Chapter 36
“He’s too good-looking but that seems to be his only flaw.”
The water pitcher I’m holding almost slips out of my hands as I laugh. “I’ll just have to live with that, Logan.”
“Poor you.” He’s helping me arrange a platter of fried zucchini and we’re both in the kitchen. I’ve left Daniel alone with my family outside on the terrace, and I hope he’s not been beaten down spiritually yet. “He was worth waiting a decade for.”
A decade. Jesus. “I’m glad he has your seal of approval. On hotness anyway. You’re one of three men in my life whose opinion I give a rat’s ass about.”
“I’m flattered. But yeah, dinner will be all about substantive things like…”
“Favorite sports teams?” I finish for him.
He scowls. “What? No. What his D&D alignment is. That sort of thing.”
I laugh, again. “Okay, only the pertinent ones.”
“Exactly.” Logan’s smiling when he pauses, then asks, “So, am I right? He was worth waiting for?” The way he’s asking suddenly makes me wonder how much Mar has told him about Ellis.
I watch the pitcher fill up with water from the filter in the sink. “He’s really, really great. It just feels so seamless to have him in my life. We have so many things in common and it’s just really easy.”
He nods. “I’m really happy for you, Cass.”
I hug him. “Thanks, Logan.” It warms me up inside, because Logan is one of the good ones.
We head out to the terrace where everyone’s seated for dinner.
The night is warm and I stand for a moment in the doorway, taking in the scene.
Daniel is seated near the middle, being plied with appetizers and wine.
He’s smiling, the charm just oozing off of him, and everyone’s attention is on him.
Even my fairly stoic grandfather is grinning, opening a bottle of frosty beer for him.
Earlier in the week Halabuji had called asking what kind of beer British people like to drink, and it makes me feel warmed from the inside out to see the bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale being handed to Daniel.
My first family dinner with my own fated. Not the odd man out, the single aunt seeking love. There is a tangible relaxing in my body, in my bones. It’s like something is being recalibrated in me to just rest. Downhill mode.
I seat myself next to Daniel and his eyes lock on mine with amusement. “Hello,” he says, and I kiss him on the cheek.
“You hanging in?” I ask in a low voice near his ear.
He reaches over and squeezes my thigh. “It’s been an absolute pleasure.”
“You’re a great liar,” I say with a laugh. I catch Halmoni’s eye at the head of the table and she holds up her glass of wine to me, her happy expression bordering on smug.
“We were just talking about how much we owe him for his marketing help,” Sunny says with a smile.
Daniel actually looks embarrassed. “I just helped Cassia with a few ideas.”
“He’s being extremely humble right now,” I say. “You really lit a fire under my ass.”
Mica and Ozzie laugh and I cross my eyes at them, making them laugh harder.
Everyone starts passing around the food—heaping piles of fluffy white rice, crispy grilled fish, ice-cold cabbage and cucumber kimchi, fried zucchini, soy-sauce marinated brisket beef, and big leaves of lettuce from Emoni’s garden served with bright-orange ssamjang.
It’s a lot of my favorite foods and I know Emoni and Halmoni were meticulous in planning the menu.
My heart squeezes with love for all of them.
“Okay, Daniel, we’re going to have to ask you a million questions, you know that, right?” Mar says. Logan groans.
“Daniel Nam!” Ozzie cries out. Everyone but Daniel freezes and stares at her.
I force out a laugh. “Ozzie, you’re so good with names, good job.” Logan immediately starts distracting her with some chopsticks.
“I got grilled like this, remember?” Stu says to Sunny as he pours wine for her. “Sorry, Daniel, it’s a rite of passage.”
Daniel leans forward, an impish gleam in his eye. “I would expect nothing less.”
Mar clears her throat and folds her hands under her chin, all business. “Daniel, tell us about your childhood,” she says.
“Well, I was adopted by my parents when I was an infant,” he starts, tucking into his food at the same time. “I grew up in a suburb of London called Woodford. It was pretty uneventful and ordinary and I feel lucky for it.”
“Were you an only child?” Emoni asks, piling some fish onto Mica’s rice bowl. Daniel nods and Emoni looks at me. “Just like our Cassia.”
Daniel and I look at each other and he squeezes my thigh under the table again. “Yes. Both of us are such difficult spoiled brats, aren’t we?”
Laughter all around, a musical sound in my grandparents’ lush garden. Then it’s Emoni’s turn to lean in, and I know that she’s about to get serious. Interrogation mode initiated. “What’s your romantic journey been like?”
He drops his head slightly, rubbing the back of his neck before looking up with a sheepish grin. “Well, truth be told, I’ve been quite the typical bachelor.”
Some huffy sounds are made around the table, and I hold back from laughing.
Daniel continues, “I have had one or two serious girlfriends. One in uni—college, that is—and then one several years ago. But, like Cassia, I’ve been building my career and business for the past decade or so.
And because of that, I have not had much of myself to give until recently. ”
Everyone has questions, but Emoni is not done yet. “And how did it feel when you met Cassia?”
Daniel pauses and looks at me, his heart in his eyes.
“When I met Cassia, I felt everything in me still,” he says, not breaking eye contact with me.
“I had been going-going-going my entire life. Reaching for the next thing, the next goal. It’s quite American of me, really.
” His amusement makes him pause. “And, really, I knew the next big step was finding my partner. And I felt something in me just click the first second I met her. I felt like, ah, there she is. You can stop now.”
Because we’re meant to be. Because we’ve met in one or many lifetimes past.
A sigh comes from Sunny. “It’s the best feeling. Cass, what about you? What did you like about Daniel?”
“Well, I had to get over his hideous looks first,” I say.
More laughter. Mar laughs a little too loudly.
“But once I was able to overcome that obstacle, I found myself so impressed by his passions and drive. How much he notices the natural and designed world. His confidence that makes him a strong leader. So well-respected by everyone in his life. And just…we’re so on the same wavelength.
We know what we want and the kind of life we envision. ”
“And what kind of life is that?” asks Stu.
Again, Daniel and I look at each other. “A partnership built on respect,” he says.
“With lots of good food, books, and nineties movies,” I add with a grin.
“Always,” he says. “Growing old together in the sunshine.”
“Sitting on a deck made out of sustainable wood.” I smile at the vision of it.
Emoni is beaming. “And a house full of grandchildren? You have a family business to carry on after all.”
I turn to Daniel, smile still on my face, but find his wavering. “Ah,” he says with a nervous laugh. “I think I will make an incredible uncle, for now.”
The silence after that is like a physical presence. It sits on my chest and makes it hard for me to breathe.
What the fuck?
Someone somewhere clears their throat loudly—I think it’s Halabuji—and everyone starts talking at once, trying not to put us in the spotlight anymore.
Then, maybe reading my mood, Logan asks Daniel to help him get something from the kitchen and he gets up, giving me an apprehensive glance before doing so. I smile, trying to act cool.
Only when he’s gone does everyone look at me, again.
“Did he say what I thought he said?” Emoni asks in a loud-hushed voice.
“He did,” Halabuji says grimly, meeting my eyes over the table. “You guys never talked about this, Cassia?”
Mar flinches for me. “It’s not her fault.”
“Everyone, calm down,” Halmoni says, finally. “Don’t make this a bigger deal than it is.”
“It’s a big deal!” Emoni says. “He cannot be serious!”
Everyone starts bickering and I sink back in my seat. When I look up, I see Sunny staring at me intently. She mouths, Sorry, and I shake my head. How could she have known?