by An Na
Joyce took a bite of her cereal. “How did you know it was me?” she crunched into the phone.
“Well, everyone in your family is injured, and Helen picked up my mom for the early church service, so that just leaves you.”
Joyce was impressed. She took another bite of cereal before she realized that, once again, she was carless. Helen had been the good girl, waking up early to fill in for Uhmma. Usually, Uhmma and Mrs. Lee went to the early morning service so that they could help prepare the food to set out for fellowship after the regular service.
“So are you going to guess?”
Joyce crunched some more. “Uhm, I don’t know, Lisa Yim.”
“WHAT! How did you know?”
Joyce dropped her spoon. “Really! Lisa Yim had the fold done?”
“You could have at least pretended you didn’t know,” Gina said, her voice deep with disappointment.
“Honestly, I was just guessing!” Joyce fiddled with her spoon. Lisa Yim was one of the pretty college girls that had started going to their church this fall. She and Helen attended the same university, but they never socialized. Lisa tended to hang out with a more sophisticated group. She was originally from New York City, which gave her an air of authority and made her instantly hip.
“Wow! I had no idea. I mean, she came to church with her eyes already creased and everything. I just thought they were natural, like Sharon Kim’s. Remember, there was that one time Lisa’s boobs grew, like, two bra sizes, and we talked about how she must have had some work done, but that was just a joke. That was a joke, right?”
Gina sighed. “I don’t know about her boobs, but she definitely got the folds.”
“How do you know for sure?”
Gina started to get excited again as she retraced the Korean grapevine she had tapped for the information. She went through about six unfamiliar names before she got to one that Joyce recognized. “Mrs. Shin.”
Joyce gasped. “Mrs. Shin never talks smack!”
“I know!” Gina squealed back. “That’s how I know this is one hundred percent true.”
“Wow,” Joyce said again and leaned over her bowl of cereal.
“So, we’ll ask her about the surgery at church today and you can get firsthand information.”
“Whoa, wait a minute,” Joyce said, standing up straight. “I can’t just go up to Lisa Yim and ask her about her eyelid surgery.”
“Why not?”
“That’s just weird.”
“Don’t you want to know?”
“Well, yeah. But.”
“But what? Just ask her.”
“It seems too personal.”
“Oh, please. We live in Los Angeles County, how personal can plastic surgery be?”
“You have a point.”
“I’ll pick you up for church in half an hour.”
“Okay. Bye.”
Joyce put down the phone and resumed eating her now soggy cereal. Lisa Yim. Wow. She was so pretty. And confident. She was always making announcements about some Bible study group or after-church volleyball game.
“Lisa Yim is a babe,” Andy called out.
Joyce gave up trying to eat her cereal and put her bowl in the sink.
“Stop eavesdropping, Andy,” Joyce said as she walked back to her room to change for church.
“Stop talking so loud,” Andy called after her.
Joyce and Gina stood outside on the lawn after church service was over. A row of bushes separated them from the cement courtyard outside of the fellowship hall. Joyce and Gina tried to look nonchalant as they spied through the leaves and branches at Lisa Yim and her entourage of college men. When she wasn’t the one talking, widening and narrowing her eyes with drama, Lisa sipped her coffee and listened, smiling provocatively, her head tilted just so in a gesture of extreme interest.
Joyce stared over Gina’s shoulder and licked her chocolate-glazed doughnut while making a mental note to practice smiling like Lisa in the mirror when she got home.
“I don’t think I can go through with this,” Joyce said to Gina.
“Oh, come on, Joyce. How else are you going to find out what the surgery is like?”
“I already looked it up on the Internet. It’s not pretty, Gina. I couldn’t even read the information without holding up my hand to block out the surgery photos.”
“Really?” Gina said. “Gross.”
“Exactly.” Joyce took a bite of her doughnut. “I’m not sure if I even want the surgery,” she mumbled.
Gina cut her eyes back to Joyce. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying what’s the point? John already likes Helen. And besides, it’s not like the folds are going to make me gorgeous or something. How are two little lines above my eyes going to make John Ford Kang suddenly see me or make me more confident? I’m such a loser, I couldn’t even go out there and say hello to him.” Joyce licked the chocolate off the doughnut. “Besides, what if I have a reaction to some chemical like my mom?”
