Suzie's Wish, Part 2

SUZIE'S WISH
by uciboy

PART II

"I can't believe you do this!  After all we teach you 'bout dangers of smoking
- now I find this in your purse!"  Sung-Hee threw down the pack of Marlboro
Menthol 100s on the table.  

"I just can't even put into words how disappointed we are in you," Donn chimed
in.

Suzie rolled her eyes.  "Mom, Dad, I just have a cigarette every once in a
while.  You know, with friends.  It's not like I'm addicted or anything.  It's
no big deal."  Suzie was lying, of course.  She had been smoking secretly for
4 months, first with friends but now whenever she got the chance.  She found
herself addicted to it soon after starting.  She didn't care, though.  She
loved smoking - the way it made her feel, the way it made her look - and she
had no intention of stopping.  

"No big deal?" her mother practically hollered.  "You know how many people die
smoking each year?  Every puff you take shorten life."  Sung-Hee turned to her
husband and said in Korean, "Aiyah, life is so bitter.  I work so hard to
raise this girl properly and this is how she repays me!  With, with..."
Sung-Hee could barely say the words without disgust.  "With cigarettes," she
sputtered in English.  She turned to her daughter and with a growl said, "No
respectable Asian girl smoke!"

"Boy, are you outta date," Suzie thought to herself.  Even back in Korea,
where Suzie's Mom spent 20 years of her life, smoking was on the rise for
women.  Hell, that's where Suzie had her first cigarette while staying with
her teenage cousins over the summer, both of whom smoked.  And here in the
U.S., shit, it seemed like all of her Asian American girlfriends were puffing
away.  She knew her Dad understood this because he grew up here, but he wasn't
about to oppose Mom on this who was a fierce anti-smoker.  Think, think,
think.  She knew her parents couldn't stop her from smoking, but at 15 years
of age, they could make things difficult for her.  A little contrition right
now would be in her best interest.

"Mom, Dad," Suzie began with her best sorrowful expression, "I'm so sorry I
let you down.  I promise it won't happen again."  

"Well, honey," her father replied, "it's just your health that we are
concerned about."

But her mother wasn't buying this act.  She had seen her youngest daughter
manipulate her father this way before, and this time Suzie wasn't going to get
away with it.  "No, no, no," she said shaking her head, "you don't get off
that easy.  Rather than go out with friend this weekend, you stay home and
study." "But Mom," the contrition in Suzie's voice now replaced by defiance,
"I have a very important date with Mike this weekend.  It took me months to
arrange this.  If I cancel I may never get the chance to go out with him."

"You only 15 year old and you go out on date?  What, you smoke and have sex?
Get pregnant?  What kind girl you are?  You tramp?  You hooker?"

Donn tried to calm his wife down.  "Now honey, let's remain calm.  There's no
need to..."

Sung-Hee turned on her husband.  "You no see what I see," she shouted at him
in broken English.  "That part of problem!"  And with those final words,
Sung-Hee picked up the cigarettes and lighter and stormed out of the house.
Suzie and her Dad stood in uncomfortable silence for a moment as they heard
the SUV start up and drive off.

Suzie was unfazed by her Mom's comments - which she had all heard before.  She
and her Mom had always had a rather contentious relationship, but ever since
she entered high school, the tension had been increasing with a lot more
arguments about studying, clothes, and friends.  Sung-Hee finding the
cigarettes in her daughter's purse pushed her over the edge.

Donn turned to Suzie and said, "Boy, you really pissed her off this time."  He
paused for a moment and then asked as he put his hand on her shoulder, "You
okay?"

"Yeah, I guess so," she replied with her eyes looking downward.  "But Dad, I
really need to go on this date."

"Honey," he said with the shake of his head, "do you really want to make your
mother even more angry?"  He could see the disappointment in her eyes.  "You
know, why don't you ask Lynn over today.  You guys could watch some videos or
something.  Your Mom is so angry she'll be gone for hours, so you should have
the house to yourself."

Suzie bit her lip.  She loved and admired her Dad so much.  His masculinity,
his broad shoulders, and his good looks always made heads turn in the
neighborhood.  He was also a great father and much more patient with Suzie
than Sung-Hee.  But she also knew that with Mom so angry, her Dad wasn't going
to get himself in trouble.  She didn't perceive this as weakness; more like
prudent caution.  "Okay," she said with a dejected look on her face.  "It's
better than being home with Allison alone."

"Be nice to your sister," Donn chided.  "Now, I'm late for my golf game.  I'll
see you later, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy, good luck."

"When her father left the bedroom, Allison stuck her head in and said, "You
are so busted.  Too bad you can't go out with Mike tonight."

"Fuck you," she replied to her 17 year old sister.  The two couldn't be more
dissimilar.  Allison was the spitting image of her mother - long hair framing
a long thin face with thick round glasses.  The two had absolutely nothing in
common.  While Suzie listened to funk and hip-hop, Allison was listening to
soft-rock.  Suzie was obsessed with fashion, spending all of her allowance
money on the latest styles.  In contrast, Allison was happy to wear the drab
colors and styles of her mother that made her look like a refugee Fresh Off
the Boat.  Allison was the scholar of the family, while Suzie was the black
sheep.  Both were convinced that there had been a mix-up at the hospital when
the other was born because they couldn't possibly believe that they were
actually sisters.

"You're so stupid to smoke," the older sister scolded.  "It's gonna make you
even uglier than you already are."

