China Dog Read Free Page A

every Sunday. As Sunday came closer, I sensed Lily’s swelling excitement and anticipation. On Saturday night she washed her hair and slept in curlers. Sunday morning she woke up singing and smiling. By the time I returned from Sunday school, Tom was at our house, engaging Lily in conversation and laughter.
    Over the next few months Tom bought our family many gifts. He bought Lily a record player and records of Chinesemusic. One day he even came with a television. Mother and Lily greeted these gifts with delight and enthusiasm. My father muttered indecipherable comments under his breath and carried on with his work, his eyes always on the floor.
    One day I returned home from Sunday school and found Tom and Lily speaking very seriously to my parents. Tom was earnestly explaining as he leaned forward in his chair, “I wish to become Lily’s godfather, her
kai yaah
. I could make life more comfortable for her and help towards her dowry when the time comes. As you know, I have no family of my own.”
    “Leung
Sook
is already like an uncle, another father. He comes every Sunday and has been so good to us,” added Lily. Her face was radiant.
    Mother was beaming, as if she couldn’t believe the good fortune. “Leung
Sook
, you honour us with your proposal. We would welcome you as a member of our family.”
    My father mumbled agreement, as he sat perched uneasily at the edge of his stool. Tom rested comfortably back in his chair, one foot resting on the other knee. He smiled broadly and confidently as the smoke from his cigarette rose gently, vanishing into the air.
    That evening over dinner, Tom, Lily, and Mother talked and laughed as they planned for a celebration banquet. My father and I quietly ate and exchanged glances.
    After Lily and I went to bed that night, I woke up to the sound of loud voices. As Lily was softly, steadily breathing, I crept out of bed and crouched at the top of the stairs. I heard my father’s voice.
    “Something is not right. Tom is hiding his true feelings. They’re not right. He’s too close to her. I don’t feel right about it.”
    My mother hissed back in a loud whisper. “Don’t you see that he makes Lily happy? What can be wrong about his attention? He’s old enough to be her father! She’s just a teenager. He looks upon her as a daughter. Your suspicions are ridiculous.”
    “I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel right.”
    “Listen. He even said that he wants to be her godfather. You’re just jealous that he’s rich and successful! We should be honoured that he wants to help us. I’m not going to risk Lily’s happiness. I’m going to bed.” My mother turned sharply. As she started up the stairs, I dashed back into the bedroom and scurried under my covers.
    And so Tom continued to embrace our lives with his lavish gifts. Arrangements were made for a celebration banquet, making Tom’s entry into our family official and respectable. Friends from Chinatown were invited. Everyone could see that Tom Leung had become Lily’s godfather, her
kai yaah
. Everyone could see that his feelings were honourable. Lily was luminous, like a bride, in the new red silk dress that Tom had chosen for her. He sat proudly beside her, the smoke from his cigarette languidly floating above their heads. Mother sat at the banquet table and looked triumphantly at my father. Any nagging anxieties had obviously been banished to the corners of her mind.
    In the months that followed, my father’s gaze rarely left the floor. We were drowning in Tom’s beneficence. He installed a bathtub and sink in the washroom upstairs so that we no longer had to wash in the wooden laundry tubs. He bought us a refrigerator. He even constructed a small addition to our house. His visits began to last for several days, until he became a permanent guest in the addition that he had built. He even took Lily away on overnight weekend trips. One Sunday night, looking out the upstairs window, I saw Tom and Lily returning in