Chapter 15 from Blind, Deaf...Part II

In the last installation, Dijah pestered Amelia as the latter sat at the family table for tea with three visitors - Madam Wong and her two sons.  Here's the second part of Chapter 15:

Steamed bun(pao) with sweet, red beans

Chapter 15

Tok Min’s Favorite Grandchild

I ignored my cousin’s teasings and focused on the spread for tea.  Tok Min made her heavenly cup cakes.  Some sardine rolls and tiny steamed buns filled with either sweet, mashed red beans or savory, curried potatoes were also there. The rolls and buns were made by my Auntie Biba.  She was my dad’s and Uncle Halim’s middle aged sister.  A spinster, she lived with Tok Min and tended the house.  Ibu asked me to eat.  I spied Dijah pretending to focus on her cup cakes while keeping watch on us youngsters.  I picked up two of the four remaining cup cakes from the serving dish.  They alighted on my plate. Ah Fei was smiling stiffly at me when I faced left.  He fought to contain his enthusiasm, careful not to bare his teeth following my earlier reaction.

Sardine rolls

I pitched a little toward him.  Like an enthusiastic puppy, he hopped in his seat.  Then he swung his fat legs underneath the table.  I half expected him to slobber on my face if I got too close.  I thus kept a safe distance from him.  ‘Nice wires…’ I whispered, ‘like Jaws’ teeth.’  He instantly stopped moving, made a pout, sulked on my joke.  I caught Ruo Li watching me.  My lips broke into a tiny smile.  When it stretched, the tall boy smiled to me likewise, warming my heart.  To my surprise, he started blushing.   Ah Fei, pouting still, shuttled his gaze between his brother and me.  Along the way, he frowned.  A little later, conscious his brother was paying too much attention to us, Ruo Li tore his attention away from me.  I suspected some of the adults might have caught him with the reddened cheeks.  However, when I studied them, they were glued to the conversation between Auntie Wong and Tok Min.  Only Dijah, grinning mischievously, gave me a wink.  Unwilling of giving her ideas on anything between Ruo Li and me, I decided to throw her off track.  Thus, I quickly smiled at Ah Fei’s plate.  It was the logical thing to do.  On his plate sat eight empty paper cake cups, playfully arranged: one each for the eyes, two for the nose, and four for the crescent mouth.  I spied Ruo Li’s plate.  It had only three cups. They were in a line, straight and glum.  I gazed at the fat boy.  Ah Fei was longingly eyeing the remaining cup cakes.  He smacked his lips a couple of times. 

My father called him from across the table. ‘Take some more cup cakes if you want.  Don’t be shy, Jian Fei.  Auntie Biba will come by with more cakes.’

Ah Fei gazed at Encik Abas – Mister Abas as Auntie Wong politely addressed him – and smiled goofily.  Auntie Wong let out another dainty laugh and began weaving signs with her hands.  ‘My Jian Fei is never shy when it comes to food, Encik Abas.  He writes every year in his class report that food is his favorite thing, his hobby is eating and when he grows up, he wants to be a professional eater.  I have no clue what a professional eater is but I hope in the future, my Jian Fei won’t resemble a sumo wrestler.  He’s however eating less than normal today.  Usually it’s at least sixteen cup cakes at one go.  In the past, whenever Biba brought in more cup cakes, he’d finish them all.  He’s unfortunately hurting from his braces.  That’s why he’s a bit restrained.  I believe it’s a blessing for all.  Otherwise, he’d clean up the cup cakes and leave none for Dijah and Amelia.’

The adults and Dijah laughed.  I shook my head in amazement and glanced at Ruo Li.  He, smiling, met my glance and shrugged.  I next regarded Ah Fei.  He pitched to his right and muttered to me, strangely in a Godfather voice:  ‘See!  I’m not eating much because I’m very mindful of Dijah and you today.  What a good visitor I am!’

‘Poor boy,’ commented Ibu as she tried to glimpse his braces from across the table.

Dijah caught Auntie Wong’s attention.  ‘Why does he need to have his whole teeth fixed, Auntie?’ 

The boys' mother formed more signs for Ruo Li.  ‘Everything was out of alignment, Dijah.  Jian Fei has a very bad bite.  I believe it’s the reason he can’t pronounce some words properly.  Ruo Li however begs to differ from me.  In his view, his brother is simply being plain lazy.  Jian Fei says ‘I eat lice’ instead of ‘I eat rice’.’ Dijah laughed exuberantly.  The adults simply smiled. 

