Tuesday night Munch sat at his drafting table. He would like to be at the trailer with Lolly, but Grandma Toady had told everyone, except for that man, that there would be no visitors. That man was spending the night at the trailer tonight. For this, Munch was thankful. Maybe he shouldn’t be, but he was. Carefully, he applied water to his ink block and rubbed it with his ink stone.The smell of the ink was pungent in his nostrils. By slowly grinding the block with the stone, the block gave up its ink. It was a lovely process. Munch brushed his first character on the rice paper. He was gaining more confidence in this medium. With ease the character appeared. He wished English letters were like Vietnamese characters. The characters were so beautiful compared to plain old letters.

Downstairs the phone rang. Munch heard that man answer. Now that Lolly was home, Munch didn’t jump every time the phone rang. Mama called out, “Munch its for you.”

Munch’s heart began to pump faster. He hoped it was Thahn Ho. He called down, “I’m coming.” Quickly, he washed out his brush and laid it beside his rice paper. He took the stairs two at a time and was slightly out of breath when he hit the landing. In the kitchen, he took the receiver from Mama. The smile she gave him, made him know who it was. Breathlessly, he said, “Hello.”

The sweetest voice in the whole world replied, “Hello Michael.” Warm fuzzies enveloped him. It meant so much that they could call each other now. Thanh Ho asked, “Did Lolly make it home okay?”

“Yeah, she did. She’s got colitis. She’s going to have to make some diet changes and get more exercise. For awhile she’ll have to take some antibiotics, which she hates. They don’t settle well on her stomach. But she is okay. She’s gonna be fine.”

“Oh, Michael, I am so glad to hear that! Do you know when she will get to come back to school?”

He said, “Next week for sure. I need to pick up her class work for the week tomorrow.”

The sweet voice said, “I can do that.”

Thank goodness! He had been hoping she would offer to pick up Lolly’s assignments. Talking to AP teachers made him nervous. “Thanks!”

“No problem.” She paused a moment before she asked, “Is Trevor okay? He really looked even worse today.”

Trevor had. The last thing he wanted to do was lie to Thahn Ho, the next last thing he wanted to do was break Trevor’s confidence. So, he said, “Yeah, he did look bad. I hope he’s okay.”

Fortunately, Thahn Ho did not pursue the topic of Trevor. She turned the conversation to the Spring Art Show. Munch had finished the Ao Dai and Grace’s outfit. He wasn’t doing a runway show for the Spring Art Show. There had not been time. He settled down in the kitchen chair to talk. This evening was the first time he could full out enjoy a conversation with Thahn Ho. The worry of Lolly had receded and become manageable. Too soon, Thahn ho said, “I have homework, I’m gonna have to let you go.”

Munch did not want to let go. He also didn’t want to taint this conversation with attitude. “Okay, It was good to talk to you.”

With what sounded like a smile in her voice, Thahn Ho said, “It was. Will Grandma Toady be bringing you to your lesson with Ong noi tomorrow evening?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, if she does what kind of tea do you think she would like, Ginseng or sweet lemon and honey?”

Munch liked lemon and honey tea, he did not like the bitterness of Ginseng. “Lemon and honey.”

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“Okay.” Thahn Ho paused and then asked, “Have you noticed how Ong noi just glows when Grandma Toady is around?”

“I have.”

“It is so sweet.”

It was. It really was. In the past months Munch had discovered that falling in love wasn’t just for the young, it could happen at any time in this life.

*

Thursday afternoon, Max got on the bus with Kevin. He waved at Munch as he went to his old seat. Either Max was going to the farm or to Kevin’s house. When the bus stopped, Max and Kevin got off with Munch. Dear scrawny Kevin was practically glowing he was so happy. Yup, the boy was headed to see the love of his life. As they walked toward the house, Kevin kept his eyes focused on Grandma Toady’s trailer. The grin on his face grew and grew. If it got any bigger his face was literally going to split in two.

Munch didn’t follow them to the trailer. He went inside. The house was empty. Mama wasn’t home yet from work. To his relief that man was at the trailer with Lolly. Tired, he lay down on his bed. His intention was to take a cat nap. That is not what happened. He fell into a deep sleep. The sound of Mama coming home from work woke him. Through his window he saw the sun light was fading. He squinted at his clock. It was almost 7:00 p.m.

Without knocking Mama came into his room and asked, “You feeling okay?”

He nodded.

She said, “Good. If you want to eat, I can make you something. Are you hungry?”

Not hungry enough to eat her cooking. “I’m okay. I just want some cereal.”

“Okay.” She left the room and closed the door behind her.

In the drive there was the roar of a sports car. Munch got out of bed and went to his window. Amber’s red and white Mustang pulled into the drive of Grandma Toady’s trailer. The car parked and Amber and Trevor got out. Munch wondered if Kevin and Max were still with Lolly. If so Kevin’s parade was about to get rained on real hard. Trevor knocked on the door. It opened and Mitzi let them inside.

Munch went to the kitchen and got a bowl of Raisin Bran. There were too many raisins in his bowl so he chucked them. He took his bowl out on the back porch. While he was eating, Uncle Luke arrived to pick up Max. He didn’t honk the horn like he usually did. Instead, he got up and went inside too. Now there was a party or a disaster brewing over there. Curiosity started to stir in Munch. Maybe he might just go over there. Before he could finish his cereal, Uncle Luke and the boys came out. Kevin’s attitude was undiminished. That boy was an optimist for sure. Back inside, while Munch washed out his cereal bowl, he saw Amber leave the trailer and climb into her car. He glanced at the kitchen clock. It was almost 8:00. In one more hour Trevor would have to leave.

Munch went up to the studio to work on his Vietnamese characters.

*

At 9:00 p.m. the phone rang. Munch was still working with his ink stone and ink block. His drafting table was littered with rice paper. From below Mama called, “Michael its Lolly.”

So, Trevor must have left. He sighed. The very last thing he wanted to do right now was get in the middle of anything that concerned Lolly and Trevor. Reluctantly, he went downstairs to answer the phone.

Lolly said, “Hey, can you come over for a second.”

Yeah, like it was going to be a second. “Okay. I just have to clean up my brushes.” He hung up the phone. Slower than necessary, Munch cleaned his bamboo brushes and put away his tools. Another sigh escaped him as he headed down stairs. He told his mama, “Lolly asked me to come over. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Okay.”

Outside the sky was filled with stars. On the front porch of the trailer, Lolly sat. She looked up at him when she heard him coming. She did not smile, but she didn’t look upset either. Munch sat down beside her. A few silent moments passed before she asked, “You knew Trevor was moving didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

Her shoulder’s slumped a little. “So, he is moving and he didn’t tell me. Great.”

“What?” Munch asked, “Did you just trick me into breaking a confidence?”

She turned to him. “No, I just confirmed my own suspicion. Did he really think he could show up looking that bad and I wouldn’t notice?”

“Why didn’t you ask him?”

“Honestly, I just wasn’t up to the drama.”

Munch asked, “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Nothing for right now. Once I get back to school, if he still hasn’t said anything I’m gonna ask him.” She sighed.

“Are you upset he’s moving?”

“I will miss him, but in a way finally knowing is a relief. It’s been like this giant dark cloud has been hovering on the horizon for so long and now it’s finally here. I don’t have to worry about if Trevor moves, now there is the solid going. We will work out or we won’t.”

The way Lolly said it made Munch suspect that she didn’t think it was going to work out in the end. He was also aware, that for the first time in a while, she radiated a sense of peace. He didn’t get it, but he was thankful she seemed better.