before the Roman Empire was even established. It was a feudal system. There were kingdoms with Vietnamese kings, queens, lords, and ladies."
Mary looked at him. "I never knew that. All I know about Vietnam is what Ba told me. About the war."
Phos smiled. "You come from some rich heritages, Mary. You should never despise any of them."
Mary looked back at the statues. Who would have ever thought that a pair of Vietnamese women had ever done something like battle against the Chinese empire?
"How did you know about them?" Mary asked.
"I don't have an age, remember?" he said. "I was around when everything happened."
Mary couldn't tear her eyes from the statues. She was only able to when Phos reminded her that it was getting late at home and they had school in the morning. He translated them to the roof of her apartment building.
"Thanks," she said. "Not just for the trip. But for telling me about those sisters. It really gives me some perspective on things. And perspective on me."
Phos smiled. "It was my pleasure."
Mary smiled as well. "Well, see you at school." They hugged, and she reached up and gently pressed her lips to his cheek, giving him a quick peck of a kiss.
He looked at her, surprised.
"What?" she asked.
He touched his cheek. "I thought that was something you only did for your mother and grandmother." He smiled. "Thank you."
Phos stepped back and turned, as he normally did before he translated away. But Mary stared at him. He was right. The only times she had ever kissed someone was when she kissed Mom or Ba on their cheeks.
"Phos?" she asked.
He stopped and looked at her. "Yes?"
Mary hesitated for a moment. Then she went up to and him and, this time, pressed her lips to his. Kissing him was like putting her mouth to hot coffee—burning but bearable. He tasted like coconut water, and she could feel some of the hair on his chin. Phos must've been caught off guard, because he didn't do anything at first. Then, he put his arms around her and pulled her closer.
Mary didn't know how long the kiss lasted. Not long enough, as far as she was concerned. But then her mouth started burning. The heat became too much, and she finally had to come up for air. She laughed. "There. So you know that you're not my mom or grandmother."
But Phos didn't laugh, too. He looked concerned.
"What is it?" she asked.
"You're mouth," he said. "It's red."
She wrinkled her brow and pressed her finger to her lower lip. "Ow!"
"You're hurt!" he said.
"Just give me a moment." Mary gently touched her lip again. It stung, and it was starting to feel sore. She remembered feeling the same way when she pulled a heavy pan out of the hot oven once and accidentally brushed her arm against the scalding upper rack. "I think I'm burned."
"A burn?" he asked. "I burned you?"
"It's not like you meant to," she said.
He looked at her. "It's starting to swell."
"I think I need some ice or something," Mary said.
"I think you need more than that," he said. "I'll take you to see your mother at the hospital."
Just then, the door to the roof started to open.
Mary turned to Phos and whispered. "Get out of here!"
"What about you?" he whispered back.
The door opened more.
"I'll be fine. Go!" she hissed.
The door opened all the way. Bruce stepped outside. "Oh, it juss you."
Mary looked around. Phos was gone. "Um, yeah. Just me. I was doing some star gazing." Her mouth was throbbing, and she tried hard to talk normally.
Bruce looked around. "Where your telescope?"
Crap, she thought. "Uh, my telescope? It's uh—"
Just then, a shooting star flashed by.
"Wow!" Bruce said. "Did you see that?"
Thanks Phos, Mary thought. "Yes! I was up here watching for shooting stars. I don't need my telescope for that. But I'm done now, so I'm going downstairs. Good night."
She made her way past Bruce to get down to her apartment. Once inside, she ran to the freezer, grabbed a bag of frozen vegetables, and put it over her sore mouth.
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- 21 -
SPF
The next morning, Mom smeared a cooling gel onto Mary's mouth. She raised an eyebrow. "Curry?"
"Yeah, the leftover one in the fridge," Mary explained. "That stuff becomes nuclear grade when you let it sit for a while. OW!" She really had eaten that leftover curry before she and Phos went to Vietnam last night, and it really was spicier than when Mom had brought it home from