Keep the wound dry, the man says as he picks out a waterproof band-aid from a round tin can and applies it to David s wound, adding

Transcription

1 for Dogs: A Primer 53 Tong ung LEE I Cring Cring for Dogs: A Primer Tong ung LEE Eyes fixted on the spotty mold infesting the liver itd the hert on the fding humn ntomy digrm plstered on the wll, Dvid looks up t the mn stnding th front of the poster nd mkes up tle of upcoming foreign trvel. If it s not too much trouble, cn I sk for doctor s note? Sitting on the exmintion tble, he rises his leg to llow for inspection of his left foot. It hd ll been greed to t the outset. en Dvid first sought tretment for the bite wound on his left foot, the mn suggested s much. Looks like you ve got dog bite. The teeth tore right through your flesh. Did you seek compenstion from the owner?... You hve insurnce, don t you? Tell you wht, let me give you few stitches nd then write you physicin s sttement so tht you cn file n insurnce clim. Dvid s lck of reply, wht with the burning pin in his foot, ws tken for tcit consent. The following month, his frequent trips to the doctor s office, * From Chi Twei ed., Jiuge 102 nin xioshuoxilt1 f4tio2.jti) (CoIlect Short Stories 2013), Tipei: Chiu Ko Publishing, 2011, 671g2. priced t 5300 to $500 per visit, covered the frill gmut of tretment: nesthesi, suturing, ntibiotics, dressing, nd injections. Every other dy he would come in to hve his wound inspected nd his dressing chnged. The drugs he ws prescribed, with fncysounding nmes such s VolnK.F.C., Keflex, Pndol (Tinten). Tetnus something. etc., would prove to be little more thn nutritionl supplements fter simple web serch. A fint cknowledgement emntes from beneth the surgicl msk covering the mn s mouth nd nose. e slides from his desk towrds Dvid on his office chir nd. holding the wounded foot in one hnd, uses tweezers to gently remove Dvid s stitches with the other. Dvid experiences hrdly ny pin, but more numbing. itchy senstion, like there ws n rmy of nts crwling up his rms. e lens forwrd to exmine the wound together with the physicin. The pinkish gsh on the edge of his left foot remins fint nd brely visible, like the mouth of i infnt beginning to smile. Keep the wound dry, the mn sys s he picks out wterproof bndid from round tin cn nd pplies it to Dvid s wound, dding be creful next time, try not to get bitten. The tone of his voice ws so prosic tht Dvid could not discern whether the comment ws mde in ernest or in irony. In theory. the two were so close to ech other, nd it doesn t hurt to shre n intimcy tht llows for some occsionl bnter, does it? But then the mn sys little more, dding only the physicin s sttement will cost you nother hundred, fter which he turns to retrieve pen nd pper from drwer to write the requested sttement. The streetside clinic is dnk nd drery, resembling more bil bonds gency thn medicl office. Occsionlly n elderly nurse would be present to help dminister shots nd chnge wound dressings; other times it is just the mn himself doubling s clerk nd cshier. The mn turns his bck to Dvid s he serches for his ink stmp, giving Dvid the opportunity to dmire his brod shoulders, which Dvid first noticed on his second trip to the clinic, shoulders so brod nd bufred tht they look to burst free of his flimsy shirt nd the tiny clinic ny minute. Or, to look t it nother wy, the clinic is so

2 Dogs: A Primer Tong ung LEE r rii1gfor repressive nd clustrophobic tht the mn s musculr build, together with time itself, looks to go the wy of the stck of ptient s records sitting on the rusty file cbinet, to be eventully covered in lyer of dust. As Dvid steps out of the clinic, blst of summer ir, sultry nd blistering, hits him like slp on the fce. e rises his hnd to shelter his eyes from the glring sun gorgeous. some would sy, but to him dngerous source of ultrviolet rdition. As he limps long under the storefront wnings Dollr Tree, 7Eleven, Round Tble Pizz, Chipotle, O Reilly Auto Prts wet spots develop over his bck nd his rmpits. The trip home is now most trecherous journey. Crl s Jr.. Sephor, RiteAid, nd right next to the Chinese funerl home is lix omegoods, where bech chirs nd prsols figure prominently in the window disply, together with striped bech towels. nuticlthemed cushions, nd couple of empty wine glsses on ptio tble. The funerl home, on the other hnd, fetures ppiermâché vills nd mnsions to be offered to the ded. Both storefronts, it seems, re promising their customers the lifestyle of their drems. Dvid ctches sight of Summer Sle sign bove store window, nd is reminded of the fct tht he needs to replce his old suce pn. The hndle of his pn hd broken off during n lterction. e steps into the store nd is immeditely greeted with the scent of rose oil. Bottle fter bottle of essentil