Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam

This chapter describes a Thanksgiving in the early 1990s, when Pham’s younger brothers were in college. His mother called Huy just before the holiday and Huy’s friend Laura answered. Pham’s mother told him that she hoped Huy and Laura weren’t a couple because she didn’t care for Laura, a punk-rocker with a nose ring. Pham said not to worry, that Huy was gay. Huy had told him that he was tired of lying about it and wanted to get it out in the open. Their mother was shocked, however, so Pham refrained from telling her that Hien was also gay. She was silent for some time before telling Pham, “An, you tell him Laura is a nice girl. I like her. He should date her. Bring her home for dinner” (316).

When Thanksgiving arrived, everyone came with a different dish; the family had stopped trying to create an American menu and had taken to creating a potluck of various cuisines for the holiday. Huy brought his boyfriend Sean, though he introduced him as just a friend. Their mother inquired about Pham’s and Huy’s prospects for getting married. Huy replied that he was different from Pham and their brother Tien (who was there with his girlfriend) but said no more.