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Katy’s Buddy
Mama’s patient, waiting for Katy as she hops off each step of the bus.
Katy’s too small to take the big steps that Mama can, and it’s faster – and more fun – for her to hop each step like she’s back in the playground. Mama’s hand holds hers very tightly when Katy hops; they fit together in the small space of the steps between the bus doors.
“Thank you!” She cheers when she hops off the last step.
She turns and waves at the bus driver, who’s looking at her with a very kind smile like Waigong does when Katy sits in his lap, and he lets her play with his fingers.
Mama chuckles at Katy, and she thinks she hears a few more other people laughing at her too. She looks up towards them, and when she catches the eye of a few adults smiling down at her, she waves at them, too.
They wave back, and she smiles bigger, brighter – Katy’s Waipo always says that smiling is like honey-ginger tea for a sore throat, and that there are many people around them who could be ill.
So, just because she can, Katy smiles at them.
She hopes that if they have a sore throat, they’ll get better soon.
Katy skips, Mama beside her, as they go to this new place that Baba told her all about before he went to work. He’d told her that she’d meet many new friends in this new place that she’s going to.
Baba says she can color all she wants there, and not have to worry about the lack of papers, of color pencils, of storybooks, of toys.
Katy told Baba that she doesn’t like playing with toys, or drawing with papers, or coloring things, or tracing her fingers over the pictures in the books.
She doesn’t like all these if it means that she’s away from Baba and Mama and Waigong and Waipo.
She remembers how Baba teared up, and when Katy asked why, he said that a fly flew into his eye.
She’s still not sure how it really did fly into Baba’s eye – she hadn’t seen anything buzzing around her Baba’s face – but Baba doesn’t lie to Katy, so she believes him.
Mama stops Katy’s skipping as they reach a gate.
When they’d left home, Mama was still happily chattering with Katy, letting their arms swing between the two of them even if Katy had to reach up high to hold Mama’s hand way above her head.
She’d been happy, so Katy doesn’t know why Mama suddenly looks upset.
Mama puts on a smile for Katy, though, and lets go of her hand. She bends down so that she can rest it against Katy’s head, palm against her crown. “Ready to go in?”
“Okay, Mama,” Katy says.
They walk into the place, and the first thing Katy sees is a playground with slides and a swing set and a sandbox that she only ever sees in the park when Baba takes her there on the weekends.
There are bicycles, and sandcastles, and, oh, there are see-saws.
Katy’s in awe.
This must be heaven, she thinks, looking around at this wonderful place.
Mama nudges her, pulls her along the pebble path towards the doors of the townhouse.
Because Katy’s too small, and the steps are larger than what she’s used to down by their apartment, Mama lifts her into her arms with a heavy grunt. Katy twines her arms around her mother’s neck automatically – she enjoys being up this high.
It’s not as tall as Baba or Waigong, but Katy likes being able to cuddle closer to her Mama, to rest her head against Mama’s neck and feel the warmth of her hand against her back.
She gets a little sad when they reach the top of the steps – too soon – and Mama puts her down.
She holds onto Katy, and then they walk through the open doors, through the corridors.
Katy makes herself busy by looking around at the oakwood, at how shiny it is, at how there are children laughing. There are also children crying, with their own Mamas and Babas.
They reach the corner room, Mama pushing Katy gently into it. She lets go of Katy and lets her look at this new place, this strange place, this place that she’s never been in before and isn’t too sure about.
There’s a nice looking young woman at the front, who’s talking to another Mama. They’re both laughing at something, both ignoring everyone else in the room.
Children like Katy are already sitting in little tables and chairs – they’re small enough that they fit them, and she’s amazed because she’s never seen anything like this before
Back home, Katy sits on Baba’s lap, or Waigong’s, because she’s too small to reach their table-top and too big to fit into her old baby-seat.
She gets worried when she sees little children like her looking scared.
Katy doesn’t like this feeling.
She doesn’t like being in this place because there are children who look like they might cry, and Katy’s only one person – she can’t help them all even if she wants to.
She shrinks back into Mama’s legs, tries to hide behind them, hands reaching up to grab onto Mama’s already outstretched ones.
Mama only laughs at Katy. She puts one warm hand on the top of Katy’s head, and the other goes to grasp at her little hand tightly.
They move so that they’re not blocking the doorway.
