True To You (Taking Chances #2)

ONE

Just nod and smile, nod and smile.

This had to be the most uncomfortable situation Melanie Koo had ever gotten into, but she had no one to blame except herself. Well, maybe her parents could take some of the share, along with the other older couple sitting across from her. She couldn’t forget the young man sitting next to her either; he had been more than eager to go along with their mothers’ suggestion.

Was it only a week ago that her mother and Mrs. Lai had put their silver-streaked heads together and come up with “the plan”? Over a lunch of broccoli beef and tofu stir fry, the two women had decided it was in the best interests of their children to get married.

To each other.

It made perfect sense from the look of things. Melvin and Melanie were both from Hong Kong and worked in the same profession. They even shared similar first names. When the mothers had presented the idea to their husbands and children, there was no turning back. Which was why the two families were meeting at the Koo home on a late summer day for afternoon tea.

“I can’t believe we didn’t consider this sooner!” Melanie’s mom, Mrs. Koo, exclaimed in Cantonese.

“Perhaps it was too obvious a match for us to notice,” Mrs. Lai replied in their shared tongue. “But we will make up for lost time now.”

The two fathers sat while the mothers conspired, giving support from time to time with a nod of their heads. Meanwhile, the younger siblings, Melvin’s brother and Melanie’s two sisters, traded amused glances.

“What about a wedding after the new year?” Mrs. Koo asked. “I can talk to Sister Wong about reserving the church.”

The hairs on Melanie’s neck stood up. “That’s only four months from now. There’s no need to rush. I mean, that’s hardly enough time to plan a wedding.” She looked at Melvin for support. He smiled back and shrugged feebly. Some help he was. Should she mention he had not yet proposed, much less talked to her about their mothers’ plan?

“January sounds great,” Melvin said as he took her hand in his. “We can have a simple ceremony and leave the planning to our moms.”

Melanie’s eyes widened at his sudden display of affection. They had never held hands before, though she knew it wasn’t for lack of trying on his part. But if they were to be married, she couldn’t deny him that pleasure now, could she? She let her hand rest in his, waiting and hoping to feel some spark or thrill from his touch…
anything
. After a moment disappointment set in, and she gently removed her hand from his grasp. She stood up and blurted out, “I’ll go prepare our tea. Uncle Lai, Auntie Lai, is oolong fine for you?”

“Yes, thank you,” they both replied.

Melanie’s middle sister scrambled to her feet and followed her. “I’ll come and help!”

As soon as they had stepped into the kitchen Sam started her badgering. “
Ga Je
¹
!” Addressing Melanie by her family title first, she then switched to English. “I can’t believe you’re agreeing to marry him!” She shook her head, causing her black ponytail to brush against her rosy cheeks. “I saw the look on your face. You don’t love him. Why would you want to spend the rest of your life with him?”

“Sam, lower your voice.” Melanie spat out in a whisper. She gestured to the door separating them from their guests. “They might hear you.”

“Maybe they should. Then you wouldn’t have to go through with this crazy idea!”

Melanie sighed. She knew her sister meant well, but she didn’t know half of what it was like to be in her shoes. Not that her fashion-loving sister would ever share her footwear; her closet was the last one Sam would raid. In the same way, the responsibilities they held in their family were vastly different. “You don’t understand what it’s like being the oldest daughter. Ma and Ba expect certain things from me. I-I can’t disappoint them.”

“We’re not talking about getting straight A’s, which you have no problem doing. We’re talking about signing your life away-to a complete stranger!”

“Melvin is not a stranger. He’s a friend. A good friend.” One whom she had been fortunate enough to meet during medical school and had counted on as a study partner. “And he’s from a nice Chinese Christian family. What more could you ask for?”

“How about marrying someone who meets the criteria on
your
checklist, not on Ma’s? A guy who gives you butterflies in your stomach, not hives?”

Melanie didn’t need Sam to point out the red, dime-sized welts breaking out on her skin. She had felt the intense need to scratch minutes ago. Still, she didn’t want her sister to know she was already second-guessing her decision to marry Melvin. What she desperately needed now was support, not criticism. “Hives?” she answered in a nonchalant tone. “What hives?”

“Uh-huh.” Sam gave her a knowing look. It wasn’t the first time Melanie had broken out in a stress-induced rash. “Those bumps look awfully similar to the ones you had when you took the MCAT.”

“Okay, so maybe they are hives,” she agreed with a shrug. “Maybe I’m allergic to something I ate at lunch.”

“Or allergic to a certain guy you were sitting next to whose name happens to be Melvin?” Sam raised one perfectly groomed eyebrow. “I don’t have a degree in medicine, but I know that’s not the kind of sickness you should be having when you think about wedding bells. What you should be feeling is
lovesick
! Truly, madly, deep-.”

