Single Sashimi

by Camy Tang

  It was nuts. This defied all logic. This was the ultimate risk of her career—but maybe this was God seeing if she’d really do what she said she’d do, and trust Him.

  She didn’t want to fail God.

  “I have to call my lawyer.” She scooted off her chair.

  “Wait.” Lex rummaged in her pocket.

  “I don’t need your cell, I’ve got my own.”

  “Er…It’s not my phone.”

  “Huh? I don’t understand.”

  Lex slammed her hand on the table with a faint clink and faced them all with a defiant look. “Now, don’t freak out, okay? I didn’t want a lot of hassle and fussing and this was the only way.”

  “What?” Trish paused with a fork halfway to her mouth.

  “What are you talking about?” Unperturbed, Jenn reached for more stew.

  Lex withdrew her hand. Sitting on the table was a gold wedding band.

  Jenn choked on her food and Venus whacked her between the shoulder blades. Trish dropped her fork with a clatter into her bowl.

  “Aiden and I went to Las Vegas last weekend and got married.”

  THIRTY-ONE

  Darla’s eyes bugged out of her head when she saw Venus. “I didn’t think you even owned a real dress.”

  “Like it?” She sashayed in the front doors of Bananaville, enjoying the caressing swish of silk around her calves.

  “I love the sash”—she pointed to the scarlet chiffon trails—“but isn’t it a bit romantic for work?”

  She actually felt romantic for one of the first times in her life. Maybe because she’d made a decision about what to do, maybe romance was in the air because of Lex—rather, Mrs. Young. It was so like Lex to elope. “I’m only in for a few minutes. I’m taking the day off.”

  Darla gave her a mock scowl. “Slacker.”

  Venus laughed.

  “Well, that’s both you and Drake, then.”

  Venus paused as she headed around the corner. “What?”

  “He’s out today too.”

  Oh, no! After all her careful planning. She tried to school her face in something halfway nonchalant. “Where is he?” Out with some other girl? On a business trip across the country? Or maybe he finally checked himself into a psych ward?

  Darla shrugged. “Gerry didn’t say.”

  Venus almost barged into Gerry’s office, and last-minute remembered to knock first. “Come in.”

  “Gerry—” She entered, but Gerry’s uplifted finger stopped her while Gerry spoke rapidly into the phone.

  “So anyway, thank you for the cupcakes. I’m sure the kids will…Oh, and your grandson likes chocolate that much? Yes, my daughter…” Gerry gave a rather weak laugh. “Oh, Mrs. Howard, you’re just so funny. Well, thank you for…Your nephew’s son eats too much chocolate too? How nice. Er, I mean, how unfortunate…. Oh, well, I’m glad he was okay. Anyway, thank you… Oh, and he gave some to the dog too.”

  Venus and Gerry both sighed and rolled their eyes at the same time. Venus leaned against the doorjamb.

  “Oh! I’m sorry, Mrs. Howard, I have to go… No, really, I have to go. I’m at work…. Yes, it was nice chatting with you too… I’m late for a meeting, have to run, bye!” Gerry slammed the phone down and smacked her head in her hands. “The woman drives me insane!”

  “How’d she get your direct line?”

  “Drake called her from my phone one time, and she collects phone numbers like normal people collect stamps or coins.” Her voice was muffled as she burrowed deeper in her hands.

  “Speaking of, where is Drake?”

  Gerry lifted her head and saw the dress.

  Venus’s throat tightened as the silence stretched. She suddenly realized she didn’t know how Gerry would feel about her decision. Well, it wasn’t her business.

  Gerry leaned back in her chair. “It’s about time.”

  Venus straightened. “What?”

  Gerry gave her a look. “Don’t be stupid.” She started writing on a piece of notepaper. “Here’s directions to his house.” She ripped off the sheet and handed it to Venus.

  “You’re…okay with this?”

  “Oh for goodness’ sake, you have to ask?”

  Gerry looked more irritated than thrilled to have Venus blatantly going after her brother, but Venus would take what she could get. She scanned the paper. “Where in the world does he live?”

  Gerry sighed and raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Booneyville.”

  Gerry was wrong. Booneyville was the more populated suburb of where Drake’s house actually lay.

