15. Anthony
CHAPTER 15
anthony
It was that unexplainable chill I got whenever I caught Kelvin’s eyes on Shoua that made me uneasy. A man’s instinct, I suppose. I felt more and more protective of her the more I watched the way he observed her.
To remind him I was also by her side, I reached down to grab one of the legs of her chair and pulled her closer to me. The screech of the chair against the hardwood floor made everyone look up at me, surprised. Shoua’s brows shot to the sky while my parents watched me rather joyfully.
“You two are quite the lovebirds, aren’t you?” Auntie Yee said as she laughed.
Auntie Yee and Jonathan were able to make it to tonight’s dinner as well. My parents’ dining table could barely fit all nine of us. This was the first time I had seen Auntie Yee since Shoua and I declared our fake relationship. But my mom’s best friend looked completely unfazed to see her niece and me together like this. I assumed it was all probably thanks to my mom for explaining the situation and our act.
I shrugged and threw my arm on the back of Shoua’s chair possessively. “We are,” I said and grinned.
From across the table, I could see Kelvin blatantly glaring at me, and my smile pulled wider.
“Evelyn was telling us that you two will be taking her and Kelvin out on the town Saturday night,” Aunt Sue said.
“Yes, ma’am. My friend Tyson is visiting his parents from out of town for the month as well. He wanted to go out to the bars, and I thought it’d be fun to bring Evelyn and Kelvin along with us,” I answered.
I wasn’t sure whether to ask both Evelyn and Kelvin to go with us. My mom made me promise to be hospitable toward all her guests and show them a good time. And I was trying my best to, even though I was still worried about them.
Evelyn was all bark and no bite. However, Kelvin didn’t bark or bite aside from leering at Shoua and then glaring at me. He was an enigma. His presence cast a shadow over Shoua whenever they were in the same vicinity, and that made me felt like I should keep my guard up around him.
“Will it just be the six of you then?” my dad asked, glancing at Jonathan.
“No, I believe it’ll be nine of us,” he answered.
“I’ve asked Jackie and Alicia and her boyfriend to come with us as well,” Shoua said. She turned to Evelyn with a genuine look of excitement. “We won’t be the only women having to put up with these stupid men.”
She gave Evelyn this cute little smile, drawing my attention to her lips—plump, bright red, and wet. Shoua was trying to be cordial with Evelyn. But the other woman simply stared back without saying anything. The atmosphere became tense as their conversation dwindled to nothing as Evelyn stared at the empty bowl in front of her.
For dinner, we ate cold Vietnamese vermicelli bowls since today had been an unbearably hotter than it was forecasted. No one wanted to turn on the stove and make it any hotter in the house. I fucking love the balance of the bowls with fresh veggies, herbs, pickled daikon, carrots, and charbroiled meat. It’s light and refreshing, especially when the weather is hot.
“Sounds like you all will have a good time,” Aunt Sue said with a smile. She glanced at Evelyn. “You’re always holed up in your apartment and you hardly go out even though you’re twenty-eight. This will be a great chance for you to finally learn to socialize.”
Her face immediately turned bright red, embarrassed by her mom’s comment. “Mom,” she hissed in a low whisper. “You don’t need to say it like that.”
“It’s about time you make friends, Evelyn,” Aunt Sue continued sternly.
Jonathan, Shoua, and me awkwardly glanced at each other as the tension became thick between Evelyn and her mom. It quickly dampened the lighthearted mood we were in. I was shocked at the way Aunt Sue was treating Evelyn. I had always assumed Aunt Sue was the understanding and easy-going type of mom since that was the type of person she was around my parents, Andy, and me.
“Sue, I’m sure she has plenty of friends,” my mom jumped in.
Evelyn sat by her mom with her brows furrowed and lips formed into a thin line as her face continued to flush red. She was clearly furious at Aunt Sue.
Auntie Yee also spoke up. “Besides, a night at home is always better than a night out. Right, Evelyn? Who needs to go to bars when a cozy night with a good show is all you need?” She smiled politely at Aunt Sue and then at her daughter. “Antisocial or not, bar hopping with Anthony, Shoua, and Jonathan will be fun. You’re in a new city with new friends. Take the opportunity to let loose a little bit, Evelyn.”
“Not too loose, though. You can have all the fun you want as long as you don’t come back home drunk in a mess,” Aunt Sue said quickly. She let out a laugh, and I think she meant it as a joke, but it sounded more like a threat.
Evelyn scoffed sharply. “Why are you even worried about that?” she asked quickly. “I don’t even live at home anymore. Whether I have friends, go out, and get drunk out of my fucking mind is no concern of yours. My life is mine. Not yours.”
Aunt Sue turned to her with a vicious smirk. “Who helps you pay for that apartment you live in?”
Evelyn sighed heavily as she looked her mom right in the eye. I expected her to say something, but she never did. She averted her gaze and looked down at her lap with a deep frown.
