by Susan Tan
“Time for the ceremony,” Auntie Eva said, taking my hand in one hand and Mrs. Kim’s in the other.
“You’re going to love this one, Cilla,” Paul said with a smile, and I gave him a big smile back.
We went into another room, which had been set up with a table on the floor. Noah explained that this was part of a Traditional Korean ceremony called pyebaek. Then Mr. and Mrs. Kim, and Nai Nai and Ye Ye, and Auntie Eva and Paul sat at the table, and there was lots of bowing, and Nai Nai and Ye Ye did a GREAT job. Then, as if the beautiful clothes weren’t enough, after they were done there was another Tradition where Mr. and Mrs. Kim and Nai Nai and Ye Ye threw chestnuts, and Auntie Eva and Paul tried to catch them in a piece of cloth, and it was maybe the BEST Tradition I HAVE EVER SEEN (other than Chinese New Year, of course). And Grandma Jenkins said, “What fun!” even though I know she definitely doesn’t think that throwing things is Proper. Then Paul gave Auntie Eva a piggyback ride, which was nice of him.
As Noah and I cheered and Gwendolyn yelled happily and clapped her hands, I realized that Traditions can be great, even when you don’t know every single thing about them.
In fact, it was nice to just enjoy them.
“So,” I asked my Nai Nai, as the ceremony ended and we walked behind Auntie Eva back into the front room, “will they have Korean and Chinese Traditions in their family all the time?”
“Yes,” Nai Nai said. “And when they have children, your cousins will be Chinese-Korean-American.”
“Mom!” Auntie Eva sighed. But her sigh was in a laughing, happy kind of way. “I just got married,” she said. “Give us some time.”
“I just thought she’d like to know,” Nai Nai said with a little smile.
“I knew this would happen,” Auntie Eva said to me, grinning. “Your parents warned me. You get married, and people keep looking for that gleam in your eye.”
“Stomachs,” I corrected her (but nicely). “Babies grow in stomachs, not eyes.”
Auntie Eva and Nai Nai both laughed then.
“It’s an expression, sweetie,” Auntie Eva said. “About babies.”
And I’m not ashamed to admit that that’s one I did NOT get.
* * *
Auntie Eva and Uncle Paul changed back into their wedding ceremony clothes, and we all went back into the big main room. All the chairs had been cleared away, and there were tables, which was exciting because that meant it was dinnertime.
I sat at a table with my mom and dad, Grandma and Grandpa, and some of my dad and Auntie Eva’s friends. Nai Nai and Ye Ye were close by and had me come over to their table, where all my uncles and aunties from Chinatown told me how great a job I’d done.
But that wasn’t even the nicest thing anyone said about my being a flower girl. Because as I was walking between tables (wedding dinners go on for a long time, apparently), Jane called me over.
“You did such a good job as the flower girl, Cilla! You and Gwendolyn make a wonderful team.” She gave me a hug.
“Thank you,” I said. “You were a great maid of honor.”
“Thanks. You know,” she said, leaning in, “Lucy and I have been talking. Do you think you two would like to be flower girls again, at our wedding?”
“Really?” I gasped (because this is a BIG deal).
“Really.”
“Wow,” I said. “I do.”
“Wonderful!” Jane clapped her hands. “I already spoke to your mom about it, and I’m sure we can get everything arranged. Let’s keep it a secret for tonight, though, since it’s Eva’s Big Day.”
“Yes.” I smiled. “I understand.”
After dinner, we had the tea ceremony. Auntie Eva came out in her red-and-gold cheongsam, and Paul wore a Traditional Chinese outfit that I’d never seen before. It was also silk, with a high neck and pretty patterns. He and Auntie Eva poured tea for Nai Nai and Ye Ye and Mr. and Mrs. Kim and E-Pah and E-Gung and Paul’s aunts and uncles. In return, they got little red envelopes with money inside, just like during Chinese New Year. And Mr. and Mrs. Kim did a GREAT job with knowing when to bow. And the whole time, I explained the ceremony to Noah, so he’d know what was going on.
Auntie Eva came over to take a picture with us in her cheongsam, and my dad said, “I’m so happy for you, sis.”
“Aw, thanks, big brother,” Auntie Eva said, leaning into him and putting her arm around his shoulder. “I’d be lost without you.” So then there was even MORE sniffling. (These people.)
