Page 83 of Dial A for Aunties

“I—we were friends. He was the one who got me to suggest your mom as a florist to Jackie. Said she’d get a good deal. He knew I was upset about the wedding, so he came up with this whole plan to get it canceled. He said we could take the tea ceremony gifts, hide them for a while until the wedding’s called off, and then we’d return them.”

Knowing what I know of Ah Guan, he probably had no plans to return them, but I trust Maureen’s telling the truth. I take another step toward her. “Why did Ah Guan think you’d be upset about the wedding?”

“Because—”

“Why, Maureen?”

“Because I love Jackie!”

There’s a collective gasp from my family.

“I love her, okay?” Maureen cries, tears running down her face. “I’ve loved her since we first met, when we were in college. I told myself not to be so selfish, that she’s not into girls. I would’ve supported her through all of her relationships—I did support her through most of them, but Tom is such a—”

“A shit!”

We all turn to look at the doorway, where Jacqueline’s burst in, chest heaving. Once again, there’s a collective gasp from my family.

“Wah, her makeup still okay,” Big Aunt says approvingly.

Second Aunt glances at her older sister in surprise. We all do, actually. For as long as I can remember, it’s the first time Big Aunt’s said something nice to Second Aunt. “Er—yes, mascara no run. Is because I apply eyelash glue on top of it, you know,” Second Aunt says, smiling with obvious pride.

“Sshh,” I hiss.

Jacqueline storms inside. Even though she’s no longer in her huge white dress, there’s just something about her that commands your attention. Maybe it’s how ethereally beautiful she is. Or maybe it’s the way she’s looking at Maureen, half-glaring, half-something else. She’s incandescent. It might be rage or sorrow or—

“Jackie—”

“I love you too!”

Love. It’s love that’s blazing so brightly from her, love that’s caught all of our attention, love that now propels her inside this room.

I was right. The two women love each other. It was a gamble, but I was willing to risk it all for this. I step aside to let Jacqueline pass, and at last she’s standing face-to-face with her best friend.

Slowly, Jacqueline raises her hand and places it on the gun. Maureen doesn’t put up a fight as Jacqueline takes it from her and releases the ammo thingy. I really should brush up on my gun lingo.

“Empty,” Jacqueline says, a smile touching her mouth. “I knew you couldn’t hurt anyone. Not really.”

“I—Jackie—how long—”

“Meddy got me to wait outside while she took the bag in. I heard everything.” Jacqueline places a gentle hand on Maureen’s cheek. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“I didn’t think—I—you’re straight, I didn’t want to—”

“I only dated guys because I didn’t want you to even suspect that I might be into you,” Jackie cries. “I didn’t want you to get scared. I thoughtyouwere straight.”

She and Maureen laugh, then they fall into each other’s arms. Jacqueline’s chin tips up, Maureen lowers her head, and finally, their mouths meet in a heart-stopping kiss that makes my eyes well up. I look away to give them some semblance of privacy and see that Ma and my aunties are just sitting there, openly staring and smiling, not even pretending to look away or anything.

“Tsk,” I tut at them, and they look sliiightly abashed. I stand there awkwardly, staring at the ceiling while my family steals glances at them. After what seems like an eternity, the two finally break apart, breathless and grinning.

“Look, her lipstick still stay on,” Second Aunt says.

“Yes, your makeup number one. Excuse me, sorry to bother, but can untie us or not?” Big Aunt says. “My hands very painful.”

“Oh! Yeah, of course. I’m so sorry,” Maureen cries, and we all hurry to the beds to help untie the wrist bindings.

I kneel down in front of Ma and start working at the knots around her wrists. Now that I’m crouched so close to her, I can see every line on her face, every familiar crease and fold, all of the laugh lines and the worry lines, the pathways of her life so clearly written across her features. “You okay?” I say softly. There’s so much I want to say to her, but at the same time, it feels like in this moment, she knows everything, every secret I’ve kept buried in my heart.

“Yes,” she says, smiling at me. Her eyes are bright with unshed tears. “I so proud of you, Meddy.”

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