Finding Fortune

by Caroline Lee

  Because she had green eyes.

  PohPo had always told him how lucky green eyes were in the Chinese culture, and how incredibly rare.

  “Great fortune” she’d said when he’d asked. “Much luck.”

  He’d actually never met anyone with green eyes before, but now the loveliest pair were sparkling down at him.

  Maybe Steven is on to something. Maybe he’s not so horrible.

  “Well, Lin, I’m looking forward to trying the shrimp, so thank you. But before you go, this is my partner and friend, Brandon Chin.”

  I take that back. He’s horrible. Completely horrible.

  Brandon blinked at his friend, sitting there across the table with his hand out mid-introduction. Had Steven really just thrown him under the bus like that? He was looking at Brandon all expectantly, as if Brandon was going to sweep Lin off her feet any moment. Instead, Brandon scowled.

  At least, he did up until the moment Lin chuckled again. “Nice to meet you, Brandon. I’m Lin Dryden.”

  She was standing there with her hand out, so Brandon did the only thing he could do. He took it, and completely forgot about shaking it. Between the twinkle in her green eyes, and the warmth that spread up his arm from her touch, he couldn’t do anything but stare.

  So she was the one who shook his hand a little, and she was the one to drop it.

  “Well,” she said with another little awkward chuckle, “let me know if you need anything else.”

  “Go on a date with me,” Brandon blurted out before he could think better of it. Then he winced. Way to go, man.

  He felt even worse, when he saw her expression go carefully blank. The sparkle left her eyes, and her smile seemed overly cheerful, obviously fake.

  “Sorry, Mr. Chin. I don’t date customers.”

  As she hurried back to the kitchen, Brandon let his forehead fall to the table, narrowly missing a heaping platter of dumplings. Why had he made a fool of himself that way?

  “Buck up, man,” Steven said from the other side of the booth, already shoveling creamy shrimp onto his plate. “Maybe she wasn’t the girl for you. But don’t worry, the right one’s out there.”

  Yeah, out there where I least expect it. Brandon let his forehead fall to the table one more time.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “When you rush like that, you make mistakes. A wise man is never in a hurry.”

  Lin scowled across the commercial kitchen at her boss, Mr. Lee, who was placidly washing dishes in front of the huge sink. The old Chinese man had taken her under his wing years ago, and she loved him like a grandfather…but he could be annoying sometimes.

  “A wise woman knows she has to hurry and clean up after the rest of the world if she wants any rest!”

  “Just don’t drop any of my noodles again, girl.”

  She ignored him and focused on scooping the leftover lo mein out of the large pot and into one of the plastic containers she’d brought from her apartment. Part of the evening cleaning up process meant she could divide the leftovers between herself and the old man. José and Jared had already taken their shares when they left, so she scooped the bulk of the noodles into Mr. Lee’s container.

  “I swear, I spilled three noodles on the floor once seven years ago, and I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  “You spilled that day because you were rushing. You are always rushing.”

  To keep up with you. Mr. Lee had to be well over seventy, but he was still going strong. “Slow and steady wins the race, huh?”

  “A fool in a hurry drinks tea with a fork.”

  A startled laugh burst out of her. “What does that even mean? Who said that?” Lin locked the Tupperware and plopped the noodle pot onto the pile of dishes waiting to be washed. “Did Confucius say that, or is that one of your own proverbs?”

  He nodded solemnly. “Much wisdom in ancient Chinese proverb.”

  Lin scoffed as she gently bumped him with her hip. He only used his “old Chinese man” voice when he was trying to make a point…or when he was teasing her. “Go make some tea, old man. I’ll finish the dishes.”

  “Old man?” Mr. Lee repeated indignantly…though the insult didn’t keep him from abandoning his post in front of the big sink. He dried his hands on a towel as he hobbled over to the tea set he kept tucked away behind the stove.

  She watched from the corner of her eye as he put the kettle on to boil with efficient motions, then eased down into a chair at the small table kept in the back for their breaks. He sighed heavily.

