Page 25 of Four Aunties and a Wedding

“No, dear big sister, it means killing,” Fourth Aunt says. “They wanna kill someone at the wedding.”

Ma, Big Aunt, and Second Aunt all look up from their teacups and pause mid-mango-chew. “This true, Meddy?”

I nod. “Yeah, why do you think I’ve been freaking out this whole time?”

Ma’s face twists in horror and her mouth drops open in a wail. “Aiya! Cannot! How can?”

I nod furiously. Good, it’s finally sunk in how dangerous Staph’s family is.

“So unlucky!” Ma cries.

I stop nodding. “Wait, what?”

“Kill someone on your wedding?” she snaps. “Will curse your marriage! Later no grandbabies!”

“Um. Sure, yeah. Although the more pressing issue is the murder itself, maybe?” Oh, who am I kidding? The number one issue for my mother will always be grandbabies.

“Tch,” Ma says. “Yes, yes, murder bad, but murder on someone’s wedding day even worse! Ugh, how can someone so evil want to curse me like that? Curse me to never become grandmother!”

“Alternatively, how can someone be so evil as to want to murder somebody else? But whatever,” I mutter, more to myself than anyone. Then I say in a louder voice, “Yeah, totally, would be a shame if Nathan and I couldn’t have babies because of it. We should stop them.”

Ma nods so hard she resembles a bobblehead. “Yes! We must stop them. Right?” She looks at Big Aunt.

No one speaks as Big Aunt puts down her teacup gently on the table. “Meddy,” she says after a while. “Who they want to kill?”

“I don’t know,” I sigh. “Staph wouldn’t tell me. She did say that whoever it was deserves to die, so I’m guessing someone from a different mafia family?” That makes me pause. Good lord, how many mafia members do I have present at my wedding?

“Okay, we go through guest list,” Big Aunt says. “You have it?”

“Sure, yeah.” I bring out my phone and send the guest list to the family WhatsApp group chat. There are a few moments of silence as we all study the list.

“No one from our side,” Fourth Aunt says.

“Mm,” Big Aunt agrees, nodding smugly. “Nobody on our side can involve in such thing, we are very good family.”

I look down the list of guests from our side of the family and they’re right. No one on it jumps out as an obvious mafia target. “Okay, but so’s Nathan’s family. You’ve all met his parents, do they strike you as the mafia type?”

Second Aunt cackles at that. “His dad can’t even do Tai Chi, how he going to kill someone?”

“Harsh, but yes, that’s a good point. And I’ve met a few of Nathan’s relatives; they’re all kind of like that—very prim and proper.” I look at the list again and it’s like a light bulb’s suddenly turned on in my head. “Business,” I breathe out.

“Eh, what?” Ma says.

“Business people!” I say the words so quickly my tongue trips over them. “Nathan’s got lots of investors and business partners—people with loads of money who fly private jets and stuff like that. They’re more likely to be involved in shady things.”

“Oooh, make so much sense!” Ma says. She pats my cheek with pride. “My daughter, always so smart.”

“You and I need to have a conversation about which things make you proud, but thanks, Ma.”

“So which ones, his business investors and partners?” Big Aunt asks.

I scan the list and pick out a few names that I recognize. “Braian Tjoeng. I think he owns—”

“Tjoeng! Oh yes, that very big developer, second biggest in Indonesia. Very billionaire,” Big Aunt says.

“Okay, so that’s one. Lilian Citra—they’re quite close and he treats her with such deference, I think she must be one of his biggest investors. And Elmon Negorojo—I think his family owns coffee plantations on Indonesia’s islands.”

“Oh, those island, some of them grow coffee, some grow palm trees, then some grow cocaine, who know?” Ma says. “Too many island for government to know.”

---