The Black Lotus - FINAL

Lynnette wrinkled her nose as the powerful smell of herbs and spices permeated from The Golden Palace restaurant. “You’re serious.” She stated, as she waved away the smells with her hand. An hour earlier they had been sitting in a Starbucks chatting it up when Daniel had popped the question. No, not that question. That wasn’t his cup of tea anyhow.
Daniel grinned from where he stood at the entrance of the restaurant, his hands in the pockets of his baggy jeans. Why doesn’t he bother to wear pants that actually fit him? She could see his plaid boxers peeking out from above his worn belt.
“I don’t think—“
“C’mon. You promised you’d take a look.”
“I’m looking, Danny, and I don’t like what I see.” How could she? The sign above the door was tilted at an odd angle, and if it weren’t for the sill above the door she’d be afraid of it falling and crushing her.
“You haven’t even stepped inside.” He locked Lynnette in a stare until she reluctantly stepped over the well-trampled welcome mat and inside.
“There. I’m inside. Happy now?”
“Well?”
“Well what?”
“What do you think?”
Her eyes trailed over the red carpet and the peeling ‘golden’ paint on the walls. The round tables were covered in red table cloth, some with obvious stains. Lynnette couldn’t imagine why the owner thought he could still use them. “It’s a dump, Danny. No wonder Uncle Lao is selling it to you cheap.”
“It just needs some good ol’ TLC, Lynn. We’ll clean ‘er up. Reese said he’ll help, and Stephen too.”
“Reese is meant to be in front of a computer and Stephen’s still got exams. You know how Stephen is about college. He’s more serious than the both of us were. Besides, they aren’t gonna help in the kitchen. Even if you guys manage to get this dump to look nice, a restaurants soul is the food that comes outta it.”
“See! That’s why it’s gotta be you, Lynn.” Daniel moved his hands within his pockets, but didn’t bother to take them out.
“Danny—“
“It’s gotta be you, Lynn. C’mon, we’ve always told you you’d be a great cook.”
“Cooking for friends and family is different, Danny.”
“No it ain’t.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Naw, naw, naw. It ain’t different, and you know it.” He took his right hand from his pocket and pointed at her, wiggling his pointer-finger to make a point. Lynnette’s eyes were drawn to the thick silver ring on the wiggling finger.
She glanced at the wall behind him, eyeing the cracks in the paint.
“You need a new job, right? Why not do this?” He added in a softer voice, putting his hand back into his pocket. He turned away from her and stepped farther into the restaurant. He added in a louder voice, “You can cook what you want. Reese, Stephen, and I’ll take care of fixing up the place.”
He had to bring it up. Her job as a secretary in the office of an up-and-coming real-estate company wasn’t cut out for her, especially the pay she was getting for the amount of work she slaved over day-in and day-out. Lynnette sighed and put her hands in her pockets, then looked around the restaurant once more. It’d be a lot of work, even for those three. She knew it. She didn’t even know what she’d put on the menu. She couldn’t help but think of what it would be like to come to work to Daniel’s smiling face. Lynnette blushed lightly and quietly said, “Okay.” Daniel spun around, his eyes lighting up. “Yeah?”
Lynnette nodded. “Yeah. I’ll do it.”
He clapped his hands onto her shoulders. “You won’t regret this.” Daniel said, smiling broadly.
“I better not.”
“Don’t look at me like that. I’ll take care of everything. You’ll see. This place is gonna be great.”
+++
“Why you ask for money again, huh?” Auntie Ling said as she scooped steaming white rice onto her plate. Lynnette ignored her and placed a plate of steamed vegetables at the center of the table. Auntie Ling glared at Lynnette and complained in Mandarin. Sometimes Lynnette regretted being able to understand everything her Aunt said in Mandarin. She started speaking in English, which at times seemed even more insulting than when she spoke in her native Mandarin. “You always come ask for money. What, you no like work?”
“Mei-mei.” Lynnette’s mother said softly, yet firmly, to her younger sister. “Lynn works hard. Jobs are hard to find.” She added slowly, still pronouncing her r’s as though they didn’t really exist. Lynnette smiled graciously to her mother as she sat down beside her. Her mother gently gripped her hand. “I think it’s a wonderful idea. Lynn loves to cook.”
“You know she can’t cook as good as others in Chinatown.” Auntie Ling said loudly as she waved her arm in the air, the thin metal bracelets around her wrist clinking with every motion.