From my side, I could hear Shoua let out a wobbly exhale. I took her hand in mine as the tension between mother and daughter continued to grow thicker and heavier. Then, suddenly, she spoke up.
“Aunt Sue, your concerns for Evelyn are understandable. But she’s smart. She knows what’s best for her in her own ways,” Shoua said. Everyone’s eyes were now on her. “She’s just living her life the way she sees fit.”
Her sudden intrusion into the mother-daughter argument drew their attention to her. Aunt Sue narrowed her eyes at her immediately. Evelyn’s eyes widened in shock. Shoua’s hand trembled in mine, and I started rubbing calming circles into the back of her hand. She was scared but made no notion of it in her firm voice.
“Sue, it’s all right. Evelyn’s not a kid anymore. She’s an adult,” my mom said softly as she patted Aunt Sue’s shoulder. “She should be able to have fun in whatever ways she wants. You don’t have to worry about her like that.”
“Who knows? She might even meet someone cute. Right, Evelyn?” Auntie Yee said.
That comment seemed to tickle Aunt Sue, and she laughed. My mom swiftly eased them into another topic before Aunt Sue could say anything else about her daughter. The three women started laughing and talking again.
“Your aunt is right, Evelyn. Just go out on Saturday and have fun. I know your mom can be a bit—” my dad started, and then he lowered his voice to a whisper, “overbearing . But live a little. You deserve it for being such a good daughter.”
She gave my dad a rigid nod as he patted her shoulder. Without saying anything else, she got up and left the dining room. From across the table, I could see Aunt Sue cast her a glance and that was it. No one stopped her. We all knew she headed straight to her bedroom, which was confirmed after a loud slam from the back hallway.
We let Evelyn’s departure settle for a bit. Aunt Sue continued to smile and laugh as if what just happened was nothing, and it made me felt worse for Evelyn. Her mom embarrassed her in front of us and saw no wrong in what she did.
My dad turned to me with a curious look. “So, Jackie and Tyson will both be going to your outing on Saturday? They used to date, didn’t they?”
“Dad, that was in high school,” I quickly answered. My dad nodded with a knowing smile as he looked between Shoua and me. “What?”
“Nothing,” he said and smiled. “I’m just surprised by the turn of events thinking back to when you all were just kids, I guess. Who would’ve thought that you two would end up being together?”
“Exactly. Who would’ve thought?” said Jonathan. He wiggled his eyebrow at me, teasingly.
I held back the urge to roll my eyes. Instead, I turned to glance at Shoua, thinking I would see her warm, coffee-colored gaze. But instead, I saw her plump, now-pink lips just like earlier. Flustered, I quickly looked back at Jonathan.
“When it comes to Shoua, definitely,” I said as I laughed.
Once we were all finished with dinner, I helped clear the table with Shoua and Jonathan as our parents continued their conversation in the living room. I was about to suggest that Jonathan, Kelvin, Shoua, and me sit in the kitchen and talk over a beer or two. But when I walked into the kitchen ready to help Shoua with the dishes, Kelvin was already there next to her by the sink.
“So, you and Anthony used to be friends even all the way back in high school?” Kelvin asked as he rinsed the soapy dishes she handed to him.
“Yes,” she replied.
They didn’t know I was there with their backs turned to me, but I could see everything going on between the two of them. While Shoua’s focus was on the dishes, Kelvin was looking at her with a heated stare.
“You two were still friends even when I got your number last year?” he asked.
“Of course.” She was completely oblivious to the way he leered at her. He reached out to her, inches from grabbing her hand while she was still busy scrubbing a plate.
“He’s the reason you stopped talking to me so suddenly, isn’t he?” he asked boldly.
Shoua dropped a plate, and her attention immediately turned to him. “No. Anthony and I have always been good friends, even last summer.”
“Do you have a problem with that?” I asked, announcing my presence. My voice seemed to have startled him, causing him to jump in his skin for a second.
Kelvin glanced over his shoulder at me with a schooled, neutral expression. He shrugged. “No,” he said, but the irritation flickering in his eyes said otherwise. “I find it ironic how you two started dating after Shoua and me were in contact with each other.”
“What are you trying to insinuate, Kelvin?” she asked with a small frown.
“And what about it?” I interrupted before he could answer. I walked up to Shoua’s side and stood next to her protectively. “We’ve always been good friends and our friendship naturally evolved into a romantic one after years of knowing each other. What is it to you whether we became romantically involved after Shoua briefly chatted with you last summer or not?”
He turned to me with a sly smile while shaking his head. “It’s just interesting timing, that’s all. Almost like someone was waiting for the right moment to swoop in.”
