Chapter 21 #3
“Every time you see me, you flee,” Galahad said with a petulant sulk. “One might think you were trying to avoid me, Wayward Sun.” Seductively, the holy man reached out toward Wayward’s left breast, but Wayward flinched back.
“I’m sorry if it seems that way,” he replied. “I just don’t want to give the wrong impression.”
“You say ‘wrong impression.’ I say ‘unfinished business,’” Galahad purred. “But I understand that you and the dashing Jamaal
Golightly have each other quite fulfilled. I just think it’s a shame you shut off your phones when the two of you are intimate.
Usually.” He leaned in to whisper. “I did not expect the two of you stoic types to be so vocal.”
Wayward shook his head in disbelief. “You really are something else, Gal. I guess the phone collection at the entrance tipped
you off.”
Galahad nodded. “Yes, but also, Kat is a terrible actress. She always sounds like she’s in a used-car commercial.”
Wayward laughed. “You, on the other hand, are an amazing actor. You’re a good sport about being caught.”
Galahad lifted his palms up in offering. “I’d say everything is already in motion, so there’s no more need for pretense between
friends.”
“Yes,” Wayward agreed, gesturing toward Roses’s domain. “Your boss will get everything she wants, but I would say that I was
more helpful to that cause than you were. I hope to see a whole lot less of you after this weekend. To be frank, I don’t know
what you’ve contributed to us, other than a lot of unnecessary drama.”
“The night is still young, Wayward.” Galahad crossed his toned arms over his chest as he changed the subject. “You know, your
mother also figured out a while back that I was listening. Clearly, the petal does not fall far from the flower.”
“Oh . . .” Wayward said, considering the implications of this.
“But not before I heard a series of very interesting conversations between her and your Jamaal. I would be careful about the two of them. They might not have your best interests at heart.”
With a final smirk, Galahad swept away, his yellow robes fluttering down the hall.
Something was up with Roses. April could tell.
On the surface, the Sun matriarch looked as unflappable as ever, as she detailed how April, Cristiano, and Meadow could and
should move back into the Malibu compound as soon as possible; there was plenty of space even with Wayward’s surrogate and
her girlfriend staying there.
Roses then laid out a plan for April’s baby boy, once he was born—how everything already set in place for Wayward’s boy could
easily be doubled, except that April would get to enjoy them first, since she was due in two weeks: a night nurse on standby,
a French au pair on retainer, the private concierge service at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles on alert, and priority admissions
at the best private schools in Southern California all the way through high school.
“And finally,” Roses concluded, “it goes without saying that per Big Boss Sun’s will, your son as the eldest boy of his generation
will inherit the Sunfang Trust. I will discuss this with Weiwei, of course, but seeing how excited he was to bring you and
your news to me, I think he will be agreeable to it.”
Next to April, Cristiano was nodding like his life depended on it, his hand upon hers oddly cold and clammy. “Ma, this is
all amazing,” he said. “It’s everything we always wanted, isn’t it, Ape?”
April was still studying her mother and was quiet for an uncomfortable amount of time. Cristiano shifted in his seat and squeezed
her hand, urging her to respond.
Finally April replied. “We already had everything we wanted, once upon a time.” She looked straight into her mother’s eyes.
“His name was Lewis.”
Roses’s right eye twitched. She reached over and placed her hand on April’s knee. “My daughter, sometimes those we lose come back to us. Sometimes they are reborn. What if this baby boy is Lewis returning to us?”
April realized what it was she saw in Roses. It was something she had never seen before in her mother. It was fear.
She shook her head in disbelief. “More of your ghost stories, Mom?”
Roses’s face fell, the stony facade caving in to reveal a look of terror, her normally stoic eyes darting about frantically.
“April, just because you don’t believe in something, doesn’t mean it isn’t real to me! That should be enough for you, to honor
my beliefs as your mother!”
The little boy in April’s stomach kicked, and she winced as she leaned back. “Do you know what is real? What’s real is that
you threw us out like we were garbage, including your own granddaughter. What’s real is that you never even checked to see
if we were okay. We could have been on the streets for all you knew. What’s real is now that I’m back, all you can talk about
is all you ever talk about: dead people and money!”
With that, she heaved herself up and walked out of the room.
Roses shot Cristiano a look of daggers. “Go after your wife!”
April was grabbing a coat and her purse from the primary bedroom suite on the ground floor when she heard Cristiano enter.
“Don’t bother, Cris,” she said. “I’m leaving.”
“We created Lewis in this room.” This quiet sentence from Cristiano froze her.
Cristiano walked past her and opened the sliding doors, revealing that familiar balcony overlooking the lake, now covered
with a thick blanket of fresh snow, shimmering gold in the setting sun’s magic hour.
April closed her eyes, hearing the sound of fireworks on that fateful New Year’s Eve, all those years ago when they had been so young and in love.
Her husband walked out onto the balcony, his bare feet crunching the snow. He was only wearing a T-shirt and jeans, but he
did not shiver. Steam rose off his broad shoulders as he held out a hand toward her.
April paused, then took his hand to step outside. “It was our first kiss,” she said. “Our first . . . everything.”
Cristiano nodded. “And our first baby.” Tears began to run down his cheeks. “Ape, I don’t mourn the same way you do. But I
do mourn Lewis. Our poor little boy.” He began to sob.