Lynnette’s mother smiled knowingly and took her chopsticks with her left hand. “Mei-mei. You complain, yet only visit when Lynn comes home to cook.” Still smiling, she took the platter of Barbequed Pork and placed a few thinly sliced pieces onto her plate.
Auntie Ling rolled her eyes and placed steamed Bok Choy onto her plate without meeting her sister or her niece’s gaze. “Who will want your daughter if she cannot cook?  I only looking out for her best interests.”
Mimicking her aunt, Lynnette rolled her eyes and smiled as she shoveled food onto her plate. Her mother laughed and the three settled into their meal.
+++
“You’ll take care of everything, huh?” Lynnette wiped sweat from her brow as she took a water bottle and drank down half of it. Her black tank was clinging to her chest and back. Why is it so hot today, of all days?
Daniel looked up at her from where he lay on the floor, covered in sweat and splotches of drying white paint. His ring sat on his chest, a thin silver chain holding it about his throat. The previously red T-shirt he wore had become frayed along the edges and a hole had torn open from when Reese had once caught him in tag-football. “Well—“
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” She said as she capped the bottle. “I should’ve known.”
“Not like you were doing anything anyway, Lynn.” Reese said, turning from where he stood atop a ladder in the corner. She glared at him and he smiled and then went back to wiring a speaker into the wall. “What’s so hard about writing up a menu? Not like you’re writing it old-school with a brush an’ shit. Just type something up.”
Stephen wiped his normally paper-white hands with a blackened rag as he stepped out of the kitchen. “He’s got a point, Lynn. Just put down what you normally cook. It’ll be fine.” He leaned against the doorway to the kitchen, his face stoic and emotionless as always.
Daniel pulled his knees toward his chest and then thrust them forward, rolling onto his feet. He stood and pointed his usually ringed finger dramatically at Stephen. Stephen arched an eyebrow at him, which was as far as his face ever got to an expression. His face was made for it.
“Plus something special, of course.” Reese added as he hammered a nail into the wall, oblivious to Daniel’s acrobatics. “Places like these always gotta have some sorta’ house special.”
“Wrong!” Daniel said. “’A restaurants soul is the food that comes outta it.’ Lynn said so. She knows better than any of us.” He grinned and Lynnette blushed in embarrassment. Daniel was having one of his interesting moments. He said it was his way of standing up for her honor.
“Hey, I’m only here to get the sound system and other technical shit going.” Reese said. “I’m not taking part in cooking. That’s your department.” He shook the hammer at them as he peered over his black thick-rimmed glasses.
“I’d shoot myself before I try any of your cooking.” Lynnette said taking a drink from her water bottle. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Hey, Daniel? What’re we calling this place anyway?”
Daniel let his hand drop back down to his side and smiled. “That’s your job.”
She blinked. “What?”
“Something wrong?”
“You never told me I’d be naming this place!”
Stephen stuffed the dirty rag into his pants pocket and said, “If you’re creating the ‘soul’ of this restaurant, then you’ll know it best. You’ll know what to name it.” Stephen, unlike Reese, always kept what he said to a minimum.
+++
It couldn’t be anything like “The Golden Palace”, Lynnette knew that far too well. She wanted something different, something not so typical. Restaurants like “The Golden Palace” were too common. It was the restaurant equivalent of “Jennifer”. Too common and stereotypical. There were six Jennifers in her cell phone contact list alone, four of whom were Chinese.
+++
For the next couple of weeks she cycled through all her recipe books and tried each dish, noting their flavors and adding notes as she added new ingredients. She’d try them on her mom, Auntie Ling, various other relatives who came for the free meal, and the three guys. Each person added their honest opinions, though Reese only asked for seconds or complained about the spiciness. She wrote down everything and took each comment to heart, even the spiciness. Such a wide variety of palettes!
As construction on the restaurant progressed, so did the menu steadily, and at first with great difficulty. She knew that there would be others just like Reese, who couldn’t take spicy foods. Each dish he rejected, she noted and as she wrote up the menu she added a small chili, just as she had seen in other restaurants before. Such a good idea.
+++
She blew gently onto the spoon, steam swirling out in front of her. When she had blown enough, she gingerly sipped the thick rusty brown soup. She added more pepper.
“Lynnette.”
Lynnette jumped, dropping the spoon onto the counter. She spun around. “Oh! Auntie Ling! You scared me.” She picked up the spoon, set it in the sink and wet a rag to wipe up the rusty smear that tainted the white-tiled counter-top.
