America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

“Okay.” Sheriff George took out his wallet and asked his aunt for change.

“My daughter also came to your restaurant for dinner on Saturday. She was with two of her classmates.”

Sheriff George took the change from his aunt and carefully put the coins into his wallet.

"Are you...Stacy's father?" Auntie asked tentatively.

“You remember?” Sheriff George looked up.

“I remember every customer who came into the store every day of the week,” Auntie said to Sheriff George.

"If you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have charged you."

“That won’t do.” Sheriff George smiled.

He knew how to deal with Asians in Chinatown.

My aunt went into the kitchen and came out quickly. She took two bottles of chilled cola from the freezer and packed them in with the fried rice and noodles.

"It's a free gift," my aunt said.

Thank you.

Sheriff George smiled and walked out of the Yellow Crane Tower Chinese Restaurant.

Back in the car, Jefferson, Jefferson's partner, drove the police car away from the Chinatown area and found a place to park and have lunch.

“If I were your daughter, you would scare me to death.” Jefferson joked with his longtime partner George Stacy once again.

"How's the store?" Jefferson asked.

“It’s a very, very stereotypical husband-and-wife-run Chinese restaurant. If it weren’t a school day, I think I might have seen that kid named Leon buried in his homework at a table in the corner of the restaurant,” George replied.

"Do you want fried rice or fried noodles?" Jefferson asked George.

"Whatever, do whatever you like." George opened a can of Coke and took a sip.

"Then I'll have fried rice, and I'll make you fried noodles."

"..."

The two rolled down the car window. The smell of fried rice and noodles was too strong. If they didn't get some ventilation, the police car would be filled with the smell of fried rice and noodles.

Sheriff George Stacy finished his fried noodles with a frown. He glanced at his partner who was eating fried rice and saw that the other was enjoying his meal.

"Is it not tasty?" the Black police officer Jefferson asked George.

“I’m just not used to it,” George said.

"Do you think it's possible that Gwen might have an Asian husband?" Jefferson joked again.

“It’s alright. At least I don’t worry about my son-in-law committing a crime and going to jail,” George replied.

"Are you worried about your son Miles marrying an African American woman?" George asked his partner.

“That kid… I’m just worried he might get me pregnant out of wedlock later,” Jefferson said.

“And don’t be like his uncle,” Jefferson Morales added, frowning.

When will your brother be released from prison?

"Two more years."

“Sigh…” Jefferson sighed.

He is a sheriff, but his brother is a criminal, and what worries him most is his son Miles, who is very fond of his uncle.

His son Miles was still unaware of where his beloved uncle Aaron had gone in the past few years, and Jefferson could not tell his son that his favorite uncle was in prison, serving a four-year sentence for multiple thefts.

“I’m taking the day off tomorrow. Be careful,” George said to Jefferson.

"What's the matter that requires you to take leave? Did Gwen get her parents called to school?" Jefferson asked.

"There's some connection."

“She hit a boy during PE class at school, and the counselor called me,” George told his partner Jefferson a little lie.

“Oh, this seems to be the first time. Is there anything wrong with the boy’s health? What was his reason for hitting him?” Jefferson laughed.

“Just for those two boys, Peter and Leon,” George replied.

"What?" Jefferson was taken aback.

“Yes, I’m not sure about this either.” George shrugged at his partner.

“But I’m sure Gwen was interested in one of the boys.”

“Joe, you should shift your focus back to your family,” Jefferson advised.

"I...I'm trying."

"We need to work harder."

“Perhaps you could try having Gwen invite her friends over for a party, or you could invite your colleagues and friends over for a party. Either way, one side needs to get to know the other,” Jefferson said.

"That's like I'm Gwen's stepfather. Our father-daughter relationship is way too distant!" George said speechlessly.

“You know what they mean? There’s a saying that goes, ‘Children grow up when their parents aren’t looking.’ You’ll regret it when you find out Gwen’s all grown up,” Jefferson said.

George licked his lips.

"Okay. I'll talk to Gwen about the party tonight."

“If it’s a family party with you as the host, then I’ll bring my wife and son,” Jefferson said.

"Welcome. But things are not settled yet."

……

……

Tuesday was the day to claim the prize. Gwen Stacy was so excited that she didn't sleep all night. At breakfast, she made herself two iced Americanos with high caffeine concentrations and choked on some toasted dry bread.