oils sit on glss shelves nd sprkle in the mbient lighting. e heds stright for the cookwre section nd picks up suce pn. evy, he tells himself, nd proceeds to think, If you hit dog on the hed with it, it would knock his brins out, wouldn t it? t which point he dre not pursue the ideny further, nd lys to rest both thought nd suce pn. Sight for Sore Eyes, Blockbuster Video, Jmb Juice. Sqcttting in front of vegetrin resturnt by the nme of Bodhi Grden next to the convenience store is mutt with droopy eyes, looking so forlorn tht he my s well hve just been widowed. e deserves rting of 75. On the wy home, Dvid would come cross totl of four pooches. This sdlooking fellow, which Dvid likes to cll Lim Neeson, is the first. The second is dog chined to mkeshift be doghouse on grssy ptch in front of the district supervisor s residence on the Street corner. With jet blck cot, pointed ers, nd slender build, the dog is reminiscent of the jcklhe god of the fterlife found in Egyptin tomb murls. Dvid nmes him Anubis. Anubis is bdss who likes to lunge out t strngers nd brk t pssersby 30 points for him. Iwo houses down from the supervisor s residence is n old school beuty prlor whose owner keeps three.legged Pomernin Dvid likes to cll Lizzie. Lizzie would ccompnyi her owner on wlks leshfree, chugging long with slow stccto rhythm like the sound of mrching drums. Lizzie is well wre tht she is loved by hums, nd so would by nd rise her hed high in the presence of lrger members of her species. 70 points. Next to the beuty prlor is pet slon struggling to sty in business Severl empty dog cges line the shopfront. The usul window disply_ 65point Bichon frise puppy_is nowhere to be found The slon, normlly quiet, ppers tody to be full of ctivity. A smll crowd is gthered on its premises split into two sides, pointing nd shouting t ech other, s if rting bout something. Dvid is in the hbit of giving score for ech dog he comes cross, but like the most stingy of judges on Americn Idol, he is nything but generous with rtings, verging only 60 out of 100. Not tht he is verse to giving dog full mrk. Tht hppened seven yers go, when he ws working s lyout rtist for publishing house. One dy fter work, s he ws exiting subwy sttion, he sensed he ws being tiled. e stopped nd turned round to see white mutt, dirty s pir of old tennis shoes, looking stright t him, wgging his til. The dog ws wering collr nd ppered to grfiming As he ptted the little y on the hed, the mutt rubbed its moist muzzle ginst his nkle nd wggec his til even more frenziedly Dvid suddenly remembered he hd leftover penut butter sndwich in his bckpck nd fed it to the dog. The dog sniffed t the sndvicfl then strted tking big bites. Dvid mde n ttempt to snek wy while the dog ws Preoccupied with the sndwich, but the dog bndoned the sndwich

3 Cringfor Dogs: A Printer 57 Thug ung LEE nd chsed fter him. Dvid stopped to study the white mutt for very long while, then got up nd gve the dog good kick. The dog yelped, then rn wy. The next dy nd the dy fter, the mutt would still pper long the pth. timidly wgging his til from distnce. Dvid would shut his eyes nd pretend he didn t see thing s he stood still long the street. When he opened his eyes gin, the tiog ws nowhere to be found. On the fourth, fifth nd sixth dy, no dog ppered to greet him. It wsn t until long while lter, s he ws speeding long on his motorcycle one dy. tht Dvid cught glimpse of white critter flsh by. The dog ws running upwind, like bold nd courgeous sprinter. In Dvid s mind the dog ws rcing towrds the welcome rms of his proud owner, who, witing t the other end, ws clling out to his little dsher. Go, Dsher, go! Tht ws the only dog Dvid ever set eyes on who deserved hill mrk. As Dvid limps long, his injury ppers to no longer bother him. It is s if the wound hs mind of its own, like little critter, sometimes choosing to inflict pin, other times to sty put. In n effort to provoke the critter, Dvid shifts his weight to his left foot, nd spsm of pin suddenly shoots up his spine. Brely ble to stnd, he grbs hold of scooter prked long the sidewlk. e rips the corner off his bndid to check on the gsh. Wht looks to be the pinkish mouth of n infnt begins to spew blood. Sitting on the scooter for short brether, he gzes t the prtments cross the street with uspicious couplet plstered over their shen wlls. Live life simple; enjoy pece of mind, red the chrcters the dvice of some spiritul gurti written on strips of pper once bright red, now fded pink thnks to repeted exposure. is gze trvels up to the second storey, where on the blcony there is row of sunflowers. is eyes follow the sunflowers s he limps cross the nrrow street. With the bndid he hd just torn off he sels off the intercom button of the second floor residence, like spell to wrd