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CHAPTER 32
Her sisters were at the door, waiting for her patiently, when Chandra turned up a little later in the morning after Sam and Lilly had dropped her off. She was indeed glad she was now wearing her clean dress and underwear. If she were to come home in Sam’s work shirt and nothing else, her sisters would assumed the worst had happened. Not that they’d be unhappy about it, though, considering how they’d happily left without her last night.
“So?” Soriya asked, smiling cheekily as they headed toward the living area.
Chan queried, “So what?”
“How was your sleepover?”
Dara looked heavenward.
On that note, Chan turned to frown at her sisters. “You guys didn’t wake me. I am so embarrassed. Gosh, falling asleep in other people’s house like a kid.”
Dara laughed. “Yeah, well, you and Lilly did look cute sleeping together.”
Chan blushed. “Who else saw?”
Soriya couldn’t wait to answer. “Sam, of course. Us. Then there’s Jeremy and Nina as well.”
“Shit!” Chan muttered. “I can’t believe both Sam and Jeremy saw me like that.”
Soriya shrugged. “Oh well.”
Chan flopped herself on to the sofa and sighed.
“Are you hungry?” Soriya asked, her eyes bright.
Chan shook her head. “No. I already had breakfast, thanks.”
Soriya came to sit beside Chan. She folded her arms across her chest and said, “Thought so. What did you have? And who cooked?”
Chan thought, Oh no, I’m not going there.
“Come on, Chan,” Soriya begged. “Give us all the juicy details.”
Chan shook her head. “There’s no juicy details to be told.”
“Ugh! You’re mean,” Soriya muttered, a dark scowl on her face.
Dara came over and asked, “When are we going to see Grandma Su? I’ve got everything ready.”
By that she meant their homemade satay meat and salad. It was impolite to visit Grandma Su without bringing anything, as the elderly woman had always given them fruits and vegetables as gifts every time they visited.
“I think we should leave now to beat the traffic,” Chan suggested. Dara agreed, while Soriya continued to pester Chan about her sleepover at the Harrington house.
Two hours later, Chan was sitting with Grandma Su, sipping green tea out on the veranda under the late-morning sun. They were taking in the beautiful scenery of wildflowers and butterflies and bees, and of course, Dara and Soriya in the distance, picking their own strawberries. Grandma Su had a big backyard, almost half an acre in size, and treasured it with lots of plants—flowers, fruits, and vegetables. She was self-sufficient and had never needed to buy vegetables from the supermarket to feed herself and her small family.
“Oh my God!” Soriya’s voice reached them. “These are awesomely delicious!” They were talking about the plump, juicy strawberries.
Chan chuckled. “They always act like kids when they’re here.”
Grandma Su nodded. “And you, Chan?” the elderly woman asked. “How are you doing?”
“I’m good.”
Grandma Su watched her; her eyes didn’t miss the radiant smile or the glow on the young woman’s skin. She smiled and nodded. “You’ve met him?”
Chan blinked. “Who?”
Grandma Su chuckled. “Your sun man?”
Chan licked her lips. Because she couldn’t utter the word, she nodded instead.
“Ah…” Grandma Su’s eyes twinkled. “He is big and handsome?”
Again, Chan nodded.
“And kind and warm, just like the sun?”
Chan nodded at that as well.
It was then Dara and Soriya returned, delighted with their picks of the day.
“Look at these,” Soriya said, showing them her ice cream box filled to the rim with plump, ripe strawberries. “They’re delicious, Grandma Su. How did you grow them like that? Even the ones in the supermarket aren’t as big and sweet as these.”
Grandma Su chuckled. “With a lot of care and love, dear.”
“Aww,” Dara said. “That’s so sweet.”
Soriya laughed. “Of course they’re sweet.” Then she added, “And juicy and delicious.”
“Now, are you girls staying for lunch?” the elderly woman asked.
“Yes, please,” both Dara and Soriya said in unison.