“Sorry. I did not mean to.” Auntie Ling said softly, her hands rolling an already rolled sheet of paper tightly as though wringing a piece of cloth. She took a step forward as Lynnette ran the dirty rag under the tap and wrung out the water. “Lynnette.”
“I hope you don’t mind trying my sweet and sour soup tonight, Auntie.”
Auntie Ling approached the counter and placed the rolled piece of paper on top of it. As if rid of something weighing her down she said in her usual loud and proud voice, “It won’t be as good as my daughter-in-law’s soup.”
“Nothing ever is.” Lynnette laughed, too used to her Aunt’s antics. “So what’s that sheet of paper, Auntie?”
Her aunt crossed her arms and put on her proud face. “It is a recipe.”
Lynnette turned. “A recipe?” Her hand darted out and grabbed the rolled sheet, quickly, almost impatiently, unrolling it and skimming over hand-written Chinese characters that detailed the ingredients. “Hunan Beef… Auntie, is this--?”
Auntie Ling nodded.
Lynnette slapped her forehead with her palm. “I knew it! I always knew there was something weird about the spices!” She read over the recipe again and then folded it and put it in her rear jeans pocket. “Chilies! Why didn’t I think of it sooner?” She shook her head. “Thanks so much, Auntie. I’ll make it the house special at the restaurant. Is that okay?”
Auntie Ling remained quiet. Concerned, Lynnette turned around. “Auntie? You okay?”
She had a hand over her mouth, her eyes downcast. After a moment she seemed to recompose herself and placed her hand back onto her elbow, reassuming the crossed position. “My daughter-in-law did not notice.”
“Auntie?” Lynnette’s brows furrowed. Confused and worried, she placed a hand hesitantly on her aunt’s shoulder. She felt her trembling. “What’s wrong?”
The older woman took a deep breath. “I from Shandong. Before I come here, I went to Hunan. Nice woman give me this recipe. Whenever I make, Uncle love it.” Lynnette nodded and thought of her Uncle and her cousin, Vincent, along with his wife, Auntie Ling’s infamous daughter-in-law. “I gave recipe to my daughter-in-law. She never noticed chilies. She only copy. But when you eat it, you say ‘What this funny taste? Is good!’”
That was years ago. How old was I? Ten? Lynnette had asked her mom to make the same dish the next night, but Auntie Ling wouldn’t part with it. Deep in thought, she didn’t realize that Auntie Ling was watching her.
“What I talking about? That long time ago.” Auntie Ling said, waving her hand about as though waving away the memory. “Bring soup. We hungry.”
Lynnette nodded and picked out bowls from the cupboards as Auntie Ling’s slippers scraped and flopped over the tiled flooring. She listened to the scrapes and flops until she heard her aunt and her mother speaking in Mandarin in the next room as though she hadn’t just poured her heart out to her. Typical Auntie Ling. She took a ladle into her right hand and a bowl in her left; she ladled soup into each of the three bowls and took them out to the next room.
+++
“Still can’t come up with a name?”
Lynnette shook her head and fiddled with the loop earring on her right ear. She and Daniel dodged people on the crowded sidewalk as they made their way to the restaurant from a distant parking lot. It was lunch time and parking was hard to come by on the streets. Three dollars later they’d caught a stall in a lot farther from the restaurant than they had wanted, but parking was parking, at least until the paper-work was finished so they could freely use their designated parking lot. “Sorry I took so long back at my place.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Daniel said, hopping off the curb temporarily as he passed a couple. “I came last minute. I should’a called first.”
They came to a stop at the very edge of a corner and waited for the light to change. He glanced at his watch and Lynnette peeked at the clock face. “Let’s go.” Daniel said abruptly, grabbing her hand and tugging her to the left, where the red hand was flashing. The cool metal of his ring pressed against her palm. She nearly tripped over her feet as they jogged across and, almost immediately, crossed the street again in their original direction.
“Where’re we going?” She asked as she followed behind him awkwardly in a mixture between walking and jogging. “We’re on the wrong side of the street, Danny.”
“Just a little farther.” He called back to her as he led her across a stone courtyard toward a large fountain and sat down. He didn’t let go of her hand until she sat beside him on the hot stone encircling the fountain.
Silence. Lynnette looked first at Daniel, who was leaning back onto his hands and staring into the branches of a nearby tree, and then back toward the street. They were no more than 50 feet away from the street, but already the noise had died down. She glanced at her watch. “So… why are we here?”