  As she wound down Arastradero Road—were those horses on the side of the road???—she called Gerry “Are you sure he’s home? He’s not answering his cell phone.”

  “He just called me from his home phone.”

  “I think that’s Stirrup Road…It’s a dirt track!” She’d almost missed it. She swerved onto the road, then realized it climbed at a steep angle up the hill. Oh my gosh, she was going almost vertical! She gunned the engine until she shot over the summit and almost hit a property hedge.

  “Gerry, I am in the middle of nowhere.”

  Gerry laughed like Venus was the star of a comic standup night.

  “What?” Venus wove down the curving road. At least it was paved, probably paid for by the multi-million-dollar homes on each side. Drake lived here?

  “You think that’s the middle of nowhere? Venus, you’re still in Palo Alto.”

  “But…that’s a hawk flying there!”

  “Have you ever driven south of San Jose?”

  “Er… I think I went to Gilroy once.”

  Gerry made a disgusted noise. “Venus, you’re such a city girl.”

  “Don’t any of these houses have numbers?” She squinted at a curb, but there were no sloppy red and white numbers painted on these curbs.

  “It’s the one with the red, circular front door. You can’t miss it. I have to get to work, Venus. Bye.”

  Who the heck had a circular front door? What was he, a Hobbit?

  She slowed to a crawl. Some houses had their front doors obscured by trees and hedges—because obviously, in a community like this, privacy ranked higher than curb appeal. A Hummer roared up behind her and latched onto her bumper.

  For a second, the sight of it reminded her of Yardley’s Hummer, and she wondered if it really were him and that he’d run her off the road… No, it was someone else, a man with dark hair and expensive sunglasses. After a few yards, he pulled around her, jammed the accelerator, and shot off down the winding road like a NASCAR driver.

  She turned the corner of the road.

  Oh. My.

  The view spread out before her. Okay, that’s why he lived here. The land sloped downward to a lush valley, where a house or two stood regally isolated. Then the ground rose up in a forested area to the southwest, with houses dotting the ridge.

  There! She almost missed it because she was ogling the view. The landscaped front lawn area looked welcoming as it sloped downward, and large windows broke up the stucco walls of the house where it rose three stories. Drake’s car was no where to be seen, but maybe he’d parked it, oh, in the three-car garage. Imagine that.

  She coasted down the driveway, wondering if she’d set off any security alarms. Nope.

  Vigorous knocking on the very red, very round front door got her nada. Was he home? She peered through the round windows flanking the door, and had to angle herself in order to see through the spacious living room area to a back patio. Was that a thin plume of smoke? Barbeque grill?

  She crossed the driveway to the side of the house. Oh, man. The landscaping ended with the front lawn. He hadn’t yet done anything to the side, which had a dirt track. And she’d worn her strappy sandals with narrow heels.

  She tiptoed down the dirt to the backyard, trying not to touch her heels into the mud—otherwise, it would probably stick like a golf tee and she’d go tumbling. Ugh! She got mud in her toes.

  Apparently he had started lands
caping the backyard, because green lawn rose up on her right. The road sloped below the back patio level, so she looked for stairs or a rising path to get her up there.

  Suddenly, Cujo in the flesh came running at her, foaming at the mouth, eyes red like blood. She screamed and stepped back. Her heels sank into the mud up to the sole. Kicking out of them, she started backtracking. Mud sprayed up her calves.

  “Brutus!”

  The demon dog caught up with her. Jumped at her, saliva arcing through the air. Lethal claws landed on her shoulders.

  Ewwwww. Big slobbery tongue licked all the makeup off her face.

  She landed hard on her butt. In the mud. With Brutus on top of her. Apparently her makeup and her hairspray tasted good.

  “Drake!”

  At that point, she became aware of somebody laughing. Not just laughing—heaving and snorting and gasping for breath.

  Good, because it was going to be his last.

  Venus inhaled to loose another piercing shriek, but he forestalled her. “Brutus! Come.”

  Brutus hesitated, gave a last lick to her ear—ewewewew!—and trotted away, up a short path to the patio, just as she heard footsteps crunching through the gravel on the way down.

  She flipped a slobber-saturated lock of hair out of her eyes and squinted up at him. The sun was behind him, so she couldn’t be sure, but it looked like he was wiping away tears. “You are so dead.”