  “Maybe I am an old man,” he said wearily.

  It was his quiet acceptance which worried her the most. She’d always teased him, calling him “Grandfather” in his native Cantonese, and he’d always teased her, by asking her out dancing and skiing and other impossibly energetic activities. But he’d never seemed truly old until tonight.

  “What is it, GungGung?” She kept up her soaping and rinsing, glad she’d taken the time to find the gloves to protect her hands from the scalding water. But her attention wasn’t on the dishes as much as it was on him.

  He sighed again, and she didn’t think he would answer after several long moments went by. In the past, he’d always been there for her when she needed to talk about her problems, but she only just now realized he rarely spoke of his own problems. Did that make her a bad friend, the fact she hadn’t pushed him to share more of himself with her?

  She bit her lip, and watched him stare at the tabletop. When the kettle whistled, he pushed away from the table, then, reached the stove with hobbling steps to make his usual cup of green tea. Like everything he did, he gave all of his attention to the careful measurement of tea leaves. He sure was particular about his tea.

  It wasn’t until he was seated again, the bowl-shaped teacup before him, when he finally spoke. This time, however, he sounded a little more upbeat. “There is no problem quite so large, nothing quite so terrible, that it cannot be helped by a nice cup of tea.”

  Well, that had certainly been his motto for a while. Lin hid her smile. “Did Confucius say that too?”

  “No, girl. That was a Mr. Lee original proverb. You may write it down.”

  “I’m considering compiling a quote-a-day calendar with all the ridiculous things you say, GungGung. Maybe we can sell it up front to our customers.”

  “That is not a terrible idea.” He inhaled the fragrant steam from his teacup. “Perhaps it will be the thing which saves the restaurant.”

  Lin’s heart ached a little bit as she reached for the large noodle pot and began scrubbing. Mr. Lee had arrived in Riston twenty years ago with his son, who had taken a position at the hospital. The old man had poured all of his retirement money into purchasing and opening a Chinese restaurant. And after his son transferred back to Denver, Mr. Lee had stayed behind. The Golden Palace had been a fixture of Riston for as long as Lin could remember, and she hated to think it might be failing. Though even she had noticed most of their orders these days were for take out, and even those were fewer than they were last year. Maybe that new restaurant and pub—Flynn’s?—down the street was stealing some of their business.

  Or maybe people just weren’t interested in the same old Chinese menu.

  One thought led to another, and soon she was thinking about Mr. Brandon Chin. When she’d seen him standing by the hostess stand today, Lin’s stomach had given a little flip. He’d been smiling at his friend, and seemed to exude a brightness Lin hadn’t expected. His hair had been messy from his hat, but his dark eyes had sparkled even from across the restaurant. And he had dimples! As her sister Toni always said, dimples on a man meant he smiled a lot, and smiling was super-important.

  And not only that, but he had made Mr. Lee smile when she reported Brandon’s order back to the kitchen. Most of the food on The Golden Palace’s menu was familiar…and kind of boring. Brandon’s order hadn’t really been from a secret menu, but it had challenged Mr. Lee, and that made him smile.

  And Lin could’ve hugged Brandon for that…ri
ght up until he’d asked her on a date, anyway.

  Oh, she’d been asked on dates by plenty of customers before, which is why she had a policy against it. Being a Chinese waitress in a Chinese restaurant meant she’d heard all the jokes, and was used to guys flirting. But to discover that Mr. Brandon Chin was just like the rest of those guys… Well, it had been a little disappointing.

  Dimples weren’t that special, she told herself.

  “I know why I am quiet,” Mr. Lee began, “I am old, and tired. Your bones are young, and you had a reason to smile earlier today at least. Surely being elbow deep in dirty water is not the reason for your silence now?”

  Lin smiled softly at the old man’s teasing. “I was just thinking about the restaurant.” Not completely a lie. “I was wondering if there was something I could do to help.”

  “The new year is coming up fast. It would be nice to do something special, something to revitalize the restaurant, and my old bones.”

