The Reunion Dinner (Busybodies collection)

1

It was to be a night to remember. Josephine Ying would make sure of it. She’d spent the last month planning tonight’s celebration, down to the smallest detail. After tonight, nobody could say anything silly, like “Let’s have next year’s Chinese New Year dinner at Big Uncle’s house!” Oh no, after tonight, it would be a foregone conclusion that every CNY dinner should always be held at Josephine’s house, because no one could possibly top Josephine’s hosting skills. Thank goodness for Big Uncle’s fall; otherwise they’d have had yet another year spent at his place, choking down roast pork that was as dry as shoe leather. Well, maybe not thank goodness; she shouldn’t think such thoughts, really. But she was a teensy bit thankful. And anyway, the fall wasn’t even close to being fatal; so Liuyi needed a new hip, that was hardly anything dire, was it?

“Do you think,” Adam, Josephine’s husband, said as he and Josephine staggered into the kitchen under the weight of a whole roast pig, “that perhaps you might’ve gone a bit overboard?”

Josephine grunted. Adam was an Englishman, and even after decades of CNY celebrations, it still hadn’t sunk in just how important it was to go all out for the big reunion dinner. Not to mention this was her first chance in, well, ever to host the dinner. There was no such thing as going overboard. Only after they heaved the pig onto the kitchen counter did she manage to catch enough of a breath to give a retort. “Everyone traveling from all over the country to come to dinner,” she huffed.

“I know, it’s just—well, Liuyi never had a whole roast pig when he hosted.”

“Pah, that is why all these years I keep saying, ‘Why not take turn hosting? Why always at Big Uncle’s house?’ Now they will see what they have been missing all these years.”

Adam smiled and squeezed her shoulders. “That’s true. I don’t see how anyone could possibly go back to slumming it at Liuyi’s after this feast.”

Josephine bit back a smug grin. She couldn’t wait to see everybody’s faces when they arrived to find the spread she’d worked her ass off all morning and most of yesterday to make. Not to mention the fact that her son, Keith, had said he was bringing back to LA a “fabulous surprise.” Josephine rather hoped the surprise would be something from Tiffany’s. It wasn’t too big a leap to hope for, since Keith worked on Wall Street, and the flagship Tiffany’s store was like, right there. Josephine could just see it: Keith walking to the office in the morning, spotting the iconic aquamarine flag, and thinking to himself, Aha, I know just what to get my wonderful, long-suffering mother for Chinese New Year! Perhaps a necklace, or a bracelet? She’d settle for a handbag as well; she wasn’t picky.

The guests started arriving at around 1:00 p.m., each one bringing with them armloads of food. Yolanda, Josephine’s younger sister, brought some fried New Year cake, and her daughter, Francine, brought two bottles of whiskey.

“Fran,” Adam scolded in a jokey sort of voice, “are you trying to get your family wasted?”

“Always,” Fran said, giving them a hug and saying “Happy New Year” before breezing into the kitchen. “I’ll make the cocktails, shall I?”

“I’ll help!” another cousin called out, but Fran waved her away.

“That’s okay, Janie, I can manage. I’ve been looking up the best cocktail recipes.”

Yolanda looked after her daughter’s retreating back, shaking her head and sighing. Josephine took the dish of fried nian gao from her and wrapped one arm around Yolanda’s thin shoulders. “How you two holding up?”

“I’m ...” Yolanda tilted her head to one side, pausing, then said, as though surprised herself, “You know what? Considering what happened with that no-good scumbag, I’m doing well, actually. Much better now that I’ve had some time to adjust to being a divorcée. Fran’s still struggling a little, though.”

Josephine leaned back, giving her sister a closer look. Yolanda was ten years younger than her, but everyone always said that Josephine looked more youthful. But now, gazing at Yolanda, it struck Josephine that her little sister really did look like she was doing well. Her skin was glowing, her hair was glossy, and even her outfit was banging. Describing things as banging was a new favorite of Josephine’s, since she’d heard her nephew Porter use the word to describe one of her home-cooked meals. Speaking of Porter, she was about to ask Yolanda to elaborate more on how well her life was going when the doorbell rang once more and Porter’s voice called out, “Yooo fam! The life of the party is here!”

Yolanda rolled her eyes and smiled fondly, and Josephine laughed and hurried to open the door. Porter was the life of the party; he was always a good-natured kid, eager to make everyone laugh at family gatherings, and Josephine had a soft spot for him in her heart.

“Auntie Josie! Happy Lunar New Year!” Porter said, and gave her a bear hug. Behind him, his parents wished Josephine a happy New Year. They’d brought with them a huge basket of oranges as well as a roast Peking duck. Josephine ushered them in.

“Hey, cuz,” Francine called out. “Come help me hand out the cocktails.”

