Chapter 33 #2
That was it. That’s all it took to make a connection.
I grab her number so we can text about details and head back home.
With a long night looming, I realize I should have asked her to come back with me now.
I look over to the drawer where I put the register after Mom left, but I can’t bring myself to read it without feeling guilty, like I’ve let down not only my mother but also generations of women before us.
More days pass. It’s warm and I check our new potager garden every morning and evening to see if it’s thriving and to pull out the cigarette butts and weeds that accumulate.
Commissions come and I do them without interest. If Maryska thought my work was soulless before, she’d consider these beyond redemption.
Ana sends me worried looks but seems satisfied when I tell her the apartment feels empty with Mom gone.
“I’ve got something to show you,” Ana says when I come in one day. She whips away the silk scarf from her table with a ta-da motion, and I notice it’s one of the ones I gave her from Waipo.
I suck in my breath at what she’s created. Ana’s jewelry is all one of a kind, to make the pieces more covetable, and seeing them lined up on the velvet board makes me realize again how talented she is.
She points to a peony, a lovely pendant hanging off a plain chain. “This is the design your mom suggested.”
I lift it up and an unfamiliar scent drifts out. “That’s not one of mine,” I say.
“No, sorry, your mom did that too.” She looks contrite. “Did I do bad? She was excited about it and I didn’t have the heart to say no.”
It’s a light iris, balanced with the warmth of my favorite sandalwood and a touch of lemony vanilla. “I’m going to buy this one.”
Ana laughs. “You don’t need to buy it, silly. Take it. It’s our own collection.”
“We’ll make it our first sale.”
“When you put it like that, how can I say no?”
I take the pendant and put it in the branded box, black with Pulse Points across the front in gold font with a little red heart.
Ana ordered them on a high of excitement the day we decided to work together, and each box is double layered, with space for the scent refill and instructions under the jewelry.
Ana watches me with a big smile. “We did it.”
“We did.” The satisfaction of the moment barely overcomes the edge of tears I had from smelling Mom’s scent, with both of us connected in a way I briefly tasted during her visit and would never happen again.
“Are you ready to let the world see them?”
I nod and try not to ruin this for Ana with my moping. “Let’s do it.”
Humming a ceremonious tune, she carries the board to the little marble table and sets up the display. We decided on a soft launch so we could make tweaks if we get comments from customers, and the only thing we’ll do is put them out and hand-sell them.
That’s the highlight of the day, because although a few people pause, we don’t make any sales. Ana is undaunted as she bends her head over her worktable to adjust the piece she’s working on. “Soft launch,” she reminds me. “Things that are worth it take time.”
I nod.
***
I’m alone at the shop, sitting at my counter and thinking about everything I need to do and not wanting to do any of it, when the door opens. I stand up with my usual smile, which immediately disappears when I see who walks in.
“Ms. Kang?”
She looks around, startled. “Hua Luling? My God, what a coincidence. Is this your store?”
I come out from behind the counter. There’s an Asian girl of around twelve or thirteen with Ms. Kang, dressed in baggy jeans and a big hoodie, her eyes wide as she looks around. Ms. Kang pushes her off with an indulgent smile. “Go ahead, Holly.”
“Is that your daughter?” I ask.
Ms. Kang comes over to give me a light hug in greeting. “Yes, she’s my wonder. I had some business in Toronto, and she’s playing hooky from school for a day so we can make it a long weekend.” She looks with interest at my counter. “I had no idea you were here.”
I explain the store split, and we both turn to see Holly looking at a silver backpack. “This is so cool,” she whispers.
“You can get one thing,” Ms. Kang calls out. “Special treat.”
Holly squeals and starts looking around with covetous eyes as we turn back to our conversation. Ms. Kang looks past my shoulder to my counter. “These are your fragrances?”
I move aside and watch as she begins sniffing. “I can see some of what you were doing in your youth,” she says. “These are lovely. Your mother’s and your grandmother’s influence is here, but it’s more of an homage. I’m sure they’re very proud.”
My face freezes and Ms. Kang looks at me curiously.
“Luling?”
“Thank you.”
She doesn’t move her eyes away. “I’ve often thought of contacting you,” she says. “To thank you. I alluded to it at your grandmother’s funeral, but I should have told you how much your perfume changed my life.”
“What?” I stop playing with the postcards I give away as promotions to people browsing.
“It did.” She lowers her voice. “It brought me my true love after all. It just wasn’t in a way I was expecting.”
“Mom, look!” Holly comes over with a huge smile, and Ms. Kang’s face softens as she turns to her daughter. “Did you find what you wanted?”
Holly holds out one of the Pulse Points pendants, a heart on a long chain that can be turned into a choker. “Smell it.”
She does, blinking. “Goodness, Luling, you’ve outdone yourself. I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s exquisite.”
“Thank you.” I take the pendant and show them how to replenish the scent, and after I do, Holly noses around my counter.
“Am I old enough to wear perfume?” she asks me.
I laugh. “That’s a question for your mother.”
“Mom?”
Ms. Kang looks at her curiously. “If you like, but why now?”
She shrugs. “I just want to.”
“That’s a good enough reason as any,” I say. “Tell me a bit about yourself.”
Ms. Kang watches indulgently as Holly talks about her hobbies—skating and reading and swimming—and what sort of smells she likes. I give her a few to try and she looks embarrassed.
“I’m not sure,” she says after testing them, glancing at her mother.
“That’s okay,” I assure her. “You won’t hurt my feelings if they don’t work out for you. I can change them to something you want.”
“I like this one best.” She points at the pendant. “I also want it…sort of. I don’t know. Different? More serious.”
“Ah.” I lean down and pluck a bottle out of one of my drawers. “I don’t have this on sale, but it might be right for you.”
She gives a sniff, then another one. It’s one of the modifications for the pendant scent, but this has an emphasis on the woods aspect. “Yes,” she says. “I love it.”
Holly hands it to Ms. Kang, who smiles. “This smells exactly like you,” she approves. “Luling, you have such a talent.”
I change out the scent ball and ring her up, throwing in a few refills. Ms. Kang thanks me again, and I walk them to the door and watch them go. They stand so close together they merge into a single figure as they move away.
Then I sit back at my counter. Ms. Kang seems happy with her life and her daughter, although I failed to bring her true love.
Is that right? She seemed to think it had worked for her.
Did she mean Holly was her true love? Her daughter and not a lover?
None of the other fifth daughters mentioned such a thing.
I can’t shake the feeling there’s something in what she said.
I get up to serve another customer who comes in.
Perhaps I can find it in Mom’s chapter.