off evil spirits. is phone rings nd he reches for his pocket. Almost home, he nswers. Wving t him in the ner distnce is mn in suit stnding under street lmp. The two join up nd together wlk towrds the ground floor reding room of nerby residentil complex. the X. I ll need your receipts nd physicin s sttement. Sign next to The Suit then fishes out two documents from his briefcse nd lys them out on the tble. ere re two copies ech of your personl ccident insurnce clim nd your medicl insurnce clim. According to my estimtes, you should be ble to collect bout $20,000 in compenstion. Wht the hick, jf I hd own it ws this much, I should hve let the dog bite me few more times, Dvid nswers, No strnger to his domestic rrngement the Suit sks out of politeness, Things oky between you nd Aron? Dvid does not nswer, but continues filling out box fter box nd ppending his sjfttre t the end of ech form: climnt, socil security number, dte of birth, bnk ccount numbe e puses momentrily t the beneficiry box, then quickly writes in s climnt. The kitchen cbinet needs new door, he muses_shotild be ble to get one from ome Depot tomorrow. Dvid looks up nd sees three or four children running ronnd the courtyrd fountin djcent to the reding room. Left out of the gmes is boy five to six yers in ge, holding in his hnd rope tethered to Shib mu pup. The boy is resident of the complex, btit the pup is new, looking to be only two to three months old. The cub is sprwled over the floor nd reftises to move. The boy Wgs t the rope nd drgs the dog like n old towel, ey, kiddo, Dvid clls out, Whose dog is tht? The boy picks up the pup nd runs towrd Dvid. Pp got it for me, he nswers ere s Dsher? Dvid cnnot but hold his breth s he tkes the puppy from the boy s rms_for some reson the kid perpeftilly 6s of stle urine. e plces the pup on his lp nd begins to mssge its pws nd cress its limbs. So bsorbed is he tht even when the Suit gets up to leve, he does little more thn nod his hed in cknowledgement The kids frolicking in the courtyrd now stnd in circle wtching Dvid chrm

4 Cring for Dogs: A Primer 59 Tong ung LEE the pup sking to hold it. Dvid flips the pooch round nd begins to tickle its stomch. e could feel the puppy s hertbet, senshon tht mkes him cringe, for he hd the sme senstion when he first held Dsher in his rms nd felt his pulsing hertbet. It ws Aron who insisted on gethng dog, but Dvid ws ded set ginst it. A dog is mjor responsibility he complined. But Aron brought dog home nywy threeyerold Shib mu tht he rescued from the home of friend of friend who hd to get rid of the critter to mke room for newborn. My drem hs lwys been to live with lover nd dog. Is tht too much to sk? Aron protested in cutesy voice. The two hd brely known ech other three months, but were now inseprble: eting out together going to the movies together even tking trip to the South. Everything they did would culminte in bout of lovemking: two bodies coiled in sweet embrce, ech burning with desire so strong tht no mount of twisting nd turning could extinguish their lust. The two moved out of their respective rentl units nd moved into new prtment with n elevtor ner Dvid s old pd. When they were viewing this prospective residence, the unfurnished twobedroom fit looked empty s witing room t Grnd Cenfr Sthon. Dvid ws lredy busy deciding wht color to pint the fmily room, wht mke of sof to buy, nd how to rrnge the furniture. They would hve mster bedroom, plus guest room tht doubles s librry tht wy if Aron s fmily were to visit, Dvid could esily sty in the guest room nd pretend to be roommte. e hd everything plnned out. Wht he didn t expect ws tht there would be dog in the picture. As the dog st there in the living room, Dvid cme to the reliztion tht he did not know his livein prtuer well enough to throw tntrum. The dog stood unesily in the living room, string t the door, s if witing for someone to fetch him wy. is nme is Buddy. Come give him hug, Aron pleded. Dvid reluctntly stroked the pooch s poky yellow ftir nd felt his wy to the critter s hert. e could feel the hertbet of the Shib Inu pulsting like the wings of white zebr finch. e cupped the hert of the dog for good long while, then looked up nd told Aron, I wnt to nme him Dsher, from now on, he s going to be clled Dsher. X Vhere s Dsher? The kid sks gin. Cn you bring Dsher down to ply with him? The pup strts to squirm in Dvid s lp. Running short of ptience. Dvid gives the pup couple of hevy slps on the butt. Tht s how you tech nughty puppy! he scolded. The dog whimpers. then goes silent. With pout on his fce. the kid dres not glnce tip, but flshes look of resentment. Dvid notices now the drk circles round the kid s eves. punctuting his ghstly ple demenor like the stre of vmpire no wonder the other kids don t wnt to ply with