Suzie didn't let Allison's comments get to her.  Both knew who was the more
beautiful sister, and it certainly wasn't Allison.  "You know," Suzie replied
maliciously, "smoking would certainly be an improvement for you.  Maybe you'd
finally get a date for once in your life!"

Allison grew so angry that she started to sputter like her mother, but nothing
came out of her mouth.  She didn't like to curse and instead just ran to her
room.  A few minutes later, she yelled out, "I'm leaving," and she slammed the
door.  

"Thank God," Suzie said to herself as she reached for the phone and called up
her friend Lynn.

*****************************************************************

Within 30 minutes Lynn Ahn swung by with a couple of videos and a pack of
cigarettes in hand.  "So you got caught, huh," the Korean American schoolmate
asked as she walked in the door and handed Suzie the Marlboro Menthols.

"Yeah, my Mom confiscated mine.  And it was a new pack, too."  Suzie reached
for her purse.  "How much do I owe you?"

"Forget about it," Lynn replied with the wave of a hand like a character on
the Sopranos.  "Here, I brought your mail in, too."

As Lynn pulled out a cigarette to light, Suzie looked up from the mail she was
shuffling in her hand.  "Are you psychotic?" she asked with a point at Lynn's
cigarette.  "I just got grounded for the weekend.  Are you trying to get me
grounded for life?"

"Don't you want a cigarette?" Lynn asked.  "Let's go on the patio.  I can't
afford to get caught again."

As the two walked outside with a makeshift ashtray out of an empty coffee can,
Suzie found in the stack of mail a letter addressed to her.  "What's this,"
she said as she opened the envelope and began to read the letter out loud.

"Dear Suzie Park,  What do you desire most in life?  Status?  Power?  Money?
Love?  Well, now it's possible to have your most cherished dreams become a
reality.  We are happy to inform you that you have been randomly selected to
win one wish from Make A Wish, Inc., a new company which seeks to fulfill the
dreams of its customers.  In an attempt to market our services, we are
granting ONE free wish to 10,000 lucky people nationwide - and you are one of
the lucky ones.  To have your wish fulfilled, simply fill out the enclosed
form and follow the directions.  Congratulations, and may all your dreams come
true!"

"What is this?" Lynn asked with the tap of her cigarette against the coffee
can. "Is it a gag?  Did Melinda send this to you?  You know she's always doing
practical jokes."

"Wait," Suzie said with a smile, "there's more here in the fine print."  Suzie
continued to read:  "Disclaimer and Statement of Liability.  Make A Wish, Inc.
reserves the right to refuse to fulfill any wish for any reason.  Participant
may NOT 'wish' for additional wishes.  Make A Wish, Inc. will not grant wishes
which seek to bring death or bodily harm to another individual(s).  Make A
Wish, Inc. will not be held liable for any consequences, intended or
otherwise, that result from the granting of the wish.  The wish maker assumes
all risks.  Following the directions on this form constitutes the wish maker's
full agreement with these terms."

Suzie was laughing now.  "This is hilarious," she said as she put the form
down flat on the patio table.  "You got a pen?"

"Hold on, now," Lynn replied, playing along with this make-believe game,
"Don't you understand the disclaimer?  What if this is just like that
'Twilight Zone' where the shopkeeper and his wife found the genie, but every
wish they made had some sort of consequence."  Lynn became animated now as she
told her story, her eyes staring down at the table as she waved her cigarette
about in her hands.  "When they wished for a million dollars, the IRS took
almost all of it in taxes.  When the shopkeeper wished for absolute power, he
found himself as Adolph Hitler trapped in his bunker in the final days of the
war!"

When Lynn finally looked up at Suzie after finishing her story, she saw her
friend slowly exhaling a stream of smoke through her nostrils.  "You watch too
much TV," Suzie deadpanned as she dropped her cigarette in the coffee-can and
reached into her friend's purse for a pen.

Lynn threw her own Marlboro in the can and lit herself a fresh one.  "So what
are you going to wish for?" she asked after blowing a jet stream of smoke to
the side.

"Like you have to even ask?"  Suzie put the pen to paper and said proudly,
"I'm gonna wish everyone in my family smoked."

"Hold on," Lynn said quickly, "what does that mean exactly?  What if they just
become, you know, casual smokers, like only having a couple of cigarettes a
week?  They still may not let you smoke."

Suzie looked up at Lynn credulously.  "We are just kidding around her, right?"

"Well, yeah," Suzie said in mock frustration, "but let's do it right," and the
two girls began to giggle.

"Okay," Suzie said as she began to repeat out loud what she wrote.  "I wish
that my sister, father, and especially my mother are all addicted..."

"Totally addicted," Lynn chimed in with a smile.

"Totally addicted to smoking, and that they all think smoking is beautiful..."

"No, no," Lynn said, holding the cigarette close to her lips, "that they all
get totally turned on by smoking."

Suzie giggled as she finished writing the sentence. She then read the
instructions.  "Fold 'Wish Form' into quarters and burn thoroughly."  Suzie
did as instructed and flicked her lighter just under one of the corner's of
the form.  As the flame engulfed the piece of paper, Suzie threw it into the
coffee can and she and Lynn watched it burn.

Afterwards, the two girls just stared out into the backyard, slowly smoking
their cigarettes.  "I'm bored now," Suzie said.

"Wanna take a dip in the Jacuzzi?" Lynn suggested.

"Nah, it's broken.  Come on," Suzie said with a drop of the cigarette into the
can.  "Let's go watch some videos."  With that she picked up the coffee-can
and the two walked into the house.

END PART II

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