Chapter Thirty-One Paradise Is Coming Home
“Toss it to me!” I shout.
“It’s too late,” Daniel says woefully.
“It’s never too late for salt!” I tell him as he lobs the canister of salt at me. I sprinkle it on the chicken, never mind that the first twenty dumplings went into the pot unseasoned.
From the couch, my mother shakes her head at us.
“Don’t listen to us,” I tell her.
Cindy gives me a thumbs-up and elbows Tara to turn up the volume on the K-drama that the three of them are watching while my mom tries to ignore the mess we’re making in the kitchen.
“Perhaps we were overambitious,” Daniel speculates, eyeing the scene before us. In addition to the dumplings, we’re trying to sauté two types of mushrooms and roast a chicken.
“It’s a special occasion,” I remind him.
He leans over to kiss the flour off my nose. “I know. But I wouldn’t have minded spending our one-year anniversary pampering you and your loved ones at a five-star restaurant instead of seeing you stress over forgetting the salt.”
“This isn’t the time for what-ifs,” I tell him, waving my spoon. “This is the time for making the rest of these dumplings so we can get them into the soup.”
“Understood,” Daniel says, getting back to quickly folding the dumpling skin around a little spoonful of the chicken filling.
“Besides, you’re basically a five-star cook yourself now.”
He snorts. “I’m more on the business side of that.”
After Daniel left his job at the law firm, he cofounded a start-up with a famous South Korean chef to bring high-quality Korean snack foods to people all over the world. It’s still in the early stages, but the nicest thing about it is that there’s plenty of flexibility, so even though Daniel is working long hours, he always makes time for me.
Case in point, we come over at least twice a week to cook for my mom. Cindy and Tara have started coming around to eat and hang out with my mom, too. They’re halfway through the latest hot K-drama on Netflix, and they seem to really enjoy one another’s company.
Mom has even admitted that our attempts at cooking are getting better—though in this particular case, Daniel is perhaps correct that we got cocky. It’s our one-year anniversary, and it feels like we’ve hit our stride both as a couple and in the kitchen, so I really wanted to go for it. But perhaps the third dish was overreaching.
Not that I would ever tell Daniel that. Even if I’ve gotten used to accepting that Daniel is often right, I try not to tell him too frequently. Wouldn’t want it going to his head.
“Whatcha thinking about?” Cindy says, and I jump as I realize she’s right next to me, grabbing a sparkling water from the fridge and cracking it open. “Share with the class.”
“Daniel’s indefatigable ego,” I say honestly.
“No way! You wouldn’t be smiling like that. You can say it. It’s his abs, isn’t it? Me and Tara were wondering if it was the oil the stylist used on him that gave him that six-pack or if it was a special camera filter.”
“I’m right here,” Daniel points out, not even looking up from his dumpling assembly station.
Cindy waves him off while I sputter, a hysterical giggle bubbling out of me. “Cindy! My mom’s in the other room!”
“I hate to break it to you,” Cindy says, reaching around me to snag a nub of carrot that I’d left on the cutting board, “but she ogled the same chiseled abs, just like Tara and everyone else in America.”
“It was the oil,” I murmur, and Daniel responds by throwing an entire green onion stalk at me.
“I knew it!” Cindy crows, putting her arm around me. “I’m proud of you, by the way,” she adds, her voice going soft.
“For what? Giving you TMI about my boyfriend?” I ask, and even after so many months, the word boyfriend settles pleasantly in my chest like the first sip of hot cocoa on a cold day.
“No, for going on TV. It was a brave thing to do, to try something so far out of your comfort zone. I didn’t realize how unhappy you were with Chase—with everything, really—until I saw you and Daniel together on the show.”
“You know Daniel and I were just acting in most of the interviews.”
“It wasn’t just the interviews,” Cindy insists. “It was the way he looked at you. You just seemed to get each other.”
I glance up from the soup to Daniel, and his gaze meets mine, a soft smile crossing his lips.
“Thanks, Cindy,” I say, and she rubs my arm. “But that still doesn’t make up for the fact that you killed my plants while I was gone.”
“If you recall, I was watering them right when I got your phone call.”
“And you knocked them all over.”
“My best friend jumped into a volcano! I was in a state of distress!” Cindy ruffles my hair. “I promise I’ll get you some new plant babies.”
“I’m holding you to that. Now get out of the kitchen. Some of us need to actually cook.” I swat at Cindy with a kitchen towel, and she scampers back to the couch.
With a minimal amount of swearing and burned fingers, we manage to put the three-course meal on the table by the time my mom’s show is wrapping up.
