Of course, he hoped Josh would find that familial connection he’d been missing for most of his life, but he was scared Josh would want to go back home for good. Would he ask Riley to go with him? Would Riley say yes?
Who was he kidding? Of course, he’d go. But damn, that would be a hell of a life change.
He’d do that and more to make Josh happy. He was learning that there was little he wouldn’t do to make Josh happy.
29
THE ASIAN SUPERMARKET DIDN’T open until seven a.m., but employees began filtering in before that. Josh snuck in with a new guy he recognized, hoping he’d assume Josh was a coworker he hadn’t met yet and wouldn’t question him. He headed right for the offices and found Auntie Chen poring over what looked like a recipe book open on her desk.
He knocked lightly on the frame of the open door, and she lifted her head to see who dared disturb her so early. When she smiled, his heart lifted and he knew he'd come to the right person.
“Josh, what are you doing here so early?” she said as she removed her glasses and rose to greet him with a hug.
“I hope you don’t mind me barging in on you, Auntie Chen, but I need your help with something and it’s… well, not urgent, but definitely important.”
She detected how serious Josh was at that moment, definitely not his usual attitude, and pulled him deeper into her office.
“Come, sit,” she urged, pointing to the two chairs in front of her desk and taking one of them herself instead of sitting behind her desk. Josh quickly sat in the other and leaned forward until his elbows were settled on his knees, his hands gripped together. “What is it? What’s bothering you?”
“I, um,” he said, and had to clear his throat at the sudden lump forming. He had to get through this. He had to know what his mother had written to him all those years ago. Pulling the letter out of his back pocket, he held it out for her to see. “My mom, my adopted mom, she gave me this letter yesterday that myMamaleft for me.Mamagave her instructions to give it to me when I found the love of my life—”
“Oh, Josh, tell me, did you and Riley finally…” She trailed off but wiggled her eyebrows, drawing a much-needed laugh from Josh.
“Yes, Auntie Chen. We’re together now and yesterday we said we love each other for the first time. He’s everything to me.”
She lunged forward out of her chair and pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tightly as she whispered Chinese words he didn’t understand, but wished he did.
“I’m so happy for you, my son. You take good careof that boy and he’ll keep taking good care of you.”
“Yes, Auntie, I will,” he rasped.
She let go of him and fell into her seat.
“You said she left you a letter? What does it say?”
“I’m ashamed to say it’s written in hanzi and I—” His voice broke. “I can’t read it.Mamathought I would be able to and I-I can’t.”
“Stop those tears, Josh. YourMamaalso didn’t expect to leave you to thegweilowhen you were so young either. She likely thought she would be able to teach you the language for years. It isn’t your fault, and it isn’t Leigh Anne and Eddie’s fault. Our language is a difficult one, you know that.”
They’d tried to find him a tutor, but it had hurt too much at first to hear the language of his parents. When he was finally ready, it was too hard for him to grasp.
“I do know that,” he said. “I hoped you could help me read it, if you have time.”
She smiled softly and patted him on the cheek.
“For you, Josh, I have all the time in the world. Let’s see the letter,” she said, reaching out for the envelope in his hand.
She took it carefully and slid the letter out, treating it with reverence and showing great respect for hisMama. He was so glad he had her in his life.
He realized that both of them were holding their breath, not wanting to disturb such a pivotal moment.
She unfolded the letter slowly and looked at it quizzically for a moment, then clicked her tongue and grabbed her reading glasses off her desk.
Josh could see her eyes move along the paper as she inspected the document, and then she lifted her gaze to his.
“Are you ready, Josh?”
“Yes, read it to me, please.”
