Reuntied and It Don't Feel So Good

"Maybe they lied." My older brother let slip as we were practically shoved off the train by people eager to get to their destinations.

We hurried up and got off the train,each of us toting a duffel bag slung over our shoulder with enough clothes in it for 2 weeks as per the court's order. Though we got all kinds of crazy stares, we were use to them after over 10 years in this country. Our father must've gotten the same stares back in the day. 

We looked all around us,searching for our father. We had not seen him in the flesh since the last time we saw him across the courtroom when we were 7 and 8 years old respectively. We knew he must be a very rich man or we wouldn't be seeing him now. That's just how the courts worked.

He wasn't difficult to spot,seeing as he was around six foot six inches tall and dwarfed all the East Asians bustling about. He was leaning against the wall with a Yankees Cap pulled low to hide his eyes. We had been told by our grandmother that he had very strange eyes that gave away his mixed parentage. If that was true then I would be thrilled, because then we would know why we looked the way we did.

"BABA!" My older brother called out over all the hustle and bustle.

The man looked up instantly and we saw that he indeed had strange eyes. They were bright blue!

He gave us a smile,pushed himself away from the wall,greeted us in slang Chinese with a slight American accent.

"Hope your bags ain't too heavy,because we gotta walk a few blocks." Our father looked like a criminal. When he turned his head I saw a blue ink tattoo,a Playboy Bunny, on the back of his neck and when he smiled his teeth were chrome. No wonder he had not come up country to Harbin to visit. He would've been jailed on suspicion of drug smuggling! 

Him with us fit in well on the streets of Shanghai where there were hoards of foreigners and mixed families.

"So how's Mama?" He asked after grandmother.

Since all the stuff that lead to us living in China with our grandmother went down, son and mother no longer spoke.Not for 8 years,not even through all of the court appearances. She hadn't even wanted us to go to Shanghai, but the courts threatened her with jail and a huge fine if she didn't send us.

"She's fine . " I answered.

He wanted to tell us about our own mother and we wanted to hear, but that was forbidden,because she was our "foreign parent" and talking about her to us might given us anti-social thoughts. 

"Here we are." Baba muttered when we got to a flat about 15 minutes from the train station.

"Wait a minute!" My older brother blurted out. "You got an apartment? I thought you lived in Los Angeles with our Mama!"

Our father looked down at us and flashed his chrome teeth. "Surprise!"

I had to ask. "Surprise what?"

He kept looking at us with those chrome teeth and glowing blue eyes until we figured it out.

"You left Mama and moved back to China!" We shouted in unison.

"For good?" I gasped.

"For real." Baba smiled and pushed us inside our new home.

The flat was on the 56th floor of a building with 100 levels. It was 2 bedrooms and spacious by Chinese standards,which means it was cramped, but there was elbow room.

Baba, having been completely Americanized during his time with our mother abroad, did not removed his black Timberland Boots when he entered the flat. On the other hand, my brother and I could go no further until we were in our socks. Our upbringing wouldn't allow us to.

"So Mama isn't here?" Wisdom asked.

If Wisdom was truly as knowledgeable as his name suggested then he wouldn't have asked after our mother.

Baba stopped in his tracks and pivoted around on his heels. His glowing blue eyes were narrowed. "Sit down, both of you." He jerked his head toward the red leather L-shaped couch in the sitting room. 

His voice was so tight and menacing that we went and sat down less than 3 seconds after he got the words out.

"Let's get one thing straight ,I reclaimed custody of you two. " He asserted plopping down in a recliner opposite us. "You two have 3 siblings. Twin sisters and a little brother."

I read through his words. What he meant was We moved on after Nai-Nai abducted you two. 

"There ain't a court in this land that would ever grant custody to your mama. Know why?" It was a rhetorical question. We all knew the real reason our parents lost the custody battle.

"You know how Chinese people think!"Baba persisted. 

He looked us over then took off his cap and rubbed the black stubble on his closely sheared head.

"Two years ago I walked away." He admitted. "Emptied the bank accounts. Took my stash and some clothes and hopped a plane here."

"You walked out Mama?" Wisdom gasped.

"B***h is the cause of all my f****n misery, so f**k yeah I walked out on her and them little b******s. Fooling with her I lost my kids, my mama, and damn near lost my mind." Baba was clearly disgusted and eager to vent his frustrations.

He got up, went into the kitchen area and returned with a bottle of Stolichnaya Vodka, which he took the cap off of and turned up to his mouth. When 1/3 of the bottle was gone, he turned it down and grunted.

That's when I saw that the white of his eyes were red and bloodshot. 

"So you guys divorced?" I guessed.

"B***h got sole custody of them little b******s and I got you two. I don't pay child support or alimony and I don't ask her for a damn thing for you two." Baba answered like he was merely talking about the weather. " I knew  if  I came back to China to repatriate and left that troublesome tramp, the judge would give me sole custody and never force me to give that b***h a dime. "

"We really live here now?" Wisdom couldn't believe it.

"Gaither's Estates, 10593 Pinxing Lu." Baba smirked.