True To You (Taking Chances #2), page 9
Melanie noted the words Party with Trees printed across the front next to a red S and the image of a redwood tree. “I can’t believe it…”
“It’s cool, isn’t it? I’m going to order another one just like it in forest green to match the tree.”
“It is a great shirt. And you are a true Stanford alumni,” she declared with a lopsided grin. “I’m going to go change.” She excused herself from the table, all the while shaking her head in amusement at the shirt in her hands.
Sam eyed Ben as he sat back down. “Have you ever dated a Chinese girl, Mr. Peters?”
“Please, call me Ben. Even though your sister insists on introducing me as Billie’s teacher, I really am off duty,” he replied with a grin. “To answer your question, no, I haven’t.” Curious as to her train of thought, he asked, “Does it matter if I have?”
“Well, I know you like my sister, and she feels the same,” Sam affirmed with a smile, “but the key to closing the deal is to get our stereotypical Chinese mother on board, too.”
It seemed some stereotypes did ring true. “Tell me more, I’m listening.”
“Let me warn you that it’s not going to be easy, but I’ll try my best to help you. First, compliment her on the plum sauce. It’s the only thing she makes better than our dad, and she loves when customers rave about it.”
“Plum sauce, got it.”
“Second, tell her you’ll give Billie another chance at taking her final exam.”
“I’m sorry, Sam, but I can’t do any special favors because I’m dating your sister. And why would Billie want to retake the test when she got a ninety-one on it?”
A black pony-tailed head popped around the bamboo partition and exclaimed, “Yes! I knew I did well.”
“You are a miracle worker,” Sam stated with a smirk. “Okay, scratch the second idea. Just focus on the plum sauce for now.”
“Right,” Ben managed to answer as Mrs. Koo returned with a bowl of reddish-brown dip.
“Here, try, very good.” Mrs. Koo motioned for Ben to start on the Peking duck.
“M goi, but I’ll wait until Melanie comes back. She went to the restroom.”
Before her mother could dissect Ben’s intentions, Sam jumped in and announced, “Ma, Mr. Peters said Mui Mui got an A on her math test.”
Beaming, Mrs. Koo clasped her hands together and pumped them up and down. “A? Thank you, thank you. You very good teacher.”
“No, Billie is a very good student,” he replied graciously.
“She never get A. So good.” Mrs. Koo’s eyes sparkled in delight as she nodded in Ben’s direction. “You want drink? Soda? I get one.”
“Sure, a soda would be great, m goi,” Ben replied to the back of Mrs. Koo’s head as she headed back to the kitchen.
“Hey, what about me? I want a soda, too. I did the studying,” Billie pouted as she slumped into a chair. “Nothing against you, Mr. Peters, but I was the one who stayed up till one in the morning memorizing equations.”
“No offense taken. Tell you what, even though it’s basically overpriced sugar water, I’ll be happy to buy you a soda.” Ben gave her a playful wink, then stood up. “Hey, would one of you mind checking on your sister? She’s taking a while.”
Sam rolled her eyes. “I’ll bet you ten dollars she’s tidying up the bathroom. She likes to make it hospital-grade clean.”
“I’ll go,” Billie offered. She returned a moment later, her eyes open wide enough to fill up the entire field of vision of her rectangular frames. “Um, guys, we have a visitor.”
Before anyone could take their next breath, they heard a male and a female voice, both speaking in rapid Cantonese. Their animated faces appeared next and it was clear to Ben that this was not just any visitor. The way the man placed his hand on the small of Melanie’s back conveyed a sense of possessiveness. Moreover, Melanie’s starry-eyed expression was a far cry from her usual serious demeanor. Eyeing them warily, Ben cleared his throat to catch their attention.
In the same instant Mrs. Koo walked in with a glass of soda and exclaimed, “You found her! Come sit down. Eat.” She set the glass down in front of Ben and switched to English for his sake. “Good friend from Hong Kong.”
Ben strode over and straightened to his full height of six feet, thankful he towered over the other man. “Hi there,” he stated as he stuck out his hand, “I’m Ben, Melanie’s boyfriend.” The emphasis he placed on the last word caused Melanie and her sisters to gasp.