him. Crybby. crybby, chnt the other children s they close in on him. There you go! Dvid gets up nd hnds the pup bck to the boy. e then turns nd limps his wy to the elevtor, eventully mking his wy to his upstirs prtment. ome t lst. The prtment is ded quiet, like probte property whose owners re long decesed. Dvid psses through the living rend reches the blcony. where, s he kneels down. he could see in the crevice between the wsher nd the wll furbll in hiding, giving him blnk stre, Dsher! he shouts, following which the Shib mu leps out from his perch nd performs stretching routine, rising his buttocks nd strightening his hind legs. Dvid offers the dog his plm, nd the pup proceeds to lick it. Yes, the very dog tht bit him on the nkle. e deserves zero. Tht morning, bck from wlking the dog. right fter Dvid stepped into the prtment with Dsher hot on his heels, s he ws on the blcony plcing the lesh bck on its hook, ll of sudden his foot went numb. e didn t think much of it t first, t lest not until he looked down to see the mouth of the cnine firmly ltched on to the sole of his left foot. The dog ws thrshing bout, trying to ter his flesh to pieces. It ws then tht the pin strted to set in, the kind of

5 Cring for Dogs: A Primer 61 Tong ung LEE pin you experience when you re run over by truck. Dvid broke free. fought bck, nd went to seek tretment. ow he mnged to leve the house nd mke his wy to hospitl he does not remember, let lone the events tht followed. All he remembers is tht s he returned home, there were drops of blood t the entrnce. trces tht went from light to drk s the blood tril led towrds the blcony. The blood stins completely destroyed the elegnce of the beech &ood floor, the beige wlls, nd the mtching lether sof which he hd so pinstkingly put together. It ws s if showroom from n IKEA ctlog hd been smered with bright red tomto suce. Aron rushed home upon hering of the incident, nd immeditely grbbed broom to discipline the dog. forget it, sid Dvid in feeble voice. It wsn t s if he hdn t been bitten before. When they first took the dog in, it took while for the pooch to wrm to his new owners. e didn t like people totiching him, especilly on the er. Once when Dvid ws plying with Dsher, he ccidentlly brushed the dog s er nd ws promptly bitten on the rm. Aron ws incensed nd wnted to send the dog wy, but Dvid simply smiled, his left hnd pressed over his wound to stop the bleeding, nd sid no need. But this time ws different. The dog hd bitten him so hrd tht it felt like firecrckers exploding inside of his flesh. e hd tken whole sheet of pinkillers nd still the torture ws too excruciting to ber. All he could do ws lie in bed in semiconscious stte. Aron cme nd pressed his chest ginst his bck, the two positioned like two spoons. one stcked upon the other. Dvid pulled wy though, leving spce between the two torsos. It hurts, he explined. In pitch drkness, he ly on the edge of the bed string t the flshing power indictor of his desktop computer, like silor out t se looking on t the distnt glow of lighthouse. It is beyond fix. As he ctches sight of the mutt, the pin in his foot returns. The dog flshes grin, showing off his bright rzorshrp teeth these re rzors no doubt, rzors with feet tht cn wlk round. e keeps his eye on the dog nd retrets to the kitchen, where he reches for the cbinet nd downs few more pinkillers Q the brekfst tble is pring knife, the tip of which is covered in lyer of bguette crumbs. much like the wooden surfce of the tble itself. An old milk crton sits on the lid of the trsh cn. As he pushes open the prtly closed bedroom door, he could see lptop, hedset, nd pir of glsses lying top the nightstnd A checkered shirt nd pir of Clvin ein underwer re strewn over the bed like crumpled wstepper. At the foot of the bed re pir of bedroom slippers, one right side up nd the other flipped over, like divintion blocks used in temple rituls. Normlly he is ble to tell from the wreckge wht Aron hs been up to ll dy. e would tidy up the room for Aron, nd tkes plesure in doing so. But not tody. e simply wlks wy. e tkes set on the living room sofnd turns on the lptop sifting on the coffee tble. In his inbox is n imge file from client for poster he is supposed to retouch, nd pricing list from the publisher tht he is supposed to pprove_mil tht he is supposed to del with, but he doesn t. e insted goes Stright to Fcebook. e sees picture of someone hndin1nd with boyfriend on n outing to the wet mrket with their yellow Lbrdor. e clicks like. Someone shres on his messge bord comment bout romntic film: Breking up is not n ct of cruel. Fr from it. 1t is truly cruel is when both prties do everytg in their power to try to slvge the reltionship nd find tht there is utterly nothing they cn do to mke things work. Like gin. Another cquintnce posts photo journl of the neutering of dog: A mle dog tht is neutered is much less likely to ttck humn. t s more, mle dogs go boers in the presence of femle in het, the scent of which cn often trvel miles. Once mle ctches whiff of femle s pheromones, there is no stopping him. e my trvel miles from home to find this mte nd not remember how to get bck. Another like. is wound t times pins him nd t times not. e nvigtes to Aron s Fcebook pge nd loctes n vtr of Cptin Americ on his long list of friends. e clicks on the imge. On the ensuing pge is photo of this dog of his, wide grin cross the fce, sitting in living room he doesii t recognize In nother shot the dog ppers in n 60 L