And Katy doesn’t want to let go of Mama’s hand; she holds it very tightly to her. Maybe if she’s strong enough, Mama will not let her go, and Mama will instead take her to the park where she can look for frogs.
Katy doesn’t like the room.
The room in front of her is big, is scary – she doesn’t like the woman standing at the front because she has a smile that reminds Katy of her Aunt Linda when she’s being mean to Baba.
“Mei guanxi, Ruiwen-ah,” Mama says, and she squats. “Mama will be right here.”
She shakes her head, stumbles over her words because she’s panicked, “I dun wanna go.” She repeats it again, clumsily, in Chinese this time, because it might make Mama think twice, “Wo buyao qu.”
Mama shakes her head, laughing. She caresses Katy’s face, tells her, “Of all the times to pick up your Chinese, Ruiwen-ah, and you choose now. Stubborn child. Your Baba will be disappointed he didn’t come today.”
She makes a face. Says again, “Mama, I dun wanna go. Is scary.”
“Mama will be right here, Baobei. Be brave. Mama is so proud of you.” She pats Katy’s head and looks like she might cry. Instead, her smile trembles, and then she drops a kiss to the center of her forehead.
Katy’s still unsure of the room.
She still doesn’t like it.
She doesn’t like that the lady at the front of the room comes to see Mama and herself, comes to bend down and look at Katy with a smile that’s not real, that’s not true, and she assures Katy that everything will be alright.
But because Mama is here, Mama says she’s proud of Katy even if she doesn’t really know what she’d done to make Mama proud, she goes and follows the lady to an empty seat – two tables connected, little chairs placed side-by-side.
After she gets into her chair, and the lady disappears, and Mama goes to stand with the rest of the parents at the back of the room, she realizes she doesn’t quite like this little chair and little table.
It’s too easy, and there’s no fun.
Katy prefers the taller chairs and tables back home.
She feels like it’s an adventure, every time she has to climb up them.
Baba will put a hand behind Katy’s back as she scrambles up on one, scaling his legs, pulling on his pants until she’s in his lap, tucked away safely where she can reach the table-top and eat dinner with her family.
The lady gives Katy a book to read, which distracts her because she likes the colorful pictures in the book. The lady – call me Ms. Maria – tells Katy to wait for someone, for her buddy, and Katy only nods back at her.
Ms. Maria leaves Katy, who traces the lines of a fat cat on with her finger, concentrating so she stays within its shape.
She’s tracing the lines on a hat when she hears the seat beside hers grate on the floor, and a deep voice clearing his throat.
She looks up, and a man looks down at Katy with a kind smile. Beside him, there’s another woman who looks so pretty, so lovely, that Katy can only look at her in awe.
It’s rare to see people who look just like Katy – people who have the same almond eyes, or the same hint of marigold to their skin. The man and woman looks at Katy very gently, very kindly, with soft eyes that tell Katy they’re nice people.
She smiles at them, because Katy likes people who look at her the same way Mama and Baba do.
“Hi!” She waves at them, being brave, because Mama told her to be.
“Hello,” the woman says, bending down. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Katy!”
“Katy,” and this time, it’s the man who squats so he’s on face-level with her. “That’s a nice book you have there.”
She nods happily, shows it to the man and woman. “I like it! Is ‘bout a cat an’ a hat an’ a caterpillar an’ is so cool! Do you wanna have it?”
They both chuckle, and Katy likes the sound of their laughter. She finds that it’s nice to make people laugh, nice that she’s making them smile, and she wants to try again to make them do it once more.
“That’s so nice of you, Katy. Thank you,” the woman smiles at her, and she’s so pretty. She wishes she could look like her when she grows up. The woman looks like the royal Chinese empresses Waipo likes watching on their old TV. “I think our son’s more interested in it, though.”
They move aside, revealing a little boy who’s the same size as Katy.
He has a hand holding on to his dad’s belt, and he doesn’t let go, so he ends up half-hiding behind him. The man rubs the back of the little boy’s head, smiling down at him with fondness, as he straightens up from his squat.
“Shangqi-ah,” and Katy perks up at the name, recognizing the intonation, understanding it, and she’s so happy to meet someone just like her. “Won’t you say hi to Katy?”
The boy peeks at Katy from behind his father’s leg.
He stares at her for a short while, then slowly lets go of his dad’s pants. He waves at her once and goes to hide again.
