IN THIBEAULT FALLS, the Chinese community is small – less than one hundred including newborns – and the circle of women even smaller. These mainly middle-aged wives get together, usually about once a month, to socialize and gossip about everything and nothing: their children, their husbands, their steadfast routines and their constant adjustments to gum san, the gold mountain. However, their conversation always drifts back to the homeland they emigrated from.
This week is Mrs. Chang’s turn to host. She is looking forward to this gathering. She wants to make a good impression. Today is a special occasion for the group. Mrs. Lim is bringing a recent arrival, a Mrs. Tong. Mrs. Chang is pleased because now the membership is growing from five to six. They all want to hear what Mrs. Tong has to say. Over the years, the group has become familiar with each member’s trials and tribulations. Talk has become stale and staid. Now, with Mrs. Tong – new blood, new old news about the world they left behind.
It isn’t that Mrs. Tong is absolutely fresh off the boat from the old country. The Tong family has lived in Vancouver and Toronto for more than two years. Mr. Tong wants to get away from big city living. He, his wife, and a son, born in the old country, want to escape the packed apartment high rises and cluttered streets. Big fan gwei cities – too much like Hong Kong – oppress the spirit. Ironically, the Tongs have to
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Garry Engkent, a Chinese-Canadian, has taught at various colleges and universities. He has co-authored three texts: Groundwork: Writing Skills to Build On; Fiction/Non-Fiction: A Reader and Rhetoric, 2nd ed.; and Essay: Do's and Don'ts, 3rd ed. His stories have appeared in Exile, Many-Mouthed Birds, Ricepaper Magazine, etc. Most stories have a Chinese immigrant slant, circa 1950-70s: "Why My Mother Can't Speak English," "Visiting," "Eggroll," "Acceptance,” and “Rabbit." He has branched out to horror: “I, Zombie: A Different Point of View,” “The Zombie and the Shedim,” and “Merci” among others.