Dear Mr. Camui

Chapter 6

Dad began to back up. "Dad! Don't hit the-" There was a thud. "Trash cans..." Abeoji began to laugh. "Shut up, both of you! I'm trying to back out!" Abeoji tried to stifle his laughter. Dad backed out and began to drive. "Am I allowed to speak now?" "Yes, May." "Ok, so, where are we going shopping? And do you know where we're going?" "Yes, May. I just need it quiet for at least 2 minutes, so I know where we're going." Dad kept driving. He made a turn. "Are we there yet?" "No, May." Dad replied. I leaned against the door. Dad made another turn, then I felt the car stop. "May, we're here!" Dad called. I looked up. I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the door. I stretched a little. Dad got out of the car and walked to the other side to let Abeoji out. Dad opened the door. Abeoji got out and put the crutches underneath his arms. "Let's go!" Dad said cheerfully. I rolled my eyes, along with Abeoji. We began to walk across the parking lot. I was behind Abeoji. I grumbled, "Oh my God, Abeoji, you walk so SLOW!" "May! I'm on crutches, you think I can go any faster?" "YES!" "Go around me then!" I walked around Abeoji. I then tripped on something. I grabbed Dad's shirt to catch myself. I fell, on my face, while bringing Dad down with me. My face was on the warm pavement. I could hear Abeoji laughing hysterically. "Dad, get off. People are staring." I mumbled. Dad stood up. I got off the ground and stood up. I dusted myself off. "You ok, May?" "Yeah. I'm good." I replied. I kept walking.

Dad led us into the store. I shivered. "It's cold in here." I said, rubbing my arms. "Yeah, the air conditioner's on." Abeoji replied. "I'm gonna go get us some food. May and Gackt, if you wanna stay behind, that's fine." "I'll stay." "I'll go with you, Dad." I said. "Good. Let's go, May." Dad replied. We began to walk, leaving Abeoji behind. "Ok, what do you want for the week?" "Anything edible." "I know that, May." "If they have what I like, I'll eat this week." "If not?" "I'll go to Kimi's. She knows what I like." Dad picked up a square watermelon. "Want one for this week?" "Yeah!" I agreed. "May, get me a small basket that I can carry the food in." I picked one up. I handed it to Dad. "Thank you." He put the watermelon in. "Now, what does Gackt like to eat?" "I don't know. Ask him." "May, I am not going back to him. You do it." "And miss you looking at fruit? Rather not." I said, sarcastically. "May." "Fine!" I turned and walked back to Abeoji. "What do you want to eat?" "I don't know. Why?" "Dad sent me over here to bother you. I can make something if you and I can't decide." "Sure. I honestly don't care." Abeoji replied. I turned and walked back to Dad. "May, look at this! And it's 50 percent off!" Dad held up a package of fish. "What kind is it?" "Salmon! I can make something with this!" Dad said excitedly. He went to the candle aisle. "What scent?" "Sakura. I wanna impress Gackt and show him we're not that bad because we're American." "Ok." Dad picked out a sakura candle. "May, can you make those fried apples for this week?" "Sure. What kind of apples did you get?" "Fuji." "I can make it work." "You usually do!" Dad replied cheerfully. "You ain't wrong." I retorted.

"Ok! So, fried apples for dessert tonight? I don't know if Gackt has any cinnamon. I'll ask him when we get home." "And, for dinner?" "Probably salmon. Or we can order take out." "I told Abeoji I would cook." "You did what? You're gonna cook?" "Yes. I took cooking class. I think I would know how to cook by now, Dad." "Ok, have fun with that." Then our favorite song began to play on the radio. Bamboleo by Gipsy Kings. "Dad, it's our favorite song." "I know." When it got to our favorite part to sing along to, Dad put the basket down and spun me. I took a couple steps back. I spun and walked back while doing shenae turns. Dad grabbed me and lifted me over his head. He spun, then put me down. I found an empty box and ran. I jumped over the box onto some other ones and spun on the top. Dad was on the other side. I jumped into his arms. Dad spun once more and then dipped me. Several people were staring. They began to clap. Abeoji was staring at us in a mix of embarrassment and wonder. I looked over. "Oh. Hi, Abeoji." "Hi, May. What was that?" "Dancing." "Very nice. Is that salsa dancing of sorts?" "Yes." I replied. "I'm Puerto Rican, on my mom's side. But we're white, unlike my mom and her sisters. My dad was white, so, yeah." "Uh-huh." "My last name used to be Gonzalez." "Really?" "Yeah. Before I changed it." Dad replied.