“Speaking of uncles and aunties, promise me you won’t go telling everyone right away. Please?” Rachel pleaded.
“Hiyah! Okay, okay. I know you are always so cautious, and you don’t want to be disappointed, but I just know in my heart what’s going to happen,” her mother said merrily.
“Well, until something happens, there’s no point making a big deal out of it,”
Rachel insisted.
“So where will you be staying in Singapore?”
“At his parents’ place, I guess.”
“Do they live in a house or an apartment?” Kerry asked.
“I have no idea.”
“You must find out these things!”
“Why does it matter? Are you going to try to sell them a house in Singapore?”
“I’ll tell you why it matters—do you know what the sleeping arrangements will be?”
“Sleeping arrangements? What are you talking about, Mom?”
“Hiyah, do you know if you will be in a guest bedroom or sharing a bed with him?”
“It never occurred to me—”
“Daughter, that is the most important thing. You mustn’t assume that Nick’s parents are going to be as liberal-minded as I am. You are going to Singapore, and those Chinese Singaporeans are the most uptight of all the Chinese, you know! I don’t want his parents to think I didn’t raise you properly.”
Rachel sighed. She knew her mother meant well, but as usual she had managed to stress her out about details Rachel never would have imagined.
“Now, we must plan what you will bring as a present for Nick’s parents,” Kerry continued eagerly. “Find out what Nick’s father likes to drink. Scotch? Vodka? Whiskey? I have so many spare bottles of Johnny Walker Red left over from the office Christmas party, I can send you one.”
“Mom, I’m not going to cart over a bottle of booze that they can get there. Let me think of the perfect present to bring them from America.”
“Oh, I know just the thing for Nick’s mother! You should go to Macy’s and buy her one of those pretty gold powder compacts from Esteé Lauder. They are having a special offer right now, and it comes with a free gift—an expensive-looking leather pouch with lipstick and perfume and eye-cream samples. Trust me, every Asian woman loves those free gifts—”
“Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll take care of it.”
4
Nicholas Young
NEW YORK
Nick was slouched on his battered leather sofa grading term papers when Rachel casually brought it up. “So … what’s the story when we’re staying at your parents’ place? Are we sharing a bedroom, or would they be scandalized?”
Nick cocked his head. “Hmm. I suppose we’ll be in the same room—”
“You suppose or you know?”
“Don’t worry, once we arrive everything will get sorted.”
Get sorted. Normally Rachel found Nick’s Britishy phrases so charming, but in this instance it was a tad frustrating. Sensing her unease, Nick got up, walked over to where she was sitting, and kissed the top of her head tenderly. “Relax—my parents aren’t the kind of people who pay any attention to sleeping arrangements.”
Rachel wondered if that was really true. She tried to go back to reading the State Department’s Southeast Asia travel advisory website. As she sat there in the glow of the laptop, Nick couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful his girlfriend looked even at the end of a long day. How did he get so lucky? Everything about her—from the dewy just-back-from-a-morning-run-on-the-beach complexion to the obsidian-black hair that stopped just short of her collarbone—conveyed a natural, uncomplicated beauty so different from the red-carpet-ready girls he had grown up around.
Now Rachel was absentmindedly rubbing her index finger back and forth over her upper lip, her brow slightly furrowed. Nick knew that gesture well. What was she worrying about? Ever since he had invited Rachel to Asia a few days ago, the questions had been piling on steadily. Where were they staying? What gift should she bring for his parents? What had Nick told them about her? Nick wished he could stop that brilliant analytical mind of hers from overthinking every aspect of the trip. He was beginning to see that Astrid had been right. Astrid was not only his cousin, she was his closest female confidant, and he had first fielded the idea of inviting Rachel to Singapore during their phone conversation a week ago.