Balancing Act

By Neal Stoffers

The thought of mixing her two cousins makes Vicki Phaff nervous. Joey is a Phaff and Su-hui is a Wei. They each came from a different part of her dual heritage. She has always been able to keep these two worlds separate. When she is in Taiwan, she acts Chinese. In America, she is the all-American girl. With Su-hui coming for the vacation they had talked so much about and Joey coming to make sure they speak English, Vicki finds herself balancing between two cultures. The only solace she has is her best friend Anna, whose parents emigrated from Italy. Anna understands Vicki’s balancing act because she does it herself. Can Vicki balance for two weeks or will her dream vacation come crashing down?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Springfield and Hunterdon Publishing
• Release date: Jul 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781970034196

Book preview

Balancing Act

Balancing Act

Neal Stoffers

Copyright © 2018 by Springfield and Hunterdon Publishing

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing:  2018

ISBN: 978-1-970034-19-6  

Springfield and Hunterdon Publishing

East Brunswick, NJ 08816-5852

www.NewarkFireOralHistory.com

Chapter One

But Mama, I complained.  "How could you have invited him?"  We were standing in the kitchen while Mama prepared dinner.  Smells of ginger and crushed garlic filled the room.  The hamburger I had for lunch was forgotten.  My stomach started growling just watching her prepare Dad’s favorite meal.  Palace diced chicken was the correct translation of its name, but all the Chinese restaurants just called it chicken with peanuts.  Joey would never eat it.

Victoria Phaff, she snapped back.  If you think this vacation is going to be a playtime for you two girls, you are wrong.  Su-hui - - - no we shouldn’t call her Su-hui in America. We should call her Sue while she is here. Sue is coming to practice her English.  This is not going to be like our visits to Taiwan.  She may not get another chance to visit for years.  We have to use this chance to the best.

But why Joey?  I pleaded.  He’s only going to tease us.

Because, if you and Su-hui, I mean Sue, are left alone, you will speak Mandarin as much as English.  Joey will, how does your father say it, keep you honest, she said with a chuckle.  Mama was always proud of herself when she remembered English expressions Dad had taught her.  I promised my brother that she would return speaking much better English.  It was not easy to persuade your uncle to let Su-hui come on her own.  Besides, since Joey went on that trip to Peking, he has been fascinated with China.  Can you think of a better companion?

I wanted to say, Yes, Anna, but knew it was useless to discuss it anymore.  When Mama makes a promise to my uncle, she keeps it.  I walked over to the refrigerator to get the chicken. How could I avoid the collision of my two worlds that now seemed unavoidable?

Joey wasn’t a companion.  He was only a cousin.  The thought of mixing my two cousins made me nervous.  Joey is a Phaff and Su-hui is a Wei.  They’re both my cousins, but they’re not related.  They’ve never even met.  I’ve always been able to keep my two worlds apart.  When we’re in Taiwan, I act Chinese.  In America, I’m the all-American kid.  It was easy keeping my balance when these worlds were separate.  With them coming together, it felt like I would be doing a balancing act on the edge of a sword.  The image of me falling was not a pretty picture.  It was going to be hard enough figuring out how to act with a Chinese cousin in America.  Joey would just mess everything up and make it twice as bad.

Anna would be the perfect companion if she could come along instead.  She would understand my being nervous.  Her parents were from Italy, so she did the same balancing act when she went to visit her grandmother there.

I should have known all along. It was too much like a fairy tale.  Su-hui had won an English speech contest after our visit last summer.  We had spent hours together preparing her for it.  The prize was a trip to America!  Every time I went back to Taiwan, the two of us talked about her coming to visit me.  Now she was coming to New Jersey and we were going on a vacation together.  Then reality set in.

Mama announced that she and Dad had decided to invite Joey.  He was fifteen, which made him two years older than Su-hui and me.  Sometimes he acted two years younger, always clowning around, never serious.  Su-hui would have to be warned.  Mama always complained that Dad joked around too much.  How could she even think of Joey coming with us?  Now we were going to have two clowns on our vacation.

Couldn’t Anna come along, instead?  I tried one last time while carrying the diced chicken to the stove.  She could keep us honest and we’d have a lot more fun and she’s right here.  Joey doesn’t have to come all the way from Montana.

You want me to talk to the Gulianos?  They are going on their own vacation, Mama replied impatiently.  It took me weeks to talk Su-hui’s parents into letting her come.  Now you want me to talk Anna’s parents into letting her come in a day.  Your eyes are not very sharp my daughter.  Your father already talked with Uncle Chris.  You don’t have to worry about Joey. 

I wasn’t worried about Joey; I was worried about me.  What was going to happen to me when I was caught in between my two cousins?  Mama poured the chicken into the wok and began working it around.  The aroma of freshly cooked chicken distracted me for a moment, but then desperation took over.  If Joey came, our dream vacation would be ruined.  How could I change her mind without getting her angry?

That smells great, Mama, I started cautiously.  When Su-hui comes, will you teach me and Anna and her how to make this?

You mean when Sue comes? she replied with a laugh.  When will we find time? We will be going into New York and to Washington and then to Williamsburg.  There will be no time for cooking classes.

Well, if it’s just Su-hui, I mean Sue, Anna, and me, we don’t have to go to all those places, I pointed out, struggling with the sudden change in my cousin’s name.  We would be happy to sit around and talk all day.  Wouldn’t that help Su-hui’s English more than walking around museums?

Mama replied in Taiwanese, which meant I didn’t understand anything.  She never went through the trouble of teaching me the language her family used at home.  I learned Mandarin because that’s what Dad studied in college.  As soon as Mama spoke Taiwanese I knew it was time to drop it and accept my fate.  When Su-hui landed we would have to figure out a way to deal with Joey.  It was going to be us against him.  He didn’t have a chance.     

Chapter Two

The terminal was filled with people waiting impatiently for the doors from customs to open.  Sue’s flight had landed an hour before, so she would be out soon.  My heart was racing.  Mama stood quietly beside me.  Dad had gone to another terminal to meet Joey, so we were waiting for Sue by ourselves.  Joey's flight was arriving later, but he didn’t have to go through a customs inspection.  If Sue took too long, then Dad and Joey would come here to meet us.  That would be a disaster because I wouldn’t have any chance to explain to Sue about my brat of a cousin.