  New year? But… It took a moment for Lin to realize he hadn’t meant January first, but the lunar new year. Chinese New Year was the second new moon after the winter solstice, and it usually fell between late January and mid-February. As soon as she finished these dishes and pulled her gloves off, she would look up the date on Google. She remembered Mr. Lee mentioning it in years past, but he’d never done much to celebrate. At least not with her. She wondered if, all this time, he’d been celebrating quietly alone.

  “Well…” She rinsed off the last dish, and propped her hip against the sink as she pulled the gloves off. “What should we do to celebrate, GungGung?”

  He twisted in his seat, his brows raised in surprise. “You wish to celebrate the New Year with me?”

  She shrugged. “Of course!”

  Mr. Lee wasn’t just her employer, but her friend. He’d always been there for her when she needed someone to talk to, just like he’d been there for so many others. It was a shame his restaurant was failing.

  Inspiration struck, and she slowly straightened as an idea burst into her head. “In fact, let’s invite everyone to celebrate. We could have a special dinner at the restaurant that night!”

  She pulled her phone out of her back pocket, and began frantically Googling. “This year, Chinese new year is February sixteenth,” she read aloud. “That’s a Friday! That’s perfect!”

  She glanced up at Mr. Lee, who looked intrigued. At least, he was sitting straighter and looking less tired. Maybe her idea would invigorate him again.

  “What if we had a special menu that night? Something limited, so you didn’t have to work too hard, but a little different.” Apparently unable to stop thinking about Brandon, she said, “Like walnut shrimp. Those guests today seemed to like it a lot.”

  “Hmmm…” Mr. Lee tapped his finger against his tea cup. “That is a good idea, girl. You have something in your head besides fluff after all.”

  Lin gave an elaborate bow, not bothering to hide her grin. “I live to serve, GungGung.”

  “The lunar new year is an important holiday in my—in our—culture. It would be nice to share that with my friends and neighbors.”

  It wasn’t the first time Mr. Lee had softly chided her for not knowing more about the culture of her birth. But since Lin couldn’t do anything about it, she waved away his words.

  “And I’ll bet they would all really enjoy learning more about that culture. I’d love to help you share it.”

  His wrinkles seemed to multiply when he smiled. “Good. We will have to work hard. It is no use having a special dinner, and a special menu for a special holiday, if no one knows about it.”

  “Well then, you take care of the menu, and I’ll find a way to spread the word. We need to get as many people to come to the restaurant that night as we can.” But one night of good sales wasn’t going to change everything. “And whichever menu items are most popular, we can add to the regular menu.” She was beginning to get excited as the idea took hold. “We could begin to serve more authentic dishes, and the people who come for New Year will tell their friends…”

  “This is a good idea, Lin.” Mr. Lee hefted himself to his feet, groaning a little at the effort. “I am proud that you care enough about me and the restaurant to help me save it.”

  He held open his arms, as he had done for so many years. And, just as she’d done for so many years, Lin stepped into his embrace.

  ”I’m happy to help,” she said softly, a little embarrassed by the compliment.

  “I might not tell you often, girl,” the old man said gruffly as he patted her back, “but I am not altogether displeased with you.”

  She smiled against his shoulder. “I love you too, GungGung.”

  “Now, go.” He gave her little push towards the back door. “Go watch TV, or your Internet movies, or whatever it is you young people do at night. Don’t forget your Tupperware. And bundle up!”

  “Yes, GungGung,” Lin said, smiling as she reached for her jacket. “Don’t stay up too late!”

  The old man lived in the small apartment above the restaurant, and Lin was grateful he didn’t have far to go once he finished working. As Lin turned to close the door, she saw he’d poured himself another cup of tea, and was sitting down at the table with a pad of paper to make lists for the upcoming holiday, if his rather excited mumbles were anything to go by.

  Luckily, her apartment wasn’t too far away either, which was actually the reason she’d chosen it when she finally made the decision to move out of the family ranch to be closer to her job. At that point—almost ten years ago now—Mr. Lee had made it clear he depended on her. She loved being in downtown Riston, and never regretted the move.

