild his own self-respect.
The boy was surprised to learn several things—that Father had stayed out all night hunting for him and that Roger and Roger’s parents had told Father about the scooter mishap. Mr. Chew had come to see Father and reported the damage done to the wall-shop, but wanted no trouble made over it. The aunts and uncles had all decided that Mr. Chew should be paid for all the ruined stock. They also decided to give the wall-shop as much business as possible and to send their friends there to buy. This would help to restore his prestige in the neighborhood.
No one asked Felix why he went to Alameda. They all seemed to know and to think it unfortunate that Cousin Hom had been so remiss as to move away to Berkeley without telling the family. Aunty Kate could not understand why Felix had not gone to Uncle Marvin’s and telephoned at once, instead of upsetting the whole family. Uncle Leon made light of the whole misadventure and made them all laugh when he said, “If it had been me, I’d never have stopped until I got to New York!”
At last the conference was over and they all went home—all but Grandmother Yee.
Mei Gwen met Felix in the hall. He was surprised to see that she had been crying. “What’s the matter, Younger Sister?” he asked.
“Oh, you were gone so long …” she said.
Felix was greatly moved to see that she cared so much. “They did not tell you?”
