The Peacock 327

 "And you are going to tell it now", says Aaron.

"Ah Mom", says Carl, "Do I have to?"

"Every last detail, young man."

Sarah says, "I'm not sure if I'm ready for it."

"I will keep it family friendly", says Carl.

Aaron says, "Dan Savage doesn't have a single family friendly bone in his body."

"By the way", says Carl to Aaron", where are you right now?"

He replies, "besides sucking back my third cup of coffee in this roadside diner?" 

"Are you still writing us?"

"Right now, I am seated at my desk in my little subsidized apartment in front of my laptop.  I just finished watching part of a documentary in Spanish about the wildlife of the Peruvian Amazon, and before that I saw on Dailymotion a vintage episode of the Avengers in black and white from 1965."

"I love that show", Carl says.  

"I used to watch it when I was a kid", says Aaron.  "It's a classic."

"What else were you just doing?" says Jesús.

"I was nibbling on a piece of vintage white cheddar from the Isle of Man."

"Sounds really yummy?" says-asks Sarah.  "Where do you buy it?"

"No Frills."

"They actually sell decent cheese?"

"Lately, yes, but Carl was going to tell us all about his...er...meeting with that famous sex columnist from Seattle..."

The Peacock 326

 "What was that word he called us, your uncle, I mean", says Carl.

"Guailo", says Tommy.  "It's a nasty Cantonese slulr for white people. We still use it a lot.  Translates, loosely, as white ghost guy or foreign devil."

"I have heard that word before", says Sarah, "And you know, it is kind of offensive?"

"It's only a word", says Carl.  "And really, when people use it among themselves, it's more for purposes of ingroup identity.  Like the way a lot of rappers use the word Nigger."

Sarah let's out an audible gasp of horror.  "That is really offensive?" she says in her question tone.  "Can't you just say N-word?"

"I just said the N-word", says Carl, laughing."

"Don't listen to him,  he's pissed", says Aaron smiling.

"Right now, maybe", says Carl, "But tomorrow, you are still going to be ugly."

"Sir Winston Churchill," says Aaron.

"You know your history."

"But you know", say I, "He does have a point .  About the N-word being used for ingroup identity.  kind of like how Dan Savage used to start each letter in his column with "Hey Faggot."

"Then he quit doing that after a while", says Aaron.

"How do you guys know about that filthy mouth gay sex columnist?" says Sarah, still indignant.

"The same way that you must know about him, dear, " says Carl.  "By the way, I met him once."

"No kidding"

"In Amsterdam.  He was doing research.  But that's another story..."

The Peacock 325

 Out comes the man who served us yesterday, lean, somewhere in his sixties, with a lazy, rather shuffling, but very graceful shuffling walk, as though he is dancing the cumbia. I know now why he didn't seem Chinese to me.  He may be Chinese, genetically, but this man is Latin American to the core. He is Venezuelan   He is wearing a ballcap and a light red and yellow plaid shirt underneath his stained white apron.  

"Hello.  I am Carlos.", he says smiling broadly. 

We each name ourselves, then Carlos focusses on Jesús.  "Así, tu eres colombiano".  "so, you're Colombian."

"Y tu eres venezolano", dice Jesús, smiling broadly, or "and you are Venezuelan."

"También soy chinito"

"What did he just say?" asks Sarah.

Carlos directs on Sarah his smiling eyes.  "I said I am also  Chinaman."

"You mean to say you are Chinese Venezuelan", she corrects.

"No", says Carlos, giggling impishly, "I am a Chinaman.  I hate political correctness.  You know, you Guailo are so sensitive about everything.  You only have to smile and you guys get offended!"

"Yes", Sarah says, "But to many Asians that is offensive."

"Especially when they´re  Korean or Japanese", says Carlos, laughing out loud.  Then he straightens up, as though standing to attention, the laughter and the smile quickly fading away.  "Very nice to meet you people.  I have to get back to work.  Come again, and maybe we can visit longer."

 

The Peacock 324

 "So, you run this place with your dad?", Sarah asks.

"With my dad and my uncle.

"Your uncle is here too?"

"He served you guys yesterday."

"You were here?" say I.