Daniel took a deep breath and closed his eyes, exhaling through slightly parted lips. Lynnette couldn’t help but stare at them, her own lips parting on their own. A light breeze ruffled through their hair and tickled Lynnette’s cheek with water from the fountain. She whispered. “It’s nice here.”
“Yup.”
“So why—?”
“I thought you’d need some inspiration.” Daniel said with a smile. “I came here when I first had the idea to start the restaurant.” He opened his eyes and stared off into the trees, but Lynnette felt as though he weren’t really looking at the trees. “I really want this place to work.”
“Yeah.” Lynnette said, resting her cheek against her shoulder. “I do too.” Her eyes followed the wind rustling through the trees and watched as flowers shook loose from the branches. They floated close to the fountain and one fell into the water, bobbing up and down on the ripples. It floundered beneath the rushing water and trickled down to the base of the fountain.
When she looked up Daniel was watching her. Embarrassed, she looked down at the flower again and then to the street. “We should get going.”
Silence, and then. “Don’t run away, Lynn.”
She parted her lips, but couldn’t think of what to say and closed her mouth. In the seven years she’d known him, she’d never seen him looking so serious. He looked away and stared down at the ground. Was he staring down at his beat up sneakers? Or was he staring at the steadily growing hole in his jeans that blossomed across his left knee?
“When we were in high school, you wanted to go into Physics just like your old man.”
Lynnette nodded her head slowly. Daniel continued.
“But when we got to college, you went from Physics, to Econ, to English.”
“But Phys—“
“I know, Lynn. It was hard for you. ‘It’s so hard, Danny. Dad makes it look so easy.’” His face hardened and Lynnette remembered coming to his dormitory room after she had stared blankly at her Physics midterm and then hastily filled in answers when the teacher told them they had five minutes to finish. She had failed it miserably with only one question out of twelve right.
“I looked like shit that day.” Lynnette said as she laughed to herself, a smile tracing over her lips briefly. It was in the past. She didn’t care about it anymore. Not really.
Daniel’s hand touched hers. “I’m really glad you’re helping me with the restaurant.”
Lynnette blushed and quickly looked up at the clouds as if she hadn’t been fazed by the cool feeling of his long fingers over hers. “What are friends for, right?”
“You are going to stay on until the end, right? You’re not going to flake on me, right?”
“Oh course I will!” she said, looking at him with surprise apparent on her face. “I would never flake on you, Danny. I could never.”
Daniel scooted closer to her, and for a moment Lynnette felt her heart leap up into her throat until she somehow managed to swallow it back down. “I—I didn’t ask you just because you’re my friend or because you can cook.”
“Oh?” Her heart raced. She couldn’t look at him. She felt his hot breath trace over her exposed neck; felt the heat of his body as he leaned closer to her. The heat dissipated as he retreated and put both of his hands onto his knees. Was I supposed to say more?
Unconsciously he spun his ring about his finger, exposing the tan-line he had from years of wearing it in the same place, the skin white from the lack of sun exposure. When she had given it to him back in high school, he had promised to wear it always. She couldn’t help but smile as she remembered the look on his face and how his smile had made her heart flutter; how drawing up the courage to give it to him had made her quiver. How long had she been holding in her feelings for him? She thought about the first time they had spoken after she had spent a week staring at him from the corner of her eye in their high school chemistry class. It had all been by chance that his lab partner and hers had been sick. It had all been just a coincidence that they liked the same music; that they were able to spend hours talking to each other about nothing, and yet everything, on the phone.
‘Don’t run away, Lynn.’
Her lower lip quivered; she bit down on it. He heart leapt into her throat again.
“D-Danny,” She whispered, barely able to find her voice. He turned to her and their eyes met. “I—I love you. I’ve loved you since high school. There, I’ve said it.” She crossed her arms and looked away as she hoped beyond hope that she had been reading him correctly. “Now I can’t run away from it.”
Daniel smiled and kissed her cheek. “I love you too.”
+++
“Still thinking?”
Lynnette palmed her cheek and nodded her head. “I don’t know what to do, ma. The restaurant is almost done. We need to order the sign soon so it’ll be ready in time and I don’t know what it’s gonna be.”
“But you made the menu?”