Katy asks, “Do you wanna read with me?” And the boy’s eyes widen.
“Go on,” his Mama encourages him, and he slowly but surely walks away from the two of them. He clambers onto the seat beside Katy, and she pushes the book towards him.
She flips it to the first page so they can start together.
“Be a good boy, Shangqi,” the boy’s Mama says, and she’s still squatting, so she leans towards him and presses her forehead against his. His Baba pats him on the top of his head, and this boy, this Shangqi, looks so happy that it makes Katy happy, too.
She likes it when other people are happy. Katy likes seeing people smile – not in the way Ms. Maria does, or some of the adults too. Not in the way that makes Katy feel like she has an ant crawling up her arm.
When people smile, and it’s their honey-ginger tea smile, their eyes crinkle. Their smiles stretch to reach their ears, almost, and there are creases on their cheeks.
The boy’s parents have that smile, and Katy feels so warm.
They tell Shangqi exactly what Mama told her.
They tell him that they’ll be right here, right at the back with Katy’s Mama, and when they move away, she waits for Shangqi to speak first even if she’s dying to tell him that she likes the Power Rangers shirt he’s wearing.
“Can I . . .” he pauses, putting his hands on the table. “Can I hold the book, please?”
“Okay!” She passes it to him. “I like the hat more than the cat.”
He looks at the pictures before them, smiles, and just like Katy did, traces his fingers over the shapes.
He says, “I like the hat, too,” and that’s how Katy meets her buddy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shangqi’s Buddy
Ms. Maria says that they need to hold their buddy’s hand everywhere they go.
The other boys tease Shangqi sometimes.
They tell him that Katy’s got cooties – what even are cooties – and that it’s gross, it’s not normal. They tell him that Shangqi’s so strange; he’s the only boy whose buddy is a girl.
But Shangqi doesn’t mind.
He likes holding Katy’s hand.
It’s warm, just like she is, and he likes following her around.
Shangqi is very shy.
Baba and Mama always tell Shangqi to come out from behind their legs.
They’ll put their hands behind his back, urge him forward, remind him of his manners. They’ll try and make him walk in front of them, try to get him to speak up more, and Shangqi’s getting better – he thinks – but he’s also very stressed.
That’s why he likes holding Katy’s hand.
Katy pulls him to wherever she wants to go.
Katy splits her chocolate in half, always, with him.
Katy always pushes Shangqi first on the swing set.
Katy holds his hand and is patient with him, like Mama and Baba are.
Shangqi has a habit – when’s he’s overwhelmed, when he has a lot of things to say but doesn’t know how to say it, he shuts up
Mama and Baba are very good at helping Shangqi find the words; they don’t speak for him, but they sit with him, and hold him, and wait for Shangqi to gather his thoughts.
Katy doesn’t talk over him, either.
She’ll wait, just like his parents do, and she’ll be patient. She’ll hum, sometimes, and she’ll turn away from him and draw little circles with her finger on their table.
When he finds the words, she always turns back, and she always has a smile for Shangqi that makes him feel warm, makes him feel happy.
So, he likes holding Katy’s hand.
Mama and Mrs. Chen always squeal when they see Shangqi and Katy coming out their kindergarten gate.
They’re friends now, just like Baba and Mr. Chen are.
When Shangqi asks Mama why Mrs. Chen doesn’t see Katy off at the drop-off point where the other kids’ parents’ cars are parked, Mama sits Shangqi down and explains.
Baba looks upset, and it’s rare because when Baba is upset, he gets very tense. He gets very angry. He gets this crease to his forehead that scares Shangqi sometimes.
Mama tells Shangqi that Mrs. Chen brings Katy to school on this thing called a bus, which Shangqi is fascinated by. He’s never rode a bus before, and it’s big, it’s massive, it’s this giant thing that he’s always wondered what it looks like from the inside out.
He sees it go by the window of their car, when they’re on the road, and nowadays Shangqi imagines that Katy and Mrs. Chen are inside it.
Mama says that Mr. Chen and Mrs. Chen haven’t been as lucky as Shangqi’s family have been.
Mama tells Shangqi to be mindful of Katy if there are patches to her shirt, or if her school backpack’s zipper is spoiled, and is held up by a rubber band which takes her forever to close.
