True To You (Taking Chances #2) (17 page)

“Two point four?”

“Okay, maybe three or four, however many God will give us.” Clearing his throat, he reached into the gift bag on the nightstand and pulled out another small box. “I wasn’t planning on doing this in a hospital bed, but it’s time. I want to start our life together right now.” He opened the black velvet box and asked, “Melanie Koo, will you marry me?”

Time seemed to stand still as Melanie looked from Ben’s radiant face to the sparkling engagement ring. The unique band, which held a round diamond, immediately caught her eye. One half of the slender band was made of gold, the other of white gold. Again, Ben had chosen the colors yellow and white to symbolize their differences. It was just like how she had always imagined, their two cultures coming together and colliding…

Except in this case, they met in the middle to create a perfect, unending circle.

“I…,” she breathed, unable to translate her heart’s swell of emotions into words.

“When I saw this ring, I knew it was the one. Just like I knew you were the one for me when you walked over in the supermarket aisle that day.” The silence lingered on until Ben could no longer take the tension. “Uh, Mel, help a guy out here, please,” Ben stammered. “I know this might seem sudden-”

“No,” she began with a hidden smile as she saw his forehead crease with worry, “I mean, no, it’s not too sudden.”

“Oh,” he exhaled in relief, “then, what is it? Is it your parents? Because I already got your dad’s blessing.”

“You talked to my father? When?”

“Last week when you were on call I went by the restaurant to see your folks. I wanted to apologize to your mom, but unfortunately, she wasn’t ready to see me. Your dad came out of the kitchen though and sat with me for a while. We had a good talk and he said your mom would come around eventually. He thinks we make a good match.”

“He said that? Well, he was wrong.”

Ben swallowed hard. “He was wrong?”

“We don’t make a good match. We make a perfect match. I love you, Ben Peters.” Melanie leaned close and pressed her mouth to his, taking time to savor the sweetness of their lips together.

When they finally parted, Ben surmised with a grin, “I’m going to go out on a limb here and take that as a yes?”

“Not only one limb, you can count your other arm and both legs, too,” Melanie replied with a twinkle in her eye, “because it is a definite yes!”

“Actually, the limb we’re talking about here is a tree-,” Ben began, “oh, never mind, it’s all good,” he stated as he pulled her close.

“I couldn’t agree more,” she whispered against his lips.

“It’s all very, very good,” Ben added as they kissed once more.

Epilogue

Six years later

“You look beautiful, Mel, just like the day I met you.”

Melanie smoothed her yellow dress and sat down on the burgundy velvet couch next to Ben. Reaching over to straighten his bowtie, she gave him a teasing smile. “Are you feeling okay? You’re extra,” she paused as she searched for the right word, “sappy today. I thought I was supposed to be the hormonal one.”

“I’ve never felt better, Dr. Peters. Today’s a great day. I’m just counting all my blessings,” he stated as he took her hands in his. “We have so much to thank God for.”

“That is true.” Melanie looked out from the glare of the studio lights and felt her heart expand with joy. One of the greatest reasons for her gratitude, a chubby-cheeked toddler, waved to her from the other side of the room. She waved back and blew a kiss to the dimpled boy wiggling in her mother’s arms. His arrival a year ago had upgraded her mother’s title to
Po Po
¹³
, and transformed her into the proudest grandmother on this side of the planet. “I still can’t believe how different life is now. Who knew one person could change everything?”

“Well, you’ve got to admit that Benji is the cutest kid in the world,” Ben said with a wink. “He has Ma wrapped around his little pinky.” From where he sat, Ben could hear his mother-in-law’s enthusiastic voice loud and clear. He listened to her speaking to his father-in-law, then murmured to Melanie, “Look at how handsome our grandson is. People pay to dye their hair this color. Have you ever seen such beautiful brown eyes? You can’t buy dimples like his.”

Melanie rolled her eyes and laughed. “You just can’t resist showing off your comprehension skills, can you?” After their infamous Christmas dinner, Ben had decided to get serious about learning Cantonese. He had been taking classes at the community college, and now spoke and understood the language at a fourth grade level. “Are you going to translate everything Ma says?”

