She shook her head and said, “I’ve got it, I’ve got it. Go sit outside with everyone else.”
I refused to leave, and I didn’t want to get into a game of tug-of-war, so I had to watch helplessly as Ian’s mom stuck the plunger into the toilet and began to plunge in earnest. Within a minute, the clog cleared and the toilet was flushable again.
“Yes!” Ian’s mom said in English, then lifted her hand up to me, as if seeking a high-five. Wait, really? I wonderingly gave her one, and both of us laughed, relieving the pressure in my chest.
“Xiexie, Ayi.” I gave her a genuine smile of relief.
She smiled back, then reached towards the sink to wash her hands. After, I belatedly washed my hands too.
“Anna, ni zhende hao piaoliang.” You’re really beautiful, she said. “I knew you’d be a good woman for Ian when I saw you in the Japanese restaurant. You have such an auspicious face.”
The Japanese restaurant? I hadn’t eaten at a Japanese restaurant since—OH. Oh.
THE Japanese restaurant.
Ian was the one who’d footed the bill at that fancy restaurant so long ago? The naggy son? He and his parents had witnessed that horrible moment? And Ian’s mom thought that I had an auspicious face? What did that even mean? Was she really superstitious? Did she just—
She smiled, and her eyes were so lovely, large and expressive. So like Ian’s. I smiled softly in return as my doubts evaporated. “I’m lucky to have Ian,” I told her. “You have a very good son.”
She took my hand and kneaded it, just as Ian did sometimes. “Tell me, do you love my son?”
I was surprised at the question, but didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Very much.” A tear slipped down my cheek.
She wiped it away and her smile grew brighter, more genuine. “That’s good, that’s good. Come on, come meet the family.” She gently led me out to the backyard.
◆◆◆
“I think my mom likes you better than she likes me,” said Ian.
We’d just gotten back to his place from his aunt’s place. I’d had too much to eat and drink, so I’d taken a nap on the car ride home. We were only just now getting around to the debrief.
“She’s a really sweet lady. So funny.” I smiled at Ian. “Your family members really are kinda like you.”
Besides his mom, I’d met three of his uncles, two aunts, and six cousins, and they all really were like Ian in some way—lively, loving, and full of ridiculously corny jokes. They’d asked the usual questions, like how old I was, what I did for a living, when we would get married, when we would have kids...but Ian and I faced them together, hand-in-hand, and while we were met with some teasing (there would always be some), my answers didn’t set off any avalanches. Conversation, warm and easy, continued on, and by the end, I knew I’d be just fine seeing them again.
Especially for the food—his family could cook.
They were what a family should have been, what I’d always wished for, growing up. No families were perfect, and his certainly wasn’t...but they were a good one, and they’d readily accepted me as one of their own.
He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead. “Well..if they’re like me, then you must love them.”
I leaned back and laughed. “Uh huh.”
“Uh huh. Does that mean that you love me, too?”
I nuzzled his chin with my nose. “Yes, as I’ve told you many times now.”
Ah, that look on his face. The one he’d been giving me since the beginning.
He got down on one knee and took my left hand in both of his.
Oh shit. Tears sprang to my eyes and I covered my mouth with my other hand, the sudden rush of emotion nearly bringing me to my knees before him. He pressed my hand to his lips and gazed up at me with soft eyes, so tender and earnest. The look.
“Anna, we’ve been through a lot together. Heh, sometimes, it feels like we’ve had to free climb El Cap to get to where we are, you know? But the view from where we are now, together, is breathtaking. I can see the edge of the world with you, and every day feels like we’re waking up on a clear, brisk morning, cozy in our sleeping bags, to that gorgeous sunrise, that perfect world of possibility. It’s honestly so much better than anything I could have imagined.”
He paused, cleared his throat, then continued. “But there’s one thing that could make it better. I know it’s been less than a year, but even when I first met you, I already started asking this question in my head. Will you…”
I drew in a deep breath.
“...let me put it in your butt?”
“IAN! What the hell?” I pulled my hand out of his and slapped his shoulder.
He stood up and laughed in my face, then pulled me close and kissed me again. “I’m just kidding. I love you, too. So much.” He buried his face in my hair and coiled his arms tightly around my waist, like an apologetic child.
Coward. How dare he make me the butt of a proposal joke? I’d been on the verge of tears from his speech, had filled my lungs with air to give him the biggest, most resounding yes! in the history of proposals. But it was all a joke.
Ass.
Then again…
That look in his eyes, that purest of emotions that I saw...his heartfelt speech. It really hadn’t seemed like he was joking. The sentiment behind the gesture was surely real. Why hadn’t he followed through?
Perhaps it was a bit soon. Or maybe he’d changed his mind at the last second, afraid of what I’d say. Maybe he’d actually listened to me when I said that I didn’t plan on getting married, or thought that I’d react with horror and doubt, as I’d done once before to Asher.
But my actual reaction told me so much.
I knew that I would never
