Page 4 of Four Aunties and a Wedding

“What? But—” Too many things crowd through my head. The first and foremost being a childish wail ofBut this is my wedding. I want to be the one who decides who to hire!But before I can shoot her down, I realize something: Ma couldn’t possibly have found a wedding vendor. The only ones she knows are, well, us. “Ma, I told you, I want you all to be there as guests, not vendors.”

“Of course not us,” Big Aunt says, waving me off like I’m a gnat. “Mana mungkin? How we can cater to your wedding when we wearing this outfit?”

Huh. Maybe I should ask them to cater to my wedding after all. Anything to get rid of those dragons.

“I told you Meddy would want to find her own wedding vendors like a normal bride,” Fourth Aunt says, glancing up from admiring herself in the mirror. “Right, Meddy?”

The glare Ma shoots her could have melted plastic. Dammit, why did it have to be Fourth Aunt who said that? I can’t possibly agree with her. To Ma, that would be a betrayal, and I’d never live it down.

Then another realization sinks in: how could they have found any vendors in England? They don’t know their way around the Internet. Well, my mother did catfish a guy for months.

“So, what you think, Meddy?” Ma says, her eyes shining with hope. Big Aunt and Second Aunt stare at me. Even Fourth Aunt looks at me in the mirror.

“I can’t agree without knowing who—or what they do. I mean, Nathan and I have been looking for vendors too—”

“Aduh, of course I not expect you to agree to hire them now,” Ma says, flapping her hand at me. “What you think, I so unreasoning I expect you to just agree without even knowing who?”

Well, yes, actually. But I don’t say it out loud.

“Of course I don’t. I very reasoningable. You meet them first, pasti you will love, I am sure.”

“Meet them? But they’re in England, surely?”

“Ah, no. They in here. But they do destination wedding. And they family business, just like us. And best of all, they family!”

I blink. “They’re family?”

Big Aunt nods. “Mereka itu, your grandmother cousin niece cousin sister-in-law. Very close family.”

I try to go over the familial connection, but give up after grandmother’s cousin’s niece. “Do they have a website, at least?”

Second Aunt waves her index finger at me. “No need website. We meet them for dim sum, they can show you all their photos.”

“Uh.” I suppose I might as well agree to get them off my back. “Okay. But I want Nathan to come along, and if we don’t like them, please don’t—”

“Aiya, of course we not push you into hiring them if you not like,” Ma cries. “What you think we are? Dictator?”

“No, you’re Chinese mothers, which is as good as dictators,” I mutter, squeezing Ma’s arm with affection.

“Oh ho ho, you so funny. My daughter so funny. Wait until you become mother also. Then you understand. Okay, you go undress. We all go undress. Then we go.”

“What, now?”

“Of course now! If not now, then when?”

Of course. I should’ve known. Still, I can’t help but smile as I watch my family scurrying out of the living room, Komodo dragons teetering crazily as they move. I turn around to look into the mirror and sigh happily at the reflection of me in my amazing dress. Even Jonjon is grudgingly admiring Yenyen’s handiwork. How did I manage to end up with the dreamiest gown that was ever made? This wedding is going to be wonderful.

2

Less than an hour later, I wait outside our favorite dim sum place for Nathan while my mother and aunts go inside to meet this mysterious vendor they’ve decided we’re related to. I can’t help the grin that stretches across my face when I spot him walking across the parking lot. I mean, dayum. He is fine. And he’s mine, all mine!

Okay, settle down, creeper. I suppose part of me does feel like a creep whenever I see Nathan from afar. I can’t help but undress him with my eyes, which I know sounds really gross. But seriously, how can I not? Look at him, all strong jaw and broad shoulders and muscled arms and those pecs and—

“You’ve got your horny face again,” he says.

“I’m just hungry.”

“For me?”

---