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Trying to lighten the mood, Will stood on his feet. “Why don’t we stop at a drive-through before you drop me off?” he asked and started to pick up the plates.
“That sounds like a good plan,” Julia said and made a shooing motion with her hands to get Tristan going.
When the apartment was empty, Aiden looked at me and asked, “Do you want to order pizza?”
I broke out into a big grin. “Absolutely!”
Chapter Thirty-Four
In my usual morning haze, I filled the coffee maker out of habit. When Grumpy’s barking interrupted my sleepy stupor, I realized that someone was ringing the doorbell.
“It must be Julia,” I mumbled to the little dog and rushed to get the door without tripping over myself.
“I haven’t gotten a response from Annisa,” Julia announced when I opened the door.
“Good morning to you, too,” I grumbled and stepped aside so that she could enter the apartment. “It’s only 8:30. She’s probably not even awake.”
“I see you haven’t had your coffee yet.” She gave me an appraising look.
I gave her a sleepy stare as I willed my brain to function. Thankfully, the coffee maker beeped.
“Wait here, and I’ll bring you back a cup,” she said and pushed me toward the sofa while she went into the kitchen to grab the coffee.
“Since when did you become a morning person?” I asked grumpily.
“Ever since Tristan and I moved in together. He wakes up at five every morning and goes running. When we move into the new place, he and Will are going to run together,” Julia said, coming back into the living room. She handed me a mug and sat down next to me.
“I’m still stunned about what I learned about Annisa last night,” she said, looking at me intently.
“I am, too, and I know it’s got to be hard to hear this because she’s a good friend of yours,” I said and took a sip of coffee. I willed my brain to function. “Have you ever heard of the Twelve Zodiacs?”
“I have, but it’s because I heard the name occasionally on the news. It never occurred to me that someone I know would be involved with a criminal organization. It’s really out of my social circle,” Julia said, patting Grumpy.
“What did the news have to say about it?” I asked, pressing Julia to fill me in on what was going on in the States.
“I don’t know. From the one time that I can remember, I think I heard about the Twelve Zodiacs when the San Francisco police department busted a drug deal. Honestly, Claire, I really didn’t pay much attention to the report.” When she saw my disbelief, she added, “The news is depressing these days, so I try not to watch it much. Otherwise, I end up feeling sad or frustrated.”
I patted her arm in understanding and said, “That’s okay. I get it. I just wanted to know if you knew more about the gang. I wish Will had given us more information.”
Although Julia didn’t seem interested in the gang-related activities, I was intrigued and wanted to know what other businesses were associated with the gang.
“It’s crazy that Tokyo House is a front operation for the Twelve Zodiacs because it didn’t seem like a place that gang members would frequent. It’s so elegant,” I said, thinking about the Koi fishpond outside the restaurant and the silk screen paintings displayed inside the main dining room.
“That’s probably what makes it an effective cover operation,” Julia said. Then, changing the subject, she asked, “How did things go between the two of you after we left?”
I stopped drinking my coffee in surprise by the change in topic. By the way Julia was looking at me, she reminded me of my mother. Between the two of these Korean ladies, they were bound and determined to see me married off.
“We ordered a medium sausage and mushroom pizza from Tony’s,” I said breezily. She narrowed her eyes when I pretended that I didn’t know what she was talking about. I laughed. “Alright. After you guys left, we talked, and he told me about some English teaching positions that are through the State Department.”
“Really? He did research on possible jobs. I’m impressed!” Julia said, breaking out in a grin.
“Yes, he sent me some links to apply to the jobs,” I said, grinning back while thinking about our conversation last night. I was also impressed and touched that Aiden did the research on his own. “He was nervous telling me about the jobs because he said that he didn’t want to seem too pushy.”
“Are you going to do it?” Julia asked, and her eyes were gleaming.
“I don’t know. I haven’t looked at the website yet, but I thought it was an encouraging sign that he knows that I have to find work abroad.” I paused before I said, “Unless he’s signaling that he wants me to go abroad so that he doesn’t have to see me anymore.”
“I don’t think the latter is the case, and it’s a positive step in your relationship that he’s thinking about the future.”