"I saw you from the kitchen.  I was cooking yesterday.  Today my uncle and I trade places."

"And he's from Venezuela?"

"My mother was still a baby in Hong Kong when my grandparents emigrated to Venezuela.  For reasons she still will not disclose, she stayed in Hong Kong in the care of her grandparents.  For some reason, they would not allow her to go with them.   I think her health was really fragile or something."

So, is your dad here sometimes", Carl asks.

"Nah, he just stays home and rakes in the dough.  We're the exploited labour", Tommy says laughing.

"Do you do anything else, besides work here?" asks Carl

"Yeah.  I'm also a relationship counselor.  Hey, let  me introduce you guys to my uncle.  He turns and calls in the direction of the kitchen  "tío.  He aquí un colombiano y un gringo que habla buen español"

Jesús translates, "Uncle, I have here a Colombian and a Gringo who speaks good Spanish."

The Peacock 323

 "I have an auntie in Venezuela, mom's side of the family, and I lived with her a few years."

"de verdad viviste en Venezuela?" asks Jesús.

"Really did I live in Venezuela", Tommy translates.  "De verdad, mi buen amigo, cinco años y solo hablaba español por todos aquellos años."

Aaron translates, "That's right, my good friend, for five years and I spoke only Spanish during all those years."

"Tu también hablas español"" he says to Aaron, genuinely surprised.

"Hermano, lo hablo muchísimo.  Muchísimo."

Jesús translates "Brother, I speak lots of Spanish."

"Are there many Chinese living in Venezuela?", Sarah asks.  

"Más que podrías contar, querido.

"More than you could count, dear", translates Aaron.

"Chévere, dos hispanohablantes.  Chicos, que tal hablamos más pronto?" says Tommy, grinning enthusiastically.

"Cool" translates Jesús.  "two Spanish speakers.  Guys, how about we talk more soon?"

"I don't see why not", says Aaron.

The Peacock 322

 "This is a nice little diner", Aaron says. "How long have you been here?"

"Sixty years", says Tommy.  "Or say, about three generations.  My grandfather opened this place back in the early sixties.

"Did he come here from Hong Kong?" Sarah asks.

"I am fifth generation Canadian.  How about you guys?"

"I am from Colombia" says Jesús.

"I am from the Netherlands", says Carl.

"I am fourth generation Canadian on my mother's side", says Aaron, "And third generation on my father's side.  German and Scots ancestry."

"My mom was Mexican, she's gone now", say I, "And my dad is fourth generation Canadian, British, mostly English roots."

Sarah says, "My dad was born in Great Britain, Birmingham area, but his parents were refugees from Poland.  He met and married my mom in Winnipeg, who is Metis."

"French and native", says Tommy.

"How about your mom", asks Sarah.

Dad met her in Hong Kong forty years ago, and she came back here with him.  In fact, she is still, to this day, appalled that I don't speak one single word of Cantonese.  

"You speak only English", says Jesús.

"And Spanish..."

The Peacock 321

 "Are you children finished yet" says Sarah, now every bit the prim librarian.

"Wait, I have just one more for us" Aaron says.

"Shoot", says Carl.

"Mommy mommy, what happened to kitty cat?  Shut up and pass the soy sauce."

"That is not at all funny", says Sarah.  "And it is really downright racist."

"I think it's funny."  The voice belongs to Tommy, who is quite visibly Asian, standing over us with a full pot of coffee.  Then, faking a thick Cantonese accent, he says, "Mo' coffee fo' yo?"  And then he bursts into an unabashed giggle.

"You white people are so squeamish when it comes to not wanting to sound offensive", he says, pulling up an empty chair to join us.  "You know something, my wife is white, whiter than the rest of you put together, and boy did I have to teach her to stop dancing on eggshells.  It was my mom who helped break her of it."

"You are married to a white woman?" says Jesús, but I think only to assure himself that he heard correctly.

"I am married to a white woman.  And she is beautiful  And she is a musican  And she is going to be performing here later today, for our coffeehouse night this evening.  You guys coming?"

"We'll talk about it later", says Carl glancing at all of us.

"And by the way.  If you think white people are racist, you should have seen my mom when she first met her future daughter-in-law..."