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“It’s called the Mona Lisa effect,” Yenyen says.
My mother and aunts preen.
“You do realize he’s calling the dragons Mona Lisa, not you,” I point out. Which is probably a petty thing to say, butreally, now. There is no way in hell I can let this happen. I can’t have them meeting Nathan’s parents wearing Komodo-freaking-dragons on their heads.
“Okay, yang bener ya. Serious time,” Big Aunt says, straightening her back and smoothing down the front of her ruffled skirt. “What you think, Meddy?”
I tear my eyes from the tops of their heads to her face, and that’s when I realize it: Big Aunt is nervous. It’s the first time I’ve seen that vulnerable look on her face. Well, I guess I have seen it one other time before, when she had to move the body of a man I’d just killed. The naked worry and hope in her face make my chest squeeze painfully. My eyes move from Big Aunt to the others and find all of them wide-eyed with anticipation. Ma is wringing her hands, and Second Aunt looks like she’s one mean comment away from plunging into a Tai Chi pose. Fourth Aunt is studying her nails, but now and again, she steals glances my way, and I know then that she’s just as nervous as the others.
Well, crap.
“Um.” My voice falters. I clear my throat and try again. “Well. Um. More importantly, what doyouthink, Big Aunt? Do you feel good in it?”
She starts to nod, but Jonjon shrieks, “Be careful!” and she jerks her head upright. Her Komodo dragon wobbles precariously for a few tense seconds as we stare with bated breath. Then it rights itself.
Sensing an opportunity, I pounce. “Well, uh—as incredible as they look, if you can’t move freely in them, then I don’t know if they’re a good idea. I want you to feel completely comfortable at my wedding, Big Aunt.”
“True...” she says.
Hope flutters in my chest.
“Oh, not a problem. On the day of, you just tell your hairand makeup artist to sew the fascinators to your wig,” Yenyen says. “That’s how most celebrities get them to stay on, you know.”
“Thanks, Yenyen, very helpful,” I hiss through gritted teeth. He’s supposed to be on my side.
“So you like?” Big Aunt says, her eyes searching mine.
“I...” Six pairs of eyes bear down on me like six searing-hot laser beams. I know when I’m defeated. “If you like them, then I like them too.”
Ma and the aunties’ faces melt into huge grins, and for just this one moment, I’m glad I went along with it. Then common sense returns and I kick myself inwardly. What have I just done? What did I agree to? What is Nathan’s prim English family going to think? The thought of introducing my batty family members to his well-dressed, eloquent mother is almost enough to make me break out in hives. Of course, as always, as soon as I think this, the guilt comes in full attack mode. I shouldn’t be ashamed of my own family, not even with Komodo dragons on their heads. They’ve gone through so much for me, like covering up an actual murder. The least I can do is pretend to like their hideous outfits.
But I don’t get a chance to say anything as Yenyen crows, “Okay, Yenyen’s turn!” and whips the blanket off me. My family gasps at the sight of my dress.
“Wah, bagus, bagus,” Second Aunt says.
“Mm, I love it,” Fourth Aunt agrees. “Sexy, not trampy.”
I turn to Ma. “What do you think?”
Ma is blinking away tears. “Oh, Meddy.” Her voice catches and she grasps my hands.
A lump forms in my throat and I nod through my tears at Ma.
“Yes, so very pretty, so beautiful bride,” Big Aunt says,patting my cheek fondly. I smile back at her. The Komodo dragon atop her head grins down at me. “You going to make big splash in Oxford.”
Well, some of us will, at least. The mention of Oxford fills my stomach with butterflies. Ever since I cracked openHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stoneat age ten, I was hooked. And when I visited Nathan’s family all those years ago, he’d taken me on a tour of Oxford University. It had cemented my love for the gorgeous city. It was a no-brainer when he’d suggested having the wedding at one of the oldest and biggest colleges at the university: Christ Church College. With its expansive gardens and magnificent cathedral, Christ Church makes the perfect wedding venue. I’d thought Ma and the aunties would be against it, but when I told them, they’d literally whooped with joy, especially when we offered to pay for their airfare. And, as horrible as it sounds, there’s an additional benefit to having a wedding in England—I won’t have to invite the rest of my humongous family.
Not that I don’t love them; it’s just that there are so many of them—all of my cousins and their families, for one, and then my mother’s cousins and their families. Chinese-Indonesian weddings tend to have thousands of guests for a reason; everyone is related to everyone else, and if you fail to invite your cousin’s cousin’s spouse’s cousin, there would be such Slighted Feelings. Generations of family feuds have stemmed from this uncle not inviting that cousin’s brother-in-law’s father-in-law to his daughter’s wedding. With a destination wedding, we can just tell the rest of the family that we don’t want to impose, and that they shouldn’t feel obligated to spend thousands of dollars to travel all the way to England just to watch me get married. In the end, the only people from my side of the family who are attending are Ma, the aunties, and a handful of cousins, whichis such a huge relief. None of my aunties’ sons are coming. I had a video call with them and we all agreed that the aunties would be so emotional and overbearing that it would probably be best for everyone’s sanity not to have them there. The relieved expression on my cousin Gucci’s face was so palpable that I couldn’t help laughing and taking a screenshot, just in case I needed to blackmail him in the future. They promised that we’d celebrate ourselves when we next had a family gathering. We’ve somehow ended up with over two hundred guests anyway, thanks to Nathan’s numerous business contacts, which appeases Ma and the aunties’ need for big weddings.
Ma waves her hand in my face. “Eh, Meddy, hello, you paying attention or not, ah?”
I snap back to reality and jerk back at the sight of her Komodo dragon. Those dragons, I swear. “What is it, Ma?”
“We have surprise for you,” she says with obvious glee.
Uh-oh. The last time my mother sprang a surprise on me, I ended up killing it. Or him, rather. “Um. What is it?” My voice comes out thick with worry.
“Wedding vendor! We find perfect one for you.”