Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune(31)

Food possessed the power to evoke memories. I associated every dish with a moment of my life. Nothing transported me faster and more vividly. The sweetness of mango pudding brought me back to sitting on the sofa with Ma-ma as she braided my hair before school, admiring her handiwork as she’d hummed. She always waited for me after class with a pot of jasmine tea and a plate of fruit crème cookies. In between bites, I would tell her about my day.

I took a sip of the broth as I watched Celia eat. After seeing what had happened to Older Shen and the Chius, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

She wound her chopsticks around the noodles, creating a tornado, spinning them as if she were wielding a fork. Celia took a bite of the bundle, then sipped the broth. Tendrils of steam rose from her skin, changing into red and gold banners unfurling above her. Once she had finished, the banners disintegrated into mini bursts of fireworks. She was so enraptured by the food she failed to notice.

Celia smiled like a child who’d just decided between two different types of ice cream. She suddenly exuded confidence. This was the definition of luck from Laolao’s prescription.

“It’s funny,” Celia said. “I feel much clearer about things. Like I can think straight for the first time in a while. That reminds me, I saw a very handsome man come into the restaurant. I didn’t know you already had a boyfriend, at least not one in the area.”

“He’s a developer working at a company on Mission Street.” Heat rushed to my cheeks. “And he’s not my boyfriend. I don’t even know if I’ll see him again.”

She rested her chin on her hands. “Oh, he’s coming back. He’d be coming back regardless because of the food.”

I laughed. “You make it sound like I deliberately set a trap.”

“It’s not a crime to want to have everything: love, money, success. Judging by the blush on your cheeks, you like this one.”

I did, though it was too soon to tell. He was like the first page of an intriguing book I had just started. If only the fear of mucking it all up didn’t loom over my head like a beach umbrella.

“New love is supposed to be exciting. You look like you’re about to get a colonoscopy.” Celia reached across the table to pat my hand. “Did you have a bad relationship before this?”

“No,” I confessed. “I was the one who did the damage. I left my fiancé at the altar.”

Celia sat up. “No, you didn’t!”

I trusted her enough to bare the ugliness of my romantic history. “I did. It wasn’t exactly at the altar, but two weeks before the wedding. His name was Emilio. I met him and his family while I was living in Manila.”

“He was Filipino then? Not Chinese?”

I nodded.

“What was he like?”

“He was handsome, very sweet, and definitely too good for me,” I said with a sigh. “Ma-ma would have approved of him if she’d had the chance to meet him. He was an English professor at one of the city’s universities. We dated for six months before he proposed. At the time, I thought it was my ever after.”

“What happened?”

I closed my eyes. Words spilled out of me quickly as if the speed would lessen the pain. “I couldn’t go through with it. I was terrified he would wake up one day and see who I really am, and leave me. I left him before he could leave me.”

Celia sighed. She got up and embraced me. “I’m sorry,” she murmured against my shoulder. “You deserve love. It’s hard for you to see now, but I’m going to do my best to convince you to believe it. We women have to stick together.” She poked my arm. “This man sounds promising. I hope it works out.”

“I don’t know. It’s too soon to tell.” I blushed.

“And the restaurant will be wonderful when you open! I know you’re worried but it will all be fine.”

“Did I tell you I flunked out of culinary school? When I moved out, I’d saved enough money for my first year and I couldn’t make it. I don’t have the right qualifications. That matters, right?”

“What matters most is that you’ll be cooking and people will fall in love with your food as they did with your laolao’s. Remember that you’ve helped Fai, Wayne, and Anita. Evelyn’s prophecies are never wrong.”

I should have corrected Celia. She had declined my offer, but I did it anyway. I should have revealed that she was the last one I’d decided to help, but I feared the possibility that she would be upset and our newfound friendship would be broken. Instead, I chose silence and hoped I would not regret it later.

“You can have it all,” Celia said. “You just need to believe that you can.”





Chapter Eleven





The next morning I awoke with a lightness of spirit. The birds outside my window trilled with an infectious song. My happiness reverberated with every note while Meimei clucked at the unseen birds. Today, I would start tackling the paperwork for the restaurant.

After a hot shower, I tied my hair into my customary ponytail and stepped into a white cotton tank dress, one of the many pieces Celia had bought for me at the thrift store. I was still adhering to the Chinese mourning tradition by forsaking all bright colors.

Before I sank into the mire of bureaucracy, I picked up Meimei and settled her on my lap. My fingers found her furry, tufted ears. “I’m glad you’re with me.”