Thus, the sisters helped Grandma Su with preparing lunch of fried rice, garden vegetable stir-fry with the satay meat Chan had made, and Cambodian traditional curry. They had lunch with Grandma Su and Grandma Su’s son and daughter-in-law who were in their early fifties. By the time lunch was finished and the sisters were ready to leave, it was two o’clock in the afternoon.
Dara and Soriya quickly put containers of strawberries and plastic bags filled with vegetables into the boot of the car while Chan kissed Grandma Su good-bye.
“Thanks so much for the strawberries and vegetables, Grandma Su,” Chan said, smiling. “Looks like we don’t need to buy vegetables for at least a couple weeks.”
Grandma Su brushed aside Chan’s appreciation. “You take care of yourself and your sisters. Remember, Chan, it’s a new life for you now. Live it and love it.”
Chan understood the meaning behind the elderly woman’s words and nodded. “I will,” she said. “You take care, too. We’ll visit again.”
Grandma Su nodded.
Chan turned and hopped into the driver’s seat. Soriya and Dara waved.
“Bye, Grandma Su. Thanks for the berries,” Dara said.
“Take care,” Soriya said. “And thanks for the strawberries and vegetables.”
A few moments later, Grandma Su watched as the car started driving away. Her eyes were suddenly marked with worry as she wondered yet again if she should have told Chan about a series of unavoidable conflicts heading her way. Conflicts. Threats. Dangers. Those things that could pull her life apart and drown her into complete darkness.
But there was light, the sun, the man who’d help her climb out of that darkness. The man who’d be beside her no matter what might come. Hence, Grandma Su knew it was best Chan didn’t know about the danger, at least for now.
* * * * *
By the time the Chandler sisters got home, it was nearly four in the afternoon, and Chan hadn’t checked her cell phone to see if anyone had texted or called her. When she did, she found four missed calls from Jeremy.
“Wow!” Soriya said behind Chan. “He must really worry about you.”
Chan didn’t know how to respond to that and started dialing back. A few seconds later, Jeremy picked up.
“Chan? Thank God! I was beginning to wonder,” he said, chuckling away.
“Sorry, Jeremy. I was visiting Grandma Su,” Chan said. “She’s a family friend and lives quite a way out of the city.”
“Ah, I see,” Jeremy replied. “I wanted to know if you got home okay this morning after last night.”
Chan blushed at the reminder. “Yes, I got home okay. Sam and Lilly dropped me off this morning.”
“Yeah, I went to their house, but no one was home. I thought I’d pick you up and drop you off… But I guess I was a bit late, eh?”
Chan giggled. “Yes, unfortunately. Thank you for your kind consideration.”
“Hey, I was wondering if you’d want to do dinner tonight?”
Chan thought for a moment. “I’m a bit tired today, Jeremy.”
“Damn. That’s too bad.”
Chan didn’t miss the disappointment she heard in his voice. “How about you come around to our place for dinner?”
“Really?” Jeremy laughed. He didn’t hesitate at the invitation. “Sure. I’ll be there around six.”
“Okay. See you then.”
“You betcha,” he said and then hung up.
“Jeremy is joining us for dinner?” Dara asked from the kitchen.
Chan nodded.
Soriya said, “Be careful, darling sis, or he’ll become a member of the family without you realizing it.”
Chan frowned. “What are you on about?”
Soriya shook her head. “You are so innocent, Chan. The man really likes you. Not to mention Sam.”
Chan blushed. “I know that.”
Dara chimed in. “So who do you like more?”
“I don’t think that is any of your concern, my dear sisters,” Chan said, walking out the door.
Alone in her room, Chan lay there on the bed, wondering if she was too open toward Jeremy. She wondered if her actions confused him where her heart was concerned. Sure, he was handsome, nice, and very funny, but she didn’t feel anything for him, and their relationship could never go any further than friendship.
Sam, on the other hand, was the one she wanted and ached for. The thought of him made her heart glow with delight, and she wondered if he felt the same way about her.
Of course he did. She scoffed at herself. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kissed her, right?
Once again, her thoughts went to that morning when he’d kissed her, and her insides glowed with delight. She stayed there thinking about Sam and their kisses for a couple more minutes before she realized she had a deadline for her next book and needed to get a move on pronto.
