Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
The three spent an interesting lunch together, of course Sunny didn’t even get a word in edgewise due to his overly anxious friend. He concluded that she was just out to get him and he would never have a peace of mind until she got off his back. He secretly reminded himself that he would find her a man if it was the last thing he did.
“So, we’ve talked all this time and I still don’t know how long you guys have known each other.” Allison asked with much interest. She grew a special liking to Josie, eventhough she was so talkative.
Josie waved off the question while Sunny leaned in to answer her question “Childhood friends, grew up together, bath together…nothing new.” She said nonchalantly.
Allison covered her mouth as she muffled a giggle. Sunny couldn’t be more embarrassed “Stop it!” he hissed at his friend, while covering his mouth so Allison could not see that he was yelling at her.
“What?” Josie asked annoyingly. “Speak louder, didn’t your mother ever teach you to pronunciate?”
He gave her the evil glare which Allison saw clearly, she knew they had a special relationship as friends. Teasing and sometimes brutal the way they joke with each other. It made her envy them even more, she doesn’t have any friends. Her family was far away and her co-workers were her only friends but they all have their own family to worry about. She let out a soft sigh, feeling sorry for herself again.
“What’s wrong, Allie?” Sunny changed his evil glare to genuine concern.
She smiled reassuringly “Nothing, I just…” she thought about being honest but didn’t want to sound like a pessimist. “I’m just sad I have to go back to Hong Kong.”
“Well, why don’t you stay here?” Josie said a matter of factly.
Sunny shook his head “Some people work for a living.” Sounding sarcastic.
It made Allison smile to see them bicker, she wondered if that’s how it felt to have siblings. “I couldn’t imagine living here. Its too quiet for me but I do love the friendly people.” She quickly added, not wanting to insult them since they both live there.
“Tell me about it!” Josie sighed “This place is nothing compared to Hong Kong. I really want to go back, but I promised his parents that I would stand by him until he got married.” She nodded sadly. “And you know it’s not going to happen anytime soon.”
“Not if you don’t stop harassing the girls.” Sunny mocked.
Josie sat upright with her chin in the air “Those girls were not fit for you.”
They were in a heated argument when Allison burst out laughing “Gosh, I love the way you guys get along!”
Sunny smiled as he shook his head “You find that funny?”
She nodded with big eyes “I think it’s great to have a friend you can talk to and argue with.”
Josie smiled “Wanna switch?”
Allison laughed even harder, “Sure, maybe one day.” She kidded. Looking at her watch she saw that her time was up. The smile disappeared “Its time for me to go.” She said almost sadly. It was strange, she only met these two people for less than a day but she felt like she knew them all her life. It was the first time she felt that way with anyone let alone two people. “It was a pleasure meeting both of you.” She got up and gave Josie a hug.
“I wish you didn’t have to go so soon.” Josie said as they embraced like sisters.
Allison pulled away, her eyes welling up with tears “I know. C’est la vie.” She shrugged sheepishly. She turned to Sunny, who looked a bit distant. “And you, don’t be scaring girls on the beach now.” She reached out to give him a warm hug.
He responded immediately, almost devouring her petite body. “We’ll meet again.” He said surely.
She nodded “Look me up if you come to Hong Kong.” She reached in her purse and handed him a little card of the restaurant she worked at. “Bye now.” She smiled and walked away towards the door of the diner.
He stood there mesmerized in his own little world. Staring at the card over and over, memorizing the Restaurant name. Phoenix Inn. “You could have made your move.” Josie said disappointingly. “I really liked her.”
Sunny smiled “I know.” He reached around her shoulders and led her away “Let’s go home.”
Josie nodded as she held onto the hand that was over her left shoulder, they looked like a loving couple to outsiders. “You think you’ll see her again?”
He shrugged “Maybe.” He didn’t want to jinx anything just yet. Yes, he did want to see her again and he hoped that they would have a chance at love. But it was something he never spoke about, love that is. His rule number one: don’t talk about it until it happens.
*************
The flight was long and agonizing for Allison, she couldn’t sleep on the plane because the seats were tight and the person next to her was snoring away in dreamland. She leaned back on the headrest and closed her eyes. Thinking about her stay in Hawaii, some part of her lingered behind. She missed her new friends and she wondered if they would ever meet again.
