Page 64 of Dial A for Aunties

“What’s happening?”

“Aduh, is your Fourth Aunt, lah, she never tell anyone, she just come here, she give them that drink, you know, abstinence?”

“Abstinence?” For a blissful second, I’m confused. Then the penny drops, and horror floods in. “Absinthe? She gave who absinthe?”

“All of—ah!”

“Ma?”

“Do not listen to your mom.”

“Is this—Fourth Aunt? Is that you?”

“Yes, of course, who else would it be?”

“Please tell me what’s going on. Who did you give absinthe to?”

“Okay, that’s not exactly true. I mean, yes, I did bring some absinthe, but your mother brought her usual Chinese medicine crap,” she hisses, her voice coming out triumphant. I can practically see her and Ma glaring each other to death. Something else crashes behind her and she yells, “Hey! Stop it! Animals.”

“Her Chinese medicine crap,” I echo. “I don’t understand—”

“Well, it’s not actually a bad thing, I guess. Look, don’t worry too much, it’s for the best.”

An alarm goes off, and it’s not just the ones going nuts in my head. I look at my phone. Shit. It’s the alert for me to be at the pool for the ceremony.

“I’ve got to go. Please—” Please what? “I’ve got to go.” I hang up and rush off to Jacqueline’s room.

As always, it’s in chaos, though now the burly guards have been replaced once again with the bridesmaids. Jacqueline’s makeup has been retouched and she looks flawless, no traces of the ugly incident with Maureen on her face except for the tiny tremor that flickers across her chin once in a while. When she sees me, she smiles. “Girls, can I have a minute with Meddy, please?”

Second Aunt, who’s fluttering around Jacqueline, adding little invisible finishing touches to her hairdo, glances at me and gives me a look. I have no idea what the look is supposed to convey. I’m dying to pull her aside and shake her until she tells me what’sgoing on, but instead, I watch her leave the bedroom with the bridesmaids.

Once they’re all gone, Jacqueline sighs. “Meddy, I’m so, so sorry.”

“What—why?”

“The whole thing about the tea ceremony gifts and searching your room! I feel awful about it.”

“Ah, right. Yeah, no, don’t worry about that, please. I’m just sorry that you had to go through all that stressful stuff.”

She clasps my hands. “I just—Maureen was so sure that you’d taken it. I still can’t believe she did that.” A choked sob escapes, and she looks up at the ceiling and blinks furiously to stop her tears from falling. I grab a piece of paper from the table and fan at her face. “She’s my best friend, has been for over ten years. I still can’t—” Her eyes glisten, the tears threatening to drop and ruin all of Second Aunt’s hard work.

“It’s okay,” I say, hurriedly. “Let’s not think about that right now. You’ll have all the time in the world after the wedding to go over everything.”

“I couldn’t even tell any of my friends because they’re all my bridesmaids and Tom said if any of them knew, we’d lose face, because it shows that I was stupid enough to get duped by my own maid of honor, so I’ve just been sitting here, dying to talk to someone about it, someone who understands—”

“I get it. But you’re not stupid.” Seriously, Tom? What the actual fuck. “You really aren’t. Nobody saw it coming.”

She sniffles. “Thank you.”

“You look so radiant. Your pictures are going to turn out beautifully.”

“Really?” She brightens a little.

“Yeah. Easily the most beautiful bride I’ve photographed. And definitely my favorite client. Well, top five anyway.”

She laughs. “Top five? Not even top three?”

I wrinkle my nose. “Maybe top ten.” We grin at each other, then I help her up, brushing lint off the front of her poufy dress. “You’re a vision.” I check my phone for the time. “I’ve gotta take position at the venue. I’ll see you there, Jacqueline. You’ll be amazing.” I give her hands another squeeze before leaving.

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