Gina reached over and grabbed the doughnut out of Joyce’s hand and threw it into the bushes. She held Joyce’s shoulders and stared hard into her eyes. “Joyce, I say this as your friend. What about ‘free’ don’t you get? You can’t just throw this opportunity away!”
“But you just threw away my doughnut.”
Gina held up her hand. “Stop with the chocolate.”
Joyce scowled.
Gina took a deep breath. “Joyce, you’re not going to some nasty Korean tattoo parlor—she’s going to take you to a reputable plastic surgeon. Think about how great you felt after the makeover. It’ll be like that, only permanent. And if nothing else, would you at least do it for me so that I can live vicariously through you? God, I need some excitement in my life.”
Joyce stared at the half-eaten doughnut partially hidden by the leaves.
“If I had an aunt like that, I would be kissing her butt.”
Joyce stopped staring at her doughnut and searched for Gomo, finding her sitting with some older ladies in a circle at the far end of the courtyard. If Uhmma had been around serving doughnuts, coffee and Korean vegetable tempura like she usually did, Joyce would have already been over to give Gomo the obligatory kiss on the cheek while all the other ladies cooed and said how lucky Gomo was to have such cha-keh, thoughtful nieces.
“Look around you, Joyce. Look at Mr. Shin,” Gina pointed out. Joyce stared over at the wrinkled old man holding his cane and smiling widely at one of his grandchildren.
“What if he decided not to get those dentures? You think he would be smiling so hard? Or So Young Choi. What if she never got the laser eye surgery and still wore those ugly glasses? Do you think she would be dating David Kim right now? And little Christina Chang. What if her uhmma and apa let her keep her original ears?” Gina asked, her fingers pulling out her ears in a ninety-degree angle from her head.
“What are you saying?” Joyce asked, her eyes wandering from person to person, making a mental checklist of what had changed and what needed to change. Christina Chang never knew what it was like to have satellite ears, but anyone who had seen her as a baby remembered. There was Bobby Song walking to his car, he had a mole on his cheek so large it made it hard to talk to him without starting to count the hairs growing out of it. And Mrs. Yoo, she had just come over from rural Korea, and her teeth showed it.
“We all do things to look better. Everyone, even the most perfect-looking person, could use a tweak here and there,” Gina said.
Joyce spotted Helen walking over to Gomo. All the older ladies around Gomo broke out into grins and began to chatter wildly to Helen. Gomo raised her cheek for Helen’s kiss and then held Helen’s hand as Gomo spoke to her friends. Helen stared off into the distance while the other ladies began to lean forward in excitement and wave their hands in the air. Gomo was probably bragging about how Helen had embarked on the dating odyssey.
“Oh, no! Where did she go?” Gina said.
Joyce’s eyes swiveled over to the group they ha
d been observing. The men were still there, but Lisa had disappeared. Gina was craning her neck trying to see better over the bushes.
“I don’t see her,” Joyce said.
Gina grabbed her hand. “Come on.”
The two of them searched everywhere, inside the church, in the kitchen, over at the office. Joyce quickly crouched behind a wooden bench when she saw Gomo looking in her direction. Gina spotted Sam at the far end of the lawn area taking pictures and ran over to him. Joyce stayed crouched down. She wanted to make sure the coast was clear before she ran across such an exposed area. Joyce slowly raised her head and peeked over at the spot where she last saw Gomo. The chair was empty. Joyce sprang up to make a mad dash over to Sam and Gina.
“Joyce!” Gomo barked.
“Ahhh!” Joyce fell back to the ground in fear and surprise. Gomo loomed over her. Gomo’s shark eyes bore holes into Joyce’s face.
“Hi, Gomo,” Joyce said, waving.
“What kind of ladylike behavior is this?” Gomo lectured. “Why are you and Gina sneaking around the church?”
“We’re just looking for someone, Gomo,” Joyce said. She stood up and brushed off her slacks.