  He held out a hand, pulled her up and into his arms, and then kissed her.

  It would have been more romantic if she hadn’t still smelled Brutus’s halitosis slobber. She broke away reluctantly. “Oomvid offered me—”

  “I know.”

  He suddenly didn’t look so dashing and romantic. “How did you know?”

  “I called my father, who’s good friends with Dean, and he encouraged the board of directors to go ahead with what they were already considering.”

  “They were going to buy the Spiderweb and hire me anyway?”

  “They might have.” He released her but kept hold of her hand and led her up the path to the patio.

  Yuck, the backside of her dress stuck to her like a bathing suit.

  The spacious patio had a 180-degree uninhibited view, due in part to a narrow infinity pool that would be heaven to soak in while watching the sunset. She caught her breath as she reached the top, but she was quick to grab the bar towel Drake handed to her.

  “I knew you’d refused them when Gerry told me you were on the way here.”

  A perverse part of her didn’t like being so easy to get. “I could have been coming to tell you that I quit.”

  A smile quirked his mouth. “Gerry mentioned you wore a dress.”

  Drat.

  She scrubbed her face and tried to surreptitiously tug at her dress to remove it from her backside. She ignored Drake’s laughing look. “If you wanted me to stay, why did you call your father?”

  He sobered and looked away from her, scanned the trees on the horizon, the millionaires who lived there. “I wanted to give you a choice.”

  She stared at him. Actually, stared more at the mud streaks across his polo shirt and slacks, poor guy. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever done for me.”

  “You’re hard to please, Venus.”

  She smiled archly. “I know.”

  He reached out, grabbed her hand and held it, twining his fingers in hers, rubbing at dried flakes of mud with his thumb. “I’m glad you’re staying.”

  “I am too.” She slid her eyes to his and smiled. “Even though you don’t pay me enough.”

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thanks to:

  My editors, Sue Brower, Rachelle Gardner, and Becky Shingledecker, for being such an awesome team and making this book the best it can be.

  My agent, Wendy Lawton, for being my cheerleader and mentor.

  Diana and Steve Lee, for the, er, fascinating info about what pregnant Chinese women are supposed to eat. Also, huge thanks for helping me crash the Bananaville server.

  Stephanie Quilao, for your info on women gamers and startups, for your company ideas, and for being a sounding board. Venus and this book would not even exist without your help.

  Sarah Kim, for your info on startups, for great food, and even better wine.

  Pamela James, for helping me name everybody.

  Erin Kawaye, David Kawaye, and Randy Furuyama, for helping me find hapless victims to interview about video game development. Jon Okui and Chane Parker, for your invaluable help and letting me pick your brains.

  To my critique partners and proofreaders Robin Caroll, Sharon Hinck, Ronie Kendig, Dineen Miller, Trisha Ontiveros, MaryLu Tyndall, Katie Vorreiter, and Cheryl Wyatt, for catching every magically healed sprained ankle and every car that transforms into a truck two pages later.

  My church youth group and staff, for letting me cannibalize names, characters, and games for Venus’s youth group.

  The Seekerville ladies, for a good laugh and keeping me sane, as well as for more names when I was desperate.

  GLOSSARY OF ASIAN WORDS (CAMY STYLE)

  Azuki bean ice cream bar—(uh-zoo-key) (Japanese) Azuki beans or red beans are actually a common food throughout Asia, but the name azuki is Japanese. Red beans are often mixed with sugar to form a sweet dessert, sometimes as a soup (see tong sui below). I personally like azuki bean ice cream, which is sometimes sold as an ice cream bar like a creamsicle. Non-Asian people often think it’s kind of weird, since azuki is essentially a bean, and no one would make garbanzo bean ice cream or kidney bean ice cream.

  Bao yu—(bow [as in bow-wow]-you) (Cantonese) dried abalone, often used to flavor long-simmered soups.

  Cantonese—the dialect of southern China (as opposed to Mandarin, the dialect of northern China).

  Daikon radish—(die-cone) (Japanese) a plain white radish, very mild-flavored, which is probably why it’s often pickled into takuwan (below). They also shred raw daikon as a bed for sashimi (slices of raw fish) at Japanese restaurants.