April nodded. “I know,” she whispered.
“Don’t leave, April. Please.”
April took in a deep breath, the icy air shocking her lungs. She released his hand and walked away.
“April!”
When she looked back, Cristiano was now kneeling in the snow, his hands outstretched to her. “April, the things I’ve done
for the sake of our family . . .! I don’t know how to cope with them if you leave me! Please, Ape, I did it all because I
love you!”
April had to swallow down her anguish before she could speak. “Cris, I don’t want to be loved the way you love. I’m sorry.”
April Sun shut the door behind her.
It was then that Cristiano Baccay was struck by the realization of all the things he had done. His eyes darted down toward
the basement as the horror of his actions fell upon him like an avalanche.
No longer numb, he crumpled onto the snow beneath him, finally feeling its unforgiving coldness.
“What have I done?” he wept. “Oh my god, what have I done?”
“Cheers!”
With much fanfare, Wayward popped a bottle of sparkling apple cider and poured himself a flute, then set it in the ice bath
next to the champagne. He led everyone in another toast. Bottoms up!
Unaware of the devastating turmoil hidden behind closed doors on the very same floor, they had all migrated to the grand hall,
where a catered buffet dinner of classic Chinese dishes had been set up in front of a massive roaring fireplace, underneath
Big Boss Sun’s prized collection of eight prehistoric Irish elk antlers hung on the walls. The mood was merry as everyone
anticipated the long-awaited reconciliation of Roses and April and the arrival of yet another Sun baby.
Feeling better, Bessie had emerged from her bedroom along with Kat, and they were helping pass out plates and utensils to
the family members.
“Hey, have you seen Lo anywhere?” Sunbern nudged at Jamaal as he scooped three cup chicken onto his plate, the titular flavor combination of soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine culminating in an intoxicating aroma.
Spooning steaming ants climbing a tree onto his rice, Jamaal shook his head, absentminded despite the pungent fermented bean paste, glass noodles, and ground beef
tickling his nose. He was looking at Wayward, who had inexplicably avoided him all day. Jamaal wondered what was going on
with his boyfriend.
Meanwhile, Teddy and Meadow were conspiratorially sneaking lion’s head meatballs to the dogs in the kitchen; old Houyi was still leashed but young Bindi was happy to keep his great-grandfather
company as they chowed down on the juicy ground pork flecked with crispy chunks of lotus root. The pit bulls had become good
friends over the months, once Bindi had learned to curb his rambunctiousness around his elder.
As Shannon retreated to her quarters carrying two heaping plates of food that Hyacinth had gathered for her—“You’re eating for two, after all!”—Iris decided she would take advantage of the positive mood. Hesitantly, she approached Wayward at the champagne table.
“Weiwei,” she said quietly. “It’s so good to see you.”
Wayward had been avoiding her gaze, but she had left him no choice. He turned to her. “Hey, Mom.”
Wayward had spent the last eight and a half months trying to pretend that Iris did not exist. Even when he had caught wind
of the baffling hearsay that she had joined Hyacinth at her crazy cult, he had blanked it in his mind. Between navigating
his secret baby daughter and maneuvering the tricky negotiations of Sunfang Promessa, he simply did not have the bandwidth.
But when Wayward saw the hopefulness in his mother’s eyes, he relented. “I’m glad you came.”
Observing from a distance, Jamaal smiled to himself.
Iris nodded. “I wouldn’t miss your baby shower. When we are back in LA, do you want to grab lunch?”
Wayward was about to reply, when—
“APRIL!”
Wayward jerked his head toward an unfamiliar sound: the raised voice of Roses. “APRIL!” Yes, it was certainly Roses, and she
sounded distraught.
Everyone in the grand hall exchanged troubled looks, then set down their food and drinks to investigate the ruckus.
April kept trying to reach for the handles of the towering front doors of the sanctuary, but Roses pulled her back each time.
“April!” Roses cried. “Your baby is the future of the Sun Clan! Do not deprive him the chance to be a part of our family lineage!
We owe it to your grandfather! We have to do right by Big Boss Sun!”
Gently but firmly, April pried each of her mother’s fingers off her wrist. “I owe that dead man nothing,” she said.
April flung the doors open.
Outside, it was now dark, with only an occasional snowflake wafting in the breeze. April wrapped her coat around herself and started to walk out.
“Mommy!” Meadow ran up to April, with Teddy close behind. When April turned, she saw the audience that had come to witness
her last act.
As Wayward, Iris, Hyacinth, and Sunbern watched in silent distress, Meadow threw her arms around April. April almost fell
backward, but she regained her footing. “Meadow,” she said, “I will come back for you. I will! I just can’t be here any longer.”
Sniffling, Meadow went back to Teddy, who wrapped his arms around her protectively. Teddy nodded at April—he understood.
And then, April left, the sanctuary doors slamming behind her.
Outside of the Big Bear sanctuary, April Sun’s path was moonlit as she walked through the soft snow. She took another deep
breath, but this time the frigid air invigorated her, jolting her soul back to life.
She smiled once she caught sight of the person waiting for her next to her car, just as they had planned. She walked up to
her.
“You’re always there whenever I need you,” April said.
Chinoiserie Fan opened her warm coat to envelop it around both their bodies as they kissed. “And I always will be,” she promised.
The two women got into her car and drove away.