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Back American Son
Chapters (23)
  1. Cover
  2. AMERICAN SON
  3. AMERICAN SON
  4. Dedication
  5. Copyright
  6. Contents
  7. AMERICAN SON
  8. PART ONE
  9. Balikbayan
  10. Chapter One
  11. Chapter Two
  12. PART TWO
  13. AMERICAN SON
  14. Chapter One
  15. Chapter Two
  16. Chapter Three
  17. PART THREE
  18. A Dirty Penance
  19. Chapter One
  20. Chapter Two
  21. Chapter Three
  22. Chapter Four
  23. Acknowledgements

He peers down at my bag, then picks it up. Finally I grip the other one and follow him to the door. The curtain in the front window is partially opened and no movement is apparent inside, although she could be in the bathroom or on the edge of the bed closest to the television set, blocked from view. At this point I expect him to knock but he pauses, then turns my way. He asks if I am worried she will be mad at me, and I say no and he nods.

He steps aside and gestures for me to knock. It is understood that she must be inside. He does not know what she looks like, that is clear now, and there must be some way to get him to get back into his truck and leave, but the method does not reveal itself to me.

The wood feels hard against my knuckles. We get no answer.

Stepping up, he fits the key into the doorknob. If I am lucky their flight will be delayed and we will have some time and maybe this man will get into his truck and leave. But the door opens and he steps inside, and even before he turns on the light I smell her scent—then the lamp is on and there is her black suitcase on the bed, opened.

The room is empty.

While the man splashes water on his face over the bathroom sink, I hover by the doorway trying to think of a way to get rid of him before Mom gets back. Hopefully when he gets freshened up he will decide to drive home. Maybe I could even suggest it. It is getting late, after all. But when he comes out I am too embarrassed to say anything and he makes no effort to leave. Maybe he even feels responsible for me.

He calls the front desk and tells me she walked to Denny’s to eat. He tells me to pull a jacket out of my suitcase because we are going to walk over and meet them.

II

Now in addition to everything else, as if to make matters worse, I begin to feel embarrassed about the things I thought about him and that he knows I thought them, and so I am shy and keep a few feet back as I follow this man across the parking lot. The sky has faded from evening blue to purple night, and a cool brittle breeze teases my hair.