what do you want?
spider'? is that what he just called you, fong?
mentally, i'm way too old for you. i'm going inside.
yeah, that's exactly what i'm doing, fong. sue rolls her eyes and goes inside. smokie stares at tao.
oh really? what's that?
another big, tough gangbanger with little-man' complex. smokie leers at sue. it makes her uncomfortable.
whatever.
don't go, tao.
run, tao, run! sue is slapped to the ground.
run!! tao is tackled by smokie and punched in the face. tao's mother comes out the front door. smokie and spider pull tao towards the car as the other gangbangers keep mom, grandma and sue at bay. a middle-aged hmong man from across the street comes into the yard. all the gangbangers overreact and pull their pistols. the middle-aged hmong man gets in spider's face and is cracked across the jaw with a pistol barrel. tao back-pedals away from spider and smokie. it becomes a pushing, rolling, surging melee. this mess boils over and spills into walt's front yard.
thank you. walt lowers his rifle and spits on the ground.
we brought you some shallots to plant in your garden.
they're perennials, they come back every year.
because.  because you saved tao.
well, you're a hero to the neighborhood.
too bad, they think you are and that's why they're bringing you the gifts.
there's another thing.
this is my mother, vu, i'm sue and this is my brother, tao. we live next door.
tao is here to apologize. sue shoots a hard look at tao, who shifts uncomfortably.
great, another asshole with a fetish for asian girls. god, it gets so old.
my name? it's take your crude, overly obvious come-on to every woman who walks past and cram it.' that's my name.
oh, of course, right to the stereotype thesaurus. call me whore' and bitch' in the same sentence.
what, are you gonna hit me now? that'd pretty much complete the picture. the tall black guy pushes sue hard against the wall.
so, what's with you, you have some sort of savior complex or something?
i know, i know. take it easy. walt looks at her for a second. she's not ruffled at all. they drive.
yeah, kind of, his name is trey.
you mean, hmong? we're hmong, not hu-mung.
wow! you're so enlightened. hmong isn't a place, it's a people.
it's a vietnam thing. we fought on your side and when america quit, the communists starting killing the hmong, so we came over here. walt is quiet for few seconds.
hill people. we were hill people, not jungle people. boo-ga, boo- ga, boo-ga.
blame the lutherans. they brought us here.
thanks for the ride.
tao is actually really bright, he just doesn't know which direction to go in.
it's really common. hmong girls over here fit in better, we adjust. the girls go to college, the boys go to jail.
hey, walt, what are you up to? walt points his index finger at the can of pabst in his hand.
we're having a barbecue. you want to come over?
there's tons of food.
no worries, we only eat cats.
no, i'm kidding, you moron. come on, come on over. you can be my special guest.
what have you had to eat today, walt?
come on over and get something to eat. we've got beer, too. walt exhales loudly --
happy birthday, wally.
as they say, when in hmong.
it's fine. phong appears from the crowd and points at walt.
she said welcome to our home.
no, she didn't.
yes, she hates you.
maybe we should go in the other room.
a lot of the people in this house are very traditional. number one, never touch a hmong person on the head, not even a child. hmong people believe that the soul resides in the head, so don't do that.
hmong people also consider looking someone in the eye to be rude. that's why everyone looks away when you look at them.
yeah, some hmong smile or grin when they're yelled at or get into a confrontation. it's a cultural thing. it expresses embarrassment or insecurity, not that they're laughing at you.
what?
this is kor khue. he's the lor family shaman.
something like that. the hmong hold their clan shaman in very high regards.
kor khue is interested in you, he heard what you did. he says he would like to read you.
he wants to read you. tell you your soul. it'd be rude not to allow him this, it's a great honor.
kor khue says that you think you've been disrespected. you do not live your life. your food has no flavor. you are scared of your past.
are you okay? walt brushes past her and goes into the bathroom.
are you okay?
you were bleeding? walt smiles disarmingly.
come on, you glutton, let's go downstairs.
to mingle.
come on, you said not to leave you alone.'
well, look who's over there.
my brother tao.
rice liquor. try it.
tao is here to make amends, he's here to work for you.
mother says that tao dishonored the family and now he has to work off his debt. he'll start tomorrow morning.
it's very important to my mother that you accept. it'd be an insult to refuse.
my family is very traditional and it will very much upset them if you don't let tao repay.  tao interrupts from the sidewalk.
kind of ironic, huh?
what the hell do you think i'm referring to? toad washing the car he tried to steal from you.
it's nice of you to kind of look after him like this. he doesn't have any real role models in his life.
you're a good man, wally. i wish our dad would have been more like you.
no, i'm serious. he was hard on us, really traditional, really old school.
yeah, but you're american.
you like him, don't you?
and you spend time with him and you teach him how to fix things and you saved him from that fuck cousin of ours and.
and you're a good man.
hmong girls slip in and out of the culture more easily. date who we want, stay close to our mothers, but are able to keep a foot on each side of the fence. the boys fall through the cracks.
it's tough. the boys float around. the fathers belong in a totally different world and the boys have no one to turn to. does that make sense?
the boys don't ask their fathers for advice, because over here, their fathers no longer have the answers.
it's more common than not. walt reflects on this for awhile, then changes the subject.
no. i dumped him. he was a dim- wit. walt nods.
laab.
oh whatever, wally.
jesus christ, look at you. i've never seen you like this.
look at you smile, old man. kicking back, having a good old time. you're sure pleased with yourself today.
no, admit it. you are. you're feeling pretty good, aren't you?
don't listen to him, wa xam. he's a white devil.
yeah, they're taking the bus.
hello?
tao? tao, are you alright?
what's going on?
where? where'd he go?!
no! no, tao! sue grabs tao's legs and hangs on.
no! don't you dare! stay away from them, tao! i don't want anyone else getting hurt.
no, tao. no! they struggle at the top of the stairs and spill into the kitchen floor. tao runs for the door when something catches his eye.  the kitchen table. the rifle and pistol are still there. walt purposely left the guns at home.