Luckily, I was there to make them laugh, because Noah and I showed them a game we’d just made up, which had Tea Ceremony bowing but also involved pyebaek chestnut throwing (we didn’t have real chestnuts, but we used our napkins), and the person who caught the most chestnuts would win.
Auntie Eva and Paul went to change (AGAIN), and they came back in the clothes they’d gotten married in (the white poofy dress!) to cut the cake. (Because, as I’ve mentioned all Traditions come back to cake.) And it was a GIANT cake, with flowers made of frosting and three towering layers, and Auntie Eva made sure I got a piece with a blue flower.
During cake there were speeches, and slideshows of silly pictures from when Auntie Eva and Paul were kids. And Paul’s grandpa sang a song about how happy he was in Korean, and then in English, and then in Chinese, and everyone sang along (when they could). Then Jane and Karen, Auntie Eva’s two best friends, gave speeches. And they made a great team too.
Then there was something called the Bouquet Toss, and all the bridesmaids and lots of people gathered behind Auntie Eva, and Lucy (who had her hair in a big circle around her head, and it had flowers in it) caught the bouquet. Everyone cheered, and Jane winked at me, and I winked back.
There were lots and lots of people I didn’t know at Auntie Eva and Paul’s wedding. But I didn’t feel shy, which was funny. And Gwendolyn didn’t mind all the people either. Maybe it was because everyone was smiling and because people kept coming over to us and saying things like, “I’m Paul’s aunt, welcome to the family!” or “We’re so happy Paul met Eva!”
And when people weren’t coming over and saying hello, or when I wasn’t talking with my mom or dad or anyone else at my table, I was happy to sit quietly and just look around and see everyone laughing and having such a nice time.
It was during one of these quiet moments that I saw Auntie Eva singing something to Paul. I saw him laughing and clapping, and it looked like he was really enjoying whatever it was. I made a note to ask.
But I didn’t have to.
Because just before the final toasting, Auntie Eva came by to take a family photo.
It took a while to organize, because Nai Nai and Ye Ye came to be in the picture with us, but then left to get Grandma and Grandpa Jenkins, because Nai Nai wouldn’t take it without them. And as everyone got in a line, Auntie Eva put her arm around Nai Nai’s shoulder.
“I’ll admit, Mom,” she said, “you were right about the photos.”
“So you’ll always remember your special day,” Nai Nai said, putting an arm around her too.
“Thanks for everything, Mom,” Auntie Eva said, resting her head on Nai Nai’s shoulder. And then she said, “Say cheese!”
And we did.
There was a click and the flash of a camera, and then I saw Paul run over and say, “Sorry—I was talking to my grandpa. I want to be in one!”
My mom bounced Gwendolyn and I got ready to smile again, though I’d been doing it for so long that day that my cheeks felt kind of tired.
“Say cheese,” Auntie Eva said again.
“Say cake,” my dad said.
“Say ‘earwax on a stick,’” Paul said.
“You know ‘earwax on a stick’?!!!” There was a clicking sound and the flash of a camera light as I turned to him, wide-eyed.
“Your aunt sang it to me,” he said. “I LOVE it.”
“You remembered it?” I asked, turning to Auntie Eva.
“Of course, silly,” she laughed. “How could I forget? It’s a family Classic.
”
“WOW,” I said. Then, “Are you sure?”
“Positive.” Auntie Eva smiled. “It’s one for the history books.”
I couldn’t say anything else for a long, long moment.
Then my mom put her hand on my shoulder and said, “Let’s try that again, Cilla.”
So I turned to the camera and said, “Cheese,” and Gwendolyn said, “Rara!”
The camera flashed, and we stood there—my Auntie Eva, my Uncle Paul, my mom and dad, my Nai Nai and Ye Ye, my Grandma and Grandpa Jenkins, my sister Gwendolyn, and me, Priscilla Lee-Jenkins, Classic Author.
And this time, smiling wasn’t hard at all.
* * *
The tables were cleared away for dancing, and we all stood around the dance floor. Auntie Eva and Paul twirled around for the first dance, while we clapped and my mom cried and my dad made fun of her. But then he got sniffly too. (He can’t fool me. I’m a Classic Author, after all.)
I didn’t see how the night could get much better after that.
