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CIN DER MA MA
by Flo Oy Wong
Once upon a time a woman named Cin Der Ma Ma
lived in the dense, bustling neighborhood of the two and three
story apartment houses on Stockton Street in San Francisco
Chinatown. Cin Der Ma Ma was a widow, having lost her husband
after many years of an arranged marriage. Although she didn't
love her husband at first she warmed to his kindness after
many years of living together. So, she missed their nightly
talks and grocery shopping along Stockton Street. Cin Der
Ma Ma had given birth to two daughters whose long faces and
pinched noses vexed her now that they were of marriageable
age.
"Who mal-lee them?" she whined to her husband
before he died.
Cin Der Ma Ma's nights of widowhood were lonely
without the warmth of her husband's body in the small bed
they had once shared. Because there were only three mouths
to feed after her husband's death she cooked fist-size portions
of jook, rice gruel, geur yook beong, steamed pork sausage,
and hom yu, salted fish. She missed not having her husband
at the dinner table. He ate a lot and that made her feel good.
One day, Cin Der Ma Ma's grey-haired neighbor
came to visit. They huddled over the checkered tablecloth
at the round kitchen table by the window that looked out on
bustling Stockton Street. The kitchen smelled of fermented
bean paste, slightly sour, and dried shrimp. Her neighbor's
conversation made Cin Der Ma Ma flush.
"You mal-lee . . .he gooood man. Daughter beau...tiful."
And, so it was that Cin Der Ma Ma married for
the second time, ending those cold lonely nights in her bed
with the pink chenille bedspread. What she was unprepared
for was the beauty of her new stepdaughter, Beautiful Jade
- the dark round eyes crowned by lush eyelashes, the thin
arched eyebrows, the high cheekbones, the thick black hair,
the porcelain skin, and long swan neck.
"What my gells do now?" she thought to herself.
Cin Der Ma Ma was worried that no one would pay attention
to her daughters now that Beautiful Jade would be part of
the family.
When Beautiful Jade and her father moved into
the Stockton Street apartment Cin Der Ma Ma tried to be kind
but jealousy ruled. She pulled soiled dresses and faded blouses
from the rag pile.
She commanded, "Wear these!" and stuffed the
faded clothing in Beautiful Jade's hands. Pointing to the
tiny broom closet at the back of the kitchen, she yelled,
"Sleep there! Day time clean!"
"But, wife," her new husband protested.
Cin Der Ma Ma ignored him.
Cin Der Ma Ma then started a beautifying program
for her daughters, leaving Beautiful Jade out of her plans.
She shepherded her daughters to the Forever Beauty Salon.
She directed the hairdresser to tress their hair in the latest
upsweep fashion and to give them cosmetic makeovers with smoky
green eye shadow, ruby red lips and rouged cheeks. She selected
aromatic perfume for them to dab behind their ears. Then she
herded them to the Sew Sew Dress Shop and purchased red velvet
cheong soms with stiff collars. She spent the earnings of
her new husband who washed dishes from morning to dusk in
the Best Wisdom Chinese Restaurant.
In the mean time, Chinatown buzzed with excitement
when the community heard that the handsome son of the Virtuous
Import/Export Company, Prince Man, was looking for a wife.
Prince Man's parents were giving a banquet at the Great Pumpkin
Restaurant so that their son could find a bride. An invitation
on red paper with raised gold calligraphy came in the mail
to Cin Der Ma Ma's household.
"Gells!" Cin Der Ma Ma exclaimed, waving the
invitation like it was a Ming Dynasty document. Her daughters
came running and squealed. When Beautiful Jade joined them
they pushed her aside.
The day of the banquet arrived. Cin Der Ma
Ma and her daughters squeezed into the tight collared cheong
soms with red and blue sequins. They wrapped themselves with
lacy white shawls and sashayed off to the Great Pumpkin Restaurant.
Before they left, Cin Der Ma Ma shouted to Beautiful Jade.
"Make jook for your baba," Cin Der Ma Ma said
with a smirk, knowing that rice gruel took many hours to cook
and stir over a low-burning flame.
At the Great Pumpkin Restaurant Cin Der Ma
Ma and her daughters met Prince Man and his parents who greeted
the three women from a distance, not wanting to shake their
hands. The three plopped themselves at a round table with
the gray-haired neighbor and other chattering people. Smells
of ginger-perfumed soup and garlic-laced dumplings wafted
from the restaurant's kitchen. Everyone cracked black watermelon
seeds. The sounds crackled throughout the banquet room holding
a hundred tables.
"Who will Prince Man choose?" people whispered.
Prince Man and his parents sat regally at the
head table, waving to those in the recessed corners of the
dining room. Eager mothers nudged their daughters to sit tall
in hopes that Prince Man would look their way. After the guests
had sipped hot smoky dragon tea and cracked watermelon seeds,
the dinner began.
As guests dipped their red ivory chopsticks
into slices of poached white chicken with slices of pink Virginia
ham, juicy with roasted garlic and sautéed green onion, they
heard a whispered sigh and turned towards the door. A beautiful
young woman dressed in an amber velvet cheong som adorned
with grass green jade necklaces and earrings entered the banquet
room. She wore matching velvet slippers embroidered with the
dragon and the phoenix. Who was she?