Baba gets angry when Mama tells him these things. He’ll mutter, “If it weren’t for the fucking racist imbeciles at his workplace . . . ” under his breath, and Mama will slap him, tell him not to curse in front of the baby.
When they’re alone, Shangqi asks Baba what he means
Baba tells him he’d said a bad word, that he’d be disappointed if Shangqi repeats it.
Then he looks at Shangqi, puts his hands under his arms and sits him on his lap, front facing his. Shangqi puts his hands on Baba’s shirt, tiny fingers playing with his tie, and Baba lets him.
“Some people are not nice to people like us, Shangqi.” He says, and he sounds so very somber, “They will do everything they can to pin us down. To destroy us. To take back what they think is ‘theirs.’”
Shangqi asks if Katy’s okay, if Mr. Chen and Mrs. Chen will be okay.
“They will be, in time. Things are difficult for them now. Ruiwen’s Ba is too stubborn to take up the job I offered him. But they will get better. It’s our job as their friends to be with them through this difficult time in their lives.”
So, Shangqi holds Katy’s hand.
But he doesn’t just do it because Baba says to be nice to them.
He does it because he quite likes how Katy wraps herself around him.
She’s almost the same height as Shangqi; he’s the shortest in their class, and that makes him feel really awful.
But when Katy holds his hand, and she hugs Shangqi when he’s sad for no reason, or when she pats him on the head like his parents do when he has so much to say but can’t get it out, Shangqi feels more than warm.
He feels happy.
He feels safe.
One day, a boy in their class – Shangqi doesn’t know what’s his name; he doesn’t know most of their classmates’ name – comes up to them where Katy’s pushing Shangqi on the swing.
The boy is bigger than Shangqi, and he’s taller – naturally, he’s much burlier than Katy.
He grabs the swings’ handles and stops Shangqi from swinging. It stops abruptly, and Shangqi can’t handle the momentum; he falls forward onto the boy, who reacts by pushing him away roughly.
He falls on the ground, right elbow first, and he cries out in pain.
“Hey!” Katy shouts. And because Katy is brave, she runs up in front of Shangqi, who shrinks behind her. He stands, holds his right arm to his chest, and his free hand finds purchase on the back of Katy’s shirt.
He feels awful, feels like he wants the sand to let him disappear in it.
He doesn’t like the way the boy glares at both him and Katy.
“That was mean!” Katy tells the boy. She stares up at him fiercely. “You coulda asked us, and we woulda let you have a go.”
“It was’n my fault!” The boy insists, voice raised. “And you were using it for so long!”
“You di’nt needa push Shangqi like that.” Katy shouts back at him. “You hurt him! Say sorry!”
“I don’ haveta! You’re not the boss of me!” The boy’s mad now. His nostrils are flaring, and he’s looking at Katy like he wants to hurt her too.
And Shangqi can’t handle this; he doesn’t like it when there’s conflict. He hates when there’s conflict.
He doesn’t mean to, but then there are tears in his eyes that spring up.
The boy sees Shangqi crying, and that’s when he goes from angry to teasing, and it’s so much worse. “Ha! Shangqi’s crying! Shangqi’s crying! He’s such a baby, he’s crying!”
The other boys who’ve gathered close hears this, and they, too, start laughing at Shangqi.
They point at him, chanting, “Baby! Baby! Shangqi’s a crybaby! He’s a crybaby!”
And Katy – sweet Katy, his best friend Katy, Katy who’s so brave – screams, “You’re all meanies! I’m telling Ms. Maria!”
The boy who’d pushed Shangqi gets angry again.
Shangqi wants to be brave like Katy.
He wants to.
But he’s overwhelmed.
Can’t get his words out.
He watches as the boy pushes Katy to the ground. She cries out, because her face gets pressed into the dirt, and Shangqi feels this strange hot thing that bubbles over him.
When Mama and Baba come to pick Shangqi up later, they’re sent into another room with Ms. Maria and the boy’s parents.
He doesn’t know what they talk about, only knows that there is shouting involved.
He’s so very scared.
He doesn’t know what happened.
Only remembers him sitting on top of the boy, and the boy grappling with Shangqi’s arms, fingernails scratching against him, hurting Shangqi.
Only remembers how Katy pulls him away from the boy, crying, and that’s strange because Katy doesn’t cry. She’s crying, and Shangqi remembers Ms. Maria rushing over, quickly pulling the boys apart.
