yêu

prologue - mom to daughter

I would walk out of the bathroom, twisting and rubbing my shoulder-length hair between two sides of a towel. I would make my way towards my bedroom door that was down the hallway. Before I could step into my room, I would be called by my mom to go to the kitchen. I'd sigh, pulling the towel away from my hair and tossing it onto my chair that sat next to my desk.

"Julia, ơi!" Mom's voice would echo up the stairway.

"I'm coming!" I'd shout back, walking down the steps.

"Come, come." Mom would wave her hand over and over, ushering me to come to her, "Look here."

"You know about this?" She'd point at our TV that was visible from our kitchen table.

It was today's news. She does this often, when something peaks her interest she would call me down to talk about it. Sometimes it was news that she didn't even understand, but it was her way of trying to make time to talk to me; to connect with me. To have a mom-to-daughter talk. It was nice, I really liked it. I'm in my freshmen year of high school and it's really hectic. So much girl drama, boy drama, or just drama in general. It was nice to be able to talk to her about it. My favorite part is when she'd give me some advice or even experiences she had when she was growing up in Vietnam. A whole different culture and generation, but it always somehow helped me see things from a bigger point of view.

"Wow, they still haven't found the dog yet?" I'd act surprised at the news about the missing poodle that has been on the news for a few days now.

"Right? Con chó đó bị mất bao lâu rồi? Poor family."
("Right? That dog has been missing for how long now? Poor family.")
She'd voiced her concerns.

When we first heard about it, my mom told me about the time she had to watch her dog get kidnapped back in her village. She was only 9 years old and a group of men were going around and snatching unsupervised dogs to eat. She had to helplessly watch her best friend get taken because her parents were out in the market getting food for dinner and a little girl can't stop full grown men. It was so sad to hear.

"Ai ya! Con ơi! sao cái tóc messy quá vậy?"
("Ai ya! My child! Why is your hair so messy?")
She'd exit the kitchen for a second to go to our downstairs bathroom that was located a door down in the hallway next to our kitchen, coming back with a comb.

"I just came out of the shower.." I'd defend my case, huffing

"Trời, bỏ tóc like this sao Josh thương con được?
("My god, if you put your hair like this, how is Josh supposed to love you?")
She'd start brushing my hair as she started up a conversation about my boyfriend.

"You know, one day you guys are going to get married and he gonna see you like this every day."
Mom would comment in a half-joking, half-insulting tone.

I waved my hand dismissively, scoffing. "You're thinking a bit too fast mom, we've only been dating for 2 months."

Josh's my first official boy-friend ever. Josh was a Viet-American like me. I think in some way that helped us connect with eachother. We met through mutual friends. His friend group was friends with mine, and we just started talking after meeting after school one day. Josh is super sweet. He's a bit awkward, but that's what I love about him. It's kind of cute. He randomly gave me flowers the other day. Although, he was too scared to give me a hug. I'd slightly giggle as the scene came back to my head. My friends say he's a bit of a wuss and acts like our relationship is a middle school relationship, but I don't think he's entirely like that. He's there when he needs to be.. I know he has a lot of love to give me. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at me, or when he tries to talk to me, I'm just waiting for the day he'll be able to give me that love.