by Vivien Chien
I lost sight of the argument and quickly forgot about it when our next wave of customers arrived, keeping us busy for the next hour. In that time, Peter’s mom and our split-shift server, Nancy Huang, showed up to lend a hand. The three of us worked in harmony with Peter cooking, Nancy filling the plates, and me cashing out the customers.
The remainder of the night continued without incident, and I felt pretty chipper. It was going to be a great summer and Ho-Lee Noodle House was sure to gain tons of new business attending these weekly events. As a marketing tool, I’d had postcards made with a picture of our restaurant on the front and our menu on the back to pass out with each order.
As the night trickled to an end and the crowd started to thin out, Peter, Nancy, and I began closing up shop.
Nancy, who is one of my mother’s best friends, is a dainty woman with soft features. Her voice at times is barely above a whisper and the beauty of her youth has carried well into middle age.
She and Esther Chin are my honorary aunts, and I wondered how things would go when my real aunt, Grace, came to visit this summer. It had been a long while since everyone was in the same place at the same time.
Nancy placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I see Sandra Chow talking with Ruby Lin at her booth. It’s been a long while since I’ve seen Ruby. I think I will go say hello.”
“Yeah, I talked with them earlier tonight. I don’t remember her at all.”
“It was a very long time ago. Everybody is always so busy.”
“Were she and Mom close?” I asked. “She mentioned that they were good friends when I was little, but I don’t remember Mom talking about her.”
Nancy tilted her head in consideration. “For a short time, yes.”
Momentarily, I wondered if there might be an interesting back story, since Nancy wasn’t offering much information. But if there was anything to be told, I’m sure I’d hear about it through the grapevine sooner or later. “Okay, well, we’re almost all packed up here. I’ll come and get you when we’re done and ready to go.”
She nodded and turned to leave.
After she’d joined the other two women, I busied myself with straightening up the cash box and the slips containing our orders. The order forms had been another one of my ideas to help keep track of what sold best and what didn’t. I gathered them with a rubber band and slipped them in the cash box before locking it up.
When I lifted my head, I saw Calvin ambling over to our booth.
“Well, if it isn’t Lana Lee … all grown-up.” He laughed as he extended a hand over the register.
“Calvin,” I said, reaching for his hand. “It’s been a while, how have you been?”
“Not too bad. Not too bad, at all.” He glanced down at my hand. “Firm handshake you got there. You’re not a delicate flower, that’s for sure.”
I smiled in return. “That I am not.”
He nodded in approval. “Right, so you’re working for your parents or somethin’?”
“Believe it or not, I actually manage the restaurant now. It was completely unexpected, but it’s paying the bills so I can’t complain. What are you up to these days?”
He gave Peter a quick eyeball before answering my question. They exchanged a head nod and then he turned his attention back to me. “I just quit my job as a trucker and started working in an auto repair shop. I got sick of being on the road all the time, ya know?”
“I can imagine that would be hard on you. How do you like working at the auto shop?”
He shrugged. “Like you said, it pays the bills.”
A scraggly man in a dingy T-shirt and torn jeans came walking up to us from the direction of the food truck area. He stood behind Calvin and peered up at the makeshift sign we had hanging from the top of our tent. “Ha … Ho-Lee Noodle House … for real? That’s the real name?”
I pursed my lips. “Yes, that’s the real name. And we’re closed now, sorry.”
Calvin chuckled. “Easy there, Sunshine, that’s my uncle Gene.”
“Oh!” I blushed. “Sorry, I didn’t realize…” I reassessed him. He seemed kind of young to be the brother of either Sandra or Ronnie. I would guess there was at least a fifteen-year difference between him and Calvin’s parents.
“No sweat … I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure.” Gene stepped up to the counter next to Calvin and gave me a goofy grin. “I’m Gene Tian. Nice to meet you.”
As the words left his mouth, I could smell alcohol on his breath. Clearly he had taken advantage of the beer tent.
“Nice to meet you,” I replied, not bothering to offer my hand.
