The Unmatchmakers by Jackie Lau

Author:Jackie Lau [Lau, Jackie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rakuten Kobo Inc.
Published: 2022-06-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

“When Leora was fifteen,” Ma says, “she dated this skinny white boy named Mario. Like in the videogame, you know? I don’t know what she saw in him.” She clucks her tongue.

Yep, everything is back to normal now. Normal for us, I mean. Ma, Tanya, and Dee are drinking sangria on the patio and discussing their children.

They’ve been at this for at least forty-five minutes.

Well, I guess I don’t know that for sure. It’s possible they switched topics when Zoey and I went to throw the Frisbee around for half an hour, then returned to talking about our love lives when we walked back onto the patio, just to torture us.

Figuring alcohol would come in handy, I grab a glass and pour some sangria from the pitcher. I take a swig…and nearly spit it all over my cute pink tank top, which I most certainly did not wear to entice Neil.

“What the hell is in this?” I ask. “I thought it was sangria.”

Ma points at Dee. “I told you. It’s terrible.”

Dee shakes her head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you two. Isn’t it good, Tanya?”

“No,” Tanya says. “I’m just drinking it to be nice, and because it has alcohol.”

“Wah, you’re all so mean.”

“How can sangria taste this bad?” Ma asks. “I thought it was foolproof!”

Good. They’re talking about the sangria rather than my teenage love life. I take a seat under an umbrella.

A moment later, Neil comes out the back door—I have no idea what he’s been up to for the past few hours—and sits down on the lounge chair next to me.

“Hey,” he says quietly.

“Want some sangria?” Dee asks.

“Don’t do it!” Tanya shouts. “Save yourself, Neil.” I think she might be a bit drunk.

“She has a point,” I tell him. “You’d be better off fixing your own drink.”

Instead, he takes a swig of water from a bottle.

My mother continues talking about my love life. “So, back to Mario. Leora was doodling their names and sending him Valentines, and she even wrote him a love song. She was so infatuated with him. I could see it would lead to bad places—she would do anything he said!—so I paid him two hundred dollars to break up with her.”

Yup. That’s right. My mother did that.

“Ah, yes, I remember!” Tanya says.

I sigh. Perhaps I should suggest they talk about the stuff we did when we were little kids, like they did a few nights ago. Stories about explosive baby poop or somebody shoving a permanent marker up their nose would be better than this.

“Leora’s had a lot of boyfriends, hasn’t she?” Tanya asks my mother.

“Wah, so many!”

Yes, I’ve had a bunch…but I haven’t even told Ma about all of them.

Tanya shoots me a look that seems rather judgmental.

“What about you, Neil?” Dee asks him. “Did you date much in high school? University?”

Okay, I admit I’m a little curious about Neil’s dating history, but I’d prefer not to hear about it in front of our moms.

“I had a girlfriend for part of undergrad,” he says.

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