Page 40 of Four Weddings to Fall in Love
This time, I actually do choke on my wine.
“It seems they have a lot in common,” Howie says.“Max is very good at piano, too.”
That doesn’t surprise me.I’m sure he’s better than I am.
“Their children will be musical prodigies.”Dad laughs.
For fuck’s sake.Why are they talking about our hypothetical offspring?
But luck is on my side for once: the emcee walks up to the microphone, which puts an end to this horrifying conversation.
“Hello, everyone,” he says.“I’m Lloyd, a long-time friend of Isobel’s, and I’ll be your emcee for the evening.If everyone could please take your seats, the food will be out in just a few minutes.”
There’s silence at our table for about 0.2 seconds before my mother says, “Speaking of food, Kim is also a very good cook.”
Good thing I wasn’t imbibing any wine when she said that.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” I murmur, rather than calling her a liar.I have some extremely basic competency in the kitchen—I can scramble eggs and cook rice (in a rice cooker) without embarrassing myself—but that’s about it.It’s never been of interest to me, much to my mother’s disappointment.
“She’s just modest,” Mom says to Max’s parents.
Ha!
“Max is also accomplished in the kitchen,” Howie says.
Yep, Max Mok is good at everything.
Except sex.
That’s unfair of me, even if our night together was underwhelming.I’m sure he’ll do better next time.
Wait, why am I thinking aboutnext time?
I can’t deny that I feel some heat coming from the man sitting on my left, but I blame that on anxiety, not attraction.Sure, I’ve spent a lot of time remembering the words he whispered to me last time.I’d utterly wreck you.But I only thought of it twice yesterday—I’m improving.
“It’s good when a man can give his wife a break from cooking occasionally,” Mom says.The idea of a man actually doing the bulk of the cooking isn’t a consideration to her.
A server walks over to our table with a platter filled with cold meats and jellyfish.Swiftly, he puts an equal amount of food on each of the eight small plates, leaving a little on the platter.I usually like this stuff, but my appetite is poor right now.I push the food around with my chopsticks.
“You okay?”Max murmurs.
I’m touched that he’s asking, but if we whisper to each other, our parents will probably take it as a sign we’re married getting next summer, something I wish to avoid.
As soon as the dishes from the first course are cleared, my mother stands up.
“Kim, could you show me where the washroom is?”
I don’t know where it is, but I suspect she just wants to talk to me alone.Since I don’t wish to cause a fuss, I stand up.
As it turns out, my mom knows the location of the women’s washroom, and as soon as we’re inside, she says, “What are you doing?”
“Nothing.I’m not doing anything.”
“That’s the problem!Show that you’ll make a nice wife and daughter-in-law.Don’t you want to get married?”
I don’t answer that question.
“You’re getting old!”Mom cries.“Do you want to end up alone with no children to look after you?You haven’t brought a man home in years, and Max comes from a good family and has a good job.It was so nice of Gladys to sit us all together.She knows I worry about you.”
