6c

Since the Ching family and Reverend Sung were all familiar with Western culture, they were all looking forward to being able taste such faire as borscht, french onion soup, roast beef, and chicken marsala. Most western restaurants during that time in Asia tended to carry an international menu since western food were pretty much lumped into one group.

And just in case some of the party objected to the standard western cuisine, a few Chinese dishes would be included in the menu as well. There would usually be an oxtail soup, disguised to be a french dish but in reality was a oxtail stew Chinese style. Also, some sort of fried rice or rice noodles would appear under the Chinese Food heading. Simon had a peculiar habit of trying out the Chinese cuisine in western restaurants, so Jimmy didn't feel out of place ordering the rice noodles with beef.

Reverend Sung's curiosity with Jimmy didn't last long; he was much more interested in what the younger two Chings were up to. The last time he had seen the two, they had been far more receptive to the gossip rags of Hollywood than the word of God so he feared a little that the younger two would not be as devout as the parents or Carol.

When Reverend Sung asked Simon what his plans for the future was, Barbara, under Isaiah's direction, made an announcement, much to Simon's surprise. She stood up and cleared her throat instead of letting Simon speak for himself.

"Simon," she declared, "will be going to America soon. I wrote my godparents and they have decided to sponsor him to America." She could feel Simon's stunned look boring into her back. She quickly continued. "He will be attending the California State University of Sacramento after he works off the money that paid for his passage to America."

A fist slammed down on the table, making the entire restaurant look towards their table. An fuming Simon asked, "Who made this decision?" Whirling on his father, he snarled, "Trying to get rid of me, old man, is that it?"

Very quietly at his end of the table, Reverend Sung coughed and said almost under his breath in English, "Thou shalt honor thy mother and father." Having said that, he bowed his head and prayed.

That small little action seemed to drive all the air away from Simon's horn and he just looked at the small praying man on one end of the table and then at the crippled, glowering man on the other end. Trying to keep his dignity and yet hold on to some of his righteous anger, he threw his towel down on the table and said, "Fine. America it is. At least there, I might learn something."

After delivering this little jab at his father's teaching abilities, Simon stormed out. Jimmy, in all earnestness, asked Isaiah if he should go after him. Shaking his head, Isaiah said, "Don't worry about Simon. His love of fine food will overcome his anger." Sure enough, Simon came back before they finished the main course and devoured his roast duck.

[520 words]