6 Cring for Dogs: A Primer 63 Tong ung LEE outlndishlooking riverside prk. doltishly fetching temiis bll. Oh. how old wounds squirm like little critter, with mind of their own. e clicks on the link to Cptin Americ s photo lbtim in n ttempt to ggrvte the wound. Cptin Americ is finlly reveled for who he is: brechested young mn with folded rms strtding proudly on blcony full of sunflowers with stupid smile on his fce. A photo tht Aron pprently liked. The pinkillers strt to kick in, mking him numb nd itchy ll over, like there were million nts crwling up his skin. In his reveries, the mn in the surgicl msk hunches over his foot nd uses tweezers to remove the sfiches from his wound. e then looks up nd sees tht dog of his sitting in corner of the living room, n immensely sobering imge. The dog would lwys glnce t Dvid with n ernest look, s if he hd something importnt to sy, nd yet, fter severl yers it remins uncler wht it is the dog intends to nnounce. The dog ws three when he first rrived in this prtment, which trnsltes to ge fifteen in humn yers. Dvid knows little bout his pst: little things like how he hs fer of fire one hs but to wve the flme of lighter in front of him nd the dog would run off nd hide under the tble ll night, trembling ll over. Of course, he hs but to contct Dsher s previous owner to get the nswers to these questions, but Dvid refuses to do so. The previous owner hs on occsion sent emils sking for recent photos of Dsher, but Dvid refuses to hve nything to do with him. Not only did he not reply, he deleted the messges ltogether. It s my dog now, he seems to be sying, dog tht now hs nothing whtsoever to do with you. Rule Number One for little pups: Do not hog the entrywy. umns hve right of wy. Rule Number Two: Do not enter the bedroom without permission how embrrssing for dog to ctch his owners in the ct of lovemking. Rule Number Three: Come dinner time, heed the commnds sit nd et. Do not chow down until you re told to do so. Over the yers, Dvid hs tried to tech Dsher these nd mny other codes of conduct, but it seems the pooch cn never get round to mstering the fncy tricks tht the proud dog Owners on television vriety shows re used to showing off. Every time Dvid is in the sme room with the mutt, he would lwys keep t distnce, nd when Dvid shouts Come, Dsher, he does little more thn stre. But then when Dvid hs no time for Dsher, like when he is lying on the sof engrossed in reding or wtching D, the dog would silently snek to his side nd sit there wtching, like he is doing now. Dvid looks the dog stright in the eye nd the dog looks bck. e lys down his lptop nd grbs the dog s two front pws, strighteg his hed so tht the two re fce to fce, like in n interrogtion, nd sks him why he likes to snek into other people s rooms nd grin t them SO shmelessly. The dog turns his hed, s if too shmed to look Dvid in the fce. Soon, his front pws pper to be hurting, nd he breks free from Dvid s grsp, huring to the entrnce jtist in time to her the sound of key in the ltch. The door opens. Enters middleged womn with hlf dozen grocery bgs drped over her rms. Dvid rises to greet her. Mrs. Tun, he clls out. The womn is Aron s stepmother, whom Aron prefers to cll Mrs. Thn, nd Dvid lerned to do the sme. e tkes the shopping bgs from her hnds nd lys them on the living room coffee tble. Feeling ny better? the stepmother sks s she settles on the fr end of the sof. tody? Got the stiches removed. So, you didn t hve to go pick up nie Oh, her mother took her to some children s English clss, the Stepmother nswers with snort. Mrs. Tun reches for one of the grocery bgs nd lys otit on the coffee tble n rry of tkeout crtons. Phesnt csserole, stemed fresh grlic scllop, cod roe fried rice, minced prwns in fried dough. golden custrd buns. Deliccy fter deliccy begin to roll off her tongue. I just got bck from wedding bnquet_the dughter of friend from college just got mrried. A lot of the food went untouched, so I fiired, I might s well bring it bck so tht you nd Aron could hve I;7