“I thought you had prepared a drink for me,” George said to Gwen with a hint of resentment.

"Dad, aren't you asleep either?" Gwen asked.

“This is a two million dollar deal. With that kind of money, I’d quit my job,” George said to Gwen.

“This is my, Peter’s, and Lyon’s money, not ours,” Gwen said to her elderly father, George, while protecting her handbag.

"Yes, yes, yes."

“These two boys will be tied to your side for the rest of their lives, their lives bought out by you for two million.” George laughed.

"Your words are really annoying."

The father and daughter stood in front of the sink, using cosmetics to darken their faces in front of the mirror, disguising their true appearance.

After their makeup was done, the father and daughter looked like dark-skinned Hispanics, and couldn't help but laugh when they looked at themselves in the mirror.

"Pay out the entire prize money at once?" George asked Gwen again to confirm.

“That’s right,” Gwen replied decisively.

George Stacy checked her police ID, made sure she had her gun license, and then carefully inspected her personal Smith & Wesson revolver. After confirming that everything was in order, she put the revolver in its holster and covered it with her trench coat.

Gwen put a bulletproof vest over her close-fitting shirt, and then several oversized hoodies on top of that.

After everything was ready, the father and daughter nervously drove their rented car to claim their prize.

Chapter 27 Peter Parker's Smile

George Stacy, with over twenty years of experience as a police officer, has extensive experience in counter-surveillance.

George and Gwen got into the rented Ford car with blank expressions. George carefully examined the car before starting it.

"You received it just like that?"

Gwen's tense nerves only relaxed after the Ford pulled out of the temporary parking space, and she expressed her amazement at the entire award ceremony to her father with some disbelief.

“We chose to accept the award anonymously, otherwise our names would be in the newspapers tomorrow,” George said.

"In short, everything went smoothly, and the two million was successfully pocketed, allowing us to settle down." The old father smiled with relief.

George glanced in the rearview mirror and checked the vehicles behind them; no one was following them.

George parked his Ford in the designated parking lot, called the rental manager to end the rental period, and the bill would arrive within ten business days.

George took Gwen on the subway and then on a bus, taking a long detour before finally getting home.

The first thing they did upon arriving home was to wash off their makeup, then open a can of beer and lie down on the sofa to watch TV.

George could clearly feel that going out with his daughter was much more nerve-wracking than dealing with policing cases in New York on his own, and he dared not relax for even a second.

That's two million US dollars! Deposited directly into my bank account!!

"Helen, are you watching over Gwen from heaven?"

As she drank her beer, George Stacy reminisced about the past.

Gwen's mother, Helen Stacy, died of malignant melanoma, which was already in its late stages when it was discovered.

The doctor told them that malignant melanoma is the deadliest malignant tumor, the fastest-growing and worst-prognosis cancer, and can be called the king of cancers.

When George was determined to spend everything he had to keep Helen alive, fate did not favor them at all. Less than a year passed between the discovery of late-stage malignant melanoma and the death of his wife.

Helen resisted treatment. She would always secretly tell George that she didn't want to sacrifice the future of her entire family for the sake of treating an incurable late-stage cancer, and she didn't want to see George and Gwen fall into a life of poverty.

George silently agreed with Helen's idea and opted for conservative treatment. In the last three months of her life, George quietly stayed by Helen's side at home, allowing her to pass away with dignity.

This also created a rift between him and his daughter, Gwen.

Before Helen died, she comforted George, saying that their daughter would understand their choices when she grew up. But in George's view, even if Gwen grew up and could understand, she still wouldn't agree with the choice they made together back then.

A celebrity interview program was playing on TV, and George fell asleep on the sofa. After all, he had suffered from insomnia just like Gwen last night.

Gwen came out of her bedroom, glanced at her father sleeping in the living room, and picked up a blanket from another sofa to cover George with.

Gwen and George will stay home from today until tomorrow and won't go anywhere. According to their father, George, it's for safety reasons, since they just received a large sum of money into their bank account.

Gwen went back to her room to read, but halfway through, she opened her sketchbook, picked up a pen, and started drawing.

Gwen started drawing comics, depicting the wondrous journey of the fortune cookie.

A small fortune cookie, when crushed, contained a slip of paper with the winning lottery numbers written on it. It was brought to them by a kung fu boy, an unusual transfer student, from his uncle's Chinese restaurant.