Inside, booths were packed along the right wall, and a long marble-topped counter with stools ran across the back. Behind the counter, soda jerks in white aprons and striped caps concocted ice cream floats and chop suey sundaes topped with fruit and sesame cookies. Lily spotted an empty booth toward the back, and she rushed to claim it, sliding into one of the bench seats as Kath took the one across from her.
Lily had been going to Fong Fong’s for as long as she could remember, but she still opened a menu. There were hamburgers and french fries; banana splits and ice cream parfaits; Napoleons and other pastries that could be ogled in the glass case up front.
“What should I get?” Kath asked.
“Ginger ice cream,” Lily said promptly.
Kath was looking around the soda fountain as if fascinated, her gaze lingering on the mural of the gingerbread man on the wall behind the pastry counter. “This place is something.”
Lily looked around too, taking in the shining stainless steel cases and the polished marble countertops, the Chinese waiters and soda jerks in their spotless white aprons and striped caps. She felt proud of the place; it made Chinatown seem modern and American. “Do you like it?” she asked. She’d never been to Fong Fong’s with a Caucasian.
Before Kath could answer, the waiter arrived to take their order, speaking English with a thick Cantonese accent. For a brief, humiliating moment, Kath didn’t understand him. Lily had to interpret, and it made her wonder if she should have brought Kath here. Her pride twisted abruptly into embarrassment.
After the waiter left, she hurriedly changed the subject and asked, “Are you going to the Spook-A-Rama?”
Kath shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t really like dances.”
“I don’t either, but I have to go because of Shirley. I joined her dance committee.”
“Why?” Kath asked, as if it was a bizarre decision.
Lily sighed and glanced behind her; she didn’t see anyone she knew in the room. “Because it was the only way I could get out of going with Will Chan as his date.”
“Sounds pretty dire,” Kath said dryly.
Lily pretended to scowl at her. “So will you come to the dance?”
A funny look crossed Kath’s face; Lily couldn’t tell if it was surprise or reluctance.
“I have to set up the refreshments but I don’t think I’ll have to work the whole night,” Lily said, in case Kath had thought they wouldn’t be able to spend any time together.
Kath blinked, and then she smiled slightly. “I wouldn’t know what to wear.”
It took Lily a second to realize that Kath was joking, and then they were both laughing, and somehow Lily couldn’t stop—she had to clutch her stomach to contain herself as the waiter delivered their matching stainless steel dishes of ginger ice cream.
Kath picked up her spoon and took a bite, and her eyes widened in surprise as she tasted it. “This is good!”
“I know.” Lily knew she sounded smug, but she didn’t care. She spooned up a bite too. The cold, sweet ice cream was studded with small bits of candied ginger.
“I’ll go to the dance if you’ll come with me to a G.A.A. meeting,” Kath said.
“What do they do at a meeting? Calisthenics or something?” Lily said doubtfully.
“No, we don’t do calisthenics. It’s usually tennis or bowling. It’s fun! Miss Weiland is the G.A.A. teacher. It’s a great group.”
“I’m not so good at tennis or bowling. Well, I’ve never gone bowling—”
“What?” Kath looked shocked. “You have to come.”
Lily spooned up another bite and let it dissolve slowly on her tongue before responding. “I wish there was a girls’ science club or something. I suppose I could join the regular science club, but it’s all boys. I wouldn’t want to be the only girl.”
“What do they do in science club?”
“I imagine they do all sorts of things. Chemistry experiments, or taking apart engines, or . . . you know what I’d really like to do?” Lily leaned forward excitedly. “I want to build a model rocket. I saw an ad for a model rocket kit in Popular Science once—it didn’t look that difficult—but the trick is, you need someplace to set it off.”
Kath’s eyebrows rose. “What do you mean?”
“Well, it’s powered by a carbon dioxide canister, so it’ll launch into the air.” She grew thoughtful. “I suppose it’s a lot like a firecracker, so maybe I could just set it off in the street.”