Katy sits with Shangqi as they wait in their classroom, the sound of shouting echoing through the empty school.
Shangqi’s scared.
He’s hiding in his arms, feeling so very upset, so very sad, so very hurt, and he doesn’t know why. Can’t find his words to explain it.
Katy sits with him, still, and that’s when he feels it.
“I hope this makes ya feel betta, Shangqi,” Katy whispers, and he peeks from the cocoon of his arms. “These are my favorite plasters.”
Katy isn’t just brave.
She’s so nice.
She’s taking out the plain band-aids that the school nurse had put for Shangqi, replacing them with her own. They’re green in color – Katy’s favorite color – and they have a cartoon frog on it. Shangqi remembers the frog’s name, Keroro, because Katy loves it, and Shangqi loves Katy.
She replaces his band-aids, and Shangqi feels so upset again that he ends up crying.
Katy doesn’t call him a crybaby.
Katy only smiles at him and holds his hand.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tanghulu
Weekends are Katy’s favorite days.
On Saturday mornings, Katy gets to wake up one hour later.
She gets to sit with Waigong in front of their old TV and watch Spongebob.
After an episode, she’ll ask Waigong to help her put in the CD of her favorite cartoon, and together with Waipo, Katy will rewatch Sergeant Keroro even if the playback lags every five minutes because it’s overused.
After cartoons, Mama will let Katy help her clean.
And Katy likes cleaning with Mama and Baba. She likes being put on Baba’s shoulders, likes how high she is, and he’ll let Katy dust off the top of their fridge.
Mama teaches Katy how to fold the laundry.
Katy doesn’t have any toys, so Mama likes to make this into a game. She and Katy will sit opposite each other, and whoever gets to fold the most clothes gets chocolate milk and has to have Baba carry them to the park.
Mama wins today, and Baba grumbles all the way to the park while Mama sits on his back. Katy walks with Waipo and Waigong, who each hold one of Katy’s hands.
They swing Katy every few steps, and this is her most favorite part of the day.
They’ll get to the park, and nowadays, instead of the playground, Katy likes heading straight for the parking lot.
Because Shangqi’s waiting there.
She lets go of Waipo and Waigong’s hands and runs over to her best friend.
“Shangqi-ah!” She shouts happily. Katy last saw Shangqi yesterday, and that was a very long time.
She bounces over to him, so happy, so incredibly overjoyed to see him again.
Shangqi, when he hears Katy calling, jumps up and down where he’s waiting with his parents. He waits until Katy gets closer to him then lets go of his parents’ hands and runs over to her.
They hold hands, both of them jumping up and down, squealing and shouting and talking over each other, trying to catch the other up on the happenings of a day in the life of a four-year-old.
Their parents end up greeting each other warmly, with hugs. Mr. and Mrs. Xu bow respectfully to Waipo and Waigong, who scold them gently. Katy’s grandparents say, “Don’t make us feel so old,” to Shangqi’s Mama and Baba, who only laugh it off.
The weekends are the best because Katy gets to explore the pond with Shangqi.
The weekends are the best because her parents sit with Shangqi’s on a picnic mat. Katy likes seeing Mama smile like that; like she’s not worried about their broken kitchen faucet, or the bed which Katy shares with Baba and her.
Katy likes seeing Baba making jokes with Mr. Xu, like he hasn’t only gotten back home a few hours ago from his work. She likes hearing Baba laugh boisterously like this.
Sometimes, the older men say something that must be embarrassing or funny, because both Mama and Mrs. Xu snort through their tea and slaps them on the arms, cheeks pinking.
Waipo and Waigong take their midday stroll on the weekends; they tell all of them that it’s their date.
The weekends are the best because Katy gets to spend time with Shangqi that isn’t taken up by reading books that aren’t just for fun. She gets to hold his hand and they’ll search for the ribbit-ribbits, for the croaks, for the little newts that Katy hopes to find by the bank of the pond that looks like an ocean to her.
Shangqi is the best-est friend ever, Katy thinks.
When Katy looks for frogs, Shangqi always holds her hand and makes sure she doesn’t slip on the bank. Even if the soles of their shoes get muddy, Shangqi doesn’t mind, only holds Katy’s hand tighter and helps her look for other interesting things down by the bank.
Eventually, Katy gets tired, and she’ll sit with Shangqi beside the water.
