GETTING TO WORK

Go wake him up, Ah Nui,
Ah Chew Yen Gung, Stinky Cigarette Uncle,
is late again! Bah Bah’s voice boomed,
but this was a ritual
that fell on my shoulders.
I ran the two blocks
from the Great China Restaurant,
my brown shoes, scuffed but sturdy.
I double-jumped up the stairs in the apartment building
on Franklin Street, above Hamburger Joe’s,
knocked on the door where Ah Chew Yen Gung lived
with other bachelors.
The hallway smelled of Camels and Lucky Strikes, favorites
of Chinese men, the thlon doy,
some who left their wives and babies
in the home villages in Hoisan,
to find work.
"Ah Chell Gung ah,
Ah Chell Gung ah!"
It would have been impolite to refer
to him upfront as Stinky Cigarette Uncle
as he was my elder.
I hammered my right fist
on the door with peeling blue paint.
"Fahn gung lah!" Get to work!
I said with all the authority
of a 15-year-old, my heart pounding.
Soon Ah Chell Gung lumbered out.
His slight body bent, his buggy eyes glassy,
Looking as if he had barely slept.
Ah Chell Gung had a stubble of beard flecked
with gray, his hair slicked back with pomade.
I ran ahead of him, back
to the Great China, donned my apron
and began to slice tomatoes for lunch.
Ah Chell Gung slinked to the back of the restaurant,
put on his baker’s hat and crisp, white baker’s jacket.
His fingers worked magic
as he mixed the dough, cracking
eggs and pouring milk into the bowl.
From the oven, the yellow cake’s fragrance
filled my nostrils and when I finished making
lettuce salads topped with tomato slices, I watched
Ah Chell Fung light up a Lucky Strike, letting
the cigarette dangle
out of his mouth.
Ah Bock Gung, the head cook,
was finishing up the braised beef stew
and a big pan of baked spaghetti.
Ah Law Wong Bock, the dishwasher,
With his middle finger missing
from his right hand, was piling up white plates
with green rims onto the counter.
Ah Chell Gung let his Lucky’s dangle.
I held my breath. Oh, no,
ashes will decorate the cake!
But Ah Chell Gung, with his eyes focused,
his hands steady,
spread the fresh whipped cream,
crowning the cake filled with heng dell,
fragrant bananas reminding him of home.



© Nellie Wong