  Once home, and just as she was stripping out of her overcoat and gloves, her phone buzzed. Juggling her purse and the Tupperware, she pulled it out to check the display.

  Sure enough, it was a message from Toni: Can you chat?

  Lin smiled. Of course her sister would know when Lin needed her.

  She didn’t bother texting back, but divested herself of the outerwear as quickly as possible, and flopped down on the couch with the still warm lo mein in her hands. She pulled up Skype on her laptop while she opened one of those cheap take-out cutlery packages from the restaurant.

  “Hey there, Lin-Lin!” Toni’s smiling face came through with only a little delay. When she leaned away from the camera, it was obvious she was getting ready to begin her day. She had on a pair of those high-tech silk longjohns, and was cradling a cup of coffee as she sat cross-legged in a cozy chair.

  Leave it to Toni to be this cheerful first thing in the morning.

  “Hi, Toni,” Lin said wearily. “Thanks for texting.”

  “No prob!” Lin’s sister shrugged. “I had a dream last night that you needed to talk, so I wanted to check on you.”

  Toni didn’t wake up early and call from the other side of the world just to hear about problems with the restaurant, so Lin forced a smile. “Sure I did! I want to hear all about your new job. How’s it going?”

  When Toni turned her head to look at something off-screen, her blonde hair brushed against the top of her ears. It was a joke in the family that the two daughters kept their hair cut short, whereas their brother Eric wore his long. Lin wore hers in the same cut she had for years, but Toni’s was a leftover from her two tours in Afghanistan.

  Apparently satisfied no one was listening, Toni leaned forward conspiratorially. “The job hasn’t changed since last time we talked, but I tell you, Lin…he is so darn hot!”

  “Who? Your boss?”

  “All of them!” Toni leaned back again and pulled her coffee mug up in front of her twinkling blue eyes. “An entire family of super-hot princes, Lin-Lin!” It’s like living in a real-life fairy tale! They all live in a real palace, and drive sports cars, and most of them are real sweethearts.”

  “Hmmmm…” Lin swallowed her bite of lo mein. “Most of them? How about your boss?”

  Toni grimaced a little. “Well…he’s hot at least.”<
br />
  After she’d retired from the military, Lin’s sister had hooked up with a private security firm. One recommendation led to another, and now she was playing bodyguard to some royal family over in the Baltic. It seemed almost serendipitous, seeing as how their parents had adopted her from Russia.

  Before Lin could ask about the obvious issues Toni was having with her boss, her sister changed the subject.

  “But how about you, Lin-Lin? Anybody hot in your life right now?”

  Involuntarily, Lin thought about Brandon’s smile earlier that day at lunch, and she blushed. And she knew she blushed when her sister gasped and leaned closer to the camera again.

  “What aren’t you telling me? There is a hot guy in your life?”

  “No! No,” Lin denied as she shoved a bunch of noodles in her mouth. Maybe if her mouth was full, she could stop making a fool of herself over some guy she didn’t know.

  “Lin Dryden,” Toni said in her drill-sergeant voice, “you tell me what’s going on right now!”

  Apparently not.

  She sighed and swallowed. “I maybe got asked out today by a guy with dimples.”

  “Dimples!” Toni squealed in her coffee. “Dimples are the best! So when are you going out?”

  Lin feigned interest in her noodles; she couldn’t look her sister in the eyes when she told the truth. “We’re not. I turned him down,” she mumbled.

  “Why?” Toni’s question wasn’t accusing, but it was up to sisters to understand each other.

  Lin shrugged. “I always say no when a customer asks me out, but…”

  “But…this guy might’ve been different and you’re regretting it now?” Toni finished softly.

  Lin looked up. From halfway across the world, blue eyes stared into green, and Lin knew her sister understood. She nodded sadly.

  “Yeah. Yeah, I think he could’ve been special,” she said, remembering his smile.