But it turns out, it could.
Because as another song started, Auntie Eva yelled, “Who wants to dance with us?!” And Nai Nai and Grandpa Jenkins were the first to run out, then Grandma Jenkins and Mr. Kim, and Mrs. Kim and Ye Ye. So I clapped and cheered, like everyone else. Gwendolyn did too.
And then it happened.
The music started going faster. And suddenly, Gwendolyn began to move.
First one foot. Then the other.
She shook. She wiggled.
And then, only using my skirt to keep herself up, she stood there, almost all by herself, smiling as she looked up at me.
Dancing.
“Look at that!” my dad said, walking over.
“Hey.” My mom came up behind him. “Someone’s got rhythm,” she said as Gwendolyn swayed and punched an arm in the air.
“Wow!” People were stopping to watch. “Look at her go.”
“Gwendolyn,” I said as people began to dance around us. “This is it! Your Destiny! You’re a future dance legend!”
“Rara!” she yelled happily.
And I knew that meant we’d found it.
* * *
On the night I became a Classic Author and my little sister found her Destiny, we stayed up waaaaay past our bedtime. My dad danced the silly dances that make my mom giggle, and my mom danced them too. Noah and his cousin Sammy spun each other around in circles, and Paul’s grandfather danced around his walker and clicked his heels. Grandma and Grandpa Jenkins showed us something called the jitterbug, and there was lots of kicking and stepping and twirling.
In the center of the room, Auntie Eva and Paul danced and laughed, and Paul showed me some funny dance moves that he likes to call “The Sprinkler,” “The Shopping Cart,” and “Drinking Spoiled Milk.”
Through it all, I held Gwendolyn’s hands, so she could dance standing up as all our grandparents, and Mr. and Mrs. Kim, spun around us.
And together, we tore up the dance floor.
EPILOGUE: A CLIFF-HANGER (NO ACTUAL CLIFFS INVOLVED)
So I know I said the story was over. And it almost is.
But I thought it would be more exciting if it ended with a Cliff-Hanger.
A Cliff-Hanger is a Classic way to end a story, because writers use them all the time. It’s not about actual cliffs (which is lucky, because I wouldn’t want to hang off a cliff, no matter how Classic it was).
In the literary world, though, a Cliff-Hanger is about Suspense and usually has surprise. A Cliff-Hanger doesn’t quite tell you everything about an ending, which means you can’t wait to know what’s going to happen next.
And my book really ends in a Cliff-Hanger, because it has A LOT of Suspense and a BIG surprise, and even I don’t know what’s going to happen next.
* * *
Auntie Eva and Paul had driven off in a fancy black car with streamers at the back, and we all waved and clapped and cheered (and Nai Nai and Mr. Kim cried again, but still in a happy way).
But just as my mom was turning to my dad and saying, “I guess we should head out soon,” Mrs. Kim came up behind her and said, “Who’s ready for leftover cake?!”
And I bounced up and down and yelled, “Me!” And so did Grandpa Jenkins, my dad, my mom, and Ye Ye.
We crowded around one of the dinner tables as the last of the guests left, pulling more chairs over because we didn’t have enough. The grown-ups sipped from their tall, fancy glasses, and we ate leftover wedding cake with our fingers off of paper napkins. Mrs. Kim and Grandpa Jenkins talked about baseball, and Mr. Kim and my dad were laughing over silly jokes. Noah’s mom was telling my mom a story while Noah dozed in her lap, and Ye Ye had just wiped frosting on Nai Nai’s nose, which made her say, “Ay yah!” (And then she wiped some on his cheek when he wasn’t looking and winked when I saw her do it.)
And everyone was laughing and smiling, and me most of all.
Because even though I’d known that most Traditions involve cake, I hadn’t realized that cake is something that ties ALL Traditions together—Kim, Lee, and Jenkins alike.
I was sitting, and eating, and laughing, and helping Gwendolyn get crumbs out of her hair, when it happened.
Mr. Kim said, “One last toast. To our new family!”
And Grandpa Jenkins said, “Hear, hear!”
And Grandma Jenkins picked up the bottle of special bubbly drink and went to refill everyone’s fancy glasses.
When, suddenly, EVERYTHING changed.
“Champagne, Ellen?” Grandma asked, turning to my mom.
