“The car ride should be enough time for you to give your gift… and enough time to talk about prom too.” Auntie Baby pushes the siopao box closer to me with a wink.
I turn to Auntie Grace and she doesn’t object to the idea. For someone so strict, you would think Auntie Grace would frown upon an unsupervised car ride between the opposite sexes. This is more unholy than your sleeveless dance troupe outfits, Auntie!
Suddenly, Auntie Grace asks, “Should we call your mom to let her know?”
“No!”
If Ma finds out that I’m with the aunties, she’ll tell them everything I did this morning, then force me to go back to the memorial and say sorry to Dr. Derrick.
“I’ll do it.” I recover and tell my aunties calmly, “I’m sure she’ll be all right with Seph taking me. She always says you raised him really well, Auntie Baby.”
This automatically relaxes her. Tip I’ve learned through the years: Flattering an auntie will get you places. Flattering an auntie’sson? That’ll get you even further!
When the aunties finally head out and leave me in peace, I go back to browsing through Auntie Baby’s old yearbook.
By the time I reach the actual prom spread, I spot Ma with Pa again. This time, the two of them have glittery sashes across their bodies that spell outProm King & Queen. It’s a perfect candid photo of Ma laughing at whatever Pa was telling her. It doesn’t even look like they were aware that someone was taking their picture.
“Ma!” Seph steps out of his room in shorts and a towel draped around his neck.
His hands immediately cover his chest area when he sees me. “You’re not my mother.”
“Nice boobs.”
I laugh when his face flushes and he quickly grabs a shirt. “Auntie Baby and Auntie Grace went ahead!” I call out.
Once he’s decent and fully clothed, he takes the seat across from me at the table. His hair is still wet so there are strands that fall right above his eyes. I suddenly remember what Auntie Baby said about running her fingers through a boy’s hair. I wonder how soft Seph’s would feel if I reach over and touch…
“This is for you.” I offer Seph the siopao box, distracting my mind from impure thoughts.
His face does his annoying nose scrunch again. “You brought me gifts?”
“They’re from my mom,” I clarify.
Seph opens the box. “Must have done a really great job asyour chaperone—” He suddenly frowns. “What happened to this one?” he asks, pointing to the sad-looking siopao I carried the whole time I was searching my condo for some mystery stalker.
“Maybe you were a bad chaperone,” I say with a shrug.
I laugh when he scowls and eats the half-eaten siopao anyway. When his phone lights up, he says, “My mom is checking if we’ve left already.”
“You don’t have to bring me.”
“How are you getting to the memorial then?”
“I’ll find a way.”
“Why aren’t you with your family?”
“I was with them this morning,” I point out.
“But you came back here…?”
“Yes.” I nod and gesture toward the box. “… Because I had to give you the siopaos.”
Ugh. His interrogations are worse than his mother’s.
Seph narrows his eyes at me. “You’re not planning on going back to the cemetery, are you?”
“Iam. I have… other ways of getting there.”