7 Tong ung LEE Cring for Dogs: A Primer L 64 something to et. Dvid brely cknowledges the offer. The stepmother then picks up different grocery bg nd lys out n even lrger selection of tiny red gift boxes. You know, the wedding fvors re gethng more exquisite by the dy. Look t these rrisn sops! She then proceeds to red out the text printed on the boxes. ppiness is when you meet the right person t the right moment. With thnks from Arlene nd Johnn. n ipd. This is for you nd Aron. she offers. Another brief cnowledgement from Dvid. The stepmother now reches for third grocery bg nd pulls out Show me how to uplod the photos I took onto F cebook, she sks of Dvid. The Wd ws gift from Dvid to Mrs. Tun. e himself instlled ll the pps nd copied ll the medi files, from FceboOk nd Line to the ltest Koren drms nd MP3s of hits by Jody Ching nd Feng F ci fei. Dvid tkes over the ipd nd in no time hs the photogrphs uploded into Fcebook lbum. The photos re mostly of Mrs. Tun nd women of her genertion sinng kroke nd busy clmoring for photo ops with the bride. These women, gthered round the bnquet tble doubled over with lughter how t every wedding nd fttnerl, they seem to be so pumped full of energy nd gusto. Mrs. Tun lens over nd strts to explin to Dvid the chrcters in ech photo. The one in the cheungsm, tht would be Mrs. Ching, who ws widowed t ge twenty nd mnged to rise three Sons to dulthood by selling vegetbles t the wet mrket. er oldest son is now university professor tlk bout being resilient! The one in the florl blouse is Mrs. u, whose husbnd died just six months go. e died of nose cncer, just like Aron s fther. These widows of vrious levels of experience pper not to wnt to look like they re hving too good time, nd so would pepper their converstions with the odd gripe: griping bout frozen shoulder, griping bout contminted food, griping bout the inttentiveness of their dughtersinlw, spiritedly griping bout ll there is to gripe bout in this world. As Mrs. Tun drones on, the dog pproches nd ffectiontely cuddles round her feet. Oh Dsher, why did you bite your Dddy so hrd? You know. there is thing clled rbies. If you bite people, they re going to send you wy. Oh, stupid critter! Mrs. Tun mumbles s she pets the dog. The first comment ppers to be ddressing the dog, but the second ws clerly imed t Dvid. The word rbies gives Dvid puse for thought, but he politely explins tht the dog hs received ll necessry shots, nd doesn t sy much more. Dsher must be, wht, ten? Which would be equivlent to how old in person? Sixty, Dvid nswers. The dog grins s he is stroked by Mrs. Tun. Dvid gives him men stre, nd he immeditely lowers his gze like guilty child. is true emotions however re betryed by his til, which never ceses to wg. As Dvid uplods more photos, Mrs. Tun quietly lods the crtons bck into the grocery bgs nd moves them over to the kitchen. As she gets up to wlk wy, the dog is tempted to follow, but sits bck down s Dvid orders him to sty. With Mrs. Tun in the kitchen, Dvid tkes the opportunity to put the rtisn sop wy in the coffee tble drwer. With thnks from Arlene nd Johnn, printed out in silly Comic Sns how hideous! Where do you put the grbge bgs? Mrs. Tun shouts from the kitchen, sticking her hed out. In the second drwer. Dvid shouts bck. Erlier in Mrch, Mrs. Tun nd her posse of mtronly women signed up for Jpnese lnguge clss in the neighborhood. Dvid offered her key to the prtment, nd invited her to come by fter clss, which she hppily ccepted. So every other week or so, Mrs. Tun would come by the prtment with bg full of fruit or n ssortment of tkeout goodies nd help tidy up the kitchen. Dvid feels obligted to help with the 65

8 Cring for Dogs: A Primer 67 long ung LEE clenup, nd help he did. tht is, until he ws bitten by Aron s dog. The dog is Aron s, nd Aron s her son. he figures so ll the more reson to just sit bck on the sof while the stepmother does the chores. Dvid logs into Mrs. Tun s F cebook ccount to check whether ll the photos hve uploded successfully. The photos re mess, so he sorts them into different lbums. e sees n lbum titled New Yer. As he clicks on the title, out come imges of vrious culinry deliccies: coc u yin, rosemry Imb chop. Thi beef sld, lobster sld. ll creted by him. ow he htes the New Yers! Without.. mother round. his New Yers re spent lone with his fther. e still remembers how when he ws twelve going on thirteen. his fther ordered on New Yer s eve duck nd suerkrut csserole from locl resturnt. They would het it up, let it cool, then heted it up gin for the next mel. nd repet the process for five full dys. B the etid of the stretch, it ws impossible to tell whether the csserole hd gone bd or if it ws just the vinegr from the suerkrut. Lter, fter his fther pssed he would spend his New Yers lone, pigging out on pizznd fried chicken while wtching Dmovie, no longer hving