Strangely enough, Melanie noticed her mother didn’t even bat an eyelash at Ben’s announcement. Perhaps her English comprehension wasn’t as good as she had thought. However, no one could miss the sour expression on Ben’s face. Stepping forward, she wedged herself between the man who had been a part of her past and the man who wanted to be a part of her future. “This is Ming, a childhood friend of mine.”
“Come, sit,” Mrs. Koo encouraged as she directed Ming to the seat next to Melanie’s.
Ming smiled and flashed the dimple in his right cheek at the older woman. “I just came from airport, but I couldn’t wait to see Melanie. It has been too long.”
So, this is Melanie’s ex. What is he doing here? Though Ming’s speech faltered, his charm more than made up for his heavy English accent. Ben could see how his confident stance and baby-faced good looks might catch a girl’s eye. Apparently, Mrs. Koo had also fallen under his spell. From the way she was piling food onto his plate, one would have thought he hadn’t eaten in days. Ben grimaced as he realized the stakes were higher now that Ming had shown up. He would need to pull out all the stops to impress Mrs. Koo.
Everyone settled into their seats and turned their attention to the food on the table. Mr. Koo brought out more dishes and sat down as well. When people weren’t eating, they were talking up a storm. Ming carried the bulk of the conversation with stories about his travels, as well as his upcoming trip the following week.
“What did you say you do for work?” Ben asked.
Ming puffed out his chest and a lock of dyed blond hair fell over one eye, giving him the appearance of a bird doing a mating dance. “I am performer,” he informed with pride. “I started as actor, now I am singer. I come to perform in Las Vegas for New Year.”
“Ming is, how you say… famous,” Mrs. Koo touted.
“He’s more well-known in Hong Kong,” Sam told Ben in a bored tone. “People in the U.S. obviously haven’t heard of Ming. He’s not like Jackie Chan or anything.”
“Sam!” Melanie piped up. “Don’t be rude.”
“It’s okay, I have many fans in America. That’s why I come here. I sell out all my shows.”
“That’s the one thing you’re good at-selling out. Just like how you sold out your friends for your career,” Sam accused through pursed lips.
Melanie gasped at her sister’s bluntness. An uneasy smile spread across her face though when she realized Sam’s words had been lost on Ming and her parents. Even still, she gave her a stern look of disapproval.
“I see.” If there was one thing Ben did see, it was that the cards were stacked against him. Melanie’s ex-boyfriend was too good to be true and also everything he was not: Chinese, famous and rich. Moreover, he was in Mrs. Koo’s good graces. As for his saving grace? Ben noted that Ming hadn’t made a fan out of everyone. Mr. Koo’s wary demeanor silently supported Sam’s outspoken opinion, and Billie remained neutral. That left Melanie, the most important person in the equation. Where did she stand? “You must have a busy schedule. A job like that doesn’t leave much time for relationships, does it?”
“I make time,” he answered as he boldly draped his arm over the back of Melanie’s chair, “for important people.”
The touch of Ming’s arm against her shoulder caused Melanie to jump. She leaned out of his reach and let out a shaky breath. What is he doing? What am I doing? Her thoughts had been jumbled like the contents of a shaken snow globe ever since Ming had surprised her outside the restroom. The tight embrace he had greeted her with and the attention he was showering on her now… it was all too much. But, she had to admit, it felt oh-so good. She had dreamed of this night for so many years, of him coming to America to be with her again. Why did the timing have to be off? If it was three months ago…
“Hey, Mel, you okay?” Ben leaned over, his eyes intense and protective.
“I-yeah, I’m fine.” She reached for the closest serving spoon and scooped some food onto Ben’s plate. “Have you tried the Peking duck? It’s extra crispy tonight.”
“No, I haven’t,” Ben mused, knowing full well she was redirecting the conversation. “Thanks. I’ll help myself to some of the plum sauce.”
Melanie placed the spoon back, then picked it up again. “Ming, would you like some?”