One time, Shangqi’s Mama gives them some bread. Tells them to try and feed the ducks.
Shangqi’s afraid – he doesn’t like new things, not like Katy does.
Shangqi’s very shy, very afraid, and Mama says he has a little demon on his back called an-si-uh-tee. Katy doesn’t know what this is, doesn’t understand it, but Baba says it’s not a nice thing, that it’s there with Shangqi forever.
He tells Katy that she needs to be patient with Shangqi. Needs to help him, in whatever way she can, and Katy tells Baba that she’ll take care of him.
He’s her best friend.
And she loves him.
Of course she’ll take care of him.
The weekends are the best because after that one time where Katy shows Shangqi it’s not scary to feed ducks, the two of them gets to see a little ducky family waddle up to them, already ready for their next meal.
After the ducks, their Bas will come over, and they’ll bring a ball.
They’ll kick this ball around slowly, because Katy gets tired easily, much more than Shangqi. There’s one time where Mr. Xu kicks it too hard, and it flies over to the pond.
The weekends are the best because Baba and Mr. Xu always play games against each other, tries to win over each other, so that the loser has to go get the wayward ball every time.
When Mr. Xu kicks the ball too hard, and it shoots to the center of the pond, he says a very not nice word, and Baba shouts over to Mama to try and take a photo.
“One for the books!” Baba snickers, grabbing the camera from Mrs. Xu as Shangqi and Katy end up cradled in their mothers’ arms. “Here we have a CEO,” Baba narrates, and Katy giggles because he sounds like a documentary person, “A CEO who’s well out of his natural habitat. The CEO will try to mark his territory at this new, unknown place that he wades into.”
“Ok, that’s it,” Mr. Xu snarls, and it should’ve sounded scary, but he has a very teasing look to his eyes.
Shangqi’s Ba lunges at her dad, and the camera falls to the ground; it doesn’t break, just bounces off the grass, and no one seems to mind because Shangqi and Katy’s Bas wrestle on the ground.
The weekends are the best, Katy thinks, because she gets to have this one day where everyone is smiling, and everyone is laughing.
At the end of the day, Katy’s lying on her Mama’s lap, and she’s halfway to sleep, exhausted. Mama holds Katy to her chest, keeps one hand on her back, rubbing it soothingly.
Shangqi’s not faring any better – he’s on his Baba’s lap, sleeping already.
His hand is still holding hers, so Mr. Xu has to sit beside Mama so Katy and him don’t have to stretch very far. He’s holding the back of Shangqi’s head, and the parents speak in very soft voices, careful not to disturb the children.
Before Katy falls asleep, she hears Mama say, “ . . . and he’s welcome over anytime, Ying Li.”
“Just as much as Ruiwen’s welcome over.”
“We’ll do alternate weekends, then, yes?” Mr. Xu mumbles. Katy’s eyes drift close; she’s so very sleepy. “Next week it’s yours, then it’s ours, and so forth.”
She doesn’t know what else is said next – she falls asleep then.
They find out the next weekend, and Katy’s so excited she’s practically vibrating in place.
Shangqi’s coming over!
He’s coming over for dinner!
Katy’s so happy.
She can show him the tower she likes building with the CD cases. And she can finally show him her Keroro CD. And she can show him her all-time favorite stuffed Great Dragon, which used to belong to Waigong when he was still just a baby too.
And it’s so nice, and so fun, because Katy gets to finally show Shangqi everything she loves, and she gets to do it today.
Shangqi and her dance around each other, shimmying and hopping, jumping, when Mrs. Xu kisses Shangqi goodbye.
Then they’re off, and Katy’s holding hands with Shangqi instead of Waipo. They skip together on the way home, singing the song Ms. Maria taught them a few days ago.
When they get home, Katy shows Shangqi her CD cases, and how she stacks them up, so they’ll make a tower. He helps her redesign it, so it’ll be higher, and Katy’s so amazed because Shangqi is so smart.
He shows her how to make them stack on their sides, how to balance them out.
The new CD tower is tall, much taller than both Katy and Shangqi. She’s so proud; she wants to take them all down and do it all over again, but then she hears Shangqi’s stomach grumble.
Katy’s a little unsure – it’s not yet dinner, and if they eat candies now, they won’t be able to eat dessert. She thinks about it, and then an idea pops inside her head.
There’s one more thing Katy’s wanted to show Shangqi.