to put up with duck nd suerkrut but the mere thought of the dish mkes lm nuseous. Spending New Yer with the inlws however ws n entirely different experience. e is the kind tht feels obliged to utter niceties when stuck in n elevtor with supervisory not to mention the stepmother of your significnt other. It ws the first New Yer fter the pssing of Aron s fther. My guess is your stepmother is in no mood to cook, so you guys might s well leve things to me. Dvid offered to Aron. e ordered chocolte cke online good two months in dvnce. then stood in line erly morning on New Yer s eve to buy pot rost from the city s oldest estblishment. Come mel time, he bsked in the oohs nd hs s dish fter sumpttlous dish ws brought to the tble. It wsn ts first time spending the New Yer t Aron s. e hd done so in the cpcity of roommte while Aron s fther ws still round. Aron s got no plns to mrry, nd you re not getting hitched nytime soon. Wht s wrong with you young people these dys? Sid the fther with look of displesure. At the dinner tble, the fther issued these stern comments while Aron s brothers, sisters, nd inlws listened demurely. Only Mrs. Tun dred offer her two cents, turning to fouryerold Annie to pled, Oh Annie, why don t you tell your grndfther how your uncle would settle for nothing less thn Tylor Swift or n Angelin Jolie, nd so is destined for bchelorhood, wht with such high stndrds! Annie repeted the stepmother s comments word for word while the dinner guests erupted in lughter. This yer, with Aron s fther out of the picture nd the entire fmily struggling to cope. Dvid took the opportunity to become the mn of the house nd dzzle fmily members with deliccy fter sumptuous deliccy. At the dining tble, the newly orphned nd the newly widowed timidly reminisced bout the pst, cutiously nvigting the pth to cheerful normlcy. Dvid offered to tke fmily portrit for them. Sy cheese! Cheese! As Dvid peered t this fmily through the lens the stepmother nd the stepson, the motherinlw nd the sons nd dughtersinlw this odd ssortment of biologicllyunrelted individuls, it seemed, hd grown ever more like thnks to time spent together: the eyes, the brows, even the contours of the fces were slowly becoming one nd the sme. Fmily wht mircle of cretion, he thought to himself. Dvid nd Dsher, come nd join us! Mrs. Tun shouted from the other end of the tble fter two or three clicks of the shutter button. ordering Aron s brotherinlw to mn the cmer. Dvid nd Dsher thus mde their wy into the fmily lbum. On fcebook is video segment Dvid filmed tht evening, totl of one minute nd twentyeight seconds. ving hd drink too mny, Aron ws sprwled over the floor fighting with Dsher for yellow rubber ducky to the socind of incessnt lughter in the bckground. Wht did not pper on the video however ws n

9 Cring for Dogs: A Primer 69 Tong ung LEE dditionl one minute nd twentynine seconds where Aron ws lying on the floor giving Dsher berhug, muttering, Thnk God we ll outlive this dog, just like we ll outlive Mom nd Dd. for if we were to go first nd leve him ll lone in this world, how would he cope? for Dvid, this evoked memories of the notsodistnt pst. nging in his er is the sobbing of yonngster. Mrs. Tun steps out of the kitchen to sk whether Aron ws coming home for dinner. Dunno, Dvid nswers, shking his hed. No sooner hd he uttered his reply thn the door opens nd mn steps in. Aron is home. Dsher nishes to the door to greet him. jumping nd dncing like he is the sole hertbet of the prtment. ey. did you her, tht kiddo from downstirs, you know, the one with the crzy mother, he ws picked up for steling dog from the beuty slon. The police re here. Aron mumbles s he steps through the door. ow come so erly tody? Mrs. Tun sks. Just got bck from the press conference. Thought I d pop home before filing my story. Aron sits on the floor nd plys with the dog. I ll go cook the rice then. There s food in the fridge still tomto egg scrmble. Just het it up, nd ll we need is soup. Mrs. Tun returns to the kitchen. The dog lies on his bck nd exposes his vulnerble underbelly for Aron to tickle. Get your stiches removed yet? Aron sks. Uhhuh, replies Dvid. Both men vert their gze, s reltions re not exctly cozy fter lst night s flling out. It ll strted when Aron set out to wlk the dog, whereupofl Dvid sked for rice pudding from the locl resturnt. Aron ws lte to return. explining tht there ws long line t the resturnt, but Dvid refused to listen, insisting tht the dog needs to be neutered Aron pleded tht there ws no point in neutering n old dog in his teens, nd tht the dog only bit Dvid s foot out of frustrtion, or he my just be plying with you. bitten! As rguments were exchnged, Aron suddenly rised his voice. Wht the hick, like it ws me who told the dog to go bite you! Why do we lwys hve