Eat a Bowl of Tea

Ben Loy searches unsuccessfully for Chuck Ting. At a coffee shop, he overhears the rent collector Chong Loo and the barber Ah Sing gossiping about his father’s disappearance. Their conversation reveals that news of Mei Oi’s infidelity and Wah Gay’s attack on Ah Song is common knowledge in the neighborhood. Chong Loo suggests that Wah Gay could be in serious trouble if police find him.

As Ben Loy leaves the coffee shop, the dark streets of Chinatown seem to become menacing and unfamiliar. He has a vision of the rice paddies near Sun Lung Lay and struggles to separate the image from reality. He realizes that his father’s actions have changed the dynamics of their family’s relationships forever. He cannot bear to think about divorcing Mei Oi. He fantasizes about killing Ah Song.

At the apartment, Ben Loy tells Mei Oi about Wah Gay’s attack and confronts her about the affair. Mei Oi insists she loves him and calls her actions crazy. Ben Loy privately wishes the gossip would stop so they could return to their lives but feels emasculated by the affair. He leaves the apartment angrily and sits in the park alone, crying.