A friend who’d offered you a place to stay, which became, a home, away, from home…translated…
“I made the decisions with J, starting this month, I shall, treat you out to eat every month!”
A couple of weeks ago, Jiao got all dolled up, gone to that supper date with her husband, and, half way through her meals, she’d, texted the message to me. And thus, the countdown to my departure to the U.S., began.
Jiao was a classmate from my graduate school days, a Hong Kong native, shortly after she came to L.A., she’d, become, an American daughter-in-law. At this time last year, she and her husband bought this, beautiful Spanish style mansion. One day, she’d, texted me, “God had graced me, I’d, told J, that I’ll invite you over for a stay, six hundred dollars a month, meals and stay included.”
Back then I was living in the dorms of my university on the verge of graduation, with the outbreaks just, started, everybody’s ill at ease, I’d sent a couple of résumés, but none of which had replied back to me. And, finding that place to live, at such a low price, without the signed contracts, it’s, a huge blessing to me, I don’t know what I’d done to deserve this. By the way, Jiao was the best cook, of all of us, students who’d come to the U.S. to study.
And, J and Jiao became, my landlords.
illustration from UDN.com
They’d let me stay at the side bedroom on the first floor, out the windows, the rows of jasmine, and olive. There was a double bed in the room, antique table, tea stand, and bookshelf. Jiao ordered a whole wall of bookshelves in her living room, I’d, pulled off the volumes of Hwa Yu, Xiao-Po Wang, Xing-Jien Gao, along with all the treasures she’d, shipped from overseas as an immigrant.
Most of the times, they’d stayed in their second floor bedroom, and the den, while I’d stayed in my bedroom, lived as, a bookworm. But every week, for four evenings, we’d dined together. Jiao cooked for three evenings, and I, for one, and the person who didn’t cook, did the dishes. For the two years, to save the money, I’d not, eaten any meat, but here, I’d had, a year’s worth of seafoods, meats. On winter solstice, I’d had the specialty dishes, turkeys for Thanksgiving, the Christmas present exchange, and Jiao loved making the desserts during her schooling years, to the point of a specialty Hong Kong dessert, and when she felt like it, she’d, made a full course afternoon tea. And we all gained, the legendary COVID-19 pounds.
Based off of the personality profiles, I’m introverted. And, the group of us, thirty-somethings all claimed, that we don’t need men to complete our selves, kept at our straight ladies’ prides. Self-made, free. But, none of us wanted to admit, that sometimes, we are still, overcome, with that loneliness. And yet, for the more than ten months time of defending against the outbreak in the U.S., I’d become, more and more grateful toward Jiao, for having the heart, the kindness, to take me in. It’s truly hard for me to imagine, that had I stayed in my suite close to the school, I’ll only have the green onions I’d planted to talk to daily, how boring the days must be.
During my stay at Jiao’s mansion, I can’t help but think: what does home look like? Even if we’re not related, nor married, sharing the same roofs, during the holidays, sharing our bookshelves, our suppers, also, the household chores too. I’d felt, this, is what, home is then…
And so, this, is a home-away-from-home you’d found, with someone whom you went to school with, and the woman is more than kind, allowing you to stay with her, and, her home became, a place of comfort you’d, found, away from your, loved ones, and this graduate classmate of yours, in turn, became, kind of like, family to you.
Life, the Obstacle Course 