“Please, Maureen, put the gun down, be good girl,” Ma pleads.
“Quiet, I’m trying to think!” Maureen glares at me. “How did you really get it?”
“I told them I wanted to talk to Jacqueline. She was in the bedroom all alone. I went in, held her at gunpoint, and told her to empty the safe or I’d shoot.”
Maureen’s chin trembles. “Was she okay?”
“No, she wasn’t okay. What did you think was going to happen?”
“I don’t know! I didn’t think you’d actually go through with it!”
“Well, I did, and here’s your stupid stash, now you can take it—there must be at least two million dollars’ worth of stuff in there—and GO.”
Maureen’s eyes dart to the bag. Back to me. Down to the bag. “Did—um—did she ask about me at all?”
“Why do you care? You literally just had me rob her.”
“Only because I didn’t—I wanted—”
“What?” I snap, taking a step toward her. “You wanted what?”
“I was going to—I thought maybe this way, Jackie would come here and talk to me. Without calling the cops or anything. If she saw that I have the gifts, but I gave them back, maybe she’d—I don’t know—”
“Why would she want to talk to you again after you stole from her? Twice!”
“I wasn’t going to steal from her. That wasn’t the plan!”
“What was the plan? How did you even get to know Ah Guan in the first place?”
“I—we were friends. He was the one who got me to suggest your mom as a florist to Jackie. Said she’d get a good deal. He knew I was upset about the wedding, so he came up with this whole plan to get it canceled. He said we could take the tea ceremony gifts, hide them for a while until the wedding’s called off, and then we’d return them.”
Knowing what I know of Ah Guan, he probably had no plans to return them, but I trust Maureen’s telling the truth. I take another step toward her. “Why did Ah Guan think you’d be upset about the wedding?”
“Because—”
“Why, Maureen?”
“Because I love Jackie!”
There’s a collective gasp from my family.
“I love her, okay?” Maureen cries, tears running down her face. “I’ve loved her since we first met, when we were in college. I told myself not to be so selfish, that she’s not into girls. I would’ve supported her through all of her relationships—I did support her through most of them, but Tom is such a—”
“A shit!”
We all turn to look at the doorway, where Jacqueline’s burst in, chest heaving. Once again, there’s a collective gasp from my family.
“Wah, her makeup still okay,” Big Aunt says approvingly.
Second Aunt glances at her older sister in surprise. We all do, actually. For as long as I can remember, it’s the first time Big Aunt’s said something nice to Second Aunt. “Er—yes, mascara no run. Is because I apply eyelash glue on top of it, you know,” Second Aunt says, smiling with obvious pride.
“Sshh,” I hiss.
Jacqueline storms inside. Even though she’s no longer in her huge white dress, there’s just something about her that commands your attention. Maybe it’s how ethereally beautiful she is. Or maybe it’s the way she’s looking at Maureen, half-glaring, half-something else. She’s incandescent. It might be rage or sorrow or—
“Jackie—”
“I love you too!”
Love. It’s love that’s blazing so brightly from her, love that’s caught all of our attention, love that now propels her inside this room.
I was right. The two women love each other. It was a gamble, but I was willing to risk it all for this. I step aside to let Jacqueline pass, and at last she’s standing face-to-face with her best friend.
Slowly, Jacqueline raises her hand and places it on the gun. Maureen doesn’t put up a fight as Jacqueline takes it from her and releases the ammo thingy. I really should brush up on my gun lingo.
“Empty,” Jacqueline says, a smile touching her mouth. “I knew you couldn’t hurt anyone. Not really.”
“I—Jackie—how long—”
“Meddy got me to wait outside while she took the bag in. I heard everything.” Jacqueline places a gentle hand on Maureen’s cheek. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“I didn’t think—I—you’re straight, I didn’t want to—”