She worked diligently and only took a five-minute break every hour or so. She really did make good progress on the manuscript and was quite happy about that.
It was exactly six when she heard the doorbell and knew it was Jeremy. She flipped her laptop shut and headed down the stairs.
“Hello, Chan,” Jeremy greeted the moment he saw her along the stairs.
“Hi, Jeremy,” Chan replied. “How’s your day?”
“Okay,” he said, shrugging. “And yours?”
“Good.” She came to land on the ground floor as Soriya rolled her eyes.
“Oh, the pleasantry.” She teased. “Right, Jeremy, you’re helping us cook.” On that note, she spirited Jeremy away into the kitchen.
Jeremy had a blast helping the sisters, and by the time they settled down for dinner, the kitchen was a messed. Good thing Jeremy offered to stay and help clean up after eating.
It was then the phone rang, and Chan picked up.
“Hello, this is the Chandler resident. Chandra speaking.”
“Chan.” Sam’s voice came through. “Hey.”
Chan felt her heart skip a beat. “Hi,” she said, smiling.
On the other side of the room, Soriya said, “Oh dear, Chan is smiling. I wonder who’s calling.”
Jeremy didn’t like the sound of that. When Chan said, “Lilly wants to talk to me?” he knew without a doubt it was Sam.
Wanting to make his territory as clear to his cousin as possible, he picked up a spoon filled with a soup he had made with Dara, and headed Chan’s way.
“Chan,” he said loudly so the other end of the line could hear him. “Try this. I’ve made it.”
Chan was a little confused and looked at it.
“Open wide,” he said.
Chan couldn’t do anything except open her mouth for him. When she did, he placed the spoon in, and Chan tasted the soup.
“How was it?” he asked playfully.
Chan swallowed. She nodded. “It’s nice. Thanks, Jeremy.”
“Right?” he said. “It’s my first time cooking.” He laughed. “Oh, and who’s on the line?”
Chan licked her lips and then said, “It’s Sam.”
“I see,” Jeremy said and then leaned in. “Hey, Sam. What’s up?”
On the other end of the line, Sam said, “Jeremy? What are you doing there?”
Jeremy couldn’t wait to tell his cousin. “Chan invited me for dinner.” He smiled cheekily. “What about you? Why are you calling?”
Chan moved away from Jeremy and frowned at him. “Jeremy? It’s Lilly. She wants to talk to me.”
Jeremy suddenly felt rather guilty. “Err, sorry.”
Soriya shook her head. “And so you should be, mister.”
On the phone, Chan said, “Sorry about that, Sam. Is Lilly still there?”
“Yes. Hold on. I’ll pass on the phone,” Sam said.
A moment later, Lilly’s voice came through, “Hi, Chan. I just want to tell you don’t forget to drop the books off tomorrow, okay?”
Chan chuckled. “Of course I won’t.”
“Promise?” Lilly asked.
“I promise,” Chan replied.
A short pause, and then Lilly said, “Is Uncle Jeremy at your house?”
Chan glanced at Jeremy, who was back in his seat, enjoying his meal with her sisters. “Yes. He is here having dinner with us.”
Chan heard a deep sigh, followed by a long pause from the other side, and instantly, she suspected something was bothering the little girl. “Is something the matter?”
“Hmm… No. Nothing,” Lilly said. “Bye, Chan.”
Chan chuckled. “Bye,” she said and then hung up.
When she got back to the table, Dara asked, “What’s the matter?”
Chan drifted her eyes to her sister. “Huh? What?”
“You have a worry look on your face,” Dara said. “What’s wrong?”
Chan shook her head. “No. It’s nothing.” Even as she said that, her mind was on Lilly, wondering what could possibly be bothering the little girl. Then again, the same could be said for Sam. The moment he’d heard Jeremy’s voice, there was a change in his tone, as though something was bothering him, though he tried to hide it. Sure, it could be just her imagination. Of course, being a writer, she was full of it. Then again, she was pretty sensitive to her surroundings, more especially to the people around her. And Sam’s voice indeed bothered her.
* * * * *
