Mambo in Chinatown

“No. It’s not for me. I will ask Uncle Henry if he can go.”

“No,” Lisa said, “I don’t want him.”

I said, “Pa, Lisa and I can go alone. We don’t need to drag Aunt and Uncle into this. But I think it’d really help if you came too.”

Pa was shaking his head. “I have to work that day.” And he left the room.

—

On Monday, I went to Uncle’s office while Lisa was at school. It was still early so things were quiet. Aunt Monica had her coat on and was just about to go out, leaving De

I’d been careful to wear my old clothing. “Nothing. Why?” De

She came around the desk and circled me. “You have changed.” It was clear she didn’t mean this in a positive way. “Did you use the love spell the Vision gave you?”

“No!” I couldn’t wait to get out of there.

De

I shot him a grateful look while Aunt Monica said, “Yes. I’m glad to leave the office in such good hands, De

After she left, I said, “I’ve never seen her go home early before.”

“She’s enjoying her freedom. She usually leaves nowadays when it’s quiet, or when both Lisa and I are here.”

I found it easier to talk to him now that we were alone. “How do you like it so far?”

He had a nice smile. “I love it. I’m learning so much from your uncle. Hey, did you come to see him? He’s in the back.”

I found Uncle sitting alone in his office, sorting through some papers. When he saw me, he took off his reading glasses. “Charlie.”

“Uncle, I wanted to talk to you about Pa. Did he tell you Lisa got into Hunter?”

He smiled. “Yes, he called me. He was very proud, and concerned too.”

“I know, that’s why I came. Can you please help convince him to come visit the school with me tomorrow? I want him to make the decision based upon knowledge, not fear, that’s all.”

Uncle hesitated. “You know how your pa is. He hates going to those kinds of events. I can see if I can make time—”

“Oh no.” I remembered Lisa’s face when this had come up. “You’re much too busy and important, Uncle. Anyway, Pa is the one who needs to decide.”

“You are exactly right. A parent knows what is right for the child, and maybe he has a point. No one we know has ever gone there. She is a young, i

I stared at him, irritated. “It’s one of the best schools in the country.”

“That’s not the point, Charlie. I supported her taking the test, remember? Though I confess I hadn’t really thought she would be admitted, I did want to give her the opportunity. I thought studying for that test would help her in school. But your pa wants to keep her safe. Now that she’s proven she has the brains, she can go far no matter where she is. If she stays in Chinatown, I give you my word I’ll help train her to the best of my ability here.”

My jaw was tight with anger. I thought of the way Uncle had only wanted a son. “It’d be different if she were a boy, wouldn’t it?”

He sighed. “Yes, but not because I think she can do less than a boy. It’s only that, as a girl, she’s more vulnerable.”

I struggled to find my voice. “Have you been talking to Pa?”

“Some. But in the end, your pa knows best for his daughter.”

—

I stormed into the noodle restaurant. Mr. Hu stared at me as I marched into the kitchen. Pa was using his long bamboo pole set in the wall to press out a large ball of dough.

“Charlie, what—”

“You need to come with me tomorrow. I don’t care what anyone else says. You are her father and you need to give this school a fair chance.”

Pa dropped the pole and wiped his hands on his apron. “I never attend these things.”

“That’s exactly right, which is why you owe it to Lisa to go now. You owe it to me.” I was breathing hard. Everyone had stopped working and was staring at us. “You never came to a single one of the meetings at my school. No one was ever there for me. All those years, I had such a hard time and you did not come. Then with Lisa, I did my best for her but I’m not her parent. You are. I wish I could make the decisions for her but I can’t. It’s not fair that I do all the work and then you get to decide. I know you’re scared and ashamed. That’s too bad. You need to put Lisa first, the way you should have done for me.”

Tears threatened to brim over. Through a haze, I saw Mr. Hu and the other workers’ faces. Pa had bowed his head. He said weakly, “But I have to work . . .”

Mr. Hu said, “Go.”

Pa looked up. “All right. I will come.” He came up to me and put an arm around my shoulder, but I was still too upset and shrugged it off. Blinking rapidly, I walked out of the noodle restaurant with my head held high.

—

The next day, Pa, Lisa and I took the subway uptown to the high school. Pa had put on his best shirt and a wrinkled blazer underneath his worn coat. He looked smaller and frailer outside of Chinatown, with his shoulders hunched and his face down. He shook his head as he saw the beer bottles littering the basketball court we passed on the way to the school. Lisa seemed nervous and awed. But I’d learned to navigate in the outside world now. I walked firmly into the building, which looked like a red brick castle, then gave the guard our information and she directed us upstairs, along with the other parents and kids.

Again, the parents were separated from the students. Lisa gave us a little wave as she headed downstairs to the cafeteria for her tour of the school. Pa craned his neck to follow her until she was out of sight. Then we were sent into the auditorium, which was spacious and imposing, filled with plush red seats. I linked Pa’s arm through mine and led him to a seat near the front, where we’d be able to hear everyone well. All of the seats had slips of blank paper and pens on them. Quickly, the entire auditorium filled.

Some people were as posh and well dressed as the students at the dance studio, but some looked just like us. I could tell Pa was surprised that there were many other Asians there. Then a lot of official people stepped onto the stage. They approached the microphone one by one. First, they congratulated us all, then introduced themselves. They were named doctor this and doctor that. One was the principal, one was head of admissions, others were chairs of the different departments. I could tell Pa was too intimidated to follow what they were saying. Thankfully, they kept that part short and then, to my surprise, a bunch of kids walked onto the stage. They were students at the school and those kids ran the rest of the meeting.

One East Indian girl asked the audience to write down our questions on the pieces of paper we’d found on our seats. I wanted to write, “Will Lisa be happy here?” Pa and I couldn’t think of anything else so we didn’t submit a question, but lots of other parents did. The slips were collected and brought up to the front, then the kids took turns answering the questions.

An African-American boy talked about how he took the train two hours each way for his commute. An older Chinese girl answered a question about how much homework they had—a lot, she said, laughing, but there was still enough time for clubs and fun too. A white girl explained the way security worked at the school. I sneaked a glance at Pa and he was listening intently.

Then the parent associations came up to speak. An older Chinese woman approached the microphone and told us she was the head of the Chinese-American Parents Association and would be glad to talk to any interested parents about any concerns they might have. The head of the Korean-American Parents Association spoke next and mentioned that they held a banquet every year with great food. I saw Pa smile.