by Vivien Chien
I sighed. Sometimes I could be hard on Vanessa, and I hated to be that way, but—thanks to my mother—she was here to learn about work ethic, and reading magazines on the job wasn’t part of the lesson. “Yes, I think that would help … thanks.”
She nodded vigorously and her ponytail bobbed up and down. “Have you heard anything new about Nancy?”
“Not yet, I’m planning on calling Peter as soon as I get to the back office. I didn’t want to bother him first thing in the morning,” I said.
Vanessa cocked her head at me. “You don’t have to call him, he’s back in the kitchen if you want to talk to him. He didn’t tell you he was coming in?”
My eyes widened. “What? No, he didn’t mention it.”
“Yeah, he showed up first thing this morning. He and Lou have been tearing it up in the kitchen all morning. I thought he would have told you.”
Lou is our evening and alternate weekend chef. I gazed back at the double doors that led to the kitchen. “Well, okay then.” I headed back without another word.
I passed Anna May on the way back to the kitchen. She was taking an order, but caught sight of me out of the corner of her eye. She acknowledged me with a curt nod and then went back to writing on her order pad.
When I entered the kitchen, I saw the two men standing side by side at the grill. The clanking of their spatulas almost had a rhythm to it, and they were so involved in what they were doing, they didn’t even notice me walk in.
I went to stand near the grill, and Lou happened to glance up and notice me. “Boss lady!” he yelled with an overabundance of pep. “Surprised to see you in the house today!” He saluted me with the spatula. His slicked-back hair was covered with a chef’s hat that sat crookedly on his head and he adjusted it with his free hand. Lou is a middle-aged guy with puppy-dog eyes and an overexaggerated smile. The smiling thing had gotten under my skin a time or two, but I was trying to work on that.
Peter, who had one earbud in his ear—most likely jamming to heavy metal—noticed that Lou was flailing his arms. He followed Lou’s gaze and stared at me as if I were a ghost. “Oh hey, dude,” he mumbled before turning his attention back to the strips of steak he was browning.
“Peter … what are you doing here?” I asked. “Shouldn’t you be at the hospital with your mom?”
His focus remained on the browning meat in front of him.
“Peter,” I said more firmly.
Nothing.
“Lou would you mind taking over everything while I talk with Peter in my office, please?”
“No problem, boss.”
Peter looked up, staring at the wall in front of him. He did not turn to acknowledge me.
“NOW…” I said, feeling like a parent scolding their child.
Peter huffed and set the spatula down on the edge of the grill and walked past me into the back room without ever making eye contact.
The back room past the kitchen is an employee lounge of sorts. I use the term “lounge” loosely. It’s a near barren room with a beat-up couch and an old TV set. Both items have been there since I was a little kid. There was also a small table where I used to do my homework when I was too young to be home by myself.
Inside the room was a smaller room, which is now my office. I’ve seen walk-in closets that are bigger. There’s just enough room for a desk, a filing cabinet, and a guest chair. My mother never needed more than that. I was in the process of making it my own, but with things as busy as they had been, there was hardly any time for redecorating.
Peter slumped into the guest chair and I shut the door before sitting in my own chair. I set my purse on the desktop. “What’s going on with your mom?”
His eyes were focused on the plant I keep on top of the filing cabinet. I can’t be trusted with plants that require a lot of care, so Megan had gotten me an aloe plant that needed minimal attention. “She’s awake and stuff, but she’s super weak. She’s got pretty bad burns all over one arm. And she hit her head pretty hard so they’re keeping her for observation.”
“She’s going to be okay, Peter,” I said, trying to sound reassuring.
A few months ago, Peter had learned the true identity of his father, only for his father to die shortly afterward. He’d made peace with what had happened, but I knew it stung him to realize how close he’d been to finally getting to know his father only to have that chance ripped away.