I laughed out loud, completely amused. Kelvin’s animosity toward me was evident, but I hadn’t expected him to have such a warped perception of the world. Me? Swooping in to make Shoua mine and stealing his thunder? Boy, this man was living in a world of his own if he hadn’t even reflected for a moment about the disgusting picture he sent her.
I was about to give him a piece of reality, but before I could say anything, Jonathan, my mom, and Auntie Yee clamored into the kitchen. They broke the tension with their rowdy laughs and cheerful voices.
“I completely forgot about the nam van !” my mom said. Nam van is my dad’s favorite Southeast Asian coconut milk tapioca dessert for the summer. My mom typically made buckets of it for him, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she made too much again. “Kids, do you guys want some with us? Your Aunt Sue, Evelyn, and I made plenty for dessert.”
“How are you guys with the dishes?” Jonathan asked as he threw some dirtied wet wipes into the trash bin. I had asked him to wipe down the dinner table after I helped collect the rest of the dishes.
“We just finished,” I said, plastering on a grin. I threw my arm over Shoua’s shoulder and pulled her close to me. “Sorry, Mom, I think we’re going to head out. It’s getting late and we both have a long day tomorrow.”
She glanced at the time on the oven, which showed it was already seven. She nodded with a big, happy smile. “That’s all right, sweetie. We’ve already taken too much of both of your time,” she said. “I’ll pack you two some nam van to take home.”
While my mom busied herself with packing dessert, Auntie Yee turned to us with the same smile my mom was wearing. Her eyes darted back and forth between Shoua and me. Tonight was the first time she had seen us together as a couple, and I had never seen her so elated. She looked as happy as she did when Andy and Julie came home for Mother’s Day and revealed that they had been in a relationship for months.
“My two daughters are dating my best friend’s sons,” she said with an excited laugh.
I grinned wider despite my stomach twisting in knots. Auntie Yee was practically a second mom to Shoua, Andy, and me. She had never hesitated to love us like we were one of her own, and now we were lying to her.
For a split second, I thought about reminding her that none of this was real. I was ready to blabber my mouth off and reveal our entire plan, but then I remembered Kelvin was in the room. He was taking in our every move as his expression grew more tense. Shoua noticed, and she subtly leaned into me and rested her head on my shoulder.
The gesture looked natural, even though I could feel Shoua’s body was stiff. She let out a breath and her body instantly relaxed into mine. I squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. We were going home now. This was enough acting for the night.
After my mom packed an overwhelming amount of nam van for us, we bid everyone goodbye. Shoua went out of her way to go say goodbye to Evelyn, who was still locked up in one of the rooms. We tried to keep our distance from Kelvin by saying goodbye from afar, but he approached us. His eyes never left Shoua, which made me apprehensive.
“I’m glad to know you two were just friends last year,” he said. His eyes flickered over to me with a hint of challenge and determination. “ Just friends .”
The only reaction I was going to let him see from me was the smile on my face. “Not anymore. I’m Shoua’s man now,” I said.
I didn’t wait for his reaction and quickly ushered Shoua out of the house. It wasn’t until we were alone in my Jeep that we let out a long sigh. We drove in silence for some time as Shoua watched the streetlights passing us by. I could feel her words hanging in the air before she even uttered them.
“This fake relationship is going to be harder than what I was expecting,” she said.
“I wasn’t expecting Evelyn and Kelvin to be so persistent and meddlesome,” I said.
“Neither did I.” She sighed. “I didn’t expect Aunt Sue to humiliate Evelyn in front of us either. I feel bad for her and for what her mom did to her. I don’t like her much, but she didn’t deserve that.”
“Me too,” I answered, honestly. “I still can’t believe she did that.”
It was a while before she responded. “Her mom reminds me of my mom.”
My throat dried up; I was unable to say anything to comfort her. “Yeah, I could see the similarities in the way they nurture or the lack of it.”
Another silence filled the car before I spoke up again.
“Evelyn mentioned at the fair that she sees my mom like a second mom, which I’m glad she at least has her as another motherly figure,” I said. “Just like how I know you see Auntie and my mom as one as well.”
Shoua turned to me with a small sniff when I came to a stoplight. She wasn’t crying nor were her eyes watery, but I knew she was trying to fight back the tears. The only time she ever allowed herself to cry in front of me was when I showed up to her car accident last year. Before that, I had never seen her shed a tear.
But I knew her. I knew her pain and what hurt her the most. I knew watching what Aunt Sue did to Evelyn made her upset.
“You can cry if you want,” I said gently.
“What?” she asked, rather sharply. “Cry? Why?”
“It’s okay, Shoua. You can cry,” I repeated. “It’s okay to be vulnerable.”
“I—I just—” She blinked quickly with another sniff. “I just feel sad for myself and Evelyn.”
I pulled my hand off the steering wheel and put her hand in mine. I squeezed it, silently letting her know that I would always be here for her. The rest of the drive home was in silence, but it was much needed after tonight.