“Dang, starting early, okay,” Porter said as he went into the kitchen. “I do not hate it. Though I hope this has nothing to do with the asshole who broke your heart months ago? Wait, was that months ago, or was it last year?”

Porter wasn’t known for his subtlety, and for once, Josephine was grateful for his naturally loud voice as she eavesdropped on their conversation.

“Mind your own business, cuz,” Fran said, but her voice didn’t have much bite to it. She sighed. “I’ll tell you when I feel ready. Which won’t be for another few years at least.”

Josephine smiled at an in-law as she strained to listen to more of Fran and Porter’s conversation. She was somewhat taken aback to hear about Fran’s heartbreak. Fran had always been a toughie. Even when she was little and skinned her knees playing outside, she hadn’t so much as shed a tear. Josephine felt a stab of annoyance toward Fran’s ex, someone who had managed to get beneath that tough exterior only to proceed to hurt Fran.

“Anyway, what about you? How’s it going with your business partner, Lacey?” Fran said, and was Josephine imagining things or was there a slight edge to Fran’s voice?

There was an awkward pause; then Porter’s voice, sounding falsely jovial, said, “Come on, it’s reunion dinner. Let’s not talk business.”

Josephine frowned. Porter was always talking about his start-up. For him to avoid the chance to crow about his business was strange, to say the least.

But Josephine didn’t have a chance to bust in and ask why the two of them were behaving so strangely, because more and more family members arrived, and soon the house was filled to the gills with guests and the warm sounds of their merry conversation and laughter. Josephine sipped at her whiskey sour and gazed at the group with a soft smile. This, this was what she’d always wanted, had dreamed of, even, and it hadn’t happened until she was in her sixties thanks to her big brother always insisting that reunion dinners be held at his place. But see how good a time everyone was having.

“You’re gloating,” Adam said.

“I’m just standing here not saying anything,” she snapped back, but she couldn’t hide the smug smile from him. Then she glanced at her watch and frowned. “I wonder where Keith is.”

As though only just remembering their son, Adam checked his phone. “Huh, he’s a bit late, isn’t he? His flight should’ve arrived a couple hours ago.”

“Traffic on the 405, probably,” Porter said, popping up from behind them.

Josephine wondered if she should text Keith to ask if there was indeed traffic on the 405, but what if he was driving? Had he said whether he would be driving or taking an Uber here? She couldn’t remember.

“I’m sure he’ll be here soon,” Adam said, taking another sip of his drink. His cheeks were rosy from the alcohol. In fact, as Josephine surveyed the room, everyone’s faces were pink from the alcohol.

“Aiya, you all better slow down with the drink,” she scolded without any bite.

“We’re fine, Auntie,” Porter said.

“Yeah, it’s Lunar New Year, a time for celebration,” Francine said. She clinked glasses with Porter. “You need to drink more, Auntie, you’re not even slightly pink yet.”

Josephine merely tutted at them before heading into the kitchen to finish up the last of the cooking. For the next couple of hours or so, she, Yolanda, and two other aunties stayed in the kitchen, frying, boiling, and steaming various dishes. They were accustomed to working together in one kitchen, and the atmosphere of cheerful controlled chaos made the time fly. Cooking as one big group was something they always did for the reunion dinner, something that Josephine had used to her advantage the year before. She would never admit this to anyone, not even to Adam, but last year, sick of Big Uncle boasting about his famous roast duck, she’d turned the timer back an extra twenty minutes when no one was looking. The duck had come out so dry it was like gnawing on a piece of plywood, so hard and fibrous that Second Aunt had lost a crown trying to chew it. It had done Big Uncle a world of good to be taken down a peg or two. She’d done him a favor, really.

When the last dish was finally done, Josephine realized it was 6:00 p.m. Dinnertime. She bustled out of the kitchen, wondering why Keith hadn’t come in to say hi to her, but when she scanned the roomful of people, she found to her consternation that Keith still wasn’t there.

“Keith is not here?” she said to Adam as she heaved a huge pot of pork rib soup onto the table.

Adam shook his head. “I’ve tried calling him several times, but he’s not answering his phone.”

Fear stabbed cold and sharp in Josephine’s belly as scenarios flooded her mind, each one more horrific than the last. Keith lying mangled in a catastrophic car wreck. Keith lying in a pool of blood after a mugging. Keith—

Seeing the horrified expression on her face, Adam hurriedly said, “I’m sure he’s fine. There must be a good explanation for it. I’m guessing he just got carried away with his work. You know how he is.”

“Yeah, he’s been a tough guy to pin down lately,” Francine said.

“Yup, he’s missed the last four poker games,” Porter said. “Ben’s threatening to kick him out of the group.”

Ben, another nephew, shrugged and mumbled, “I mean, if he’s always going to flake, what’s the point?”

