Page 37 of See No Evil

And with that, Legend walked out the door.

Several weeks later…

Desiree sat nextto her daughter in the Chinese restaurant decorated with flowing fountains, beautiful red and gold statues, and an indoor stone pond full of koi fish. Asian music played throughout the restaurant, setting the mood. She’d finally been able to arrange the meeting of a lifetime. Her boyfriend was getting acquainted with the most important person in her life: her one and only baby, Kaylee.

Legend sat across from them in a button-down white shirt, dark jeans that didn’t sag, and sneakers. Not his typical attire, but it seemed he wanted to impress her. Take it up a notch. She could tell he’d just trimmed his beard and had a fresh haircut,and she was quite enthralled when he showed up with two bouquets of roses in hand. A pink bouquet for Kaylee, and a red one for her. He then kissed her on the cheek, and shook Kaylee’s hand. They piled up in his truck, and off they went.

This was Kaylee’s favorite place to eat, a huge, quality Chinese buffet including crab legs and seafood—a place they didn’t visit as often as her daughter would have liked.

“What’s your favorite Chinese food, Kaylee?” Legend asked as they waited for their drinks.

“Go on, tell him. Stop actin’ shy. You know you ain’t shy!” Desiree teased her daughter, who sported a sheepish expression.

“I like a lot of ’em, actually. Um… Sweet ’n sour chicken is probably my favorite. The one they make here is good. I like the boiled eggs, too, ’cause they put some sort of seasoning on them. They’re on the salad bar next to the fruit.” She pointed across the way at it.

“I like sweet ’n sour chicken, too! I used to love it as a kid, especially. You must have grown-up tastebuds if you like boiled eggs.” They smiled at each other. “I used to like devilled eggs when I was a kid, and I still do. I’ll have to try the ones they make here. How ’bout the sesame chicken? You like that, too?”

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

“Not so much, huh? The seeds?”

“Yeah. I don’t like the seeds, and I don’t like the sauce, either.”

He nodded in understanding. “Did you know that the sesame chicken recipe came from the Guangdong province, in Southern China?” She shook her head. “Yeah. See, just like the United States, each country around the world is divided up, and they all have their own thing going on, their own flavor. Just like the southern states in our country are known for things like soul food and barbecue, and Boston for seafood and clam bake festivals.”

“Oh yeah, that makes sense.”

Desiree sat back and watched the two, loving how excited her daughter looked as Legend spoke so enthusiastically to her.

“Kaylee, what’s funny about sesame chicken is that the dish was made in Southern China, but is more popular in Northern China now. Wild, right? I bet you don’t like the sesame flavor because of the oyster sauce, which is pretty strong if it’s made right. The main ingredients in the sauce are oyster sauce, garlic and ginger. What century do you think sweet and sour chicken originated? Seventeenth, eighteenth, or nineteenth?”

“Um.” Kaylee smiled all silly like. “I don’t know.”

“Take a guess.”

“Um… eighteenth?”

“Good guess! You’re right! Over here in America, we got the recipe in the twentieth century from Chinese gold miners who worked the railroads. Another name for the dish is Ku lo yuk. Can you say that?”

“Koo low Youk.”

“Good! What’s your favorite vegetable?”

“Um… probably broccoli. Oh, I like carrots, too. I like the way mama cooks them best though.”

“Ahhh, I see.” He leaned back in his booth seat and wrapped his hand around his water glass.

Just then, the waitress, a small Chinese woman wearing a black shirt and pants, approached with a tray of tall red glasses filled with Sprite. She set the beverages down in front of them.

“You can eat when you want,” the server encouraged as she placed an extra set of chopsticks on the table, and a wad of napkins.

“Bet. You ready?” Legend stood.

“Mmm hmmm! I’m ready.” Visibly excited, Kaylee walked to the buffet selections beside Legend, with Desiree right behindthem. They grabbed their plates, and went around the various bars.

Desiree enjoyed listening in while Legend explained the origin of Kaylee’s favorite dishes in great detail. She had no idea he knew such things. They’d not discussed Chinese fare yet in class. Her heart beat with love and admiration. She tried to stop smiling so much at the sight of the two of them like this, but it was damn near impossible.

“…But how does it keep the food hot?” Kaylee questioned as she scooped some vegetable fried rice onto her plate.

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