“Beautiful. Delicious. Amazing,” Cindy raves.
“Mmfm mm,” Tara agrees, already digging in. “Guys, you gotta give me the recipe.”
Daniel and I exchange a nervous glance as my mom delicately picks up a dumpling with her chopsticks and takes her first bite.
“Well, Mrs. Chen? Does it pass muster?” Daniel asks.
My mother gives the dumpling a shrewd look, and I pray she got one that had salt.
“Not bad,” she says finally.
Daniel and I high-five each other across the table.
“High praise from Mrs. Chen,” Daniel says.
“I think I’ve reached my finest moment as a daughter. Lightning should just strike me now before I mess anything up,” I murmur. I spoon more mushrooms onto my mother’s plate.
Daniel and I might not have won any money, but after the show aired, H2Whoa reached out to me. Apparently because I was drinking their product in almost every shot, they wanted me to become their official brand representative. For ten thousand dollars each month, I post three silly videos of me drinking H2Whoa—drinking upside down on the floor, drinking next to a weird cat statue, drinking in the park while beet red from attempting to improve my cardio fitness. They don’t care how I do it, which has made it fun. Ten thousand dollars a month is enough to pay off the medical bills and buy my mom all the best mushrooms that we can cook.
I also managed to convince the company to sponsor a weekend tutoring program to help students struggling with math. They call it H2+2=Whoa, which is so wrong that I can’t even begin to explain it to their sales rep, but I still take the money they pay me to run the program and make them look good.
Thinking of H2Whoa, I take a little video of a can of it next to my prized mushroom dish. “Perfect pairing?” I caption it. When I post it, Selena is actually the first one to reply, with a bunch of heart-eye cat emojis and the comment “ur killing it, girl!”
Selena and I have stayed in touch. Selena actually started a group chat with me, Daniel, and Chase, which is of course called Secret Alliance. Mostly it’s just cute animal videos and recipe links, but it’s been nice keeping in touch. We’re not quite at the point where we’re all going on double dates or anything, but I can tell that in the future we’ll all be friends. Especially now that I don’t have to be the one worrying about Chase’s taxes.
As everyone is eating, Daniel clears his throat. “As you all know, this is the one-year anniversary of when Alice and I got together.”
Tara and Cindy cheer together.
“And I wanted to take a moment to mark this occasion, now that we’ve successfully avoided burning down the kitchen.” From under the table, Daniel produces a huge bouquet of flowers—the tropical kind that the production crew would have out for filming, filled with hibiscus and orchids set against palm fronds.
“Ooh!” Tara says. “Stunning.”
“Did you get those from Costco?” Cindy asks, admiring the flowers.
Even my mom looks impressed.
“Yeah, tell her where you got them. I haven’t gotten flowers in a minute,” Tara teases. Cindy laughs, leaning over to kiss her.
I take the flowers and breathe deeply—and I’m transported back to the island and those early days of our time together.
“It’s gorgeous,” I say, as Cindy and Tara snap pictures. “But if you thought I was going to let you win this round so easily, you’re dead wrong.”
Everyone chuckles as I run to the freezer and pull out my secret weapon. “Smoothie popsicles for dessert!” I announce. “Based on the famous slash infamous smoothies the production crew made for us.”
Daniel and I clink pops and take our first licks together. They taste just like the smoothies Leah would bring us. The sharp sweetness of pineapple contrasts with the mellow coconut. And yes, there’s just a little rum.
Cindy airdrops me the pictures and I text a photo of the popsicles to Lex.
ALICE
thinking of old times on the island!
LEX
Stop texting this number.
ALICE
come on i know you love me!!!
LEX
LOL You two look good.
ALICE
and you?? what are you up to?
Lex shoots back a selfie. They’re underwater in a shark cage, with a great white shark swimming by. After everything that happened on the set, Lex decided to do something safer than reality TV—a documentary about great white sharks.
After we finish eating, my mom gives each of us a hug before she turns in for the night.
“Leave the dishes. You two better be getting about your night,” she says to Daniel.
My mom is nearing the end of her cancer treatments, and all signs point toward remission, but I don’t want to take any chances with her health when it seems so fragile. And I have time now, and money—enough to take care of us both.
“Go to sleep, Mom,” I say, shooing her to her room.
My mom tsk s at me, but between Cindy, Tara, Daniel, and me, it’s only ten minutes of work, and then we lock up my mom’s place.
“You kids be good,” Cindy sings as she and Tara hop in her car.
We wave as they drive off, and then I turn to Daniel.
“Race you home,” Daniel challenges me.
“You’re faster than I am,” I protest.
