“Your father’s prostate cancer is slow-growing, so even though it’s of course scary, his prognosis is good. If you need to talk to anyone, I can give you some names, but as long as you’re prepared for what’s to come, you’ll all get through this. Together.”

Except we weren’t together. And I didn’t know what was to come. I didn’t fucking know anything.

“I’m glad he told you,” Dr. Lin continued. “It’s not usually our way, and I used to think that was the right way too, but I’ve seen how for some families, especially ones that grow up here, that can be traumatizing.” He sighed. “I don’t know what the right answer is. Do you?” I was shocked he was asking me, but then he laughed, signaling it was rhetorical and, somehow, a joke. “Have you ever thought about how hard it is for your parents to try to meld traditions from two cultures, Jing-Jing?” They never try all that hard. “Your generation will never understand ours.”

And you all will never understand us, especially not with that attitude.

I sat quietly in my seat, my hands folded in my lap, half tuning out Dr. Lin while trying to process the new information about my dad. Except what was I supposed to do with it? Just like everything else, I wasn’t supposed to know, and we were all using our overflowing supply of secrets to build walls between us.

What would happen when one came to light? When should I reveal my truth, or that I knew my father’s?

Dr. Lin shined a light in and out of Drew’s eye, then asked him to follow his finger. He pressed down on the surrounding soft tissue, checking Drew’s reaction for pain.

“Nothing to worry about. Just take some ibuprofen for any discomfort.” He clapped Drew on the back. “Lucky you, huh? I heard Hongbo could’ve been a ranked boxer, but he chose to run the family business instead.”

I still said nothing, because I couldn’t.

“Thanks, Dr. Lin,” Drew said, hopping down from the table.

“Thanks,” I echoed, only so that he wouldn’t put together that he’d just broken HIPAA. And then I remembered that Dr. Lin was giving us a courtesy visit, as a friend, since we obviously couldn’t use Drew’s health insurance—which I had explained to Dr. Lin as Drew wanting to save face and keep the punch from Hongbo off his medical record.

“Thanks for everything,” I added sincerely. “And for helping my father so much.” I had to force back tears.

“Just doing my job,” he responded nonchalantly.

Drew piped up. “And, uh, I think Wang Shǔshú is still having a hard time with everything going on—”