“And I told you that I didn’t come to this country for a man. You should never rely on one for anything. You’re young and pretty—use those assets to make your own way.” Winnie sighed. “Besides, you never even met your father and it’s probably better that way. Romance is for books. In the real world, it’s about your brains and your looks. So use them.”
Katie hung on to her mother’s words, eyes widening in what she probably thought was the wisdom in them. I’d gotten a similar speech when I was a kid. “Yes, ma’am. Don’t you worry, I’m going to win this thing, go to college, and become a high-powered businesswoman to manage a chain of our salons. Just like we always talked about.”
“That’s my girl.” Winnie threw her arm around her daughter’s shoulders and kissed her head. “Now go practice your networking skills.”
As Joy and Katie wandered off to talk to the other contestants, Winnie motioned toward the other moms. “Need to check out the competition,” she said with a wink.
“That woman is something,” Yuki said. She’d wandered over to join our group and held out a piece of sweet potato tempura, which I gladly accepted.
“She reminded me of Tita Cecilia,” Bernadette said.
I shot her a look. She’d brought up my mom one time too many. “Why are you here anyway? Where are Joy’s parents?”
Bernadette pursed her lips. “They’re not particularly involved in their children’s lives. To put it mildly. Pinky’s usually the one who attends the kids’ functions, but she had a late shift at the hospital today and asked me to come.”
“That was nice of you,” I admitted.
She shrugged. “I wish Pinky could’ve gotten some time off, but she’s the moneymaker in her family. And their parents only care about themselves. Joy’s a good kid. She deserves to have someone who cares about her here with her.”
We both turned to watch Joy laughing across the room with her friends, and my heart went out to her. I wondered what was worse: to grow up without your parents or to have parents who didn’t give you the time of day? Or to be like Katie and not even know who one of your parents was?
I took a deep breath. No need to go down that path, especially now. “I should probably get to know the other contestants as well. See you two later.”
I made my way over to Sana, who was chatting with Winnie Pang, Mary Ann Randall, and a few other women I didn’t know.
“Hey, Lila, come meet some of the women in my yoga class. Maybe they can convince you to join us,” Sana said.
“Sana’s classes are the best. I don’t know what we’d do without you,” one of the women said, almost purring as she stared lovingly at Sana.
“They leave you so relaxed, even though your body knows you just had an intense workout,” Winnie said. “Katie and I are both in her class. A little mother-daughter bonding, plus it doesn’t hurt to stay fit, especially at my age.”
The other moms in the group, clearly older than Winnie, stiffened at that comment. Sana rushed in to smooth over the situation. “That’s the beauty of yoga, it’s for all ages and levels! Great for the body and mind. You really must stop by sometime, Lila.”
“Oh yes, please! We’d love to get to know you better,” the moms begged.
I groaned inwardly. Though if I took better care of my health, maybe Detective Park would get off my back about that therapist. After all, Sana said it was good for the body and mind. “You know what? That sounds great. I’ll talk to Adeena and Elena and try to join them for a class.”
“Yoga class, huh? Maybe I should check it out, too,” Rob said, strolling over to our group. “Lord knows it’s taking more and more to get this old thing working properly.” He gestured toward his body, which, at fifty-plus years of age, was still trim and fit and he knew it. I swear on everything, the group of momtestants squealed like a bunch of young girls at a K-pop concert.
Sana rolled her eyes and walked over to the refreshments table, and to my surprise Winnie joined her. She’d seemed the ambitious sort, so I figured she’d use any opportunity to get in good with the head judge. Though maybe she was playing it smart by trying to appeal to me and Sana. The others were too busy foaming at the mouth over Rob to notice. I tried to engage them in conversation, but it was clear they only had eyes for him.
I wandered around the room, wondering who to talk to next （or if enough time had passed to politely leave） when a commotion at the door drew my attention. Valerie and the mayor, speaking in low, hurried voices, were blocking someone from entering.