Hiking with my Asian Mother

   When Lee woke up to the sound of drapes being pulled across the window, she knew she was in for a bad day.
Please leave me alone, she thought, burying her pounding head underneath a pillow.
"Why you sleep in middle of day!" Her mother's shrill voice erased any chance of returning to her slumber. "I will have no lazy daughter!" Although Lee might have expected this when she was a teenager, she was an adult now. She had a husband and a house of her own. Why was her mother even here?
"Just go home," she said, unmoving.
"We both leaving. Get out of bed." She pulled away Lee's blankets, leaving her exposed and cold.
"I'm not going anywhere." She tried pulling back her covers, but they were on the floor now.
"Yes, you are. Get up!" She motioned impatiently at Lee, waving her arms wildly. Lee sat up and rubbed her eyes, wincing at the tender flesh underneath her eyelid. She'd forgotten the bruise left there last night. She looked at the clock with the red digital numbers. 10:47. Dan would be home in a few hours.
"I can't leave, Mae. I don't feel good and Dan will want me home today."
"I called him on phone. He know you come with me."
"He does?"
"Jah."
Lee didn't think that Dan would have agreed to her leaving, but then again, she knew how persistent Mae could be.
"Maybe I should call him. Are you sure he understood you? Sometimes your accent confuses him."
"Jah, he understood. Now hurry. Take shower and get dressed. We leave 20 minute." Lee grabbed her phone and went to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Her reflection stared back at her, a discolored shadow of her former self. She remembered the first time she saw herself like this.
It was two years ago in April and she and Dan had been married for only a few months. Khmer New Year was being held at the West Los Angeles Buddhist temple, and everyone was there enjoying the traditions with food, lighting incense, and games. Lee spent most of the time helping in the kitchen, frying chicken wings. However, whenever she took a break she noticed Dan was always talking with this one girl. She didn't like how he was spending so much time with her and later that night she confronted him about it.
"It was just talking. What, I can only talk to you now, is that it?"
She slapped him first. Before she could realize what she had done he began punching her until she fell to the ground crying.
"Look at what you made me do, Lee." He began pacing and threading his hands through his hair. "You have to understand — I'm a man. You can't just do things like that without a reaction." He left their bedroom and went downstairs, leaving her alone. Later he came back with an ice pack and apologized. Things would go back to how they used to be, he promised. They slept in each other's arms, hoping to just forget about it. Lee had wished she had never brought up the girl in the first place. It was a stupid mistake and she had overreacted.
The next morning, Lee saw herself in the mirror. Her cheek had been swollen and her lip cracked. She had tried to cover it up as best as she could, but it wasn't enough when Mae had come by.
"Your husband a pig," she said as she rubbed tiger cream on Lee's wounds, "You could do better."
"Is that what you thought when you left Pa? The words came out harsher than what Lee had intended, but it was something she had never forgiven her mother for.
Before their family had come to America, Mae left for the refugee camp without her husband — Lee's father. When they arrived she didn't even list his name to send for him. It wasn't until years later did Lee and her siblings find out he was killed shortly after they left, leaving them fatherless.
"I had my reason," she said simply. Of course, that wasn't enough for Lee. All she knew is that her mother had left without their father, and now he was dead because of that. She wouldn't make the same mistake with her husband.
The next few times Dan had hit her, Mae had become more angry and hostile towards him and always tried to convince Lee to leave.
"A good husband might hit his wife one or two time. Your husband hit too many time."
Today she didn't even look at Lee's face. Lee flipped open her phone and selected Dan's cell, bringing the phone to her ear. It rang five times before he answered.
"Is something wrong?" His voice was tense and abrupt as if he was stressed and busy. Work had been especially hard for him lately, especially since the new boss arrived.
"Umm, no. Nothing's wrong. Are you ok?"
"Babe, I told you not to call me while I'm at work, unless its an emergency."
"I know. I'm sorry. I just... did my mom call you about me spending the day with her today?"
"I think she left a message. I know she's your mom an' all, but I don't like how she's always trying to get you to leave me. Either she backs off, or maybe it's not a good idea you spend so much time with her. You and me come first, babe."
"You're right. I'll talk with her. Otherwise, its OK with you if I go out?"
"Just be back by nine," he instructed. Lee agreed and they both exchanged their love goodbyes. Closing her phone, Lee turned on the shower and stepped into the cold water. She understood Mae's concern about her marriage, but she knew Dan loved her. He just struggled with stress because he was trying to make a good life and future for their family. Mae would never understand that.
When she finished, she returned to the bedroom to put on some clothes. Normally she would have been much more concerned about what she was to wear and wouldn't have let Mae choose her wardrobe for a trip, but today she didn't care. She didn't even know where they were going. Probably somewhere outside the city. The beach might be a good place for Mae to relax and breathe some good air.
"Why you have no boot?" Mae came from the hallway.
"I have boots."
"No, you have fake boot. We go to store to buy boot."
"What do I need boots for?" Mae had already disappeared into the hallway before she could finish her question. Lee walked towards the kitchen, but Mae was outside heading towards her car. Lee grabbed her purse and slipped on a pair of tennis shoes as she exited the door.
"Could you at least tell me where we are going?" she said as she opened the passenger door.
"Shoe store."
"I meant after that."
"We go on hike."
"A hike?"
"Mhmm." Mae turned on her favorite CD of Cambodian music, a playlist Lee's younger brother, Sothea, had made for her. Lee slipped on her largest pair of sunglasses and leaned back. She knew she wasn't going to get much more information from Mae, so she didn't bother trying. Next, they were on the road to the shoe store as Mae sang along to her favorite songs.