“Be nice. Please?” Joe asked his mom the afternoon before Ariel was supposed to come to his house.
“I am always nice.” Mrs. Cheng pretended to look offended.
“Mom! You never approve of my girlfriends.”
“The only one you’ve ever brought home before was Natasha, and I knew she was trouble the moment I saw her.”
“Mom…” Joe sounded a bit whiny.
“It’s true.” Mrs. Cheng gave her son a look and was glad to see that he didn’t look depressed when she mentioned Natasha. There had been more than a few moments in the past two years that Anita had been worried whether Joe would ever come out of his shell and feel again.
“Ariel’s nothing like Natasha though. I’m sure you’ll like her. And don’t forget her sister is coming too.”
“I didn’t forget. Poor kids. To be without parents when they are so young.” Mrs. Cheng sighed. She knew exactly what that felt like. She had been lucky though. Very lucky.
——————-
“Remember to smile.” Ariel whispered as she rang the door bell.
“I know I know.” Miranda sounded annoyed, “why are you so freaked out.”
“I just don’t want to appear like an idiot.” Ariel fidgeted.
“Don’t worry Ari, you are one already.” Miranda quipped.
“Brat.”
The door opened and Joe grinned at the two sisters.
“Hey guys, come on in.”
“Thanks Joe.” Miranda said as Joe shut the door behind them.
“You can give me your coats and go right in.”
“I’d much rather wait for you.” Miranda poked Ariel. “You ok sis?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Ariel smiled serenely.
“Come on guys, my mom is nice.” Joe motioned them to follow him once he had hung up their coats.
Mrs. Cheng met them at the door of the dining room and Joe introduced the girls.
“Allow me to introduce you to each other.” Joe said in a faux French accent.
Mrs. Cheng gave him a light slap on the side of his head, “ignore this goofball here, I’m Anita.”
Ariel smiled and shook Mrs. Cheng’s hand. “Hi Auntie, I’m Ariel and this is my sister Miranda.”
Mrs. Cheng smiled warmly. “I hope you guys are hungry. I’ve prepared enough food to feed a small army.”
“A small army eats less than these two.” Joe supplied, but quickly pretended to be studying his nails when Miranda glared at him.
—————————–
“So where are you from Ariel?” Mrs. Cheng asked when the desserts came.
“My parents are from Taiwan, but I was born in Kitchener.” Ariel’s mind switched to defensive mode. She didn’t want to give away anything she shouldn’t.
“Really? I’m from that area too.” Mrs. Cheng looked surprised.
“I know. Joe told me when he showed me your beautiful garden.”
“I love that garden. Joe told you the story behind it?”
“Yes he did.”
The conversation turned awkward again.
“So Joe told me you parents have passed away.” Mrs. Cheng started again.
“Yes.”
“Don’t interrogate her Mom.” Joe looked at Ariel apologetically.
“No worries.” Ariel smiled. “I don’t mind.”
“My father passed away when I was four in a car accident. My mother died of cancer when I was twelve.” Miranda volunteered without further prodding. This lie usually stopped people from asking too many more questions.
“That’s too bad.” Mrs. Cheng looked sympathetic.
“Yes, I miss them.” Ariel agreed.
“I’ve always wondered Ariel, where your name came from.” Joe asked when the conversation petered away again. “Did your parents really like the ‘Little Mermaid’?”
“Oh no.” Ariel laughed a little. “The ‘Little Mermaid’ wasn’t even made when I was born.”
“Then where did it come from?” Joe was intrigued.
“Shakespeare.” Miranda grinned when Joe looked confused.
“It’s from ‘The Tempest’.” Ariel explained. “My father was an English teacher and loved Shakespeare. Both ‘Ariel’ and ‘Miranda’ came from ‘The Tempest’. Ariel was the playful spirit and Miranda was a generous and kind girl.”
Joe was still confused.
“Just read ‘The Tempest’ later Joe.” Mrs. Cheng chuckled. “To explain the plot to you is going to take a while.”
“You’re familiar with the play then?” Miranda asked Mrs. Cheng.
“Indeed. ‘The Tempest’ was one of my good friend’s favourite plays.”
“It was my father’s favourite as well. That’s why we are named after people in it.”
“Your last name is Zhang, right?”
“Yes.” Ariel’s smiled a little to disguise the lie.
“The only Zhang I know from Kitchener is named Henry. Do you happen to know him?”
“I’m not sure” Ariel pretended to think and looked at Miranda.
“I don’t think so.” Miranda volunteered. “Our family moved to Toronto when we were both really young.”
——————–
“Joe, do you want to take Miranda to see the garden upstairs? I don’t believe she has seen it before.” Mrs. Cheng said after all the dishes have been cleared away.
“Ok, sure. Come on.” He gestured to Ariel and Miranda.
“Leave Ariel here with me for a minute, I want to talk to her.” Mr. Cheng smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t eat her.”
“Alright,” Joe sounded hesitant. He gave Ariel a worried look, which lifted when she smiled reassuringly back.
“So…” Mrs. Cheng started when Joe and Miranda left, “I just have a few questions for you dear.”
“Sure Auntie.” Ariel leaned back on the couch she was sitting on. She looked calm on the outside, but inside, her mind was racing. What could she possibly want to ask and how much should I say?