“You two look like crazy girls. Sit down and stop being so foolish.”
Joyce sighed. “Yes, Gomo.”
“How is your uhmma?”
“She’s a little better.”
Gomo clutched her purse. “Those people made a big mistake treating your uhmma that way. Why they did not ask the proper questions, I do not understand. I spoke with them and they will refund all the money, but they refuse to pay for your uhmma’s doctor expenses. They said that she signed a release form. Those people have no dignity. Tell your uhmma I will take care of it.”
“Yes, Gomo.”
Gomo turned to leave and then turned back around. “And your appointment with Dr. Rie-ne-or is Tuesday. I will pick you up in the morning.”
“What?” Joyce said. “I can’t do the surgery Tuesday. I’m not ready!”
Gomo harrumphed. “Aigoo, Joyce. This is a consultation to see what shape of fold will look the best. Be a good girl and do not embarrass me.”
Gomo turned and walked away.
“Joyce,” Gina called out, waving her over.
She ran to her friends.
“Hey, Sam,” Joyce said breathlessly.
“What did your Gomo want?” Gina asked.
“I have to go for a consultation with her on Tuesday,” Joyce said and raised one eyebrow at Gina as she cut her eyes to Sam so that Gina wouldn’t ask any more questions in front of him. Joyce changed the subject.
“Hey, Sam, have you seen Lisa Yim anywhere?” she asked.
“I just asked him that,” Gina said.
Sam snapped a few pictures of Joyce.
She bowed her head so that he couldn’t get a clear shot of her face.
“Joyce, you promised,” Sam said from behind the camera. “I need some head shots.”
“Head what?” Gina asked.
Joyce looked up. “I told Sam he could take pictures of my face if he helped at the restaurant last night.”
“Joyce is going to model for a project that I’m doing,” Sam said as a whirr of clicks went off.
Gina put one hand on her hip. “What’s wrong with my face?”
Sam grinned. “I’ll get your face next.”
“Can you Photoshop them so my cheeks don’t look so squirrelly?” Gina asked.
“I work with real film, Gina,” Sam said as he clicked off a few more shots.
Gina scowled. “Maybe I won’t pose for you, then. At least not until my cheeks are a little thinner.”
Sam finally put down his camera. “What were you two asking me?”
“Lisa Yim,” Gina said. “Have you seen her?”
Sam thought for a second. “Is she the one with long black hair?”
Gina made a strangling noise at the back of her throat. Joyce bit her lower lip to keep from laughing. Sam caught Joyce’s eyes and the two of them burst.
“Very funny,” Gina said. “You would think after centuries that Asian women would try and style their hair differently.”
Joyce reached out and touched Gina’s long black hair. “It’s the only thing we have for anyone to covet,” Joyce said.
Sam waved his camera in the direction of the bathroom. “If she’s the one I think you two are thinking of, I saw her head toward the bathroom right before you two found me.”
Gina and Joyce took off running for the bathroom.
Sam called out after them, “Hey, what about my photos!”
Gina skidded to a stop before the closed bathroom door. The church had once been an old Catholic school, and the bathroom still had a line of toilet stalls on one side of the room with a line of sinks on the opposite side. Gina put her finger to her lips before carefully pushing open the swinging door. They tiptoed inside.
The doors to the toilet stalls were all open except one. Gina motioned for Joyce to follow her into the nearest stall. Joyce tried to be silent and stealthy like Gina but ended up sounding like a clunking horse. Gina and Joyce crammed into the stall together and closed the door. The crashing sound of a toilet flushing made them both freeze. A high-pitched squeak followed next as someone exited the stall.
Gina whispered in Joyce’s ear, “I’m going to stand on top of the toilet.”
Joyce gave her a puzzled look.
“So she won’t see both our feet,” Gina whispered and carefully climbed onto the toilet and crouched down. Joyce shook her head. Gina always managed to amaze her with her plans.
Joyce pressed her eyes to the narrow band of space between the stall door and the divider for the next stall. Lisa Yim was walking over to the sink in her black high heels and clinging, knee-length black silk dress. Her long straight hair swung gently from side to side. She set her purse down on the counter and turned on the water to wash her hands.
