“WHAT?” I jump out of my chair. “Ma, oh my god, I can’t believe you did that.”
She looks genuinely confused for a second, but then her face clears and she laughs, waving me off. “Oh, no worry, no worry, she say she will call everyone else for me, okay? Won’t just be Big Aunt coming here, you don’t worry, all your aunties will come too.”
“WHAT??” I cry. I throw my head back and stare up at the ceiling. This can’t be happening. “Ma, that’s not—we shouldn’t be telling everyone about this!”
Ma frowns. “Not everyone. Just your aunties.”
“That’s everyone!”
“Meddy,” she tuts, disapproving. “They are family. It’s different.”
“It’s murder!” I cry. “Or, well, not murder, it’s more like self-defense, but still. Ma, there’s a dead guy in my car. This is not the kind of thing you share with everyone, even if they’re family.”
“It’s exactly kind of thing you share with family,” Ma says.
“What do you mean, it’s exactly the kind of thing you share with family? What other things have you guys shared that are in any way like this?”
Ma waves me off and says, “Come, help me cut mango for aunties. If we don’t offer any food very ngga enak.”
“Seriously, Ma? You care about saving face right now? I think we’re kinda beyond that, aren’t we?”
She gives me a look as she bends down to open up the fruit drawer in the fridge. “Meddy, how can you say that? Your aunties coming over, so late at night, coming to help us get rid of body, and we don’t even offer them any food? How can? Oh, we have dragon fruit, good, good. Big Aunt’s favorite. Wah, got pear too. Very good. Help me peel, don’t be so rude to your aunties, you will bring shame.”
“Oh, right, it’s the lack of fruit that’ll bring shame, not the dead body in the car.”
But less than a minute later, I’m standing at the kitchen island with a peeler in one hand and a Korean pear in the other. My mind keeps going, Bwaaa, this is so surreal. There is a dead body in my car and I’m standing here peeling fruit! For some reason, I continue peeling and cutting. I suppose I might as well, since I don’t have any better ideas.
Just as I finish cutting up the giant pear, the doorbell chimes.
“Go get door,” Ma says. She’s still slicing up the last dragon fruit.
I head for the front door, still in that weird I-must-be-dreaming state of mind. I don’t even know what to say to my aunts. Thank you for coming to help figure out what to do with this guy I killed?
But I’m spared having to say that, because the moment I open the door, Big Aunt pats my cheek and says in Indonesian, “My dear Meddy, it’s okay, don’t worry. Go sit down,” and then strides past me. Second and Fourth Aunts follow, each one clucking, “Don’t worry, we’re here now, stop crying.”
“I’m not crying—”
Second Aunt tuts, as though my lack of tears were a personal affront to her, before joining the others in the kitchen. Noise explodes from the kitchen, though not of the “Oh my god, Meddy did what?” variety. More of the “Wah, dragon fruit! Aduh, you shouldn’t have bothered!” variety. I can hear Ma pulling out chairs and shouting merrily at them to sit down and have some mangoes. “Ah Guan gave me a whole crate when he came back from Indo. A whole crate!”
Taking a deep breath, I steel myself and go into the kitchen.
“Meddy!” Big Aunt shouts.
Oh god, here it comes. Now they’ll start freaking out about the body.
“Have you eaten?” Big Aunt says. “Come! Come here and sit down, oh, you look so pale.” She gets up from her seat.
It’s as though a switch clicks on inside me. I automatically hurry over, pushing her back down onto the chair, saying, “Please, Big Aunt, don’t bother yourself. I’ll grab a chair. You sit and enjoy the fruit, okay? Can I get you anything else?”
From the corner of my eye, I sense Ma’s approval, and it makes me want to laugh out loud and sob. I mean, seriously, I’ve just killed a man, and she still cares about me being respectful to my elders.
Big Aunt spears a sliced mango and takes a dainty bite. “Wah, so good.” She takes another bite and sighs. “Nothing beats Indonesian mangoes.”
“Yes, Indonesian mangoes are the sweetest,” Ma says. “Does anyone want herbal tea? I boiled a pot for Meddy and I have some left over.”