“My apologies for interruptin’ your conversation, but I need to exit stage left with my designated driver over here.” He jerked a thumb in Calvin’s direction. “Come on, little nephew, time to get out of here.”
“Okay, cool, just one sec.” Calvin turned his attention back to me. “So, I was thinkin’ maybe—”
“Hey … C … we gotta go … ASAP!” Gene grabbed his nephew’s arm and yanked hard. “I need to use the facilities and I ain’t usin’ those Port-A-Johns, ya feel me? There’s a nice bar there on the corner, we can stop in for a drink and I can use the can.”
Calvin rolled his eyes. “All right, let’s go then.” He waved a hand at me. “Maybe we can catch up another time, Lee. I’d sure like to hear how your mom roped you into taking over the family biz.”
“Sure, stop by the restaurant sometime,” I offered. “I’m there all week.”
He winked and ran after his uncle who had already started hightailing it toward the exit.
“Interesting dudes,” Peter said as he finished cleaning off the grill. “I don’t remember the last time I saw Calvin Chow. And that one guy for sure had way too much to drink. Good thing Calvin is taking him home.”
“Odd that I’ve never met or heard of Gene before,” I said as I watched them disappear down the road. “Whose brother do you think he is?”
“No clue, maybe he’s visiting from out of town for the summer or something,” Peter suggested.
“Speaking of visiting relatives,” I said, turning toward him. “My aunt Grace is going to be here in a few days … I want to prepare you for my mother’s crazy behavior.”
“Oh man, is she gonna be all micromanage-y at the restaurant? Because we’ve gotten into a nice flow since Mama Lee has been out of the picture. I mean, I love your mom and everything, but my chi is flowing so much better now.”
I laughed. “You’ve been talking to Mr. Zhang again?”
Peter shrugged. “Guilty as charged.”
I inspected our tent and was satisfied with our progress. All Peter had to do was pull up the trailer so we could haul away our grill and we’d be on our way home. I was already dreaming about slipping into my pajamas and basking in the comforts of air conditioning.
Peter seemed to come to the same conclusion and dug in his pocket for the keys. “I’m sure there’s a line out of the lot, but I’m going to make my way over there anyway. If my mom wants to leave just tell her I’ll call her tomorrow.”
“Okay, I’ll be here,” I told him.
Right as Peter turned his back to me, he paused, his body straight as a rod.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
I heard a crackling sound, and Peter’s head turned in the direction of Wonton on Wheels. “Oh sh—”
Before I could fully understand what was happening, Peter grabbed me and knocked me to the ground. A large boom and the sound of hail followed. From my place on the ground, I could see flames lighting up the parking lot. Wonton on Wheels was on fire.
CHAPTER
3
It felt like Peter and I had been lying on the ground for an eternity as screams erupted in the surrounding area, but in reality it had only been a matter of seconds. After Peter assessed that the danger had passed, he finally let me up. I noticed that my arm was scraped from shoulder to elbow and gravel from the pavement was sticking to the blood covering my arm. I resisted the
urge to faint, telling myself it looked worse than it actually was.
Peter sprang to action and grabbed a dish towel and a bottle of spring water from one of our travel bags. “Here, let me clean this up a little bit.”
While he tended to my wound, I surveyed the area from my position on the ground, trying to see what exactly had happened while we were down. Outside of our tent, the area was complete chaos. The few police officers that had already been on site tried desperately to corral anyone nearby to safer areas. Shrapnel from the explosion was scattered all over the place and smoke from the flames billowed into the night sky. Panic flooded my brain and I craned my neck to check Kimmy’s tent. It appeared to be fine as far as I could tell.
Oh my God, where was Nancy? I turned to Peter who had just finished cleaning my arm. “Peter … where’s your mom?”
Time seemed to stop as he processed my question. “Mom!” He shot up from his kneeling position and whipped around in the direction of the jewelry stand. “Mom!”
