Page 15 of The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties

I flap at them, flabbergasted. Are they seriously this naive? “Because he’s trying to lure us into a false sense of security? No bad guy is going to be like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m a bad guy.’ Of course he’ll say he’s a legit businessman. But I’m telling you, I sense danger. He’s telling us to go to a rival mafia group’s estate. Does that not strike you as massively unsafe?”

“Aduh, Meddy,” Second Aunt sighs. “Why you so drama?”

“Yes, you always overly reacting,” Ma agrees. “Everything so over-the-top all the time, Meddy. Honestly, is very tiring, you know.”

“What?”I feel as though my head is about to burst from all the oh-hell-no going through it. Nathan, who is very low-emotion and down to earth, maybe has the right to tell me I’m over-the-top in comparison. But mymotherand myaunts? Hell to the no. I struggle to keep my voice even. “All of my life, you guys have been overreacting to every little thing that happens. I’ve always been the level-headed one.”

Big Aunt frowns. “I don’t think so, Meddy. I think we all are always so wise, guiding you to become proper person.”

I grind my teeth so hard I swear my back molars crack. “I—yes, you’ve always guided me well, but you’ve also always done it in the most melodramatic way possible.” They all start to say something, and I quickly add, “Not that it matters now. I don’t even know why we’re talking about this. What matters now is that this feels really shady and dangerous.”

Second Aunt says, “I tell you, all this is normal Indonesian business. Nothing illegal. Right, Nathan?”

All eyes are suddenly on Nathan, who stiffens under the sudden onslaught of attention. He tugs at the collar of his shirt and clears his throat. “Um... I mean, I’m not sure that I have enough information to make a judgment call here...”

“Tch,” Second Aunt tuts. “Yes, but you are businessman, so you must know all about businesspeople. What you know about Abi’s business?”

Nathan scratches his chin. “Well, I do know that Ruo Fa Group is highly sought after by many of my business partners—”

“You see?” Second Aunt says triumphantly.

“But I know nothing about the director as a person,” he finishes, but no one is paying attention. Second Aunt and Ma are already nodding and getting ready to leave.

“Meddy, you coming or not?” Ma says, almost as an afterthought.

Oh god, if only I could say no and still live with myself. I try one last time. “I don’t think any of us should go. I think we should let Abi handle this, and in fact, I think we should fly back to LA tomorrow, because this feels really wrong.”

“Will be okay, Meddy.” Big Aunt pats my arm kindly. “I be there, make sure they don’t get in trouble.”

I want to scream at all of them, remind them that they’re elderly aunties, for crying out loud. What’s Big Aunt going to do when faced with a houseful of gangsters? I glance with desperation at Nathan, who raises his eyebrows at me. The words are unspoken, but I know him well enough by now to know what he’s saying:It’s up to you.

There’s no choice. I exhale, my shoulders slumping with defeat. “We’ll come. Of course we will.” There is no way I’m about to let my mother and aunts stroll into a potential mafia lord’s house without me around to get themout.

5

Ma and the aunties chatter excitedly as they pile into Abi’s minivan. From the way they’re clucking about how eager they are to see the director’s estate, which must be very grand, you’d think they were on their way to see a friend and not someone who might potentially have us all killed. Once we’re all bundled in, Abi tells his chauffeur to go, and I gaze longingly at our house as we get farther and farther from it. Nathan rubs my arm.

“It’s going to be okay.”

“I wish I could believe that.”

He gives me a sympathetic smile. “I know, but chances are, it’ll be fine.”

“When it comes to my family, chances are, it won’t be fine.” I raise my eyebrows meaningfully, and I see the past two years replaying in Nathan’s mind. Ah Guan’s death, followed by his family taking their revenge during our wedding. He grimaces.

“Well, maybe third time’s the charm,” he says finally. I love him for trying to comfort me despite the odds.

I clear my throat and raise my voice to be heard above the aunties’ chatter. “So, should we come up with a game plan for when we arrive?”

“What this game plan?” Big Aunt says with a sniff of disapproval. “Why you talking about playing video games like a kid?”

Damn it. I shouldn’t have said “game plan.” Big Aunt is very against video games. She’s convinced they’re the reason for everything bad with the younger generations. “Sorry, I didn’t mean ‘game’ as in ‘video game.’ I meant more like, a strategy. We should have a plan in place.”

“Yes, Meddy, good idea,” Ma says loyally. She turns to Big Aunt. “Meddy doesn’t play video game, you know she is very good girl. I raise her well. I tell her, don’t waste time playing video game, later your eyes go blind.”

“Um, yeah. Anyway, so what should we do when we get there?”

“I would suggest letting Om Abi do all the talking, since he knows the director personally?” Nathan says.

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