Page 25

CHAPTER 25 EVIE

When Evie got home, she found her mother on her tablet, watching YouTube. A colander of just-washed cotton candy grapes was in front of her, and her mother was popping them into her mouth like popcorn.

Evie sat down in her usual seat. “Hi, M?.”

At her nod, M? reached to grab a bunch and peeled one before handing over the skinless grape. Only her mother knew she liked it that way. As a kid, Evie piled all the green globs into one pile so that she could enjoy them in succession at the very end, instead of waiting for the next peel. Her father had noticed, and said she was a cunning girl. Kh?n.

Watching her mother now, she felt like a kid again, a baby swaddled in her favorite blanket.

Evie ate in silence while her mother continued watching YouTube, now a video about a Japan-based Vietnamese family whose content consisted of adventures from rural areas through cityscapes and cooking meals that fused both cultures. It was like ASMR to M?. The mother in the video had just finished scrubbing a pile of razor clams clean, and was carefully prying them open, instructing viewers how to clean and discard the inedible parts. Her mother knew all of this, Evie figured, but she was still mesmerized, periodically telling her, “Look at the size of that clam!” Or “I wouldn’t do it that way, but I suppose her way still works.”

“B?n trai Linh,” she started, offering her a peeled grape. “Is he treating her well?”

Oh, she wanted gossip about Bao. Evie smiled. “I only know what she tells me, and all I got to say is that they really like each other.” Not that Linh had told her anything worth gossiping about, but even if she had, Evie would probably not tell their mother. They were sisters, and sisters had secrets.

Her mother sighed dramatically. “Facebook doesn’t tell M? anything.”

“Maybe she blocked you.”

Evie dodged a piece of grape skin flying through the air, laughing all the while.

“Anh th?ng ?ó… It seems like she likes him a lot,” her mother said.

“Yeah, I like him too.”

“He is good for her. Always believed it.”

That comment yanked Evie out of the nameless mood she was swimming in. “Really? Always?” Her mother said this as if the family rivalry, over their restaurant and their shared past back in Vietnam, hadn’t happened last year.

“Yes. Always.” Her mother chose to ignore the obvious. “And con? How is school? How is Lis? And Kyle and what is the other boy’s name? The one who looks like a… what’s that animal—con sóc? With his different-colored hair.”

“Lis, Kale , and Tate are doing just fine,” answered Evie. She tried not to laugh; Vietnamese parents never seemed to remember names. Instead they latched onto a physical characteristic or one detail like where they lived, what they were majoring in, what their parents did for work.

“We see each other every weekend—sometimes even during the week,” she finished. “I love them.”

M? nodded, satisfied, and moved more peeled grapes to her paper towel.

“And school is just fine,” Evie continued. “Hard, but nothing I can’t handle.”

“Con phai gi? gìn s?c kho?. Sometimes M? lo.”

Take care of yourself, her mother was saying. Evie thought she had done that, thought that her life was going well. But this semester had changed her outlook, and maybe she had lost herself for some time. She’d made Jake the priority.

“At the restaurant, c? An—con có nh? c? An kh?ng?”

“Yeah, I think I remember who you’re talking about. C? An’s the one with a sophomore, right?”

“Yes, she came by and said that her daughter was having a hard time at school. Came home crying because her roommate was not nice. C? An was shocked; she liked the roommate, and her daughter didn’t ever mention having problems.”

“Thankfully, Lis and I don’t have any issues. We’re so used to living together.”

“So con’s happy at school?”

Evie fiddled with her paper towel. She didn’t want to talk about Jake because she’d have to explain the fact that they’d been in a relationship for two years. Sure, her mom was fine with Linh and Bao, but how’d she react if she discovered what had happened with Jake? First she’d feel betrayed that Evie had never told her she had a boyfriend.

Well, it didn’t really matter now.

“Yes, I’m happy.”

The words lingered in the gap between them. Her answer was the closest thing to the truth; she knew that once speaking aloud. The breakup made her sad, but only faintly and not enough to distract her.

“Good. Con has always been so strong. Có y chí m?nh m?.” Her mother cupped her cheek and she leaned into it. Then, reminiscent of their Sunday mornings when she was young enough to sneak into her parents’ bed, her mother pinched her cheek and pressed her nose against it. Breathed her in. One, two, three times. A nose kiss.

It tickled. “M?!” Evie said, laughing and leaning away.

“What?” her mother answered. “M? là M?.” And she just shrugged, wordlessly declaring her right as a mother to unabashedly show her affection.

The front door opened, and Linh called out. A few seconds later she bounded into the kitchen.

“I need some warmth!” Linh embraced her from behind, and Evie shivered from the slight chill, protesting. “Stay still, Evie.”

“Go to Mom,” she muttered, even as she leaned into her sister’s arms.

“I’ll stay here.” Linh hummed, then whispered into her ear: “I’ll need to hear your side of things. About Viet.”

“What about him?” Evie also whispered, now tilting her head back.

Her sister only smiled cryptically—devilishly—but didn’t say much more.

“Gì?” interrupted M?. “What is this whispering about?”

“Nothing,” the sisters chirped.

And their mother just tsked. “?i ng? ?i,” M? finally said. “It’s so late.”

On cue, Ba’s loud, piglike snore from down the hall reached the kitchen.

The sisters grinned, and M? just rolled her eyes.