Joyce turned around and gave Gina the thumbs-up about finding Lisa. Slowly, Joyce unlocked the stall door and slipped out, making sure the door did not swing wide open. Behind her, the toilet flushed magically. Joyce jumped. Lisa glanced up to the mirror and caught Joyce’s eyes in the reflection. A maniacal grin leaped to Joyce’s face as she quickly made her way over to the sinks. Lisa smiled back and resumed looking in her purse.
Lisa pulled out her lipstick and leaned toward the mirror. Joyce stood two sinks down from her and turned on the water. She purposefully stared down at her hands, but in her peripheral vision she could see Lisa carefully pressing her lips together after reapplying her lipstick and then quickly running her index finger under her eyes to remove any mascara smudges. Joyce kept lathering her hands with soap. Lisa glanced over at Joyce before dropping her lipstick back into her purse and closing it with a snap. Lisa stepped back and checked her reflection one last time.
Joyce’s heart thudded. This was it. Lisa was about to leave. Gina was going to kill her if Joyce blew this chance.
As Lisa turned to walk out, Joyce stepped back and blocked Lisa’s path. Lisa paused midstep. Joyce’s wet hands dripped water on the floor.
“Excuse me,” Lisa said and stepped out of the way.
Joyce frantically shook the water from her hands. “Uhm, Lisa, right?”
Lisa tilted her head to one side. “Yes?”
Joyce shook her hands some more. “I have a question.”
Lisa nodded.
Joyce blurted out, “This is kind of weird and personal and I don’t want to invade your privacy or anything. But I don’t know anyone else to ask and my aunt is taking me in for a consultation Tuesday and I want to get as much information as possible so we, I mean, I followed you in here. Not that I’m trying to stalk you or anything, but I hope you don’t mind.”
Lisa frowned. “Was that your question?”
“What question?”
“That I don’t mind?”
“Huh? Mind what?”
Lisa took a deep breath. “Just stop talking for a sec
ond. I feel like we’re playing who’s on first.”
“Who’s on first?” Joyce asked, nervously shaking out her wet hands again.
Lisa walked over to the paper towel dispenser and pulled out some sheets. She walked back and handed them to Joyce.
“Thanks,” Joyce said gratefully.
“Let’s start over, okay?” Lisa said. “What’s your name?”
“Joyce. Joyce Park.”
“Oh,” Lisa said, a look of recognition brightening her eyes. “Are you Helen’s sister?”
Joyce nodded and dried her hands on the paper towels.
“Helen and I don’t really know each other too well, even though we go to the same college, but I’ve heard a lot about your family from my cousin Su Yon,” Lisa said.
“Oh.” Joyce nodded. “I didn’t know Su Yon had any relatives in Los Angeles.”
“Well, Su Yon isn’t exactly a blood relative. Her mother and my mother grew up in the same village in Korea.”
“So funny how everyone is connected,” Joyce said. “We miss Su Yon. How is she doing?”
Lisa shrugged. “It’s been a while since I’ve spoken to her. Last I heard, she and her mother had moved.”
Joyce nodded, scrunching up the paper towels in her hands. If Lisa knew Su Yon, then she had to be nice. Joyce started to feel more comfortable about asking Lisa to talk about the eyelid surgery. “Uhm, so, Lisa, I have this really personal question.”
“No problem. What did you want to know?”
Joyce worried the paper towels. “It’s about the fold. You know, the eyelid surgery.”
Lisa held out her hand for the paper towels. Joyce handed them over.
“So you want to get your eyelids done?” Lisa asked and walked over to the trash.
Joyce leaned back against the sink counter. “Yes. No.” Joyce slumped. “I don’t know.”
Lisa threw away the paper towels and walked back over to Joyce. Lisa stood in front of the mirror with perfect posture, her shoulders thrown back, the thin black silk clinging to her breasts, accentuating all the curves. “Do you want to look at my eyes?”
Joyce stared at her chest. “Your eyes?”
“My eyes. Look.” Lisa turned and leaned toward Joyce. “I had them done in high school for my sixteenth birthday.”