When she got off the plane, Allison went straight home to go to bed. She knew it was going to be a long day ahead. Surprisingly, she couldn’t wait to get back to work.
The next morning, she woke up in high spirits. Putting on her white collar shirt and black skirt, she got ready for work. The little blue apron was wrapped around her waist and her hair was tied back in a ponytail, she looked ready for anything. The minute she walked through the restaurant doors, there was a rainbow of raining confetti and people yelled out “Welcome back!!!”
She was shocked and at awe, they threw here a welcome back party. She was an emotional girl, while most people thought she was just a nice person. No one ever bothered to do anything nice for her. Her eyes filling quickly with tears “Oh my gosh…you guys did this for me?”
Paul (Lawrence) Wong, the cook was a casual friend of hers. He smiled as he walked over to her “It was my idea.” He bragged.
The whole restaurant erupted with “CHEEHH” sound and Allison laughed. She knew it was partly his idea but he needed the okay from the manager first. Richard Yeung (Kong Wah) was the manager, also part owner of the restaurant. He was quite fond of Allison and he agreed to close the restaurant until 11am to have the party done for her.
“Welcome back Allison. We all missed you here.” Richard said sincerely and professionally. “It’s been a mess without you.”
She smiled at the kind words “Don’t you mean it turned into a mess now that I’m back?” she looked around at the confetti covered floor.
He laughed openly “Don’t worry about. You’ll just have to clean it up later.” He gave her a quick wink of the eye “Let’s get some cake.”
She nodded and followed Paul to the table as they watched her cut the beautifully white cake, filled with tiny flowers made of sugar. “This is so great guys.” She gushed before cutting the cake.
“Yeah yeah…whatever, come on cut the cake!” Toni Lau (Rain Lau) one of the waitresses rushed. Everyone laughed as they watched Allison rush to cut the cake for everyone.
She served each person personally. The biggest piece was given to no other than Toni “Here you go, the biggest one.”
Toni giggled like a little girl “I knew you like me!” she joked.
Allison laughed at her friend’s eagerness. She kept a small piece for herself as she ate it slowly, standing next to Toni and Paul. They mingled and took their time eating as no one wanted to go back to work just yet.
But as Richard promised, 11am came around and he was ready to start business “Okay guys, time to work.” He tapped at his watch and announced it to the staff.
There was some groaning and mumbling but Allison was ready a long time ago. She began setting up the tables and cleaning up some of the mess that was left behind because the vacuum cleaner did not pick it up. “Allie, just leave it, I’ll have Jim get that, you go get those two people seated.” Richard ordered.
She smiled and got up to greet the new guests. They were dressed very businesslike. “How do you do Sir and Mam. Please follow me.” She knew exactly what to do for certain people. They probably wanted some peace and quiet. So she took into one of the restaurants many sound proof rooms. Phoenix Inn was not glamorous but it sure was a good looking place and the service was always professional which means a lot of business people came to talk business. She took their orders and went straight to the kitchen to let Paul know. “Biz people.” She hinted before leaving the kitchen to her duties outside.
Time flew by quickly as she greeted guests after guests. But when she noticed the boss was looking extra grumpy, she decided to see what the problem was “Richard, is something wrong?” she asked with much concern.
Richard was talking to the delivery guy “Our products I ordered are on delay. We have a big conference party to cater and the food is not here.” He was aggravated.
Allison looked at the delivery guy “What company are you from?”
“Lai’s Produce.” He answered and then added “The harbor is on strike, our people are trying to get your products here fast. We are trying our best.” He said sincerely.
“How about I go there and see if I can negotiate with them?” she offered.
“Our boss is already out there. We are trying to get your stuff as a priority.” The delivery guy assured.
Richard shook his head “I don’t know what to do.” He was looking stressed.
“I have a couple of acquaintances that work in the harbor, maybe they will allow our stuff to slip through?” she offered.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to get you into a mess.” Richard advised.
Allison smiled as she shook her head “No problem. I want to help. Phoenix Inn’s reputation is at hand.”
Richard smiled, feeling calmer already “What will I do without you, Allie?”
“You’ll be a chicken without a head.” She laughed as she took off her apron and threw it over the counter of the hostess table. “I’ll be back soon.”