Kimmy came running over from her tent and squatted down near the side of my head. “Lana … are you okay? Peter—”
“My mom!” Peter yelled at Kimmy before sprinting over to the jewelry stand.
A pit formed in the bottom of my stomach.
Kimmy watched Peter while I tried to hoist myself up. The two had recently started dating, and though Kimmy often tried to hide behind her “don’t care” attitude, I could tell by the worried expression on her face that she deeply cared for Peter.
“Are you okay?” Kimmy asked again, giving me her arm for balance. “Did you hit your head or anything?”
“I don’t think so.” I inspected the side of my head with the tips of my fingers. “I think Peter put his hand down so I wouldn’t smack my head on the concrete. My hip is killing me though.”
“I’m going to see what happened over there,” Kimmy said, her attention drifting over to Peter. “I hope Nancy’s okay.”
With relief, I heard sirens in the distance. “I’ll come with you.”
I limped alongside Kimmy and she held out an arm in case I needed it. When we reached the jewelry station, we found Peter hunched over his mother who was lying on the ground in front of the stand. Ruby was at the side of the booth and appeared mostly unharmed. She patted Sandra on the face, trying to get her to wake up.
Peter noticed us approach and glanced up. “My mom is breathing but she passed out. When she saw me coming, she said my name and then … her eyes closed.”
I leaned on the tent pole to alleviate some of the tension from my hip. “I’m sure she’s going to be okay,” I reassured him.
Kimmy gestured toward the burning food truck. “Hey … who is that over there?”
We all turned and saw Calvin pacing near the fire as if he were trying to see through the flames. “Dad!”
“Was Ronnie in the truck when this happened?” I asked. “Does anyone know?”
Peter and Kimmy shook their heads.
“I was leaning down when the explosion happened,” Kimmy said. “Thankfully I was far enough away that nothing really came at me.”
“I’ll be right back,” I said to them and began hobbling toward Calvin.
When I reached him, he was near the back of the truck, trying to find an entry point. It was too late and I think he must have known that. “Calvin, what are you doing here?” I asked, tugging on his shirt. “We have to get away from here.” Every movie I’ve ever seen where a vehicle blows up played through my mind and I was anticipating a second explosion.
“Uncle Gene and I barely made it to the corner bar when we heard the explosion. I rushed back to see what happened…” Calvin kept his eyes on the burning vehicle. “I think my dad’s still in there.”
“We don’t know for sure, but either way you can’t run into a fire. You’d never make it out again. The firemen are almost here, they’ll be able to help.” I tugged on his shirt again, and this time, he let me lead him away.
“Mom!” Calvin yelled once he spotted his mom passed out on the ground by Ruby’s booth. He ran to her side and knelt down next to her, where Ruby was already seated. “Is my mom okay?”
Ruby’s eyes were filled with tears and she brushed them away while braving a smile for Calvin. “Yes, she is okay, but I think she hit her head.”
While we all huddled near each other, others who had been down the street came to see what all the commotion was. Jasmine, Mr. Zhang, and Esther came rushing over when they spotted us.
“Laaa-na!” Esther yelled, her gold bangles shimmying up and down her wrist as she waved her arm. “Laaa-na! You okay?” She grabbed my arm and inspected my wound. “You need the hospital. Right away.”
“I’m okay, Esther,” I reassured her. “I’m more worried about Nancy.”
Esther’s eyes darted down to where Nancy lay. “Aiya! Nancy!” She lunged to the ground and put a hand on Nancy’s shoulder. “Nancy … wake up, okay?”
More police began to arrive, along with the fire department. A team of officers busied themselves with creating access points to allow the emergency vehicles to get through. The sirens neared and soon we saw the red and white lights of the ambulance bouncing off the sides of the buildings, making their way to the picnic area.
Pandemonium ensued as various authorities tried to section off the crowd and clear space for gurneys and medical equipment. The fire department worked to extinguish the fire as Calvin stood off to the side, anxious to hear results. I hated to see the hopefulness on his face, since I was sure there was no way someone could have survived that blast.
