✅ A Dose of Humiliation

8. Understanding

"How could I leave him?" I muttered angrily as I stacked the paint cans. "They were beating him just because he's not white enough. I mean, anything else I could have done differently, but not letting an innocent kid get broken by Todd Becker and his dad."

"I understand your discomfort," Mrs Yuan nodded sagely. "Many times, the right path is not the easy one. And I sincerely regret that you have to suffer this indignity because of me. I am familiar with business law, not so much with this cruel and unusual punishment for the young. I did not expect the mall to take action against you. Am not I the victim?"

"Yeah, and I'm really sorry. It honestly was an accident–"

"And you acted quickly to support your friend. That, I should encourage. Beside which, you are helping me to redecorate the exterior now." I nodded, and gave a little smile. We were carrying paint cans in all the colours of the rainbow outside The Hat Trick now, ready to paint pride flags in a pattern to simulate the waves of an imaginary ocean and storm clouds overhead, framing the products displayed in the windows. I had worked here as an assistant on Saturdays for as long as I had been old enough to hold a part time job, but this was the first time decorating had been a part of my role. And I was amused by her decision to paint the flags on – which seemed like quite a permanent display – with only three days of Pride Month left, when most of the other shops in the area were taking them down.

"Why now?" I asked, glancing across to where some guys in Dābs tunics were up ladders trying to adjust their own display. I put the little pot of pink paint I was holding on top of the others, and looked back into the shop to see if we needed any others.

"Why not? I like to walk around here with all the rainbows, it can feel like a forest of colours. And then I am sad when they go away. So we can have the rainbow all year. With all the colours as well."

"It's a great idea. Everything in the window is so colourful, and you can project that across the square. It'll stand out, be visible from the upper levels as well." And then as I looked up, trying to judge just how visible this new decor would be, I glanced down at the bottom of this particular window. There had been a large chunk knocked out of the glass; or whatever kind of plastic it was, given that it hadn't shattered. For the last week or so, there had been a piece of some kind of canvas stuff taped over the hole to stop wind blowing into the shop, but I could see now that the tape was loose around three edges. I could lift the cover with one finger and see the damage beneath. Where the hole had been filled in with something that looked like grey putty. I poked it, and found the surface dry and rough. The stuff Mum used to cover up the screw holes when she took a shelf down, I guessed; a powder that could be made into a paste and then filed once dry for cosmetic repairs. Certainly not designed for windows.

"Mrs Yuan?" I asked, nervously. "What happened to the window? I mean... where I broke it. It looks like–"

"Epoxy filler," she said quickly. "My son swears by it. Tougher than the original, stop the crack from spreading. And cheap too."

"Yeah, but it's... well... grey. It looks like there's a piece of stone stuck in your window. You shouldn't have to take the cheap option, it will..."

"Why must I care about the colour when it is painted over. I have lived long enough to know that a glazier would ask a hundred times more than all these paints. And it motivates me to do this job, after I have put it off for several years. See, nobody will see that little mark."

"Wait, you're doing this to save money on the repair? But I told you I could pay–"

"This is better. You said yourself that it will bring attention. So don't argue. You can help me to paint rainbows, and everybody is happy. This is satisfactory, and I'm sure that your friend is happier, to spend less time paying for a silly accident. These things happen, dear. You can't prevent the chaos in life, but you can turn every misfortune into a happy accident if you look at it in the right way."