Lynnette nodded and toyed with a stray flower petal on the table. Her mother had made the dozen white roses the dining room centerpiece, a gift from her father as a part of their anniversary present. She had often thought ‘If only my skin were as smooth as this rose petal’ when she was a child. She smiled and held it up to examine it in the light.
“Oh!” Her mother nearly squeaked. “The flower.”
“Flower?”
“Yes. I just remembered.”
Lynnette put the petal down. Her brow furrowed. “Remembered what?”
Her mother smiled. “You’ll see.” She stood and disappeared into her bedroom. Lynnette leaned forward onto the table to watch her mother in the bedroom. A few moments later her mother returned with a silver chain dangling between her two hands. “Here.” Her mother stretched out her hands and Lynnette reached out a hand.
The silver chain fell into her open palm, a silver pendant falling harder than the chain. Lynnette flipped the pendant over and saw that it was more black than silver from what looked like years of neglect. It was a Lotus blossom. A Lotus blossom blackened from a thick layer of tarnish.
“My mother gave this to me when I married your father.” Her mother said as she sat back in her chair. “I tried to clean it for you, but it is very stubborn.”
Lynnette smiled as she traced a finger over the blackened silver petals. “It’s beautiful.”
“Yes. I think so too.” Her mother said with a smile. “I want you to have it.”
“Oh, ma.” Lynnette whispered. “I couldn’t.”
“No, no. Take it. For luck.”
“But—“
“No ‘but’. I want you to have it.” Her mother reached over and closed Lynnette’s fingers over the pendant. “I stopped wearing it when your grandmother died. I clean it more—“
“No, no. I… I kinda’ like it this way.” Lynnette said quietly, opening her fingers and peeking at the blackened silver flower. She tilted it this way and that, watching as light played on areas where the tarnish had been cleaned off. Finally she took the ends of the chain between her fingers and fastened them together behind her neck. The metal was still cool.
Her mother smiled. “It looks wonderful on you. It look even nicer when it is clean.”
Lynnette nodded, tracing her fingers over the flower once more. “Ma.”
“Hmm?”
“I think I know what I’m going to name the restaurant.”
+++
“The Black Lotus?” Reese looked up from the freshly printed menu and stared at Lynnette. “Where the hell did you come up with that?”
“What, you don’t like it?”
“No. No, it’s not like that.” He looked over the menu again. “It’s pretty cool, for a noob.”
Lynnette rolled her eyes. “Don’t call me a noob. This isn’t Warcraft. Get a life and get away from your computer, you nerd.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” Reese retorted, his eyes smiling over the menu and behind his thick-rimmed glasses. It was always easy to tell when he was smiling.
Daniel flipped over the menu and, staring at the last entry, wrapped an arm around Lynnette’s shoulder. “What’s the ‘House Special’?”
Reese and Stephen also flipped over their menus and read the description. “You never tried this one on us!” Reese added, sounding disappointed.
Stephen read the description again. “Can we try it now?”
Lynnette smiled. “Of course. But you’ll have to do the dishes.”
“Doesn’t sound so bad.” Reese said. Stephan nodded in agreement.
Lynnette smiled and leaned against Daniel. She whispered, “Wanna help me?”
Daniel smiled and kissed her. “Yeah. Let’s do this, together.”
Half an hour later, Lynnette placed the platter of food on the one completely set table in the restaurant. Daniel placed a large platter of rice beside it. “Hunan Beef, just as you ordered.” He winked at Reese and Stephan, who stared speechlessly at the pile of delicious smelling beef and broccoli covered in a thick brownish sauce.
“Is it spicy?” Reese said suspiciously as Stephan picked up his chopsticks and proceeded to shovel food onto his plate.
“Yeah, actually it is.” Lynnette said as she smiled hesitantly. Reese glared at her, but picked up his chopsticks and took a healthy portion of rice before taking some of the main dish.
“What she’s not telling you,” Daniel said as he took his seat, “Is that she put chilies in it.” Lynnette glared at him and he grinned up at her as he pulled her onto his lap.
“Chilies?!” Reese exclaimed. “I fucking hate spicy shit.”
“Shut up and eat already.” Stephan said, socking Reese in the arm. “It’s really good Lynn.”
“Thank you, Stephan.” Lynnette smiled and took a portion with her chopsticks and fed it to Daniel, who smiled approvingly as he chewed its spicy deliciousness.
Daniel gave her a squeeze. “We open next week. You ready?”
“Yeah, Danny.” She replied as she kissed him. “I’m ready. No more running away.”


The End