Page 8 of Worth Fighting For

Mama smirks. “Ah, but it’s not the actual dates, it’s the date plus the other date.”

Mushu stares at her in confusion, until I say, “You literally have to add the two dates together, so it ends up looking like a random string of numbers.”

“Damn, Auntie Li, that is some next-level nerd shit. I love it,” Mushu says.

“The family that does mathematics together stays together,” Ma says.

“No, Ma, still doesn’t work. Stop trying to make that saying work.”

“Never say never.” Ma pauses, then adds, “If a saying as silly as ‘never say never’ can work, mine definitely can work, too. Anyway, I best go home and pack some things for the hospital.”

“Are you staying overnight, Ma?”

“Your father and I have not had a single night away from each other since we got married thirty years ago, and I’m not about to start now.” With that, she gives me a kiss and hugs Mushu before walking away.

“Aww,” Mushu says. “Your parents are so cute. Have they really never spent one single night away from each other since they got married? What about, like, business trips and such?”

“When either one has to go on a business trip, they call each other before bed so they can fall asleep to the sound of each other’s breath. Used to rack up some serious phone bills before WhatsApp and FaceTime and all that came about. So technically they have spent some nights physically apart, but they’ve always fallen asleep with each other.”

“Oh my god,” Mushu says, clasping her hands to her chest. “That is the most romantic thing I have ever heard of. Well, romantic and also weirdly codependent, but codependent in a cute way.”

I smile wistfully. My parents are probably two of the most in love people I’ve ever known. I love it for them, but it’s also kind of set an impossible bar for my romantic interests. Even back in college, whenever I went out with a date, I couldn’t help but compare our interactions with my parents’.Is our banter as witty as Ma and Ba’s? Is the way he looks at me as soulful as the way my ba looks at my ma?A million and one little tests that I don’t even realize I’m giving the poor guy up until the moment my subconscious says:Nope, he fails.It’s probably one of the many reasons why I haven’t been in a serious relationship for ages. That, and the fact that one of my exes once told me,You’re so strong and independent, there’s no space for me in your life. Which isn’t completely untrue.

“All right,” I say, taking a deep inhale to try and bring myself back to the present. “We have to focus. Tomorrow’s the big meeting with Wutai Gold, and I promised my dad that I’m going to see this buyout through.”

“What about all that stuff you said about the…” Mushu waves her hands in a vague gesture. “You know, the finance-y stuff?”

“‘Finance-y stuff?’” I cock an eyebrow at her. “Mushu, how long have you been working at the firm?”

“Long enough to know that most finance terms are fancy-sounding crap you guys made up to sound like you know what you’re talking about.”

“Okay, you have a point.”

“It’s funny, I started at the company right out of college because I simply had no other offers or prospects and I didn’t know what the hell I was doing—”

“Did you say all that during the interview?”

“I did, yes,” Mushu says without hesitation. “And your dad said, ‘Well, you are my favorite niece, so there’s always a place for you here.’”

“Did he really say that?”

“Okay, it was more like…” Mushu assumes a stern expression and pinches the bridge of her nose. “‘Mushu, don’t ever say that at a real interview. And you know you can always work here if you need a job, but promise me you’ll use this time to figure out what you really want to do with your life.’ Your dad is a sweetheart.”

I try to ignore the painful way my heart squeezes at that. “He is. Okay, back to Wutai Gold. Yes, I still think the projections are on the optimistic side—”

“Because you’re a raging pessimist?” Mushu says helpfully.

I narrow my eyes at her. “Because I go by the numbers. But I owe it to Ba to—”

“Not be so pessimistic?”

“To give it a fair shot,” I snap. “So I’m going to that meeting tomorrow, and you’re going to help me prep for it.”

“Only one problem,” Mushu says.

“I don’t care what hoops I need to jump through to get this done, Mushu, I’m doing it.”

“Fine by me, it’s just that, well, I’ve been helping your dad out with the correspondence and stuff, and…”

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