my brother’s wife’s sister-in-law’s cousin married

a Chinese lady from Taiwan

I wonder if she is really from

Thailand

Dragon Inn

This Sunday like many

Sundays

I sit in the last booth in the

back of my parents’ restaurant

stuffing fortune cookies into

wax bags

for the takeout orders

Clara is sitting across from me

stapling the bags shut

she’s wearing a white

baseball hat

it’s dirty at the edges that touch

her hair

her eyebrows look cross

as she pushes the stapler down

each time

it’s always

quiet

here

I want to ask Clara

about the wig but know

she will just yell

at me

instead I ask

do you want an egg roll

I’m gonna make one

no

she says not looking up

as she staples

I’ve been eating too many

egg rolls again

everything is sticky at the restaurant

the seats are sticky the walls

sticky the saltshakers sticky

when I walk into the kitchen

my shoes go crunch

crunch crunch so

there’s nowhere to hide

except the bathroom

but big red cockroaches scatter down

the sides of

the bathroom walls

their antennae twitching

they have so much confidence

act as if they own

this place

belong

here

I hear a scream in the bathroom

I bring a plate

of almond cookies to

the screaming guest

and smile

The Apartments

After we finish the egg roll bags

my dad brings us to

the apartment buildings that

they own with a bunch of

Chinese friends

my dad wants to make it big

he rubs

his hands together

today we paint the

insides and fix up empty apartments

I roll up and down wiping

off drips that slip

down the wall like little tears

ideas about finding the wig

bloom in my head

they sprout like

little moles that pop out

of the ground

I grab each one

and hold it tightly

I can’t wait to see Annie

and tell her

about my ideas

I’m like my dad

full of new ideas

but I’m not brave

like him

once he and a man were

speaking loudly

I heard the man say

that’s not how we do

things in this country

go back to where you came from

my dad waved his arms up and

down as he yelled something

my mom pulled him

back into the apartment

after that my dad

didn’t speak

painted over

the electrical outlets so

thick with

layers you could barely

see the holes when

he was done

New Idea

After a long weekend of working

I finally get to meet up

with Annie at

the tennis courts

we volley to each other

so we can hear each other

I tell her about my new idea

what if we write a note to

Josh and Steve

Annie volleys a ball back

like a ransom note

I like it

but you write it

you’re better at it

I glow at Annie’s compliment and

volley another ball back

how about this I say

we know what you did