reminiscing – Minna Hong

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Plaster of Paris; chapter six, part two

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Minna Hong • 0 Comments

“He’s a changeling,” I say, not exactly sure what it means but liking the sound of it. “He’s a gift from the heavens. It doesn’t matter who raised him because he basically came as he is.”

“I’m just so thankful he didn’t lose himself in such a joyless household.” Lyle finishes one cigarette and reaches for the lighter when he catches the look I’m sending his way. “What?” He’s defensive, but knows exactly what I’m staring at him for. “I’ll quit again when Paris wakes up.” I don’t say anything. I can’t, really, without sounding hypocritical., although my own tobacco usage is atypical. I’ve never been a daily smoker, and it’s rare when I smoke more than two cigarettes on any given occasion. I sigh and hand over the lighter. Lyle slips out another cigarette and lights up.

This time, I leave him alone. Instead, I turn the conversation to the blond as I inhale on my cigarette. The blond is someone we need to focus on, and I am betting that Lyle’s friend, Marisol, can help us out. Lyle corrects me yet again on his friend’s name, much to my delight. I know perfectly well what her name is but it’s so ridiculous, I can’t help making fun of it. I know, it’s like the pot calling the kettle black, but really! Lyle wants to know why I think the blond is so important. I can’t tell if he’s being sarcastic or if he really wants to know, but I answer him, anyway. Sort of. I say it’s just a hunch because I don’t want to tell him about my dream. He’ll think I’m a nut if he doesn’t already. I need him on my side because I always think better with two heads than with one. I also want to take his mind off Mrs. Jenson, and thinking about possible suspects should do the trick.

To make it even sweeter for him, I tell him that I agree that there’s something odd about Ursula contacting Paris the same day he’s hit. Lyle reminds me that she had made a point of saying her husband was out of town which sounds fishy to him. I tell him what Mrs. Jenson told me about her own husband. It’s not that far a drive from San Diego to San Francisco. He could easily have driven up here to commit the crime if he missed a day of the hunting convention, and who would be the wiser? It’s not as if someone would have been keeping track of his movements 24/7. He certainly has the temperament to commit cold-blooded murder, turn around and finish attending a hunting convention and not turn a hair. Mr. Jenson is definitely a top suspect on my list as far as means and opportunity. When it comes to motive, however, he falls a little short. I can’t see him taking out his wife’s only living child, but stranger things have happened.

Don’t Rayne On My Parade; chapter one, part two

Posted on July 4, 2019 by Minna Hong • 0 Comments

Over the years, our friendship has been forged through fire as well as through happiness. He was there for me when my father died in a car accident. A drunk driver plowed into my father’s car at three in the afternoon. The driver had eight previous DWIs, but hadn’t spent any real time in jail. Killing Dad netted him a year behind bars. A year! He took away a man’s life, and he got a year. It was disgraceful. I was a sophomore at Berkeley and almost went insane. I had been Daddy’s girl since I was born, and his death hit me hard. If it hadn’t for Paris, I would have been in horrible shape. He was the one who held my hair—it was waist-length then—while I puked night after night of heavy drinking. He would go to the parties with me, though he rarely drank himself, making sure I didn’t get myself into trouble. He’s the one who kept telling me that it was going to be all right when I felt as if I had no more heart or will to go on. He was the one who stopped me from slashing my wrists at one especially low point that year. My mom adores him.

In return, I was the one who ran interference between him and his mother. She sent him letters every week while we were in college just as she does now, but he wasn’t as inured to them then. Each letter would upset him for days. Unlike me, he didn’t realize he was attracted to both males and females until he was a junior in high school. His mom caught him kissing a boy that year. Ever since, she has been preaching to him, trying to save his soul. After reading each letter, he would rush to our apartment and sit in the dark for hours, not moving from whatever position he was in. Paris became so distraught after one letter—where his mom wrote she’d rather see him cut off his testicles and become a eunuch than for him to fornicate the way he did—he refused to speak for days, even in class. I decided to take matters into my own hands. His mother’s letters arrived on Friday without fail—I wouldn’t put it past her to have calculated when she’d have to send the letter from Memphis to get it there on Friday just so his weekend would be ruined. I intercepted the next one and opened it. I refused to let him see it, then read the innocuous parts to him such as how his mother was doing. That’s how we read the letters until Paris felt strong enough to read them on his own. I was also the one who kept him together after the love of his life died from AIDS, but I don’t like thinking about that.

“What are you thinking so hard about?” Paris asks softly.

“Family,” I reply. “Us.” I take a deep breath before continuing. “Do you ever think how much easier it’d be if we were a couple?” We’ve talked about this before, but it’s a subject we revisit from time to time.

“Yeah, no doubt,” Paris sighs, ruffling my hair. I move so that I am in his arms, rather than lying in his lap. It’s not like we haven’t tried. Paris was my first kiss from a boy. I had been very unpopular in high school, more teased than dated. The only physical contact I had was when a boy snapped my bra then ran away. I messed around with female friends from time to time, but boys left me strictly alone. Paris was popular, but had been gallant enough to take me to our junior prom. When he dropped me off for the night, he kissed me on my front porch. My parents had left the porch light on, but that hadn’t daunted Paris. In some ways, it’s still my most cherished kiss.