“How long have you and Joe been going out for?”
“A few days.” Ariel sighed internally with relief. She would not have to lie more about herself.
“Really?” Mrs. Cheng looked surprised. Joe didn’t bring Natasha home until six months into their relationship…
“Yes. Is that surprising?” Ariel tacked that on as an afterthought.
“Yes it is. You’re special Ariel.”
“Thanks Auntie.” Ariel smiled.
“I know this is going to sound weird coming from me,” Mrs. Cheng looked serious. “but please don’t hurt Joe.”
“Can I hurt him?” Ariel smiled wryly.
“I don’t know how he feels about you, but he takes relationships seriously… Perhaps too seriously.”
“Oh.” Ariel didn’t know what to say.
“I know that me saying this is odd, but I’m his mother and I worry about him. His last girlfriend-“ Mrs. Cheng trailed off.
“I understand that he has had a bad breakup in the past, and I assure you Mrs. Cheng, that I am serious about Joe.” Ariel supplied. But for how long? How long can I stay here and be with him? Sooner or later I will have to leave. Is it wrong to want to be with him, even if we have no future?
“That’s good –“ The phone suddenly rang. “Excuse me.”
—————————-
“What do you think they’re talking about?” Miranda asked Joe as they sat on the bench in the garden.
“Probably me.” Joe shrugged. “Mom’s always worry about me.”
“I heard about your last girlfriend.”
“How?” Joe looked surprised.
“Mike.”
“Chatter box.”
“No, it was just that after that time when you said those stupid things to Ariel, Mike tried to make us understand why you did it.”
“So how much do you know?”
“How much is there to know?” Miranda asked instead.
Joe rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. Does Ari know?”
“She knows you had an ex-girlfriend who dumped you, but not much more than that.”
“Alright, please don’t tell her.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to give her ideas.” Joe joked.
“Joe!” Mrs. Cheng called from downstairs. “Phone!”
“I’m coming Mom.” Joe yelled.
“Come on, let’s go downstairs.” He said to Miranda.
———————-
“Hello?” Joe asked into the phone.
“How’s it going?” Bianca asked over the phone.
“Bee! I haven’t heard from you in a while.” Joe grinned. “I’m fine. How’s Japan.”
“Japan is fine and so am I,” Bianca quipped. “Busy of course.”
“Right, Ms. Prima Donna Ballerina.”
“You’re just jealous.” Bianca’s smile could be heard over the line.
Joe laughed. “Ok, ok. I admit, I want to dress up in a tutu and dance in front a whole bunch of adoring fans too.”
“Yes, I’m sure you’ll have a lot of girls chasing you after that.” She teased.
“So how’s Ethan?” Joe changed topics when he realized that he was going to get teased more by her if he said anything else. It has been like that since they were teens. Bee was a year younger than him, but she always out-argued, out-teased, and outshined him in everything.
“He’s fine. Still really busy with that computer company he’s starting up.” Bianca sounded down. “Ethan’s been ecstatic lately because the company is actually making money now, and he’s miffed that I’m leaving Japan to go to New York to dance. He said he’ll wait for me, but he doesn’t seem all that happy about it.”
“He’ll come around Bee. You know he loves you. He just wants to settle down, marry you, and have lots of children.”
“I know he does, and it’s what I want… But I want my career too. I am so close to realizing my lifelong dream. In half a year, I’ll be dancing the part of Odette at the Lincoln Center. How can I give up something I worked my entire life for?” She sounded forlorn.
“Cheer up. Ethan understands how much you love ballet.”
“I know, but he doesn’t see that I have room for ballet and him in my life. This is once in a lifetime opportunity, and he thinks I’m betraying him by picking it over him.”
“You know he’ll come around.” Joe sounded awkward. He never really knew what advice to give to her. At least he could talk to her and talking about stuff like this always made her feel better.
“Sorry I’m unloading all of my problems on you.”
“Now problem. You always do the same for me.”
“Thanks Joe.” Bianca sounded grateful.
“Oh, I have an idea to cheer you up! Mom and I will go see your first show at the Lincoln Center.”
“Really?” Bianca sounded extremely happy. “It would be great if you and Auntie are there.”
“Sure. I think Dad has enough Airmiles saved up from his travelling and I haven’t seen you in forever.”
A noise from the living room distracted Joe for a moment. “Anyways, it’s great talking to you, but we’ve got guests over. I’ll call you later, ok?”
Bianca was silent for a few moments, then exclaimed. “Joe Cheng! You have a new girlfriend!”
“How do you know?” Joe was amazed.
“It’s obvious. Oh my God! What’s her name, what’s she like?” She paused. “Is she anything like Natasha?”
“I’ll tell you all about her later, but nope, she’s nothing like Natasha.”
“Good.” Bianca said with finality. “I’ll call you later.”
———
I’m sorry for not updating for so long. I’ve been ridiculously busy with random stuff. I hope you’ve enjoyed this double update…? I’ll be back with another update soon, but after that, I may not update for a while again because 1) I’m busy (I really need to find a better excuse) and 2) I’m having a bit of a writers dilemma. I’m not sure what direction to take the story in and I need to sort that out a bit more.
If you like my story or have any constructive criticism, please let me know by commenting!
Thanks!
