Chapter 7: Two Cup Cakes
It’s almost 8 o’clock at night; Jim had to work late again. Tammy Fay has been really busy ever since her engagement. The wedding planning actually started almost a year before Jim proposed, of course, in secret. Now that it is official, Tammy could finally bring her stacks of bridal magazines out in the open and talk to Jim about it without appearing pushy.
Tammy’s from Harrisburg, Georgia, a mid-sized town resides in the Southern hill countries right between Atlanta and Savannah. Her Dad’s family owns Harrisburg Times, a fairly popular newspaper in the eastern part of Georgia. They also co-owned several smaller local papers. In other words, they are pretty well off.
If Tammy was born with a silver spoon, as how people put it, she definitely didn’t have the opportunity to nurture that spoon into a golden bowl of lifelong trust funds. Her parents divorced when she was 10 years old. Her mother, a traditional southern lady who had been a house wife all her life, took the amount of child support and alimony as she deserved but not a penny more. She accepted a job as a secretary in an insurance company in Atlanta and moved there with Tammy.
Tammy visited her Dad and his new family once or twice a month. At first she used to miss her pink princess room in their stoned-front, craftsman style house that belonged to her Dad’s family since the 1950’s. It sat on a 5-acre land covered with green grass and peach trees. One of Tammy’s favorite childhood memories was to spend the whole Sunday afternoon playing with her Dad near the little pond right next to the barn.
As Tammy grew older, she started to appreciate and take pride of what her mother and she had. She learned honesty, self-respect, and most importantly, not rely on others but to build a life with her own hands through tears and sweat.
Sophomore year in college was the darkest time in Tammy’s life. Her mother was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer and passed away four months later. That was right after Tammy and Jim’s first breakup. Tammy couldn’t imagine what her life would be like if Mei hadn’t been there for her. The toughest time always brings out people’s true character, which in this case, real friendship. Mei was Tammy’s mother, sister and loyal friend during that period. She cooked for Tammy, did her laundries, and helped her with school. Amazingly despite of all that happened, Tammy did not fail one class that semester, nor took a dip in her GPA. Tammy knew at then that Mei was someone she could trust for life.
Sitting on her couch with the TV on mute, Tammy aimlessly flipped the bridal magazine on her lap. She was trying to decide whether to call her Dad and tell him about the engagement. Her mother’s passing built some resentment between Tammy and her father. She knew very well it was not his fault but couldn’t help to believe things would work out differently if her parents had stayed together. She still called and visited her Dad in Georgia from time to time, but it just never felt the same.
She would have asked Mei for advice, but Mei had been so busy lately with work that she barely answered her phone or texts. Tammy understood how stressful it must have been for her best friend. She was proud of Mei for being ambitious; herself on the other hand, was never a career woman. After graduating with a BA in political science, the dooming economy forced her to take a job as an Administrative Assistant in a local radio station. She is perfectly content with her job; her biggest goal in life is to start a family and raise five, maybe six little munchkins and grow old with Jim.
No one picked up on the other end when she finally dialed the number. She left a message about her engagement; and thought it was easier this way. Now having the phone call out of the way, she gathered her energy again and dove into a lengthy article about Venue selection.
By Wednesday Mei had worked almost 40 hours in order to get the new proposal together. Working hard was never an issue for her. The Chinese education system’s almost militant study style may be inflexible and cruel, but it also equipped Mei to be tough and persistent in the face of obstacles.
In Mei’s opinion, most American kids do not realize how privileged and lucky they are to live in a country that provides the best higher education in the world. They complained about class schedules or papers being due right before a long weekend; when across the room Mei was worried about the extension of her F-1 Visa and where to find a part time job without a working permit to pay for her rent.
She was always in the top of her class since first grade. That was the only way most bright Chinese students see for themselves to come to the US and pursue their dreams. Mei was one of them; she did everything she was supposed to do -- studied with her heart and soul to come to this country and obtained her degree. But when reality hit and her visa was expiring and there was no jobs in sight; she gave up her childhood dream of being a Nutritionist, just like that.
Mei had never felt that she was cheated by life, on the opposite, she was grateful that she got a second chance in the field of Information Technology. Life is too short to keep thinking about what you do not have; she tries to cherish whatever she has right at the moment.
Mei stapled the new proposal together and gave it a final glance. She was confident Jesse Broderick would find it a solid if not excellent proposal this time around. Just as she was about to leave her cubical, someone showed up from the corner and almost bumped into her.
“Hi Mei! How’s everything going?”
Is that Lin-Lin? Mei almost didn’t recognize her. Unlike her signature jean and T-shirt combo, Lin-Lin was wearing a cute white and navy pokodot dress. Her long wavy hair was freely flowing instead of the usual pony tail. It was the first time Mei had ever seen her with makeup on -- just the right amount to make her face look like a cute china doll.
“Wow, Lin-Lin? Is that you? You look great!” Mei was not just trying to be polite, Lin-Lin was gorgeous. Only a 20 year old could pull off that look without breaking a sweat. Maybe youth is the best assets a girl could have after all.
“Thank you! I didn’t see you in the Gym today and I brought in some cup cakes.” Mei’s compliment obviously boosted Lin-Lin’s self-confidence. With a bright smile, she pulled out a little pink box from behind, and opened it to reveal two beautifully decorated cup cakes.
Well, considering this was the first time Lin-Lin had ever visited Mei’s work space since they’ve known each other, and the visit came with refreshment, Mei couldn’t help but to take a wild guess at Lin-Lin’s intention.
Before Mei could let out a “Thank you,”
Lin-Lin tipped on her toes and looked around, “I brought one for Jesse too, is he around?”
