If you could love, you must do so with all your heart and make your loved one happy so that you would have no regrets in the future.
…
The next day, Sally called, and the first thing she asked was, “Taken your medicine?”
I thought for a while before I remembered that yesterday, she had said I sounded nasal and that I should take some medicine.
I nodded and said, “I have.”
“December is just around the corner. Since it’s the festive season, we must have some decorations. Later, you must go out with me to do some shopping.”
She sounded domineering, leaving me with no option.
Nodding, I promised her that I would.
Ashton was busy with work, and I could not tag along with him all the time.
Since Flora was not around, I tidied up a little and drove to the mall.
Sally was waiting at the entrance. When she saw me, she started ranting, “It’s not that far. If you didn’t want to come, you could have told me.”
As I took the trolley from her, I took a glance at the supermarket nearby. “Are we shopping there?”
Pursing her lips, she nodded and went straight in.
I followed her in. She was not very ladylike, looking more like a nagging middle-aged housewife. After shopping for some necessities, she looked back at me and said, “Are you good at making dough?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m not!”
She frowned. “We have tacos every year on New Year’s Eve. If you are not good at making dough, how can we make the tacos?”
“We can buy the tortillas and make the tacos with them,” I replied, but then I saw her with a bag of flour, so I guessed she wanted to prepare the dough herself.
“Homemade tortillas taste so much better.” At that, she did as I thought she would, putting the bag of flour into the trolley.
I was about to say something but decided against it.
Oh, fine!
I’ll just play by ear!
Two hours later, we arranged for the delivery staff to send all the stuff back to the villa. Then Sally took me to a Thai restaurant.
The reason was that she wanted to reward me for going shopping with her.
After we were seated, Sally started chatting, “In K City, it is hard to find authentic Thai food. This restaurant is really good, though. You shall soon try the real thing.”
While ordering food, she said to me, “Before I came to K City, I liked the Thai restaurant on University Road in J City the most. After I came to K City, I never went back there anymore. I’ve searched the entire K City for so many years, but I haven’t seen any authentic Thai restaurants except this one. You should give it a try.”
From her words, I could feel her longing for home.
Indeed, after she turned eighteen, she spent her remaining life in K City, and her memories of home had faded by then. Whenever she tried to reminisce it, only the tastes from her childhood would come to her mind.
It was just like how my love for candy was influenced by my childhood memories. Grandma always had different types of candies in her pocket. Whenever I felt upset, one piece of candy from her would dispel all my distress.
Now that those people in my memories were gone and I could never see them again, the only thing that remained for me to reminisce was the sweet taste of candies.
When the waiter brought the dishes, I got up. “Aunt Sally, I need to go and wash my hands.”
After shopping in the supermarket for some time, we dirtied our hands a little, so she got up and went with me.
On the way back, I went to the washroom while she returned to our table.
When I came back to our table, there was an old acquaintance seated there whom I had not seen for a long time—Rebecca.
“Aunt Sally, I’ve been busy lately. That’s why I didn’t have time to visit you. You seem to have lost weight,” Rebecca said.
With her were two others who were strangers to me, most likely her friends.
Being cordial, Sally smiled and replied, “My dear, you are so good at flattering. I haven’t lost weight or gained any. I’m still the same.”
Rebecca smiled. “When I am free later on, I’ll go and visit you.”
I knew that my presence would destroy the harmonious atmosphere.
After hesitating, Sally said, “Letty, come here. The food is ready.”
Letty?
Other than my close friends and relatives, nobody addresses me by this name.
I walked to the dining table, and my eyes met Rebecca’s icy gaze.
It was evident that she was jealous.
Ignoring her, I seated myself.
Sally placed some scrumptious-looking food on my plate, saying, “This place serves the most authentic dishes. Come on, give it a try. You’ll love it.”
I nodded without saying anything.
Seeing that Rebecca did not intend to leave, Sally remained smiling while she said, “Ms. Larson, do you want to eat with us? I ordered a lot. If you don’t mind, you can stay.”
Her words were carefully thought out. She started with ‘Ms. Larson,’ which was polite but distant to indicate that they were not close.
The second part of her speech sounded like a sincere invitation and not just courtesy, but there seemed to be a hidden meaning.
Rebecca was slightly taken aback, but she accepted her offer without hesitation. Then she sat next to Sally and said affectionately, “Aunt Sally, since you like Thai food too, we can come here together when you have time in the future. I like it very much as well.”
Hearing that, Sally smiled and served her some food. Then she put down the ladle, and with her slender fingers, she patted Rebecca’s hand gently and said, “My child, it’s my honor if you call me aunt like Ashton does. However, you and I are neither family nor related. In the future, it’s better that you address me as Ms. Fuller!”