to go with wht you decide? s it ever occurred to you tht you were bitten becuse you re lwys so controlling? They hd been going over the sme issues for close to month, for so long tht it hd strted to get old. Now tht everything ws out in the open, resentments tht hd been simmering begn to rise to the surfce. Oh, tht s esy for you to sy you re not the one who ws Long line t the resturnt, eh? God knows whose fortune cookie you ve been crcking! Why is it tht you lwys hve to be the one to dress to the nines nd pper before the cmer? Why is it tht you hve to be the tlented one with your own rock bnd nd electric guitr? s it ever occurred to you tht the only reson you re ble to go out nd flsh your stunning looks is becuse you re not the one with the wounded foot, becuse you re not the one who hs to tke the dog to the vet for his vccintions, or ccompny your stepmother to the mssge prlor. Fuck, Dvid, why do you hve to be such womn? You wnt to emsculte me, is tht it? Dvid could not remember how it ll ended. e ws on pinkillers, which produced n itchy, numbing senstion like million nts crwling up his limbs. With Aron s bck to him, Dvid finds himself fced with Aron s musculr shoulders, which, in his bewildered stte, resemble those of the superfit doctor t the clinic muscles tht look to brek free of this dingy prtment. Dvid gives his rm pinch, nd tries to swt ded every nt trying to crwl up his skin. Aron runs his fingers through the dog s fluffy fur, nd Dvid pretends to be browsing the web. The two ech go bout their own business nd mke no mention of the events of the night before hopefully it ll ll go wy on its own. Dvid would tke the occsionl peek t Aron nd the dog. The hir round the dog s

10 Cringfor Dogs: A Primer 71 long ung LEE mouth nd snout re pure white, nd s he spreds himself on the floor, the dog resembles sweter tht hs lost its shpe. Getting old, this dog. Aron, on the other hnd, bosts skin s tut s tht of young boy. Could it be tht kids from welthy fmilies ll hve super nice skin? Dvid remembers how when he first met Aron seven yers go, when the two were ctching movie t the cinem, he would turn to dmire Dvid s profile profile not unlike those found on silver coins. It s been while though since they lst dressed up nd went to the movie theter. To think, the dog ws fifteen yers of ge when he first moved to this prtment. For seven long yers, the couple lived with this dog s they went from romntic prtners to fmily members. Seven long yers of fmily life ws enough to turn this strpping young puppy into sgging sexgenrin. Aron grbs hold of Dsher s jw nd uses his other hnd to wipe wy the dog s eye boogers. As he turns to rech for fcil tissue, he ctches Dvid looking his wy nd smiles bck. The two stre t ech other without sying much. They could suddenly her the cries of the boy from downstirs. The dog is mine, the dog is mine, he sobs in voice so mournful one could be forgiven for thinking there ws deth in the fmily. They listen to the boy for good while, following which Dvid finlly breks the silence. Wht do you sy we give Dsher to the boy downstirs? Aron, gin, strts to rise his voice. Wht s the mtter with you Before he could finish his sentence, Mrs. Tun nnounces from the kitchen tht dinner is redy. The two men get up nd wlk in single file into the dining room. Lid out on the kitchen tble is n exquisite ssortment of hot nd piping dishes: phesnt csserole, stemed fresh grlic scllop, cod roe fried rice, minced prwns in fried dough, nd golden custrd buns. Everything, right down to the rbbit fruit crving, ws worthy of sumptuous wedding bnquet. Dvid nd Aron set themselves t the tble s Mrs. Tun mops up the countertop nd mnges to stuff fourteen liters of grbge into five liter trsh bg. Aron is bout to lift the rice cooker lid nd help himself when Dvid, his gze fixted on the rbbit fruit crving. snidely remrks, Did you even bother to wsh your hnds fter rubbing the dog ll over? ow gross! Aron slms his rice bowl nd ignores Dvid s comment. Mrs. Tun, menwhile, wshes her hnds with sop fter tking out the grbge. Come on, you guys, wsh your hnds nd come et. The three finish their mels in silence. They re soon joined by the dog, who enters the room but hlts some distnce wy from the dining tble, quietly looking on from fr like n Egyptin sphinx t wht, in the humn world, psses for fmily. Trnslted by Chris Wencho LI

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17 ½ter Q6 Bi i The Tipei Chinese PEN A Qurterly Journl of Contemporry Chinese Copyright by the Tipei Chinese Center, PEN Interntionl All rights reser ed. No prt of this mgzine my be reproduced svtthout prtor written permission from the publisher. Literture from Tiwn I Published by the Tipei Chinese Center, PEN Interntionl. with grnt from The Ntionl Museum of Tiwn Literture