The secret life of dad
Waking up Saturday, I expected it to be raining, or at least very cloudy with a wet ground, so that basketball would be out of the question. It wasn't. It was such a nice day, completely different to the weather forecast. How could they get it so wrong for a 24 hour forecast??
It would be a waste anyway, as I had to skip basketball to meet my relatives who had come over from Guangzhou. Specifically, it would be my dad's sister, her husband, and her two friends. I really didn't want to go. Apparently my aunt had asked for me specifically to drive them all around Sydney, and I flat out refused. To be honest, I probably protested harder than I should've, only because my mom asked me to (see: the mom effect). But I just couldn't picture myself driving around my aunt and her three friends (at the time I wasn't told that one would be her husband) when I couldn't even speak the language properly.
It was only until that morning that I realised my aunt only asked for me so she could speak to me in private. Sometimes I fail to read between the lines.
We went to yum cha at the club near us. My dad had to drive them, so my mom, sister and I caught the bus. As soon as we got on the bus, my mom was like "everybody look for your own seat". So much for family unity. The other annoying thing was my mom said the restaurant would be open at 10am (she originally said 9) so we went there at like 10:30am only to find out it opened at 11am.
Again she told us to do our own thing while she went to check out the pokies. I wandered around a bit and eventually found a roulette machine. I sat down and examined it. At first I had no temptation to play, but then I figured I'd put $5 in, only to check my wallet to see the smallest note I had was a $20, so that was the end of that. I did, however, notice that my 'system' might work on this, but quickly told myself to dismiss the thought. Last thing I needed was to get addicted to clubs next.
At about 10:55am we went upstairs, only to have my mom annoyed that the restaurant was still not opened. To make things more embarrassing, she yelled inside for them to open it. Seriously...
Eventually we were let in, amd my mom decided not to wait and to order food first. Every time small stuff like this happens, I always remind myself that Erica could be like this in 20 years time, so I probably dodged a major bullet.
After a while my dad showed up with my aunty, her husband and her two friends. It was all an enjoyable meal, much, much more enjoyable than I originally thought. Mu aunty and my mom exchanged gifts, and they talked about their health. I thought, you know you're old when you talk about your health. Like how my health is constantly on my mind these days.
It was decided there and then that I'd drive them to a travel agent for them to get their money back or something, and then return them to their hotel. My aunty asked, and I couldn't really say no. So that's what I did.
I drove out to the city and parked, then walked a few blocks with them and found the travel agent. It was a young-ish looking Chinese girl who came down to get us and led us into the office. She obviously was the only one working on a weekend. I thought she was semi-attractive, and pleasant enough, but thought nothing more. I just thought it seemed kinda novel that I'd be hanging around all these old people.
They talked about how much they had to pay if they cancelled one day of their tours, and this went on a while. There was talk of inviting the girl to lunch with us, which raised my eyebrow a bit, but she declined. After that I went to get the car, picked them up, and drove them to their hotel.
My aunty pulled me aside for a conversation, and suggested that I contact the travel agent girl if I found her attractive. She said she was the daughter of her friend, and her parents had asked my aunty if she knew of any single guys. She said I could contact her just as friends and see how things go. I just nodded.
She also talked to me about the problems between my mom and dad. I said that the worst part was years ago, but my mom is still unreasonable and forces my dad to admit to things he isn't guilty of. She said she knows my dad gives her all his money, and said she considered that any man who did that was a "failure", but that my dad was too nice. She said every man needs his own money to live his own life.
She told me that when they were young, when my dad was only about 14, their parents had wanted to send one child down to Hong Kong to work. She said my dad was the quiet type, and since no other children wanted to go, he volunteered, also thinking it was a gold mine. When he arrived, he was 'adopted' by a man who gave him a job, a very hard job of drying and carrying heavy jars of herbs all day. She said my dad would send back some money each month, but would also write a letter back telling them how hard it was, and how it wasn't a gold mine at all. She said my dad resented the family for sending him, feeling like they had isolated, excluded and ostracised him. She said she did not blame my dad for feeling that way.
She also said that my dad knows how poorly my mom treats him, but he puts up with it because of his children, and in particular me. She said my dad is very proud of me having become a lawyer and all, and places all his hope and faith in me. This is when the guilt about gambling really started to crawl all over me. I actually felt like crying but told myself not to.
After that chat she walked me back to the car, and I drove off. I told myself that this would ensure I'd never gamble again, and not only that, but to also treat my family (dad) better. Immediately I went to fill the car up with petrol, instead of letting my dad do it.
Despite all that, when I got home, I started feeling like seeing Lina. I messaged her, and she messaged back, but when I asked her if I could come see her at work, the messages remained unread.
This morning she replied saying "good morning ;)" and told me she had changed her work so she had been very busy (hadn't messaged her for a week). When I asked where, and if I could see her at work, she stopped replying. This was, partly at least, to see if she kept in contact with me because she really liked me, or if she just wanted to keep me as a customer. Hmmm...seems not. Maybe she really does like me? At least a little anyway.
