Page 23 of Happy Endings

“I should go,” Trixie said, ignoring him. “It was a long day at the clinic.”

“You work too hard!” Keisha grabbed Trixie’s arm. “Can I make you a to-go box? We have plenty of leftovers.”

“You Walkers are food pushers,” Trixie exclaimed. “You’re not going to stop until I say yes, are you?”

“You know it!” Keisha laughed. “It’s not right to send people home empty-handed.”

“Can you make a couple of boxes for the Kims while you’re back there?” Andre interjected. “They were shorthanded tonight at the convenience store, and Mrs. Kim wasn’t feeling well, so Mr. Kim stayed to run it.”

His sister nodded, then guided his ex-girlfriend into the kitchen. What the hell just happened? Keisha and Trixie were closer than he realized. If he told Keisha what he’d done to Trixie, his sister would feel obligated to choose sides. He couldn’t put her in that position.

Maybe this was his chance to right things between them. Partnering with Trixie meant spending more time together. He’d have more chances to show her that he had changed. That he wasn’t the villain she’d made him out to be. Andre didn’t know how he was going to do it, but right now he had a dining room to clean and prep for tomorrow’s lunch service. He picked up a plastic bin and got back to busing the tables.

Hopefully partnering with Trixie wasn’t a mistake.

Chapter 9

Why are you throwing your life away selling those things? People who love each other don’t need that stuff.”

Trixie cringed as her mom’s shrill voice blasted through the phone. She held it away from her ear, which didn’t soften her mom’s tone. Was it just her mom, or did all Asian moms speak at full volume on the phone?

“What am I supposed to tell my friends at church? Auntie Janie will be horrified. Then I’ll have to listen to her brag about that spoiled son of hers. The one who graduated from Yale and is a big-shot lawyer at some prestigious firm in New York.” Her mom scoffed. “He’s probably in charge of getting all those rich white men coffee.”

“Má!” Trixie rubbed her forehead, hoping this conversation wouldn’t give her a headache. Her mom’s rapid-fire Vietnamese hit too many different issues to confront all at once. Trixie responded in Vietnamese. “You don’t have to tell them anything. And yes, Trevor probably is picking up coffee for his bosses. He’s a first-year.”

“You know she’s rubbing Yale in my face because you dropped out of school. You need to go back! Finish what you started.”

Trixie sighed loudly, but her mother ignored her as she usually did.

“Go back to pharmacy school. Or law school like Trevor. More respectable than being a”—her mother paused, then said in English—“therapist.”

Here she goes again.Trixie was convinced her mom knew the Viet word fortherapistbut chose to say it in English to alienate it. She didn’t have the energy to argue with her mom today.

“How will you make a living listening to people talk all day?” she asked in Vietnamese. “I can do that for free on my porch.”

“Má, I need to go. Get ready for work. Tell Ba that I love him.”

Her mother went quiet at the mention of her father. He hadn’t spoken to her since she flunked out of school. She was too embarrassed to tell them she wasn’t smart enough for pharmacy school. They only knew that she had quit.

“He already knows that,” her mother said softly. “You know he only wants the best for you, right?”

“I know, Má. How’s he doing? Is he taking his meds?”

“I don’t want you to worry, but he’s going in for some tests. Doctor said his cholesterol and blood pressure are too high. Medication is not helping.”

“How bad is it?” She couldn’t tell by her mom’s voice. Trixie sat up straighter. “Do I need to come home and help translate during his doctor appointments?”

“No! Don’t waste money on a plane ticket. Your sister can come and explain everything to us.”

Of course, Lucy, her lawyer sister. Rubbing in the fact that both her older siblings were dutiful kids who had parent-approved careers.

“He still doesn’t want to see me?” Her shoulders slumped.

“You know how stubborn he is. But he’ll come around. I’ll work on it.”

“Okay. I love you, Má.” Trixie blinked away the tears that came to her eyes.

“Good talk. Make sure you eat.” Her mother hung up.

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