Chapter 19
Early the next morning, Roses woke up screaming.
At the foot of her California king bed, old Houyi was propelled a good foot into the air, paws all akimbo. Next to her, Teddy
bolted awake mid-snore, clutching his heart. “Rosie! What’s going on?”
Roses’s screams disintegrated into loud sobs as an underwear-clad Kat barged into their bedroom, brandishing one of Teddy’s
golf clubs and letting out a fierce battle yell, “WHO GOES THERE?”
Roses was crying, still in the clutches of her terrifying nightmare. Her chest heaving, her eyes wild, she grabbed for her
phone.
“Galahad!” she gasped. “I need to speak to Galahad Chu!”
In West Hollywood, Wayward was just leaving his Narcotics Anonymous meeting, waving goodbye to the other members.
It was a surprisingly cold morning, and he wrapped himself tighter in his thin sweater.
He was warmed though when he saw a welcome face waiting for him on the corner of Robertson Boulevard.
“Cris! What are you doing here?”
He ran up to his best friend and the two men hugged. They had not seen each other for many months, and Wayward had missed
Cristiano dearly.
“Way,” Cristiano said once they pulled back. “Man, it’s been too long.”
“How did you know to find me here?”
“To be honest, I’ve come here a few times looking for you. When I heard you got back with Jamaal, I figured you’d start going
to your meetings again.”
Wayward laughed. “Yes, my wild days are over.”
Cristiano cocked an eyebrow. “Fatherhood is pretty wild, so prepare yourself. You wanna go for a walk?”
As the two old friends ambled through the nearby park, Wayward kept glancing over at Cristiano, unsure of what to say. Finally
he began, “You know, Cris, you could’ve just called me.”
Cristiano gave him a look. “You know, a phone works both ways.”
A phone works many ways, thought Wayward. Fortunately, he had left his Sunfang phone in the car before his Anonymous meeting
and he knew that Cristiano had surrendered his months ago. Wayward could speak freely.
“You, April, and Meadow just disappeared after Lunar New Year. I felt bad. I’m sorry I didn’t reach out.”
Cristiano nodded. “Listen, I’m not going to bother you while you’re running Sunfang Global like the boss you are. April and
I needed to work some things out. I’ve spent the past year doing some much-needed focusing on my family. So, I’m sorry as
well.”
Wayward stopped walking to face Cristiano. “How are you and April?”
Cristiano smiled. “We’re doing amazing, Way. We’ve never been stronger. Moving out of Roses’s house is the best thing that’s
ever happened to us.”
“Oh, I’m thrilled to hear that!” Wayward exclaimed. He was relieved, the guilt instantly lifted from his shoulders. “Is there anything else, Cris?” he asked hesitantly.
His best friend grinned. “I had a feeling you’d ask. Yes, April is pregnant.”
With a whoop, Wayward threw his arms around Cristiano. “I can’t believe it! That’s amazing!”
“Not just that. We’re having a boy. He’s due any moment.”
Wayward got on his knees and whooped again, his arms outstretched in thanks to the overcast sky. The best-case scenario of
his ambitious plan was coming to fruition. April had listened to him, after all.
As passersby stared, Cristiano helped Wayward to his feet. “Wow, I did not expect that reaction!”
“This is exactly what I wanted! It’s what I told April to do! This is going to fix all of our problems in the family!” Wayward
had never been happier.
“I don’t understand,” Cristiano said. “You’re having a baby boy too, and who knows whether Roses is just going to stand by
and . . .”
Wayward grabbed Cristiano by shoulders. “Cris, I’m having a girl!”
Cristiano froze in disbelief. “You’re what!?”
“Now you’re the only person other than Jamaal, Bessie, and Kat who knows! We secretly implanted a female embryo into Bessie!”
Wide-eyed, Cristiano sat down on a nearby bench to steady himself. “Wayward,” he breathed, “you are a magnificent piece of
work.”
Wayward sat down next to him, hyperventilating from sheer joy. “All we have to do is to get April and Roses to reconcile.
Y’all are coming to Big Bear for my baby shower, right? Once those two make up, everything will be solved!”
Cristiano was still stunned. “We wouldn’t miss it!”
As Wayward continued to wax ecstatic about their serendipitous luck, Cristiano sat back, hardly daring to believe it. For years and years, he had been the lapdog of this family, overlooked and undervalued. There had been many bumps along his journey. But now, everything was falling into place.
Yes, Cristiano felt vindicated. What he had done in the past, as bad as it was . . . it was all worth it now.
“Goodbye, Shannon! See you next week, Shannon. Have fun up there in the mountains, Shannons!”
Iris and Hyacinth stood side by side in front of MiNT Wellness, waving goodbye to the other Shannons in their sisterhood,
both of them with the same placid smile across their faces.
Hyacinth turned to Iris. Are you sure you don’t want a ride up to Big Bear, Middle Sister? We can first drive to your condo to grab your things.
Iris shook her head. That’s very sweet, Little Sister, but I have an errand to run first.
Hyacinth nodded, a look of concern in her sweet eyes. How do you feel about seeing Weiwei after all of this time? I hope you two can make amends. You are going to be a grandmother
soon to his child.
Iris was still smiling blankly. Thanks to the teachings of MiNT and SANTI, I have Courage now. Don’t worry about me. I will see you up there later today.
Looking up at the overcast gray, Hyacinth shivered a bit. I haven’t been back to the Big Bear sanctuary since Big Boss Sun passed away. To be honest . . . it gives me the creeps. Because
of what happened up there.
Iris smiled impatiently. Courage, Little Sister. Courage.
Once Hyacinth had driven away in her car, the plastered smile fell off of Iris’s face as she slipped on her black Chanel sunglasses.