“No, thanks,” Mom said. “I’ve just been drinking water.”
I didn’t think this was a big deal.
But my Grandma looked at my mom for a minute, with her head turned a little sideways, just the way my mom does when she’s thinking.
Then, slowly, my mom smiled. And suddenly, my Grandma smiled a big smile back.
“I thought you had a certain gleam in your eye!” Grandma Jenkins grinned.
“Uh-oh, Gwendolyn.” I turned to her. Gwendolyn looked up at me, a fistful of cake halfway to her mouth, her eyes big.
“We’re in trouble now.”
GLOSSARY: CILLA’S TERMS FOR LIFE AND (CLASSIC) LITERATURE
Ay yah:
This is a Chinese way of saying “Wow!” or “Goodness!” or “Oh no!” or “What?!” or pretty much anything.
Cheongsam:
A BEAUTIFUL Chinese dress. I have one, Auntie Eva has one, Nai Nai has one, Mom has one (which she wore at her own wedding). When Gwendolyn gets bigger, she’ll have one too.
Classic:
This is a book that stays around FOREVER. There are lots of different kinds of Classic stories, like Legends and Adventures and Romances. If you want to write a Classic, I’d suggest putting these Themes in it. And also maybe a dragon or two, because they’re the best.
Cliff-Hanger:
When you end a story with suspense (but no actual cliffs are needed).
Drama:
What you use to make things exciting. Pirates help.
Golly:
The Jenkins version of “Ay yah” and “Wah!” (see Ay yah and Wha)
Hanbok:
BEAUTIFUL Korean clothes. Auntie Eva’s was colorful and bright, and between her hanbok and her cheongsam (see Cheongsam), I think Auntie Eva probably has the best wardrobe ever.
Moon cake:
A Traditional Chinese cake filled with lotus or red bean paste and a salty egg. It’s delicious.
Moral:
A lesson you learn after a story. The best have frogs.
Nai Nai:
The Chinese word for “Grandmother.” It took a while for my Grandpa Jenkins to figure out that you say this as “Nigh Nigh” not “Nee Nee” or “Nay Nay.” And when he finally got it, he said, “Golly!” (see Golly).
Precision of Language:
Saying what you mean. This is very helpful for using your words and having people understand you. Also, when your dad says, “Young Lad
y, you need to behave right now,” and you say, “Precision of Language, Daddy. I am behaving, I’m just behaving badly,” he doesn’t know what to say, and the look on his face is funny, though you’ll have to go to your room after, so choose your moments carefully.
Pyebaek:
This is a Korean wedding Tradition, and it’s AMAZING. It involves beautiful outfits, a lot of bowing, chestnuts, tea drinking, and piggyback rides. I highly recommend it.
Simile:
When you compare two things using the word “like” or “as.” So, for example, “Daisy is as dainty as a sea slug. But I love her, plus she’s cuddly like a teddy bear.”
Tea ceremony:
This is a Chinese wedding Tradition. It also involves beautiful outfits (see Cheongsam), bowing, and tea drinking (though sadly there are no piggyback rides).
Theme:
Something that happens over and over again. So, it’s a BIG Theme whenever I miss the ball in gym class. But then Colleen says, “Don’t worry, Cilla, you did great!” Because Colleen is the best, which is another Theme in my life.
Tradition:
Something you do because that’s the way it’s been done for a loooong time. There’s lots of cake, like moon cakes (see Moon cake) and tteok (see Tteok), and lots of beautiful dresses (see Pyebaek and Tea ceremony).
Tteok:
A Traditional Korean cake made of sweet rice. It’s also delicious, which is a big Theme with cake (see Theme).
Wah:
A Chinese way of saying “Oh!” or “Oh my” or “Huh?” or “Great!” or anything else you feel “Ay yah” isn’t getting across.
Ye Ye:
The Chinese word for “Grandfather.” You say this as “Yeh Yeh,” not “Yee Yee” or “Yay Yay.” Though usually you wouldn’t be saying this, because only I call my Ye Ye “Ye Ye.” But now Alien-Face McGee does too, and his pronunciation is EXCELLENT.
Young Lady:
Usually what you are when you’re in trouble, but recently it’s also been a nice thing, like when your mom starts to cry because you’re technically a fourth grader and says, “You’re such a Young Lady now!” So it’s a weird one.