Mama’s favorite snack is tanghulu.
When Katy got big enough, Waipo showed Katy how to make the candied sweet treats. Katy can’t turn on the stove yet, can’t use it because it’s dangerous, so Katy asks Waigong to help dip her grapes into the sticky sugar syrup.
They’ll wait impatiently for the sugar to harden, and Katy’s always tempted to eat it first, but Waigong tells her that all good things come to those who are patient, who are nice, who are kind, and generous.
And he’s right, because when Katy bites into her tanghulu, it’s always so nice that she ends up going for more.
Tanghulu is only for very special times, though. Katy knows. Her parents will buy some grapes, and when they can, they buy a small pack of strawberry which Mama chops into smaller pieces so they can have more.
Today is a special time, so Mama makes them tanghulu when Katy asks her.
“What’s tanghulu?” Shangqi asks her, and they’re both sitting at the table on Baba’s lap. They’re too short to reach the table-top still, and Waigong’s taking a nap. Waipo’s in the living room, resting as she listens to a radio host’s conversation with someone.
“It’s the best thing ever!” Katy cheers. “You’ll see!”
And he does – the expression on Shangqi’s face when he tries tanghulu is something that she’s going to try and remember forever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Lantern for Katy
Shangqi’s good with his hands.
But he’s not good at drawing.
And his hand-writing’s awful.
He likes coloring, but only if Katy’s there to color with him
Shangqi has the tendency to worry over little things like using the same color blue in the same circle, or square, or oval. Katy’s very good at telling him that it’s okay, that he can always just use a different color, or leave it blank so he can think about it.
Katy’s so nice to Shangqi.
After the first sleepover, when Katy introduced him to tanghulu, he asks Mama and Baba whether he can bring fruits to the Chens the next time it’s his turn to sleep over their place. He tells them, “They make tanghulu, and it’s so nice!”
Baba had laughed, and laughed, and laughed.
When he caught his breath, he picks Shangqi up and puts him on his hip. “You’re really just a mini-me. Falling head over heels for sweet things.”
The way he’d winked at Mama then is something Shangqi doesn’t quite get, but he ignores it, because he wants his parents to try tanghulu too.
And they do – it’s so fun to be with his parents in the kitchen, watching as Mama stirs the melting sugar in its pot. Shangqi’s put up on a stool so he can see the sugar melting, and he can’t help but wish Katy’s here, too, and she can see how tanghulu is made from this high up.
So, because Katy’s so nice, Shangqi tries to find ways to be as nice to her, too.
When she comes over, he drags his toys over, and Katy ignores all the other bigger, shinier ones.
She goes straight for this Lego brick set which isn’t anything but just that – bricks. She takes it, stacks the bricks together, and eventually puts it down sadly.
“I can’t make it in’na stickman,” she says, and Shangqi doesn’t like Katy looking upset.
“I’ll fix it!” He tells her happily.
And Shangqi does.
He’s good with his hands; he rearranges the bricks, makes it more human-like, stacks a few together to form legs. He twists the second set of bricks to make a body.
Soon, he shyly gives it to Katy, who beams and beams and beams like she’s gotten a treasure. “Is’so pretty!” But it’s only yellow bricks. “I love it so much!”
He gives it to her, and Katy in turn gives him a very tight hug.
Katy’s so nice.
She’s so nice, and warm, and she’s Shangqi’s height, so his face ends up pressed to her shoulder.
Mama coos, “My babies!”
Baba snorts, “Fuck, now I owe Chen ten bucks. My son’s whipped, Jesus.”
Because Shangqi’s good with his hands, he helps Katy with her lantern for Mid-Autumn’s Festival.
Their families are in Chinatown, and the children are all running around with their own lanterns.
It’s a nice evening; the sun’s just said goodnight, and the dark of the streets are transformed into lively colors that shines so very brightly.
Katy, though, is struggling with her own lantern.
It’s one that she tells him her Baba’s made for her. Shangqi’s Ma bought his since no one in his family knew how to make one. And it was fine, it was okay, Shangqi’s lantern comes in the shape of a dragon that Katy loves.
Katy says it looks like her stuffed dragon, but when he offered it to her, she tells Shangqi that she has her own. Shows it to him proudly.
It looks like a worm, but Katy tells him it’s a frog.