Francine and Porter had lived in New York City up until the previous year, when they both moved back to LA, and Josephine was glad that even after their move, the cousins had kept up their weekly poker nights, doing them over Zoom.

After sending over a couple of texts along the lines of Where are you, Keith? Why you not call anyone to tell us you are going to be late? You trying to drive me to early grave? You call me now! Josephine ushered everyone to the table, which was positively groaning under the weight of all the food.

“No point letting everything get cold,” she said. “Come, we start the yu sheng.” She handed extra-long pairs of chopsticks to everyone, and they gathered around the table and started mixing the Chinese New Year fish salad, chanting good wishes for the year ahead. She tried to keep up her smile even as her heart grew heavier with every minute that passed without Keith there. Keith wasn’t a fan of the taste of yu sheng but loved the act of mixing it. When he was a little kid, he’d squeal with laughter every time they mixed the salad with everyone. Without him here, Josephine could barely taste the sweet, savory dish. The food might as well be ash. She picked at it listlessly as everyone around her tucked in and raved about how delicious everything was.

“It’ll be okay,” Adam whispered to her, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

“Do you think we should call police?” she said. Another hour had passed and still no Keith.

Adam chewed on his lip. “And say what, exactly? That our adult son hasn’t shown up to reunion dinner? I don’t know ...”

“But something must have happen,” she said. Her voice was rising, and she was vaguely aware that around the table, conversations were halting and chopsticks were being lowered as people turned to stare at her, but she didn’t care. This was so unlike Keith, and no one knew her son as well as she did. Something was wrong. She was about to fetch her phone to make a 911 call when the front door opened.

“Ma? Ba?”

“Keith!” she practically shrieked, leaping from the table and rushing to the foyer. There were murmurs of relief, and people followed behind her.

“Happy Lunar New Year, Ma. Sorry we’re so late,” he said.

Josephine wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tight. She closed her eyes and breathed in the familiar scent of her only child, letting all the anxiety melt away as she held him.

“Your mom was worried sick,” Adam said, hugging them both.

Belatedly, Josephine’s brain picked out something Keith had said. We, he’d said. We ?

“Lacey insisted on getting something for you guys, and we kind of got carried away ...”

Josephine’s eyes flew open, and she released Keith. He gave her a boyish smile that reminded her of how he used to look at age five, then pushed the door open all the way, revealing a beautiful young woman.

“Ma, Ba, remember how I said I had a surprise?”

Images of a glamorous diamond bracelet from Tiffany’s evaporated as Josephine stared at the girl before her.

“Well, I’d like you to meet Lacey,” Keith said.

“Ah, Lacey, hello—” Josephine said.

“My fiancée,” Keith finished.

Whatever Josephine was about to say turned to dust in her mouth. For a second, all she and Adam could do was stare, open mouthed, at their son and the girl he had his arm around. Adam recovered first. “Oh!” he said. “Wow. What—ah, what wonderful news! Congratulations, son, I’m happy for you.”

Is he? Josephine thought. Why is he happy for Keith? We know nothing about this woman! Somehow, though, she managed to wrestle a smile onto her face, though it fought her the entire way. She could practically feel her cheeks cracking as she forced her mouth to stretch.

“Mama, Baba,” Lacey said, and before Josephine knew it, she was enveloped in a hug that filled her nose with a sickeningly sweet perfume. Had this stranger just called her Mama ?

Josephine placed her arms around the stranger and patted her back gingerly before stepping away. Not a stranger, her mind scolded her. Your future daughter-in-law, Lacey. She tried for another smile, but it felt more like a grimace. “Nice to meeting you,” she said, emphasis on meet , to hopefully remind Keith how ridiculous this entire situation was.

“I got you a present,” Lacey said, and handed Josephine a surprisingly heavy box.

“Bird’s nest,” Keith said. “It’s why we were late. Lacey insisted on going to San Gabriel to get it for you.”

“Oh” was all Josephine managed to say. Why drive all the way to SGV for this? she wanted to snap. You can just order on Amazon. What a pretentious gesture, and not to mention an inconvenient one. “Thank you,” she said, and, afraid that Lacey was going to ambush her with yet another hug, Josephine turned to go into the living room.

Instead, she found the larger family behind her, staring at the scene with unabashed curiosity. Yolanda’s, Francine’s, and Porter’s eyes were comically huge, and to Josephine’s bemusement, they looked even more horrified than she was feeling. Well, at least she wasn’t alone in feeling sideswiped by Lacey’s appearance.

Belatedly, Josephine recalled the mention of Porter’s business partner, Lacey. Surely it wasn’t the same Lacey? But the look on Porter’s face confirmed it. Lacey the fiancée was the same person as Lacey the business partner, and from Porter’s expression, he didn’t look happy about seeing Lacey here at the reunion dinner.

Then Francine opened her mouth and said, “What the fuck?”