  Gobo—(go-bow [as in bow and arrow]) the root of the Greater Burdock plant, often used in Japanese dishes. It’s usually braised or pickled, but however it’s prepared, I always think it tastes like flavored wood.

  Hibachi—(he-bah-chee) (Japanese) a cast iron barbeque grill, usually small and heavy. Dad made the best steaks with our hibachi filled with mesquite charcoal.

  Kanji—(con-gee) Chinese characters used in Japanese writing.

  Lop Cheong—(lop-chong) (Cantonese) pork sausage, usually slightly sweet, often used in fried rice dishes or rice pouches. Very fatty but very delish.

  Obon dances—(oh-bone) (Japanese) Buddhist festival of the dead. People will dance in a circle around a tower with musicians at the top. The dances are very repetitive and easy to learn, and it’s a fun, time-honored traditional festival. But sometimes the teenagers who attend will make it like a high school dance, complete with girls crying in the bathroom by the end of the night. Ahh, high school.

  Tako—(tah-koh) (Japanese) octopus. My dad, my uncles, and various neighbors always went spear fishing for tako and brought it home to eat. I only ever saw the small tako, not the massive ones you see on National Geographic. Grandma often made tako poke, which is an appetizer of boiled tako mixed with seaweed and sesame seeds, excellent when paired with beer.

  Takuwan—(tah-coup-won) (Japanese) white daikon radish that has been pickled. I’m not sure why, but it’s always radioactive yellow in color, like it’s going to cause cancer just by standing within five feet of it. However, my grandma’s takuwan was always just the right amount of sour and sweet, and I loved it.

  Tong sui—(tong-swee) (Cantonese) sweet soup made from red beans or sesame seeds, usually served as a dessert at the end of a meal. Some people find it strange, but I looooove this stuff, especially the black sesame seed soup, served warm.

  Tsukemono—(tah-kay-moh-noh) Japanese pickled vegetables. My grandmother usually made tsukemono with cabbage.

  Uni—(ooh-knee) (Japanese)
sea urchin. It’s sickly yellow, slimy, and the most disgusting sushi ever prepared on the planet. My father is one of the few people I know who likes uni, and he enjoys his uni sushi with relish when we go to Kabuki Japanese restaurant in Pearl City (Hawaii).

  Vietnamese iced coffee—Super strong coffee, dripped into condensed milk, then poured over ice. Major yum.

  White Rabbit milk candy—This isn’t really an Asian word, but it’s an Asian candy that people might not be familiar with. It’s similar to taffy, except it’s white and packaged in smaller pieces than taffy. There is a big white rabbit on the package. I used to eat these like crazy all through school and into my twenties, until the sugar started rotting my teeth.

  Sushi for One?

  Camy Tang

  “Sushi for One? is an entertaining romp into the world of multi-culturalism. I loved learning the idiosyncrasies of Lex’s crazy family—which were completely universal. Enjoy!”

  —Kristen Billerbeck, author of What a Girl Wants.

  “In Lex Sakai, Camy Tang gives us a funny, plucky, volleyball-playing heroine with way too many balls in the air. I defy anyone to start reading and not root for Lex all the way to the story’s romantic, super-satisfying end.”

  —Trish Perry, author of The Guy I’m Not Dating

  Lex Sakai’s family is big, nosy, and marriage-minded. When her cousin Mariko gets married, Lex will become the oldest single female cousin in the clan.

  Lex has used her Bible study class on Ephesians to compile a huge list of traits for the perfect man. But the one man she keeps running into doesn’t seem to have a single quality on her list. It’s only when the always-in-control Lex starts to let God take over that all the pieces of this hilarious romance finally fall into place.

  Softcover: 978-0-310-27398-1

  Only Uni

  Camy Tang,

  Author of Sushi for One?

  Senior bologst Trsh Sakai is ready for a change from her wild, flirtatious behavior. So Trish creates three simple rules from First and Second Corinthians and plans to follow them to the letter. No more looking at men as possible dates, especially non-Christians. Second, tell others about Christ. And third, she will persevere in hardship by relying on God. And just to make sure she behaves, she enlists the help of her three cousins, Lex, Venus and Jennifer, the only Christians in their large extended family.