Page 97 of Happy Endings

Hope swelled in his chest. It’d been too long since he felt this hopeful about anything.

“Can I borrow your phone to book my flight?”

“Yes, but—” Keisha wrinkled her nose. “You stink. Let’s go home and get cleaned up before you beg Trixie for forgiveness. I’ll book your flight while you shower.”

“Good point.” Andre was covered in soot and ash. He probably smelled even worse.

She hooked her arm through his and they began the walk back to their house. He followed her lead. For the first time in his life, he let his little sister take care of him.

Chapter 35

Oh, Má.” Trixie tiptoed into her dad’s hospital room to find her mom asleep in a chair. She found a blanket and covered her up. Her dad was also asleep. Ba looked so fragile with so many machines hooked up to him.

She’d taken a Lyft from the airport straight to the hospital. And convinced the nurse to let her into the coronary care unit even though there was a limit of one visitor at a time.

“Trixie, is that you?” Her mom sat up and rubbed her eyes. “You got here fast.”

“How could I not?”

“I hope you didn’t pay too much for the flight,” said her mom.

To anyone else, it might have sounded like nagging. This was how her mom demonstrated her love, by worrying about Trixie’s finances.

“Don’t worry, I found a last-minute deal,” she lied.

“Good. Did Lucy text you?”

Trixie nodded, her throat tight. She’d spent most of her flight demanding updates from her sister. They were monitoring Ba—as the next couple of days would be the most crucial—in case he had another heart attack. All they could do was wait.

“You have been a bad daughter. It’s been a long time since you called.” This time her mom was scolding her.

“Well, I’m here now.” She wasn’t ready to tell her about Andre and what a terrible mistake she’d made getting back with him.

“You look tired. Did you eat?”

She laughed. “Yes, Má. I grabbed some food at the airport.”

“Expensive and bad-tasting. Text your sister and tell her to bring the leftover fried rice from home.”

“I will.”

They ran out of safe topics to talk about, and the silence between them grew, interrupted by small beeps and whirs from her dad’s monitors.

“Are you back for good?” Her mom finally spoke but didn’t look at Trixie.

“No, I signed a lease in DC. I’m opening a store.” Even at twenty-five, she wanted her mother’s approval. She wanted to hear her sayI’m proud of you.But Viet parents didn’t say that to their kids. “But I can postpone it and stay until Ba is better.”

“Won’t you lose money? You’ll still have to pay rent.” Her mom shook her head. “Stay for a few days and go back to your store.”

“I wanted to tell Ba the good news.” Trixie smoothed out his blanket. “I want you—him to be proud of me. I’m tired of not speaking with him.”

“Ai-ya,” her mother said, and sighed. “We are proud of you.”

“You are?” Why did she have to pull teeth to hear her mom say those words? “Even though I’m not a lawyer like Lucy or an engineer like Binh?”

“From the moment you were born, I knew you would be different. When you were three, I brought you to an astrologist. She confirmed my beliefs and warned me that you had a long, hard journey before you’d find your way.”

“She probably said that about everyone.” It was vague enough to apply to almost anyone. Trixie didn’t hold too much faith in Vietnamese astrologists.

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