“Yes, of course. Your father’s duck is the best. Better than the finest restaurants in Hong Kong. I know because I have tasted them all.” Encouraged by Mrs. Koo’s laughter, Ming began sharing about the celebrities he had dined with recently. The conversation switched from English to Cantonese as he indulged himself in the spotlight.
Ben attempted to follow along, but his ears had trouble deciphering the different tones. He looked at Melanie in hopes that she would translate for him, but she was just as caught up in Ming’s stories as her mother. During a rare lull in the conversation, he made a last ditch effort to win over Mrs. Koo. “Mrs. Koo, the plum sauce is hou sei8,” he boasted with a wide grin. “You did a wonderful job on it.”
Mrs. Koo’s jaw dropped, then all color drained from her face. The chopsticks in her hand clattered against her plate as she sprang to her feet.
Melanie squeezed her eyes shut, hoping the nightmare would be over when she opened them. This was the cultural clash she had been waiting for, except it was now turning into a major head-on collision.
“The plum sauce is-,” Ben attempted again before Melanie cut him off.
“Ma, Ben didn’t mean that! He was trying to say hou sihk9. He likes your plum sauce. Ma?” Never in her life had Melanie seen her mother at a loss for words. However, she guessed by the way her hands shook that she was gearing up for a verbal onslaught. She wished she could act as a human shield and protect Ben from the imaginary daggers shooting out from her mother’s eyes.
“Ma, calm down,” Sam piped up to interrupt the silence around the table. “We all know he wasn’t telling you to drop dead.”
“Oh, no no no,” Ben pleaded as he waved his hands in a gesture of peace. “I would never-I was trying to say your plum sauce is good.” He turned to Melanie with desperation darkening his hazel eyes. “Mel, please…”
“Ma, sit down.” Melanie exhaled for a moment to see some color returning to her mother’s face. But soon enough, her complexion resembled the tomato beef dish on her plate. “Ma, please! Remember your blood pressure. You need to take slow, deep breaths.”
“Yau ma gau cho10?!” Mrs. Koo cried, her voice rising above the rest of the restaurant’s commotion. She continued lashing out in Cantonese, the words spewing out of her mouth at a furious pace. Mr. Koo and Ming attempted to console her, but to no avail.
Melanie felt beads of sweat gather at her temple as her mother’s tantrum escalated. She was thankful Ben couldn’t understand the accusations, though she was sure most of the onlookers in the restaurant did. At the rate her mother’s voice was growing in volume, however, she knew they would soon not have any customers left. With her mother’s health and their business profits at risk, she decided something had to be done. She turned to Ben with a sorrowful look. Unable to think of a better solution, she made a solemn request. “Ben, you need to leave. Please go, before things get worse.”
His lips drew taut as he accepted his fate. “I’m sorry, Melanie. I didn’t mean for this to happen. Please know that.”
As Melanie watched him stride out of the restaurant with his head bowed, she knew one thing. There were some disasters that you could never recover from.
EIGHT
My luck’s finally run out.
Not that Ben believed in luck. It wasn’t because of luck that he was home the night the highway patrol officer knocked on their door. He would forever be thankful that he, and not his sister, had received the news first about their parents. That news, however, had caused him to doubt God’s plans and purposes for years… until that fateful day at the store. God wouldn’t have brought Melanie into his life for nothing, would He? Then why had their evening turned into such a wreck?
Ben tightened his grip on the handlebars of the motorcycle. He wove in and out of traffic, releasing his adrenaline each time he shifted gears to accelerate. He had rode five blocks before the sting in his eyes woke him up to a sobering fact. He didn’t have his helmet on.
And that helmet happened to be sitting under his chair at Koo’s Kitchen.
The only thing worse than returning to the place of his humiliation was imagining his sister’s teary face if she found out he was riding recklessly. Going against his better judgment, he made a U-turn at the next intersection. He figured he could call Melanie outside the restaurant and ask her to bring his belongings out to him. It would also provide him the chance to follow-up on the damage he had caused.