First, she took her Sunfang phone out of her purse and tossed it into her car. Then she walked out of the lot and rounded
a corner.
On the residential street waiting for her and also wearing dark shades was Lola. Wordlessly, Iris hopped onto the back of her niece’s motorcycle and they zoomed off.
A few blocks away in an alley, Lola parked her bike, and the two cleverest members of the Sun Clan huddled together, talking
softly.
“I gotta hand it to you, Auntie Iris. You were right about Galahad. Why would he impersonate his grandfather to Iris? Is it
just a simple grift to continue getting a paycheck?”
A while back, Iris had managed to connect with a cranky old cop based in Hong Kong and learned from him that Master Chu had
been found dead in his apartment at Lunar New Year. When Iris pressed further for more details such as the cause of death,
the cop balked and hung up.
“We don’t know that Master Chu was Galahad’s grandfather,” Iris replied. “I bet Galahad’s not even his real name.”
“I’m gathering you aren’t planning on telling Roses yet.”
Iris shook her head. “No, not yet. We still don’t know who we are up against. We must continue to act stealthily if we are
going to catch them in the act, otherwise they may slip away.”
“And that’s the big question,” Lola said, gnawing on her lower lip. “If Galahad actually isn’t working for Roses like we thought
he was . . .”
The middle aunt and baby niece exchanged a solemn look through their pitch-black sunglasses, before saying in unison, “. . . then
who is he working for?”
“Galahad, it was so real! It was so vivid! I still remember everything!”
Still trembling in her silk peignoir, Roses was slumped in front of the vanity in her bathroom. Kneeling subserviently in
front of her, Galahad patted her on the knee as his many bracelets gently clinked against one another.
“It was a nightmare, Mrs. Sun,” he said gently. “Some nightmares are just nightmares.”
Roses grabbed his hand, staring at him with fearful eyes. “Galahad, that was no nightmare! It was a warning!” Between her
fingers, she was rolling the crucifix on the chain around her neck so frantically that the gold was getting hot. “It was my
father! It was Big Boss Sun!”
Try as she might, the Sun matriarch could not unsee the images from her dream: the rotting ghost of Big Boss Sun hop-hop-hopping
toward her in the dark hallways of the Big Bear sanctuary, his mouth agape and emitting a gruesome growl straight from the
hells.
“He was chasing me!” Roses wailed. “His arms were outstretched, stiff as boards. And when he touched me, his sharp nails pierced
through my skin!” She was running her hands up and down her body, as if checking for wounds.
“Come now,” Galahad said. “Why would Big Boss Sun be angry with you?” But then he added, “He was hopping, you said?”
Roses nodded. “Yes, like . . . like a jiangshi!”
At this, Galahad leaned back. Unlike most events during the past eight and a half months of his tenure with the Suns, Roses’s
nightmare was not something he had manipulated into being. But Galahad knew an opportunity when he saw one, and he was an
excellent improviser.
“Mrs. Sun,” he replied, looking concerned. “A jiangshi is the reanimated corpse of someone who was wronged in death, but you
said Big Boss Sun died of natural causes.”
“He did,” Roses replied with a gulp. “He had dementia.”
Galahad leaned forward urgently. “Some jiangshi are jiangshi because they weren’t given a proper burial.”
At this, Roses went whiter than fresh snow. “Oh . . .” she murmured.
“Mrs. Sun, did something . . . untoward . . . happen to Big Boss Sun’s remains after he passed on?”
Roses slowly nodded.
Whispering, Galahad went in for the kill. “Mrs. Sun, are your father’s remains missing?”
Roses was crying softly. When Big Boss Sun’s ashes went missing because of her skirmish with Iris, she had kept it hidden
from everyone, even from Master Chu. Losing her father had felt so unforgivable she had foisted the guilt of it all upon Iris.
But now that shameful specter had returned to haunt her.
She nodded. “Everything I’ve done has been to try to correct that mistake. This baby shower is meant to be a turning point
for my family. Why is my father tormenting me in my dreams? He was chasing me through the Big Bear sanctuary, where the whole
clan is staying this weekend!” Her voice began to quake. “What if he appears when I’m there?”
Galahad stood up. He reached into a large cloth sack that he had brought with him, and from within it he pulled out a long
sword.
Roses gasped. “What is that?”
“This, my dear Mrs. Sun, is an exorcism sword.” By its wooden grip, Galahad held the ancient weapon in front of her, so that
she could see the constellations adorning its red copper scabbard.
“Exorcism!” cried the Sun matriarch, surprised.
With a flourish, Galahad unsheathed the sword, which sang as metal sliced against metal. The sharp bronze blade was golden
and delicately carved with ancient Chinese characters, and Roses’s eyes were reflected back to her as she read the mystical
incantation.
Galahad solemnly placed the sword into Roses’s hands. “Take this with you to the mountains.”
“I don’t want to exorcise my own father!”
“Mrs. Sun, if your father is indeed a jiangshi, he has no memory of his life. He has no idea who you are. He’s been possessed
by the misfortune of his passing. This sword will not destroy his soul, it will simply repel him until his great-grandson
is born and the Sun Clan lineage is healed.”
“Galahad,” Roses said, carefully sheathing the sword, “I know that this baby shower is family only, but I would love it if you came.” She propped the sword against her vanity and shuddered when it clanked.
“I know it is short notice, but Teddy and I are driving up to the mountains in an hour. Can you join us?”
Galahad bowed his head respectfully. “Anything for you and your family, Mrs. Sun.”
But inside his head, he was giddy. Completely by lucky chance, he had managed to snag a front-row seat to Wayward’s baby shower.
Galahad Chu was ready for a show.