“Why would I challenge you if I didn’t know I could win?” He smirks. “I’ll give you a prize if you beat me.”
He is faster than I am, but I know the streets better. And I can’t resist trying. Without giving him any warning, I break into a sprint.
“Hey!” he shouts, racing to catch up.
My laughter floats behind me as I duck around corners and cut through an alley. I leap over the uneven steps where I skinned my knee as a kid. I hop over a half fence that guards a coffee shop’s back patio.
He follows my path, but he doesn’t know exactly where I’m going, so he can’t get ahead of me.
“Some people would call that cheating!”
“It’s not cheating if there are no established rules,” I call over my shoulder.
We reach the house at the same time, but I get my hand on the door first.
“I won,” I tell him triumphantly, but when I turn to gloat, he’s on his knees. No, he’s on one knee.
“I did promise you a prize,” he says, holding out a little gray box with a diamond ring inside.
I make a little squeaking sound.
“Alice Chen, you are my greatest rival and most infuriating adversary. You’re also the cleverest, funniest, and most determined person I’ve ever met. You’re the one who pushes me to be the best version of myself, beyond what I thought I was capable of. There is no one that I admire more, trust more, or adore more in the world.”
This is the second time that I’ve been proposed to, but the two experiences couldn’t be more different. Chase’s proposal felt rushed and half-hearted, like it was the step we both felt we should be taking in that moment, so we did it.
Daniel’s proposal is the opposite. It’s a surprise, although now it makes me suspicious about my mom’s comments as we left. Did she know? Of course she knew. Daniel probably asked for her permission first.
I used to think that love was a problem to be solved, an equation that I could balance if I just worked at it hard enough.
But my love for Daniel isn’t like that. It’s unpredictable and fun. It’s racing through your hometown, laughing as the streetlights flick on one by one. It’s listening to each other and caring for each other. Daniel challenges me and understands me. He’s a true match for me in every way, and a problem I never want to be done solving.
Daniel takes my hand in his. “You, Alice, are the love of my life. We’ve been through hell together, and it only made us stronger. Alice Chen, will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I manage to get out between the tears streaming down my face. I pull Daniel to his feet and into a long, deep kiss.
When we pull apart, I look down at the ring. It’s a gorgeous solitaire diamond set on a platinum band. I’ve never been a jewelry girl, but suddenly I know I’ll never take this off. There’s just one thing.
“What’s wrong? You don’t like the style?” Daniel asks. “I know that look.”
“The ring is perfect. The proposal was wonderful, but…” I say, giving him the sharpest glare I can manage, given the circumstances. “I can’t believe you beat me to it. I’ve been working for months on a romantic PowerPoint proposal recapping all of your finest traits and our best moments, and researching the most comfortable and responsibly sourced men’s rings!”
He visibly relaxes and kisses me again, this time taking my breath away. “I’ve always told you you’re too thorough for your own good.”
“Do you want to hear the very flattering things I’d planned to say or not?” I demand.
“I do,” he says, leaning in eagerly.
“Daniel Cho,” I begin, “you’ve been my nemesis from high school, and the person I least expected to ever have any sort of romantic feelings for—”
“I thought you said this was flattering!”
“All of that to say, it’s a tribute to your disarming and charming nature that I not only found myself able to tolerate being in a fake relationship with you, but soon started having genuine feelings for you. I am so delighted to have found someone who I can count on to have my back, someone I can always trust, even when things get hard.”
Daniel puts his hand to his heart like he might faint from the praise.
“I love you, Daniel Cho,” I conclude. “And if anyone asks, I’m going to say that we proposed at the same time.” I take a titanium ring out of my pocket and hand it to him. “I’ve been carrying this around all month.”
“You know, even if you tell people that we proposed at the same time, I’ll know the truth. I won this round.”
“Fine,” I concede. “But just wait for the wedding. I’ll plan a surprise so thoughtful, it’ll blow yours out of the water—”
Daniel stops me with another kiss. “I wouldn’t have you any other way, Slayer.”
“Good,” I say in between kisses. “Because I don’t know any other way to be.”
When I dreamed of romance when I was younger, I used to imagine something a lot like Villa Paradiso: luxury, drama, a beach at sunset. But being with Daniel is so much more than that. Our relationship is about the push and pull, the spark of passion and the warmth of love, the heat of debate and the lightness of delighting in each other. When I’m with Daniel, it’s my own slice of paradise.
I hold my hand out to Daniel, trusting him to meet me halfway. He slides the ring onto my finger, and it’s a perfect fit. We link hands, and together, we step into the house.