The Love We Choose

Chapter 48

Fingers thrumming out an absent-minded beat on his knee, Huan looked out the window of the taxi as it wove through the streets of Queens towards his mother's house. As he grew closer to her neighborhood in Elmhurst, decorations for the Lunar New Year greeted him.

Vivid memories of the holiday past swam in his mind. Watching the parade with excitement from on top of his father's shoulders when he was seven and they had taken a family trip to mainland China. Running around with Bao and the other boys of their neighborhood when they spent the first holiday in California at his Auntie Jieli and Uncle Yang's new house when he was ten. The huge parties Uncle Jin and Auntie Nuwa held every other year at their restaurant, sneaking food off of trays with Rose and Lynne before it left the big kitchen. How the holiday felt like it has been missing something every year since his father had passed away.

He couldn't believe that for the first time since they've been friends, Lynne wouldn't be part of the celebration with him. Not even college had stopped them from enjoying some part of the holiday together. The text message that she had sent him earlier in the week didn't leave him much room to broker any argument. It simply read, "I'm not coming. I think it's best I lay-low until we tell our parents." What could he say in response to that? Absolutely nothing. She was once again right, thinking of the big picture in the scope of things. How did we let this go on so long?

Shaking his head to clear his mind, he relaxed back into his seat as he scrolled through his phone to check in with Veronica. She was tying up some loose ends at her office and then meeting him at his mother's for the party. It would be their first outing with either of their families since they started seeing each other. He had remembered to adequately prep her before coming this time. Last year, she had committed a few faux pas that had garnered her a few stares from the busy-bodies of the community. She would not be showing up in her black and white couture dress and heels and definitely wouldn't be presenting his mother with any gifts including candles.

After shooting off a quick reminder text with his mother's address in it, Huan put his phone away in his jacket pocket. A couple of minutes later he was stepping through his mother's familiar front door. "Mama! I'm here," he shouted.

"Zai chufang," came a response from within the house.

After depositing his jacket in the hallway and dropping his overnight bag at the foot of the stairs, he followed his nose to the kitchen. As he approached the swinging door, he heard the familiar chatter of voices of his mother and her friends over the sounds of chopping, boiling, and cabinets closing.

Taking a deep breath and mentally preparing for the onslaught of his mother's crew, he pushed into the kitchen. Around the room were several middle-aged, Chinese women bent over different dishes they were working on, chatting to each other. The aromas were enticing and powerful.

"Xin Nian Kuai Le Aunties," Huan chorused cheerfully as he entered the room. The women smiled and returned the greetings before returning their focus to the tasks at hand. Huan's mother, crimping dumplings at a table in the corner, stopped what she was doing and walked over to him and pulled him into a strong hug.

"Gong Xi Fa Cai my son! Let me look at you!" Ying was wearing a green apron over a cap-sleeved, Mandarin-collared, blood-red, silk qipao dress decorated in golden chrysanthemums. The bodice was fitted and slits ran up the sides of the dress from the bottom to her knees. She finished the look off with a pair of red, low-inch heels. Her hair was gently curled and fell in waves down to the middle of her back. She wore minimal makeup and a deep red lip-stain. She exuded elegance and grace as she inspected Huan's appearance for the day. "You've lost weight. Your dagua fit you better last year," she said in reference to his vermillion-red Tang suit jacket with a golden dragon brocade. Running her hands over his shoulders she tch-ed in response, "it's too loose. Fancy doctor, doesn't know enough to remember to eat," she said out loud to the group.