It would be a waste anyway, as I had to skip basketball to meet my relatives who had come over from Guangzhou. Specifically, it would be my dad's sister, her husband, and her two friends. I really didn't want to go. Apparently my aunt had asked for me specifically to drive them all around Sydney, and I flat out refused. To be honest, I probably protested harder than I should've, only because my mom asked me to (see: the mom effect). But I just couldn't picture myself driving around my aunt and her three friends (at the time I wasn't told that one would be her husband) when I couldn't even speak the language properly.
It was only until that morning that I realised my aunt only asked for me so she could speak to me in private. Sometimes I fail to read between the lines.
We went to yum cha at the club near us. My dad had to drive them, so my mom, sister and I caught the bus. As soon as we got on the bus, my mom was like "everybody look for your own seat". So much for family unity. The other annoying thing was my mom said the restaurant would be open at 10am (she originally said 9) so we went there at like 10:30am only to find out it opened at 11am.
Again she told us to do our own thing while she went to check out the pokies. I wandered around a bit and eventually found a roulette machine. I sat down and examined it. At first I had no temptation to play, but then I figured I'd put $5 in, only to check my wallet to see the smallest note I had was a $20, so that was the end of that. I did, however, notice that my 'system' might work on this, but quickly told myself to dismiss the thought. Last thing I needed was to get addicted to clubs next.
At about 10:55am we went upstairs, only to have my mom annoyed that the restaurant was still not opened. To make things more embarrassing, she yelled inside for them to open it. Seriously...
Eventually we were let in, amd my mom decided not to wait and to order food first. Every time small stuff like this happens, I always remind myself that Erica could be like this in 20 years time, so I probably dodged a major bullet.
After a while my dad showed up with my aunty, her husband and her two friends. It was all an enjoyable meal, much, much more enjoyable than I originally thought. Mu aunty and my mom exchanged gifts, and they talked about their health. I thought, you know you're old when you talk about your health. Like how my health is constantly on my mind these days.
It was decided there and then that I'd drive them to a travel agent for them to get their money back or something, and then return them to their hotel. My aunty asked, and I couldn't really say no. So that's what I did.
I drove out to the city and parked, then walked a few blocks with them and found the travel agent. It was a young-ish looking Chinese girl who came down to get us and led us into the office. She obviously was the only one working on a weekend. I thought she was semi-attractive, and pleasant enough, but thought nothing more. I just thought it seemed kinda novel that I'd be hanging around all these old people.
They talked about how much they had to pay if they cancelled one day of their tours, and this went on a while. There was talk of inviting the girl to lunch with us, which raised my eyebrow a bit, but she declined. After that I went to get the car, picked them up, and drove them to their hotel.
My aunty pulled me aside for a conversation, and suggested that I contact the travel agent girl if I found her attractive. She said she was the daughter of her friend, and her parents had asked my aunty if she knew of any single guys. She said I could contact her just as friends and see how things go. I just nodded.
She also talked to me about the problems between my mom and dad. I said that the worst part was years ago, but my mom is still unreasonable and forces my dad to admit to things he isn't guilty of. She said she knows my dad gives her all his money, and said she considered that any man who did that was a "failure", but that my dad was too nice. She said every man needs his own money to live his own life.
She told me that when they were young, when my dad was only about 14, their parents had wanted to send one child down to Hong Kong to work. She said my dad was the quiet type, and since no other children wanted to go, he volunteered, also thinking it was a gold mine. When he arrived, he was 'adopted' by a man who gave him a job, a very hard job of drying and carrying heavy jars of herbs all day. She said my dad would send back some money each month, but would also write a letter back telling them how hard it was, and how it wasn't a gold mine at all. She said my dad resented the family for sending him, feeling like they had isolated, excluded and ostracised him. She said she did not blame my dad for feeling that way.
She also said that my dad knows how poorly my mom treats him, but he puts up with it because of his children, and in particular me. She said my dad is very proud of me having become a lawyer and all, and places all his hope and faith in me. This is when the guilt about gambling really started to crawl all over me. I actually felt like crying but told myself not to.
After that chat she walked me back to the car, and I drove off. I told myself that this would ensure I'd never gamble again, and not only that, but to also treat my family (dad) better. Immediately I went to fill the car up with petrol, instead of letting my dad do it.
Despite all that, when I got home, I started feeling like seeing Lina. I messaged her, and she messaged back, but when I asked her if I could come see her at work, the messages remained unread.
This morning she replied saying "good morning ;)" and told me she had changed her work so she had been very busy (hadn't messaged her for a week). When I asked where, and if I could see her at work, she stopped replying. This was, partly at least, to see if she kept in contact with me because she really liked me, or if she just wanted to keep me as a customer. Hmmm...seems not. Maybe she really does like me? At least a little anyway.
posted by toey | 21:28
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