Page 61 of Rules for Rule Breaking
Winter reddened when her and Bobby’s eyes met. “No,” she said, averting her gaze. “He’s... all right.”
Uncle Eugene threw his hands up in delight. “Well, with that glowing review, meokja! Let’s eat!”
The dinner went surprisingly well, despite the weirdness with Simone in the kitchen. They joked and laughed in a way Winter did with her own family at the dinner table every night, though she still felt the undercurrent of unspoken words. She also couldn’t help but notice how Bobby was different when he was happy—his usual scowl was replaced with a smile full of teeth. She felt a sense of joy and warmth in her chest seeing him like this. She never observed him without at least a modicum of anxiety, though. Discreetly, she lifted the edge of the tablecloth, and as expected, his leg was bouncing nervously underneath. She paused, a gentle smile on her face, before resting her hand on his knee. The movement stopped, and he looked up at her and mouthed, “Thanks.”
After dinner, Eugene led Bobby and Winter upstairs to show them where they would be sleeping. Winter walked past what she assumed to be Simone’s bedroom. It was empty for the most part but still had remnants of a childhood. She had wooden shelves that went up to the ceiling. Only about two shelves were full of books, and the others had stuffed animals and objects made poorly outof clay, probably from a grade-school art class. She also had a few pictures of herself with a woman whom Winter believed to be her mother. She and Simone looked a lot alike. They had the same fiery red hair and clear pale skin. It was odd to see a bedroom that looked similar to hers that belonged to a girl only a few years older, who had seemingly outgrown it already. Is this what she would feel like when she returned from college?
Eugene gave Winter a towel and left her to fend for herself. He then showed Bobby to the guest room next door. She should have known Eugene wouldn’t put them together in the same room. Not that she wanted to share a room with Bobby.
Winter plunked down on the bed and closed her eyes. Her body was so tired that it wasn’t long before she fell asleep.
Bobby Bae
28. WE WILL NOT INSERT OURSELVES INTO SITUATIONS WHERE WE DO NOT BELONG
It was well past five a.m., and Bobby was still awake. He couldn’t sleep in strange places, and the streetlights were blasting through the window. He finally dozed off until a noise from downstairs startled him.
Bobby tiptoed to the top of the stairs and peered down. Uncle Eugene was sitting at the dining room table with his head in his hand and a rocks glass filled halfway with amber liquid in the other. Bobby recognized that look; it was the same one his mother had when she’d knit in the dark or when his father would absentmindedly drown the garden. Faraway, thinking about the past. Something clicked seeing him like that. It was like hearing both sides of a phone call, not having to guess anymore what was being said on the other side.
The step under Bobby’s foot creaked, and Uncle Eugene looked over.
“Sorry, Uncle Eugene, I didn’t mean to disturb you,” Bobby said.
“No, no, I’m sorry if I woke you,” Uncle Eugene replied, pulling the glass toward him in a poor attempt to hide it. “Come, sit.”
Bobby reluctantly agreed.
Eugene was quiet for a long while. He swirled his drink around, and when it sloshed over the brim onto his hand, he seemed to snapout of his trance and said, “I’m glad you’re here. You probably don’t remember, but I used to watch you when your mom and dad were at work.”
Bobby tried to think back as far as he could, and he vaguely remembered going to the park with Eugene almost every day before he started school. They’d feed the ducks, and one time he approached a mother duck and was on the receiving end of her wrath when he tried to give her babies a grape. When his father read himThe Ugly Ducklingas a bedtime story a few weeks later, he bawled.
“I was really young, but I have flashes of memories sometimes,” Bobby replied. “I should have reached out to you sooner.”
“There are always sacrifices you have to make when you’re trying to do right by your parents. I didn’t go to college because I had to take care of your grandparents, as you know.”
Bobby’s eyebrows raised. “I actually didn’t know that.”
Eugene’s eyes flashed with anger. “Your father didn’t tell you? Your grandmother had Parkinson’s, and your grandfather and I took care of her while Robert was in school. I always figured he’d come back and help with the business at least, but he ended up getting married and starting a job and never did.” The elephant that had been in the corner finally took a giant dump in the middle of the room.
“Uncle, you don’t have to—”
“You should know what kind of man your father is,” Uncle Eugene said. “Our parents opened that store when they came to this country, and he sold it like it was nothing. I took care of Umma and Appa, and I ran the store when they couldn’t anymore, yet they gave it to him because of his degree. It should have been mine.” His eyes were bloodshot, and a vein pulsed in his head.
Simone and Winter came down the stairs in their pajamas asBobby was picking the skin around his nails, which eventually started bleeding. Winter took a few steps forward to join him, but Bobby held up his hand, indicating that she should not get any closer. Simone, however, slid past her and squeezed Uncle Eugene’s shoulder.
“Does Robert know that you’re here?” Eugene asked.
“No, he doesn’t,” Bobby answered calmly.
“I’m sorry, Bobby,” Eugene said. “It’s late, and it’s been a long time since I’ve thought about my brother. You have to understand the pain he’s caused.”
“The painhecaused?” Winter blurted. She had a hand over her mouth when Bobby turned to her.
“You’re young. You don’t know what happened,” Eugene replied.
Bobby froze. He was shutting down, and he knew Winter could feel it. There was more to be said, but he was simply too polite to say it.
He felt a whoosh of air past his face when Winter came charging past him, getting between him and Uncle Eugene. “Your parents left Mr. Bae with a pile of debt,” she said. “Selling that store was the only thing he could do to break even and keep the whole family from sinking. They tried for years to save it, but they couldn’t. Do you not know that, or do you not care?”