He approached a yellow light and slowed down, choosing to err on the side of caution. The wail of a siren reached his ears a few seconds before he spotted the ambulance half a mile away. The light changed and he sped up, closing the distance between himself and the emergency vehicle. He tailed the ambulance for another block until it stopped in front of a building with Chinese lettering on the signage.
No, please, no. Ben parked his bike and hopped off just as two uniformed men ran into Koo’s Kitchen, their medical bags and a stretcher in tow. Through the glass doors he watched as the paramedics took Mrs. Koo’s vitals, then loaded her onto a cot. The family followed the paramedics through the front doors, which Ben had propped open.
Melanie finished detailing her mother’s medical history as the stretcher was loaded onto the ambulance. “My father will ride with you,” Melanie informed the paramedics. “Please hurry.” Turning to her sisters, she gestured for them to follow her. “Let’s go. We’ll take my car.”
“No, you girls come with me. My driver is parked in back. Come.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. We are like family.”
“M goi. I appreciate it, Ming.”
Ben’s heart sank when he heard the two voices speaking a mix of Cantonese and English. He leaned around the doorframe from where he stood in the shadows to get a better look. The sight of Melanie leaning on the Hong Kong star’s shoulder confirmed his worst fears.
She had found comfort in a man’s arms, and they weren’t his.
---
“Ben, what are you doing here?”
Ben switched off the spray of the faucet and turned around. He removed a pair of yellow rubber gloves and set them on the edge of the metal sink. Walking over to the kitchen doorway, he reached out to hold Melanie’s hands. “How’s your mom? One of the waitresses, Miss Chan, said you called earlier, but there were no updates.”
“Her blood pressure is back to normal,” she answered with a nod, “but she still has some chest pain. We’re waiting for the results from the blood test and EKG to see if there’s been any damage to her heart.”
“Was it a heart attack?”
“We don’t know for sure yet, but the way she looked,” she paused, knowing she didn’t need to rehash the evening’s events to Ben, “well, you were there. She fainted soon after you left, and that’s when Sam called 911.”
“Shouldn’t you be at the hospital with your family? If you’re worried about the restaurant, everything’s under control. The last table left about fifteen minutes ago and Miss Chan turned on the closed sign already.”
“I know. I just stopped by to check the cash register. My mother is actually more concerned about the money in it than she is about her health. She wanted me to come count it and make sure the total matches the receipts for the day.”
“Counting? That’s right up my alley. I could help if you’d like.”
She noticed the weariness in his face and frowned. “Thanks for offering, but I finished it already. Have you been here the whole evening? Miss Chan didn’t mention you were washing the dishes.”
“I came back for my bike helmet. When I got here, the kitchen crew was starting to get swamped with all the customers showing up. So I thought I’d follow through on your dad’s request.” The smile playing on his lips didn’t reach his weary eyes. “I just finished the last load, so I’ll be heading home. Ashlynn’s waiting for me to eat fruit cake.”
“Ben, you didn’t have to wash dishes. But thank you so much. My family will be grateful to know you were here helping with the restaurant.” In awe of his generosity after everything that had happened that evening, Melanie smiled and hugged him. She immediately found comfort in the warmth of his body and the clean scent of dishwashing soap lingering on his clothes. How she wished she could hide in his embrace and pretend tonight had never happened. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Ben’s eyebrows lifted in surprise at her heartfelt display of affection. Only a couple of workers remained in the kitchen, but he could sense their eyes watching in curiosity. He gave her a gentle squeeze and kissed the top of her head. “You must be exhausted. It’s been a crazy night.”
“Crazy doesn’t even begin to describe it. First, Ming shows up and acts like everything’s normal, even though we haven’t talked in five years. Then my mom has the meltdown of her life. Oh, Ben,” Melanie exclaimed as her dark eyes turned remorseful, “I didn’t mean for your Christmas to turn out this way. And I’m sorry I asked you to leave.”
Ben released her and took a step back. “No, I’m the one to blame. I ruined your whole family’s Christmas. I’m the one who needs to apologize.” He ran a hand through his thick hair and sighed. “If anything had happened to your mom because of what I said… I would never forgive myself. I feel horrible that I caused her to suffer.”
