His mother had separated from Lolo and returned to Hawaii to pursue a master’s degree in anthropology shortly after his own arrival. For three years he lived with his mother and Maya in a small apartment a block away from Punahou, his mother’s student grants supporting the three of them. She was a single mother going to school again and raising two kids so that unimportant housework wasn’t exactly at the top of her priority list, and while she appreciated the fine education of his son, she didn’t care minor requirements of her children. Barry did his best to help his mother out where he could. But when his mother was ready to return to Indonesia to do her fieldwork and suggested that he go back with her and Maya to attend the international school there, he said no. He sought his independence. Away from his mother, away from his grandparents, he was engaged in a fitful interior struggle. He was trying to raise himself to be a black man in America, and beyond the given of his appearance, no one around him seemed to know exactly what that meant. -P.-77. August 16, 2021