His eyes finally met mine, and he resembled a little boy. I’d only seen him this vulnerable a couple of times and each time it threw me off balance. We had grown closer in recent months because of everything we’d faced together and I was happy to say that Peter had become one of my best friends.
“I just can’t lose her. You know?” he whispered. “She’s the only family I’ve got and this whole thing has made that fact so clear to me. Like, it wakes you up, you know?”
“I know … and you won’t lose her. Your mom is a tough lady, she’s going to be fine. She just needs a couple days to rest.”
“I did have to leave, though,” he admitted. “It’s hard to see her that way and I’d been there all night. I slept in one of those crummy chairs. The nurse tried to kick me out at first but I think she felt sorry for me. My mom can barely lift her head and she’s lying there totally worried about money and not working. I told her I’d get some extra hours in to help with bills. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not,” I said. “We’ll help however we can. I can pay her for a few of the days she’s gone. Business has been pretty good because of the night market, so we can afford to pad her paycheck.”
He looked at me skeptically. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, don’t think anything of it. We’re all family here and we take care of each other.”
“Okay, thanks. I owe ya one.” He stood up to leave.
“Like I said, Peter, we’re family. You owe me nothing. Just make me a bowl of udon noodles and we’ll call it even.”
CHAPTER
5
With my freshly made bowl of noodles, I headed out into the dining room to eat and relax in one of the booths right outside of the kitchen. Normally I’d hide away in the back room, but today I needed the background noises of other people chatting and the clanking of plates and chopsticks to distract me.
While I slurped my noodles, I scrolled through my phone and opened Facebook. I typed in Calvin’s name and searched for his profile. I didn’t know another way to get hold of him. I sent a friend request and typed a quick message asking him about his mother and if he knew how Ruby was holding up.
The dining room began to thin out as customers left to continue their shopping adventures, and Anna May came over to my booth, sitting across from me. She flipped over the empty teacup at her place setting and poured herself some oolong tea.
“How are you doing, little sister?” she asked after taking a sip of her tea. She leaned back in the booth and rolled her shoulders.
I set my phone down. “I’m hanging in there, I guess. My entire right side hurts and my ears are kinda weird still.”
“I still can’t believe what happened last night. This whole place was in an uproar today. You should have seen the Mahjong Matrons this morning. They’re convinced this is a sign of things to come.” Anna May rolled her eyes. “You know how they get.”
And I did. The Mahjong Matrons were our most faithful customers and as reliable as the postal service. They were the first ones in every morning regardless of rain, heat, snow, or any other weather conditions that Mother Nature could conjure up.
The four women were also the eyes and ears of the Asian community, especially when it came to the goings-on at Asia Village. Nothing got past them. Nothing. They were also old-fashioned, superstitious, and not afraid to express their opinions to anyone who would listen.
“Well, let’s hope they’re wrong about that,” I said. “We don’t need any problems before Aunt Grace gets here.”
“That’s the truth.” Anna May nodded, drumming her French-manicured nails o
n the table. “Mark my words, Mom and Aunt Grace will be arguing within fifteen minutes of seeing each other.”
“Fifteen minutes?” I asked. “You give them too much credit.”
We both shared a laugh before my sister got up to greet a new table of customers that had just been seated.
Anna May and I didn’t always get along, but we had silently agreed to call a truce of sorts until my aunt Grace had come and gone. My mother was beside herself with the news that my aunt was coming on such short notice.
My sister and I had nothing on these two; truly, they put us to shame. My mother didn’t approve of her sister’s life in the least, and vice versa. They fought about everything under the sun, from cooking techniques to how children should be raised.
Before I could pick up my chopsticks again, Ian Sung, our property manager, stormed into the restaurant. He scanned the dining room and when his eyes fell on me, he threw his hands in the air and came rushing over.
“Lana, there you are!” He unbuttoned the jacket of his navy blue tailored suit and sat across from me, sliding his hand across the table.
