The Way It Works Read Free

Why not? When you have nothing to lose, you’re not afraid to try anything.
    So I bow again and say, “Nho ma?”
    You would think I just grew a pair of wings. Her mom’s eyes get big.
    â€œI like this boy!” she says. “He okay!”
    Yolanda laughs. She kisses her mom and dad good night and puts her arm in mine.
    â€œNot too late, right?” says Mr. Jefferson.
    â€œYou be quiet!” says Mrs. Jefferson, hitting him on the arm. “She big girl now.”
    â€œGood night, Mom and Dad,” says Yolanda.
    We walk out the door together.

CHAPTER FOUR
    F or our first date, I decide it would be a good idea to go to a Chinese restaurant. That shows I’m interested in Yolanda’s heritage and open-minded enough to try new kinds of food. So we go to a little place I found earlier. Nice, clean, but not too pricey.
    The owners look at us strangely. I guess you don’t see too many black people in Chinese restaurants. But they lighten up when Yolanda starts talking to them in Mandarin. Next thing you know, we’ve got three waiters swarming around us. They treat us like royalty.
    â€œWow,” I say. “I need to learn how to speak more of that.”
    â€œYou really impressed my mother,” she says. “Where did you learn how to say Nho ma?”
    â€œOh, I picked it up in my world travels,” I say. Then I wink to show I’m joking. She laughs again. It sounds like a handful of silver coins jingling. I could tell jokes all night just to hear that laugh.
    I let Yolanda do the ordering. A waiter brings a vase for the flowers I stole. We sit and smile at each other. I hope they take a very long time to bring our food. I want this night to go on forever.
    â€œWell, looks like your dad already hates me,” I say.
    â€œOh, don’t worry about him,” Yolanda says. “He’s just being protective of his little girl.”
    â€œHow did your parents meet anyway?”
    â€œDad’s a minister. He was a missionary in China. He met Mom while he was working over there. I know, they look kind of funny together, right?”
    â€œAs long as they’re happy,” I say.
    â€œWell, they’re good people, but I can’t wait to move out and get my own place.
    They’re letting me stay with them until I save up enough money. Where do you live, Walter?”
    â€œOh, I, uh…I have a small place downtown,” I say. I glance out the window at my car. “A really small place. So, what kind of plans do you have for the future?”
    Yolanda shrugs. Our drinks come.
    Hers has a little paper umbrella in it.
    She takes it out and plays with it.
    â€œI’m not sure yet,” she says. “I like my job for now, but I definitely want to go back to school. I just don’t know what I want to study. Maybe business. What about you?”
    â€œI got my associate degree in business admin last year,” I say. “So I’ve been looking like crazy for a job. No luck yet.”
    â€œThings are tough out there, aren’t they?” says Yolanda.
    â€œYou know it.”
    Our food comes. There are about ten different dishes. Everything smells so good that I forget to worry about how much it’s all going to cost. I let Yolanda tell me what everything is, even though I can’t understand half of it.
    I eat as slowly as I can. I’m having the time of my life. I have just one regret. I wish Moms was still around, so she could meet Yolanda. She would have liked her.
    Finally, we finish eating. The waiters bring fortune cookies on little plates.
    â€œI love these things,” I say.
    â€œYou know these aren’t really Chinese, right?” Yolanda says. “They were invented here, in this country.”
    â€œThey’re still fun,” I say. “As long as you remember not to take them too seriously.”
    We open ours at the same time. I read mine, then look over at her. Her face has a funny