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Flash Fiction #151
Pammy, her husband Pan, and their son Sam, who’s a sophomore in high school, are having their first breakfast of the new year.
Sam: This homemade soy milk is a little …
Pan: You are right, Sam. It is diluted. I’ve told your mom several times.
Pammy: You know how expensive the soy bean powder is? $4 a pound. We can’t afford to drink undiluted ones. You know with all the mortgage payments and everything. We also have to save for Sam’s college tuition.
Sam: I don’t need to go to college, but I have to have some tasty food.
Pammy: You have to go to college and you don’t need to have tasty food.
Sam: And this rice pancake. It doesn’t taste right. Something is not right here.
Pammy: I added the soy bean grounds into it. After you make a pot of soy milk, the sediments and dregs fall to the bottom. I don’t want to waste them.
Sam: But you always threw them away in the past.
Pammy: Well, not any more.
Sam: And this rice porridge doesn’t taste as fresh. Did you use the leftover rice? You used to say rice porridge has to be made from freshly grounded rice.
Pammy: Yes, I used the leftover rice, un-grounded, from yesterday.
Sam: You used to say Asians don’t eat takeout food or leftovers.
Pammy: Sweetheart, I said that before the inflation came. Now we still don’t eat takeout food, but for different reasons–we can’t afford it. And now we have to eat leftover food and I don’t want one bite to be wasted.
Sam: And where are the fried bacon bits? I need that for my porridge.
Pammy: Sam, bacons are very expensive. The price has doubled. Anyway, we don’t eat bacon. We are proud Asians. Have some Asian pride, will you? Wait, wait, where are you going, Sam?
Sam: I am throwing the rice pancake and rice porridge away and I’m going to meet my friends at…
Pammy: Don’t eat junk food when you are out there…
Sam: What choice do I have? I don’t feel satiated with your poor man’s breakfast here.
Pammy: Wait, are you going to meet that girl again? She doesn’t look Asian to me.
Sam: Stop spying on me. Leave my social network alone. I can’t believe that you often complain about the prejudice against you while you yourself are so prejudiced.
Pammy: OK, Sam, if you have some Asian pride, you will want to have an Asian girlfriend.
Sam: Oh… now I understand why you talk about Asian pride so much nowadays, to the point that we don’t eat bacon anymore; we don’t have a Christmas tree this year. I mean in the past, you were so eager to get me Americanized–to eat more American food and to have a Christmas tree every December. Then you suddenly realized that if I am “too” Americanized, I might get a non-Asian girlfriend, right? I see. I know what you are doing. Now you change your directions abruptly to this Asian pride thing just for the purpose of inducing me to date an Asian. Mom, why do you have to be so scheming?
Pammy: You cannot use the word “scheme” on your own mother. When other people do it, it’s called scheming, but when your mother does it, it is called …
Haoyan Do 
What an interesting slice of life here—so many themes touched upon. Well done.
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Thank you for your sweet encouragement. It is just a little observation of opposing ideas of a messy life.
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Sometimes scheming promotes the opposite as youth embraces the illusion of rebelling.
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So true. Many young people do things just to annoy their parents. LOL. I have met people who enjoy the illusion of rebelling. And I have also met people who try not to rebel but feel sad that they have to rebel against their family. LOL.
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I kind of understand where Pammy is coming from. The world is a tough place and one has to be frugal to survive. And she’s probably from a generation where it’s believed that it’s best to date/marry from your own culture. A lot of older people have those beliefs.
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Oh, my goodness. You are sooooo right. I mean the inflation is making people nervous. And you won’t believe how conservative people are in the immigrant community, which sometimes drives me a little mad even. Sooooo conservative and insecure and everything…
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Lol it’s the same in most immigrant communities. And it annoys me so much too. I wish people would just open their minds more.
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Yes, so true. We all coil in the miserable walls we set up for ourselves…
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That is a real and wonderful dialogue that so many people can relate to!
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Haha, inflation is driving people a little crazy now. Thank you for your sweet words.
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I wonder how she ends that one. Haha! A very realistic take on generational disagreement and the fears that many mothers cling to. I’d say live and let live and expenses can be managed in cleverer ways. Happy new year, Haoyan! I wish you the very best always and may the coming year bring you good health and cheer. 🙂
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Happy New Year to You And Your Family! Wish you all the happiness and satisfaction in 2023! So true. Managing expenses and watching family budget are no easy task, but it is manageable. We still have a life to live and taste to consider. Haha, the generational argument that will continue until the end of time.
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If I was economising – rather than creating a worse version of something familiar, I think I would eat something that was different but cheaper – even if it was just a slice of bread and butter! So I sympathise with his objections – but I would probably keep quiet if the food was being provided by somebody else!
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Oh, yes, nowadays, everything is getting smaller or downsized or somehow with quality reduced. I’ve seen this again and again in stores, especially grocery stores. My favorite drinks, snacks, fruits, spices all taste different now…
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It almost sounds like Pammy is reacting from fear and panic, possibly due to the economy.
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Pammy is a little panicky. You are sooo right about it. Life is changing and she doesn’t like the change.
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What a breakfast! Every little bit of food was put to good waste, much to the chagrin of the partakers . . . 😂
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Haha, I totally agree with you. The breakfast looks the same, but taste very differently.
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I love the theme of gratitude at the start and the metaphor of the soy milk! Great story! 😆
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Yes, soy milk is a good metaphor. Thank you for pointing that out. Happy New Year!
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There can be such a thing as being too frugal.
The prejudices of people always intrigue me. Everyone has them, I think. I had a close friend who was Native American and his mom liked me but would get after him about his white girlfriend. People are interesting.
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Haha, Pammy is being too frugal and a little panicky since the world and her family are changing, but she is a little uneasy.
Yes, all the prejudices. Probably because prejudices are the easiest way to deal with the world. I only met a Native American once. I guess I probably met other Native Americans but don’t know they are Native Americans. But in school, I met one. And everybody knows how many percentage of Native American she has. I heard that she has to provide proof or something. As a person not growing up here, I really don’t understand what is happening. Wish there’s a handbook to teach immigrants about all these things but there’s no such handbook…
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Yes, it is complicated and i don’t think I’m knowledgable enough to explain too much, myself.
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