I didn’t reach for it. Since his arrival at our plaza, he had been trying to casually woo me from time to time. He wasn’t making any progress and that drove him crazy. Based on the little that I knew about him, he was a man who always got what he wanted.
The fact that Adam and I were officially a couple drove him nuts, and he inserted himself into my life any chance that he got. Needless to say, Adam was not a fan.
“Hi, Ian.” I didn’t hide the exasperation from my voice.
His dark brown eyes studied me intently from across the table. “Are you all right? I heard about what happened and that you had been injured. I thought about calling,” he said while adjusting his tie, “but I figured Detective Trudeau wouldn’t take too kindly to that.”
“Well, I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine,” I told him. “I’m a little banged up, but it could have been much worse if Peter hadn’t been there.”
“And how is his mother?”
“She’s going to be okay, but they’re keeping her for observation right now. He’s a mess.”
“As is to be expected,” Ian said with a nod. His focus drifted toward the kitchen door.
I finally picked up my chopsticks and poked at my noodles. By now, they were cold and I’d lost my appetite. “Is there anything else you needed?”
He turned his attention back to me. “Hm? No, nothing else. I just wanted to stop by and express my concern. You should take it easy. Why don’t you take a break from the board meetings until you’ve had some time to rest?”
“Okay.” Even though I didn’t feel that bad, it was one less thing I had to deal with, so I wasn’t going to argue.
He stood up from the booth, and buttoned his suit jacket. “If you need anything at all, you know where to find me.”
“Thanks, Ian.”
He gave me another once-over before exiting the restaurant.
I gave my noodles another stab before I decided to give up. I took my half-eaten bowl into the kitchen and cleaned up a little bit while I was in there. After that, I went back to my office and took care of some light paperwork, starting a list of things that needed to be handled on Monday. My brain needed a break and focusing on the mundane was helping me avoid thoughts of the previous day.
Business had picked up while I’d been stowed away in the back, and when I came out, my sister and Vanessa were zipping around the dining room. I jumped in to lend a hand since we were short a person, and helped keep the dining room under control until it slowed down again.
I ended up staying until the plaza closed at nine. Peter, who had only left once for about two hours to visit with his mom, was busy cleaning up the kitchen when I finally made my way into the back. He sulked around the appliances, putting away utensils and tidying up while Lou worked on some dirty dishes in the sink.
We’d sent Vanessa home once the rush died down. My sister handled cleaning up the dining area while I took care of the cash intake. Within forty-five minutes after closing we were all done with our respective duties. Lou thundered a cheerful good-bye before leaving. Anna May, Peter, and I locked up the doors and headed outside, where we saw Kimmy locking up her parents’ store. The gate had been pulled down and she fiddled with the lock at the bottom.
Kimmy stood up, straightened herself, and came sauntering over to us, her eyes fixed on me. “Lana, what the heck are you doing here? Don’t you go home anymore?”
I shrugged. “Guess I needed to work off some tension.”
“Good thing she stayed,” Anna May added. “I would have had to call Mom in to work and she and Dad were busy visiting people in the hospital.”
Kimmy held up a hand. “Wait a minute. Where is Anna May Lee and what have you done with her?”
Anna May looked taken aback. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I just mean that I have never heard you say you were glad that your sister was around. Aren’t you guys supposed to be mortal enemies or something?”
Anna May snorted. “Kinda dramatic, don’t you think?”
I glanced at my sister. “You have to admit—”
“Oh come on, we’re not that bad.”
Peter chuckled. “You guys can be downright nuclear at times.”
Anna May scowled at Peter. “You’re not helping, Huang.”
I stifled a laugh. “Okay, how about let’s just get going.” I checked my phone and saw that I had a few missed text messages from Adam and Megan. I was hoping for a notification from Calvin, but there was none. “I’m supposed to head out with Megan and Adam tonight,” I said to the group as we made our way to the main entrance.