“Only when she brags about me.”

“Sorry to break your bubble, dear, but she’s complimenting our son, not you.”

“And where do you think Benji got his good looks from?” Ben flashed a smile at Melanie who rolled her eyes in amusement. “You know that’s why Ma loves me.”

Ironically enough, her mother had come to appreciate the fact that Ben was not Chinese. Having a son-in-law from another culture made her a star among her friends. She thrived in playing the role of an open-minded, progressive mother-in-law who doted on her beautiful mixed grandchild. She had also developed a convenient case of retrograde amnesia, and had long forgotten-and forgiven-everything that had happened before Benji’s birth. To her, Ben was now family.

Melanie released a deep breath, letting that truth sink in. She still had a hard time believing her mother had changed, but seeing was believing. Here were Ben and Ma in the same room and on speaking terms, too. More than that, they were all present to take a family portrait together. It was her wildest dream come true.

And proof that miracles did happen.

“Okay, let’s have Grandma and Grandpa stand here.” The photographer led Mr. and Mrs. Koo to stand behind the couch, then returned to her place at the camera. “And let’s sit the young man on Mommy’s lap. Great. Now, everyone look at me. Smile!”

Out of the corner of her eye, Melanie spotted a genuine smile on her mother’s face. She felt Ben’s hand grasp hers, and she squeezed it in return. Their eyes met briefly and she saw on his face the same emotions welling up in her heart. Benji turned to look at his parents and clapped his hands together as if he understood their joy.

“Look here, baby,” the young woman called out as she dangled a squeaky toy above the lens.

Benji’s face lit up when he heard the photographer’s words. He pointed to Melanie and exclaimed, “Baby!”

“Yes, son, she’s talking to you.” Ben urged him to look at the photographer. “Look at the camera.”

“Isn’t he smart? He speaks so well already,” Mrs. Koo gushed. “He is going to be a doctor or lawyer someday. Maybe even the President. Or he could become a teacher,” she added with a quick glance at her husband.

“Whatever he wants to do is fine,” Mr. Koo stated as he patted his grandson’s head.

“Baby!” Benji repeated, this time placing a hand on Melanie’s stomach.

Mrs. Koo noticed his gesture and demanded, “What? What is going on? Is there something you want to tell us?”

Ben grinned as he tousled Benji’s hair. “You beat us to it, buddy.” Turning to his in-laws, he announced in Cantonese, “We were going to tell you tonight at dinner. Ma, Ba, you’re going to be grandparents again.”

The shock on Mrs. Koo’s face was soon replaced by a toothy grin. “
Waa
¹⁴
! I bet it is a girl! Can you imagine how beautiful she will be? I can’t wait. I will be the first one at church to have two grandchildren. This is wonderful news. You did good, son,” she proclaimed to Ben. She grabbed hold of his shoulders and kissed his cheek.

At that exact moment, the camera’s flash went off.

Ben blinked in surprise, his whole face reddening like a tomato. “
Do ze,
¹⁵
Ma.”

“What about me,
Lou Po
¹⁶
? I’m next,” Mr. Koo piped up as he pointed to his cheek.

“
Aiya
, I kiss you all the time at home,” Mrs. Koo retorted.

The photographer called out, “Awesome, guys! I don’t understand what happened, but that was priceless.” Peering at the image on the digital camera screen, she gave a thumbs up. “That picture is frame-worthy.”

“Good thing she got it on film or no one would ever believe it happened,” Melanie murmured to Ben, her eyes wide in disbelief.

“Didn’t I tell you?” he boasted. “Ma loves me.”

Melanie couldn’t help but smile at the man whose dimpled grin lit up his whole face. “And so do I,” Melanie added as she leaned over and planted a quick kiss on his lips. Benji clapped his hands in delight as he watched his parents.

“Hurry! Take more picture,” Mrs. Koo ordered the photographer in English. “Today is happy day!”

Melanie shook her head and laughed. For once in her life, she agreed with her mother. It was a happy day indeed.

