Chapter 5 #2
Would she ever look at someone like that? Ever have a family of her own?
Minh broke through her thoughts with a question. “I’m going to change her diaper. Can you help for a bit?”
Grateful for the excuse, Gia nodded.
She slid behind the counter, checked her phone, and typed a quick response to Alex.
Gia
Can’t. Out of town.
Hopefully, it would appease him for now.
A young couple seated by the window flagged her down. Gia took their order without a notepad, as if it were second nature to her. She smiled politely and walked the order back to the kitchen.
Dad was frying egg rolls. Mom chopped vegetables.
A familiar scene from her past. The nostalgia bit at her, seeing how much things had changed.
From her vantage point, she could see how much the past decade had aged her parents.
What used to be dark hair on both of them was now riddled with silver.
Their postures seemed more stooped, while the lines etched on their faces belied their ages.
They hadn’t noticed her until she cleared her throat.
Mom looked up first, eyes widening in recognition.
Her hands halted briefly before resuming their task.
She yelled over her shoulder to get Dad’s attention, who paused in tossing the egg rolls in his wok.
As they gaped at her, she offered a weak wave as anxiety gripped her.
She hadn’t been ready for the encounter.
She was about to turn on her heel when Mom’s expression changed, lips pressed together into a thin line. With a tip of her chin, she nodded sharply. “What they want?”
Gia stammered, reverting to her native language to relay the order. Mom nodded, and Gia took it as permission to swiftly exit the kitchen.
There had been no fuss. No fanfare. Just like old times. It was oddly comforting and slightly shocking that she could slide back to the old version of herself so seamlessly.
Could it really be so easy?
She headed back to the front. Strode determinedly past Jake, ignoring the heat of his stare as he trailed her movements.
The kitchen bell chimed, indicating an order was ready to be served.
Gia glanced behind her to see Minh was now seated at the table, juggling a giggling Tuy?t Mai.
She smiled at the endearing image of the happy family.
Gia rushed to the back and grabbed the next order, balancing a tray of steaming hot soup with side plates of bean sprouts and mint in her hands.
It felt so natural for her to revert to her waitress days.
She hurried out of the kitchen and served it to the young couple with a smile plastered expertly on her face.
It all came back to her. The motions, the rhythm, the routine.
Another bell.
This time, Dad said the food was for the kids and Jake. She groaned inwardly at having to serve Jake. She was hoping to get by without having to talk to him again. Every time she walked past him, his eyes tracked her like a predator. It made her skin feel hot and itchy.
Part awareness. Part arousal. Jake was much too perceptive, and she hadn’t missed the way he’d tensed at the table when he looked over her face. No doubt he saw the bruises she was trying to hide. It’s none of his business, though.
He lost that privilege a long time ago.
Bracing herself for the encounter, Gia brought the plate to the table, plopping it down a little harder than necessary. The orange dipping sauce spilled.
Oops.
“Careful, they’re hot!” she warned as Marley and Th?y Mai recoiled from the steaming spring rolls, blowing on their fingertips. “Told you,” she muttered.
Jake chuckled. “You kids never learn.”
The bell chimed again, signaling another order was ready.
The main dishes this time for Minh and Jake.
The others were smaller, for the girls. There was a third large bowl her father plopped in front of her as she was placing the food onto a tray.
Looking up from her task, she briefly met her father’s eyes before glancing away and bowing her head in respect.
Her father was a man of few words, but she knew what the gesture meant.
It was a silent welcome. Food was the love language of the Lien family, and his offering told her everything she needed to know.
It didn’t matter Minh had already made her food earlier. She would eat the soup simply because of what it represented.
Gia’s eyes misted as she focused on the task in front of her.
The tray was too small for the number of bowls she had to serve, but she didn’t want to have to come back so soon and confront her emotions.
Balancing everything precariously on the tray, she backed out of the kitchen, bumping the swinging door open with her hip.
But as she turned, her foot caught on the rug.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, like in one of her movies. The tray tipped over, causing a chain reaction as she lost control. Porcelain shattered as it clattered to the ground. Food spilled out of the bowls, and the hot broth soaked through her sweater.
She gasped, frozen, stunned by the burn. The tray fell from her arms.
“Oh, shit.” Jake was suddenly at her side, lifting her off her feet. He didn’t hesitate. Ignored the mess. Pulled her to the back, into the bathroom, while Minh rushed to clean up the mess she’d made.
“Let’s get this off you,” he said, tugging at the soaked sweater clinging to her like a second skin.
She didn’t stop him. She was too shocked to help him as he tugged the sweater away from her body and over her head. Jake turned away to grab paper towels and handed them to her. With leaden arms, she dabbed at her damp skin.