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“How was Annisa when you saw her today? I bet she was mad that she was locked up,” I said, trying to picture Annisa in an orange jumpsuit.
“She wasn’t doing so badly. She seemed to be in good spirits, and well…she seemed to be happy flirting with Officer Shin.” Aiden shook his head in disbelief.
My heart soared when I heard Aiden tell me that Officer Shin was the object of Annisa’s affection, and he didn’t seem bothered by it. In a much lighter tone, I asked, “Was Officer Shin interested back in Annisa?”
“He appeared to be. He showed up no less than five times while I was talking to her to see if we—or rather she—needed anything.”
I laughed at Aiden’s annoyed face. “What do you make of all this?”
He scratched his chin as he thought. “I don’t think Annisa is involved with Trevor’s death, but she mentioned a few things about Trevor and Sully that were questionable.”
“Like what?” I was intrigued by Sully’s possible involvement in the matter because I didn’t detect anything but shock when Trevor died.
“Annisa said Trevor didn’t want Sully to find out about the scuba diving equipment, but the dive shop owner was suspicious.”
“Did she say why Trevor believed Sully was suspicious?”
Aiden shook his head.
I placed a finger on my lips thoughtfully and then said, “I’m glad that we’re stopping at Sully’s dive shop tomorrow so we can ask him about what Annisa told you.”
“I am, too, but don’t be surprised if Sully isn’t very helpful. If he’s involved in any way with Trevor’s death, he might not be forthcoming with his answers.”
The streets were quiet except for the occasional car that drove by. I was aware of how close Aiden and I stood next to each other. I was looking straight ahead, so I didn’t see Aiden reach down to hold my hand. I was surprised when I felt his hand grasp mine, and I looked at him to see if he had done that on purpose.
He had a shy smile on his face as he waited to see if I would pull my hand away. I realized that he was just as nervous about our relationship as I was. It never occurred to me that someone like him would suffer from self-doubt too. Relieved, I squeezed his hand and smiled at him.
Our feel-good moment was interrupted by the sound of “Arirang.”
I groaned, and Aiden laughed because this time he knew who was on the end of the line. I let go of his hand so I could reach into my purse to answer it. Again, it was another FaceTime call.
“Hi, umma,” I said. There was no doubt that my mom called back to finish grilling me.
“Ah, Claire-yah, where are you?” My mom launched directly into her questions without saying hi.
“I’m walking Grumpy.”
“By yourself?” Her eyes widened, scandalized that I was out by myself in the dark. “Aigoo!” She tsked and then yelled over to my dad, who wasn’t visible on the screen but close enough that he could hear my mom shout out, “Tim, tell Claire that it’s dangerous to walk by herself in the dark.”
From somewhere in the house, I heard my dad say, “She’s lived abroad by herself for almost ten years. I think she can walk a few blocks in San Francisco without getting mugged.”
Aiden laughed at my dad’s answer, which caught my mom’s attention. In the middle of admonishing my dad, she stopped and asked, “What’s that noise? Did someone laugh?”
I made eye contact with Aiden, and he mouthed, Oops!
“Claire! Is someone there with you?” my mom demanded.
“Yes, my friend Aiden is walking Grumpy with me.” I turned the camera again so that my mom could see him.
“Oh, hi, Aid-dan!” My mom pronounced his name by emphasizing both syllables in his name.
“Hello, Mrs. O’Keefe,” Aiden replied courteously.
“Oh, you can call me Mona,” my mom said. Then I wanted to shrivel onto the sidewalk when she added, “You’re so tall and good-looking! Claire, your boyfriend is handsome. Why didn’t you tell me you were dating?”
At this moment, I really disliked having a nosy Korean mother, but there was no escaping my reality. Through clenched teeth, I said, “Uh, Aiden and I just started seeing each other. We only met a few months ago when I went to Cozumel for Julia’s bachelorette party.”
With a sudden flash of brilliance, I knew how I was going to evade my mom’s interrogation. “Mom, do you remember Julia’s friend, Annisa Choi?”