Melanie cut her off with a wave of her hand. “Please don’t start quoting song lyrics at me.”

“You used to love that song by Savage Garden. You knew all the words, even better than I did. What happened to that cheesy sister I once knew? The one who would have
only
agreed to marry a guy she was crazy in love with?”

“That was a lifetime ago.” Her thoughts traveled back for a moment to another time and place. Life and love had been so much simpler on the other side of the world. “Things were different in Hong Kong.”

Sam frowned. “I know you lost a lot when we moved to America, but it’s not like your life ended. And it certainly doesn’t mean you’ll never find love again. But the way you’re going about this is all wrong. You can’t make marriage into a business transaction. You have to go with your heart.”

Melanie crossed her arms against her black blouse. “Okay, so what if I don’t feel butterflies in my stomach for Melvin? I could a year from now. Sometimes it takes time for love to develop. I think that’s much better than falling for someone you hardly even know.” She threw the proverbial ball back into Sam’s court. Two could play at this game.

“Hey, Cliff and I were together for almost three months. We chatted every day, including weekends.”

“But you never even met him. How do you know he was really an artist living in New York?”

Sam scowled. “Fine. What about Adam, my last boyfriend? We dated in person for four months.”

“But you never told Ma and Ba about him. A secret boyfriend hardly counts as a real relationship.”

“You know they would never have approved of me dating a white guy, even if he was rich and pre-med! Anyway, I didn’t like him enough to want to bring him home. Regardless, at least I’ve put myself out there and met some guys, virtually and in real life. You don’t even go out on dates. How can you give up like this?”

Sure, it was easy for a twenty year old college kid to give advice about love. At that age, there was plenty of time for fun and flings. But at twenty-six, Melanie wanted more. She wanted the American dream her parents had told her about when she was small. She had the academic and professional success, but she was missing the one thing she desired the most: a family. Unfortunately, good grades only got her so far. She sighed. “You may have a point. I know I put in much more time and effort into studying than I put into my social life. But socializing has never been one of my strengths. I’m not like you, able to make friends with everyone I meet. You’re the life of the party. Me? I’m the wallpaper.”

Sam’s expression softened to see her sister looking so surprisingly vulnerable. “I think you mean wall
flower
.”

Melanie rolled her eyes. Even after ten years in the States, she still had trouble grasping the language. “I can never get these English idioms right. But you know what I mean.” She paused with a sigh. “When Ma brought up this idea of marrying Melvin, I thought it was the answer to my prayers. I know he’s always liked me. It shouldn’t be too hard to like him back, right?”

The kitchen door swung open, interrupting their conversation. Their youngest sister rushed in, each of her steps punctuated by a swishing sound from her high school track pants. “I’m here with orders from Ma,” Billie announced in exasperation. “She said to hurry up and to make sure you open up a new can of evaporated milk for Mr. and Mrs. Lai.”

Sam gritted her teeth. “Always giving our guests the new stuff while we get stuck eating week old food.”

“Sam, those guests are likely my future in-laws. I’d rather they not leave our house with food poisoning.” Melanie opened a cabinet door and rummaged through a shelf of canned goods. “Come on, where is it? Oh, don’t tell me we used up the last one.” She emerged with a frown, empty-handed.

“Should I tell Ma?” Billie asked. “Maybe they can drink the tea black? Or use regular milk?”

Melanie shook her head. “No, no, we can’t serve milk tea without evaporated milk. I’ll just go to the store and get a can. It shouldn’t take me more than ten minutes. Meanwhile, take this out and stall them.” She took a plate of sliced fruit from the counter and handed it to Billie. She grabbed her purse from the table and waved to her sisters. “I’ll be right back.”

“You better hurry before they decide to marry me off to Melvin’s little brother,” Sam called out. “I can already see the wheels turning in Ma’s head.”

Melanie chuckled as she headed out the back door.

---

Thankfully, Melanie knew which aisle to head to as soon as she entered their neighborhood supermarket. She picked up two cans of evaporated milk and glanced at her watch. If she used the self-checkout line, she could be out of the store and back home with time to spare. A smile appeared on her lips, but quickly faded when she saw the red puffy skin near her wrist. Her eyes traveled up the rest of her left arm and then along the length of her right one.
Oh, Sam’s going to have a good laugh when she sees this.
She did have a case of hives and a bad one at that. Good thing she was at the store. She just needed to pick up one more item and she would be good to go.

Melanie headed over to the aisle stocked with over-the-counter medications. She scanned the shelves of colored boxes, bypassing the decongestants and pain relievers, until she found the antihistamines. She grabbed one and proceeded to head out, pausing only when her eyes glimpsed a customer down the aisle.