It’s green, and it’s almost as big as Katy, and Shangqi thinks Katy’s Baba must’ve recycled some newspapers to make it because it has prints all over it places that aren’t colored green.
Scotch tape, in mismatching black and yellow, holds the lantern up.
Katy had been so proud of it, but it keeps dropping from its handle because it’s too heavy.
She’s getting more and more upset, but she’s doing that thing where she pretends it’s okay.
Shangqi’s her best friend, so he knows.
He sees Katy’s lips pucker down, and Shangqi really doesn’t like her upset. Katy smiling is his all-time favorite, so he bends down, picks up the fallen lantern.
“I’ll fix it!” He assures her.
Shangqi’s good with his hands.
So, he does.
All it takes is a little bit of unpinning, here and there. All it takes is to tighten the handle’s knot on the lantern. All it takes is a little bit of unravelling the heavy paper.
Now, it looks more like the frogs Katy loves so much.
When he passes it back to her, he thinks he can hear their parents cooing from behind them again, but he isn’t too concerned about this.
Katy gives the biggest, brightest smile she’s ever had.
She’s so bright like this that it hurts Shangqi just a little bit, and he thinks to himself he’ll need to try and make more things, fix more things, if it means that it gets Katy so happy just like this.
“You owe me another ten bucks, Xu,” Mr. Chen tells Baba. “But I gotta admit, your son’s got game.”
“’Course he does. He’s my son.” Baba says proudly, and Shangqi hears a snort.
He ignores it, goes to reach for Katy’s hand, and the two of them waddle forward, lanterns swinging by their sides.
“Still not good enough for my Ruiwen, though,” Mr. Chen eventually says behind them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
All Together Now
“If I had any doubt – and I don’t, by the way, it’s just a figure of speech – that you’re the most perfect woman to ever grace this earth, it’s gone now.” Shangqi exhales, staring at the box in Katy’s hands.
She’s made him tanghulu.
It’s Valentines, and he’s got tanghulu.
He thinks it’s the best Valentines gift he’s ever had.
“Well, the candy hearts were kinda cheesy,” she laughs, arms pulling the box of freshly made tanghulu away from him as he lunges at her. He wraps his arms around Katy’s waist, presses his face into the crook of her neck.
He blows a short gust of wind there, and with his lips, traces the goosebumps that rises on Katy’s neck.
She laughs – Katy’s ticklish in that spot, and it’s the only place that he knows will get her putty in his arms.
He blows again, and this time, Katy shrieks with laughter.
“Uncle, you dumbass, fucking uncle,” she pleads, and finally, she leans a little away from him so she can wave his favorite snack under his nose.
He goes cross-eyed.
Katy’s meticulous with her craft; she’s pierced through strawberry, kiwi, and grape on different sticks. It’s heaven to Shangqi, and it’s been a long time since he’d had any. “Gimme,” he whines, and only opens his mouth, lets Katy deduce for herself.
She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “God, you’re such a baby.”
Something nags at his memory.
Something when they’re younger, and Shangqi was still really small. Still Katy’s height. Still standing behind Katy, frightened of everything and anything.
Shangqi’s bigger now. He towers over Katy. Towers over his fears. Towers over his anxiety. Towers over the shell of the boy he’d used to be and is now a man grown.
Instead of dwelling on the memory, he winks at Katy, “I’m your baby.”
She snorts, and it should be unattractive, but Shangqi finds that nothing Katy ever does can be considered remotely unpleasant. “You’re a fucking corny simp, is what you are,” she tells him, but she’s smiling so wide and so pleased.
He nudges them backwards until they fall on their couch. She sits on his lap, in just her sweatpants and a bralette, and he’s tempted to ignore the tanghulu.
But Shangqi’s going to play nice – he still plans on having Katy lose the clothes soon – so he pushes the tanghulu aside and pulls Katy in tighter to him. He presses a kiss to her forehead, inhales her addictively sweet scent that’s uniquely Katy.
It’s a lifetime of maybes that’s finally turned into a yes a few months ago. The evidence lies on Katy’s ring finger, where the simple, small diamond shines bright on the ring Ba gave to Ma when he proposed to her.
Shangqi pulls away, contented that even after all these years, he still can get Katy looking mystified like this.
He smirks, “Wanna try and get Waipo that grandbaby she’s been hounding you for?”
The tanghulu ends up thrown at his head.