Afterword

I did not set out to write a series, but I enjoyed the characters of Melanie and Ben (from my first novella) so much that I wanted to dedicate a book to them, too. This book was much easier to write than my first, probably because I was a
tad
more experienced with the process, but also because I was able to “write what I know” (which is Rule #1 for writers). I had a lot of fun including tidbits of the Chinese culture into the story, as well as breaking out the Chinese stereotypes. I hope you found humor (and not offense) in those details, which may-or may not-have been exaggerated for entertainment purposes. And just to set the record straight, my mom is nothing like Mrs. Koo!

Much of Melanie’s immigration story was derived from my hubby, David’s, own experiences. We both moved from Asia to America as kids, but he had a more challenging assimilation process because he was fourteen when he immigrated; I was only five. Even though we are both Chinese, we have faced some cultural differences in our relationship. He comes from a Cantonese-speaking family, and I am from a Mandarin-speaking family (though we both have Shanghainese roots). He’s the Chinese-y one (he even knows Chinese history) who can carry on a better conversation in Mandarin with my parents than I can, while I am the Americanized one (he insists I speak Mandarin with an accent) who never thought I’d marry someone “fresh off the boat”. Now we are raising two American kids who barely speak any Chinese (sigh!) but who hear the “L word” every day. :)

I really wanted to show through this book that God sees the bigger picture of our lives and does work everything together for our good. The struggles we go through are real, but also prime opportunities to learn how to
chi ku
and grow in our character. This is something I am learning every day as a mom! I hope and pray we will all learn to trust God more through whatever hardships we face in life.

Thank you for spending time with Melanie and Ben! I hope you enjoyed their story!

Footnotes

¹
The Cantonese term for “older sister”.

²
A Chinese expression used to describe a feeling of displeasure, such as shock, anger or disapproval.

³
The Cantonese term for “second oldest sister”.

⁴
The Cantonese term for “little sister”.

⁵
The Cantonese term for “thank you” (in response to an act of service).

⁶
The Cantonese term for “how are you”.

⁷
The Cantonese term for “careful”.

⁸
The Cantonese slang for “drop dead”.

⁹
The Cantonese term for “very tasty”.

¹⁰
The Cantonese term for “are you kidding me?!”.

¹¹
The Cantonese term for “good-looking boy or man”.

¹²
The Mandarin phrase for “enduring hardships, persevering and pressing ahead”.

¹³
The Cantonese term for “maternal grandmother”.

¹⁴
The Cantonese expression for “wow”.

¹⁵
The Cantonese term for “thank you” (when receiving a gift).

¹⁶
The informal Cantonese term for “wife” (which literally means “old lady”).

Acknowledgements

Special thanks goes out to these individuals who have blessed my life and the making of this book:

My medically-savvy consultants who added credibility to my story: My cousin Dr. Diana Lo for answering my questions about medical residency; my friend Alan Chan for offering his detailed insight into the work of an EMT; and my friend Dr. Kathy Wu for explaining a resident’s on-call schedule to me.

My dear artistic friend, Michele Chung, for sharing your creative journey with me and for helping me grow in mine. Thank you for being my dedicated proofreader and helping to add depth to my characters and storyline.

My writer friend, Christy Chu, for giving me thoughtful feedback on the story and graciously pointing out its flaws.

My critique group ladies for your encouragement and for patiently critiquing my long submissions.

Deborah Bradseth, of Tugboat Design, who once again worked her magic on the book’s cover and inside formatting.

My
R-Je
, Maymay Ho, for being my “manager” and getting my first book onto the shelves of the public library. As you requested, I made this second book a little longer than my first!

My dear hubby, David, who always believes in me and supports me 1000% as a wife, mom and writer. When you said this book was way more complicated than my first one, I knew that was a good thing. :)

My two munchkins, E and C, who fill my head with many strands of grey hair, but also my heart with so much joy, love and wonder. (Half night, guys!)

My awesome readers (!) who make the writing process worth every drop of blood, sweat and tears (I may or may not be exaggerating, haha). Thanks for taking a chance on me.