A paramedic came over and inspected my arm before leading me to one of their vehicles. I was in a fog, kind of dizzy, and slightly nauseous. I began to wonder if I’d hit my head after all. My ears rang and the world around me sounded muffled and distant.
The paramedic, a stocky woman with a blond ponytail, instructed me to sit down in the back of the truck while she took care of me. I complied and watched everyone else move with urgency around me.
When the night began, I’d been so hopeful that this would be the start of a great season, but now as I looked around all I saw was despair.
* * *
After the paramedic finished tending my wound and wrapped my arm in gauze, she recommended that I get further attention at the hospital. She didn’t think I had any head trauma based on the tests she could perform there, but she also reminded me you could never be too cautious. I’m not a huge fan of hospitals, so I thanked her for her assistance and said I would consider it.
In the time I’d been with the paramedic, the others who needed more serious attention had been whisked away. Peter had just finished being checked out and he stood off to the side with Kimmy. I hobbled over to them, favoring my bruised hip. My dream of pajamas and air conditioning had mutated into ice bags and a stiff drink.
As I met up with Peter and Kimmy, he stepped in front of her, putting a hand on my good arm. “Lana, they found Calvin’s dad…”
Oh no, not Ronnie! “And?” I already knew what he was going to tell me by the expression on his face, but part of me was in denial.
“He didn’t make it. They took his body away a few minutes ago. I saw them leave while the paramedic was wrapping my hand.” He held up his left hand to show me the bandages.
“Where’s Calvin?” I asked, searching the crowd.
Kimmy sidled up next to Peter. “He went in the ambulance with his mother. I think that other woman went with them. Ruby, right?”
I nodded.
A tall man with broad shoulders and blond hair approached us. He was wearing a white dress shirt and navy dress pants. I noticed a police badge clipped to his belt.
“Detective O’Neil, Cleveland PD,” he said, gesturing to his badge. “Have you been checked out by a paramedic yet?”
I answered for the group. “Yes, Detective, thanks.”
“I’d like to get brief statements from everyone affected by the blast. I know you’ve been through a lot tonight, but ma
ybe we can chat for a few minutes and then have you come down to the station in the morning for an official report.”
Again I answered. “I’m sorry, I’m afraid none of us really saw much of anything.”
“And you are?” He was about a foot taller than me, maybe close to Adam’s height, and had to look down as he addressed me.
“Lana Lee.”
“Lana Lee … why does that name sound familiar to me?” he asked.
“I’m not sure … I’m the manager of Ho-Lee Noodle House. Maybe you’ve eaten there before?” I replied with a shrug. “We have a tent right over there.” I pointed past him at our now sad, disheveled tent. The front of our grill had been hit with shrapnel and it had a giant dent.
He turned around to see where I pointed. “I see. And where were you when the blast occurred?”
“Me and my cook, Peter, were behind the counter area. He pushed me to the ground right before the explosion happened.”
He switched his attention to Peter. “I’m guessing that’s you?”
“Yes, sir, my name is Peter Huang.” He didn’t offer more, and I knew it was because he hadn’t had good experiences with cops in his recent past.
“I see…” He turned to Kimmy. “And what’s your story, Miss…?”
“Tran … I’m Kimmy Tran.” She was assertive as she said it and lifted her chin. “I was right over there.” She pointed to her booth. “I was packing up DVDs when I heard the boom. Thank God, I was bent down or who knows what would have happened to me. Look at all this stuff everywhere.”
Detective O’Neil pulled a miniature steno notebook from his pants pocket and grabbed a pen from the breast pocket of his shirt. He jotted down notes in a furious scribble and it reminded me so much of the first time I’d met Adam.
I waited until he was finished writing. “Detective, we’d really like to leave. Is there any way we can pack up the rest of our things and head home?”
“Not just yet, ma’am. I’ll get you out of here as quickly as possible, but there are a few things that need to be cleared up before we can let anyone go. We’d also like all of you to return to your respective areas. That would help a great deal.”