Prince Man was captivated. He rose to greet
the mysterious beauty and led her to the seat of honor at
his table. The musicians played the erhu's and pipa's haunting
melodies. It was as if the music was meant for their ears
only. Throughout dinner, Prince Man and the mysterious beauty
looked at one another longingly. They barely touched their
food. Cin Der Ma Ma fumed. She wanted Prince Man to look at
her daughters. Yet she managed to pick morsels from tasty
dishes. The evening passed quickly and the clock struck twelve.
The mysterious beauty dashed towards the door, losing her
velvet slipper as she raced out. Prince Man chased her, stopping
to pick up the dainty slipper. He sighed. He could not find
her on the moonlit street outside of the Great Pumpkin Restaurant.
He returned to the banquet, clutching the slipper to his heart
and fingering the beaded dragon and phoenix designs. The guests
finished their meal in silence.
That night, Cin Der Ma Ma went home exhausted,
having feasted sumptuously on the tasty food. The next day,
when the sun filtered through the kitchen window, which Beautiful
Jade had washed and cleaned, Cin Der Ma Ma heard a pounding
at the door. She ran down the three flights of stairs, almost
tripping in her cloth house slippers. The knocking grew louder.
Opening the door she gasped.
"Oh!" she sputtered, patting her flying hair
into place. "Welcome!" She saw the velvet slipper in Prince
Man's hand.
"I am looking for the beauty that wore this
last night," he exclaimed, waving the slipper like it was
a wand. "Have you daughters in this house?"
A smile crept over Cin Der Ma Ma's face.
"Come," she said.
In the living room with the brown velveteen
couch covered with crocheted doilies on the arm rests, Cin
Der Ma Ma called her daughters.
"Gells," she shouted.
Prince Man tried not to look at them when they
shrieked into the room. He bent on his knees, cramming the
velvet slipper on the sisters' feet to no avail. He desperately
wanted to find the beauty that could wear the velvet slipper.
Where was she?
Suddenly, Cin Der Ma Ma noticed the feathery
dust balls in front of the fireplace and yelled.
"Jade!"
Beautiful Jade entered from the sour-smelling
kitchen pungent with odors of black beans and fermented vegetables.
With dustpan and broom in hand, Beautiful Jade, her head covered
with a stringy brown scarf and wearing raggedy clothing, quickly
swept the feathery dust balls. She dared not glance at handsome
Prince Man.
When Beautiful Jade finished sweeping Cin Der
Ma Ma commanded, "Leave now!"
"Wait!" Prince Man reached for Beautiful Jade.
Taking her by the hand and leading her to the brown velveteen
couch with white crocheted coverlets, he put the velvet slipper
on her petite foot.
"Aiiieeeeee!" Cin Der Ma Ma wailed. "You!"
Prince Man and Beautiful Jade held their wedding
at St. Mary's Church on bustling Grant Avenue. The church
bells pealed through the morning air. As Beautiful Jade walked
down the aisle she blew a kiss to Cin Der Ma Ma and her pinched
nose daughters. The sounds of the erhu and pipa danced among
the pews, filling the sanctuary with melodious tones.
Sometime after the wedding, Cin Der Ma Ma started
a new search for eligible bachelors. She couldn't find anyone
to marry her daughters so she was sad. Then, she heard about
a young women's self-help program at the local YWCA. Curious,
she investigated. Cin Der Ma Ma learned that the program taught
young women how to eat healthy food, how to exercise, and
how to take care of themselves. The program also encouraged
young women to give service to the community. Cin Der Ma Ma
enrolled her daughters.
"Ma, we don't want to go," they said.
Cin Der Ma Ma didn't listen to them. Soon, they
attended meetings on Saturday mornings. She missed them but
she knew they were learning something important. Cin Der Ma
Ma had more leisure time now that her daughters were busy.
So, she visited with her gray-haired neighbor more often.
They walked to Portsmouth Square, stopping on the way to buy
sweetmeats and fruit. They took turns treating one another.
At the park, they sat on the benches, chatting with friends,
and tossing breadcrumbs for the pigeons.
Her daughters returned home on Saturday afternoons
with bok choy and tofu for their healthy meals. They chattered
among themselves, talking about new friends and the different
activities they participated in.
Cin Der Ma Ma's gray-haired neighbor came to
visit every day now.
"Your gells. . .They pick garbage, take children
to park, serve food at Portsmouth Square," the gray-haired
neighbor said. "They good . . ."
Cin Der Ma Ma protested. Silently, in her heart,
she smiled.
One day, Cin Der Ma Ma and her gray-haired neighbor
sat in the sun at Portsmouth Square. They shielded the bright
sunlight with pages of the Chinese newspaper, waiting for
the senior program to start. When the doors opened they saw
young women setting the table for the morning breakfast of
jook and noodles.
"Mama."
Cin Der Ma Ma turned around. It was her daughters.
Their hair was cut close to their faces, which showed off
their piercing eyes. She smelled perfume, which gave her a
pleasant feeling.
"Sit here, Ma," they said, leading her and the
gray-haired neighbor to a table set with beautiful chrysanthemums
and asters. Cin Der Ma Ma saw their eyes sparkle. They went
around the room, helping others find places at the tables.
They supported a woman hobbling with a cane. They aided a
man shuffling with his walker. They wiped the face of a man
who dribbled. They helped another with gnarled fingers button
his sweater.
Cin Der Ma Ma elbowed her gray-haired neighbor.
"They beau . . .ti. . . ful," she beamed.
Her gray-haired neighbor nodded and waved to
them, smiling.
After breakfast, Cin Der Ma Ma walked to her
Stockton Street apartment. She spent the afternoon making
jook for her hardworking husband.
THE END
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