Auntie Wong sighed.  ‘He muddles his pronunciation on certain words, too.  Mother becomes mudder, brother becomes bludder, birthday is bird day to him.  Fortunately, he pronounces his brother’s name correctly.  Therefore, there must be some truth to what Ruo Li claims.  In any case, I feel it’s ideal to have Jian Fei’s teeth fixed as soon as possible.  I was having a difficult time getting him to visit the dentist.  He’s terrified of dentists. Ruo Li and I have to hold each of his hands as we wait for his regular checkup.  Jian Fei screams and cries, even before the dentist enters the clinic.’

The adults, amused, laughed.  Dijah chuckled shrilly at the latest news.  Ruo Li smiled.  Ah Fei was examining the ceiling.  At first I thought Ah Fei found something interesting there.  I gradually understood he was pretending to be deaf to his mother's words.

‘Auntie,’ said Dijah after her chuckles ended.  ‘What happens when the dentist arrives?’

‘Dr. Goh fortunately has been taking care of Jian Fei ever since my son was very small.  Therefore he’s very familiar with Jian Fei’s behavior.  Jian Fei normally continues on with his act, shrieking he’s scared of needles, until the dentist reminds him he’ll get his lollipop at the end of the checkup only if he keeps quiet.  That usually does the trick.  However, these past years, Jian Fei has been demanding two lollipops per visit.  He strictly insists on Chupa Chups, not the ordinary lollipops you normally find at the sundry store.’  Auntie Wong shook her head a few times, while her audience laughed.  

I followed her reaction as I studied Ah Fei.  He beamed smugly at me.  Leaning to me, he muttered again, his voice a deep growl: ‘See! I’m smart one!  Not mental or retarded aaa!  No more generic lollipops for me!  I’ve gone up market!  Only branded lollipops will do.’

Right after he leaned back, I pitched to my left and whispered, ‘What’s with you?  Are you the latest recruit by Cosa Nostra?’  Ah Fei, exposing his wire works, grinned at me.

‘This recent trip to get the braces on was a hard one to set up,’ Auntie Wong lamented. ‘I tried many different tricks, since six months ago, to get him to agree to have his teeth fixed.  Thankfully, he said OK when I told him he couldn’t visit your grandma’s house anymore unless he gets the braces on.  It was Ruo Li’s idea on the deal.’

Ah Fei quickly twisted his body to confront Ruo Li, his chubby hands on his broad waist.  I assumed the fat boy was mad at his brother for devising the plan.  Although Ruo Li was facing his twin, he remained cool.  Ruo Li stole a glance at me, gifting me an appreciative smile.  I instantly remembered my invitation to the boys the previous week.

Auntie Wong resumed her story after a sip of tea.  ‘Jian Fei loves your grandma’s cup cakes, Dijah.  They’re very soft and delicious.  I guess they are good enough to get Jian Fei’s braces on.’

Tok Min patted Auntie Wong’s left arm for attention.  She thanked her guest in English for the compliment.  I mused again.  As far as I recalled, with her Chinese and Indian neighbors, Tok Min normally conversed in Bahasa.  How odd my usual mode of conversation with my grandma was extended to a larger group that day!  The exchange in English had always been something sacred between her and me.  The arrangement never applied to other members of our family or visitors I could think of.  Perhaps it was because I was special to her.  'Amelia.  Never forget you're my favorite grandchild,' she said a few times so that I'd always remember.  I figured Auntie Wong and her sons therefore must be very special visitors to Tok Min.

I concentrated on my tea for the next few minutes.  Auntie Biba came to the dining room to feed us more cup cakes.  Ah Fei hungrily watched them.  I sensed pain prevented him from going for seconds.  I too caught Ruo Li peering at me a few times.  The moment I stared him back a bit too long, he shyly reverted his focus on the tea treats.  There and then I knew:  Ruo Li had a crush on me. 

My secret find made me dreamy.  The adults kept talking.  I was left behind to build sandcastles in my head.  In my fairy tale, Ruo Li would be prince for his mother was queen.  One day he'd come to rescue me from trouble.  Yet, that time was so distant I had no idea what the nature of the problem was.  Most likely, it would be something an adult had to solve.  Not like my hard math homework.  Or the endless essays I had to write for school.  I remained distracted by my tale.  Only when Madam Wong complained of her twins, I started to take note.  What bothered her most was they devised their own short cuts on alternatives to the word ‘stupid’.  Those were homesigns, unique to the boys, Greek to their mother.  Poor Auntie Wong therefore sometimes couldn’t keep track of the insults traded by her boys.  Especially when they had heated debates, she could easily find herself losing track of the names her sons bandied about.  While amused by the news, I paid attention to a couple more cupcakes I'd just lifted from the serving dish.