“Don’t forget we have dim sum with Mom, Dad, and A-ma tomorrow,” Anna May said.
“How could I forget?” I turned to face my sister. “We go every week.”
“Well, don’t get all drunk tonight and be surprised that you’re hungover tomorrow. You know Mom hates when you drink at all.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I waved her off. “I don’t exactly feel much like drinking anyway. I’ll be fine.”
“You better be. Mom will have a fit if you show up all messed up in front of A-ma.”
Kimmy pointed at my sister. “There she is. Anna May is still intact.”
Anna May groaned. “Whatever … I’m heading home. I’ll see you tomorrow, little sister.” She bumped my arm with her own and hurried out the door.
“You know, teasing my sister isn’t going to help the situation,” I said to Kimmy. “We’re trying to get along for the time being.”
“Whatever, your sister is a total nag, and I know how to get under her skin.” Kimmy shrugged with indifference. “What can I say? It amuses me.”
Peter had grown quiet on our way to the parking lot, and as I opened the Village’s main door, the stagnant summer heat smacked us in the face. It was unusual so early in the summer.
“Hey, why don’t you guys join us tonight?” I suggested to the two of them. I felt like Peter could use a distraction of some kind and what better way to get his mind off his worries than to drag him and Kimmy out for a night on the town.
Peter shook his head. “Nah, man, that’s cool. But you can go if you want,” he said to Kimmy.
“Oh, I can go if I want?” Kimmy snapped at him. “Whatever. First of all, you know I do whatever I want anyway. And second of all, you’re not going to sit around in your apartment and mope all night. You’re coming out with us.”
Peter started to say something but must have thought better of it. We all knew Kimmy didn’t take no for an answer. He sighed. “Okay … where are we headed then?”
I checked through the messages I had from Megan. “I guess we’re heading to Punchbowl Social down in the Flats. She wants to go bowling.”
Kimmy smiled. “Sounds like a plan to me. We’ll meet you guys down there. I want to change into something Flats-worthy.”
I said good-bye to the unlikely couple
and made my own way home. I was excited to go bowling with the group, but I didn’t know how I would fare with my recent injuries. Still, it would be nice to be out of the house and occupied with something other than these pesky thoughts.
* * *
That night, the five of us had a blast and for a few hours all our problems drifted away while we drank, bowled, and danced to silly songs from two decades ago. I was only able to bowl a few frames because of my shoulder, but I enjoyed just being with my friends and Adam, who surprised me with his lackluster bowling skills. Considering that he was someone who had great aim with a gun, it was a shock to discover he was more likely to throw a gutter ball than a strike.
Peter also seemed to let loose, and it was great to see him smile after the difficulties of the past twenty-four hours. As I watched Megan get another strike and do a victory dance, I couldn’t believe that less than a full day ago, we’d been standing around on Rockwell Avenue suffering the aftermath of an unexpected explosion.
Little did I know that the next day our troubles wouldn’t just return, they would multiply.
CHAPTER
6
“Wake up!”
I opened my eyes to find Megan standing over my bed, frantically waving the TV remote. Kikko rustled under the blankets, poking her head out to investigate the commotion.
Stretching my arms over my head, I reached for my pillow and plopped it over my face. “Not yet … half an hour. At least.”
“Lana, this is serious … I just turned on the TV and you have got to see this.” She flipped the blankets off me and grabbed my pillow, throwing it to the side. “It’s about the explosion. Hurry. Up!”
“Fine,” I grumbled, flung myself out of bed and followed her out into the living room. Kikko trailed behind me, snorting along the way.
A male news anchor with a stern face shared a split screen with a young male reporter who was standing in the parking lot where the food truck disaster had taken place. In the background, crime scene technicians worked through the rubble digging for evidence. Right as we entered the living room, the screen went back to the news anchor and in the top corner was a live video of Detective O’Neil giving a public statement. The news anchor’s image shrank as the detective took over the screen, caught in mid-sentence.
