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Chapter 4

Posted on Thursday, 28 October 2004

Will whistled the entire way from the coffee shop up to Charlie's apartment. He couldn't wait to tell his friend that he'd discovered the identity of his Secret Asian Woman. Like a little schoolboy, he reached into his pocket and fingered the piece of paper with her phone number on it. He shook his head at himself; the lightness in his step and the excitement he felt was so unlike him.

The son of wealthy parents of social prominence, Will was accustomed to women throwing themselves at him; they'd been doing it his entire life. Which was why he usually avoided women altogether. But this one was different. For the first time in his life, Will felt as though he was doing the pursuing instead of being pursued.

Elaine. She was unlike any other woman he'd ever known.

All the women Will had ever known or dated could all be lumped into one category. The one where the women could be described as perfectly groomed, dainty, and well-manicured. They'd been the debutantes of his parent's country club, the elitist sorority girls of his university, and the self-absorbed and competitive classmates of his medical school.

They were none of the things that Elaine were. Though he'd only known her for a short while, already he could tell that Elaine was different. She didn't wear Donna Karan pantsuits, weigh herself down in ropes of jewelry, speak in carefully modulated tones, or hide her face behind a shield of make-up. Instead, she laughed with her eyes, appreciated the world in front of her, spoke with her hands, and was generally light-spirited. They'd talked for only half an hour tops. But already he was enchanted with her, and he couldn't wait to get to know her better.

Will arrived at Charlie's door and knocked briskly. No one came. He tried again, just in case his friend hadn't heard him the first time, but still no one came. Will looked at his watch and saw that it was almost twenty minutes after their agreed upon time. Charlie should've been back by now. He rocked on his heels, wondering what he should do. Scratching the back of his neck, he turned around and returned to the elevator, riding it back down to the lobby. On his way out, he passed by the front desk and had a thought.

"Excuse me, would you mind if I borrowed your phone to make a local call?"

"Of course not. Here you go, sir."

"Thank you." He flashed the receptionist his most brilliant smile and then dialed his home phone number. He waited for the answering machine to come on before punching the numbers and pass codes required to retrieve his messages. Just as he'd suspected there was one from Charlie:

Will - Hey. It's me, Charlie. I really hope you'll get this message before you leave your house; otherwise you're going to be standing outside my apartment really confused. You've really got to get a cell phone, man. Anyway, I'm calling to let you know that I won't be able to make it this afternoon. B-ball's going to have to wait for another afternoon, I'm afraid. I got sucked back in at work. Sorry about bagging out on you. I'll give you a call later. See ya.

Will groaned aloud, wishing he'd gotten Charlie's message earlier, and hating that he'd made a trek across town in vain. Or not in vain. After all, hadn't he met his Secret Asian Woman all because he'd made plans to meet Charlie at his apartment? Frustration gave way to excitement as he realized that since he no longer had to meet up with Charlie, he could haves the rest of the afternoon to be with Elaine and get to know her better. He couldn't wait to see her again and practically ran out of the apartment building after he'd hastily thanked the receptionist one more time while returning the phone to her. The coffee shop was just at the end of the street, at the corner, and only a few feet away, so it didn't take him long to reach it. Unfortunately, the first thing he noted, as he looked through the coffee shop's window, was that Elaine and her belongings were no longer sitting at the table they'd only minutes before been sharing. His excited, racing heart came to a screeching halt.

Will couldn't explain the disappointment he felt as he turned away from the coffee shop and slunk off, his hands stuffed in his back pocket, kicking the sidewalk as he went.

"Wow. Did you leave anything behind at the stores?" Jane watched with amused amazement as her sister struggled through the front door with her purse, keys, and all her shopping bags.

The bags came tumbling down around Elaine like leaves falling off a tree as she steadied herself against the hallway wall and removed her shoes. "Do you want to help me? Or are you going to just stand there and watch?"

Jane laughed. "Sure. Hold on." She set the books she'd been carrying before her sister walked in onto the counter, and walked over to relieve Elaine of some of her burden. Together they dumped the bags onto Elaine's bed. "Wow," was all Jane could say again as she stepped back from the bed, her hands on her hips.

Elaine swiped the back of her weary hand across her crinkled forehead. "I think I might have gone a little overboard."

"You think?" Intrigued, Jane stepped back up to the bed and started pawing through her sister's purchases. "I didn't even think you liked to shop," she said as she pulled out a light blue sundress. "This is beautiful, Elaine! What else did you get?"

"Do you really think so?" Elaine asked uncertainly. As her sister said, she didn't like to shop, and on the rare occasions that she did shop it was usually because she had to shop, as in she'd-ruined-all-her-clothes-and-if-she-didn't-go-out-and-get-new-clothes-she'd-have-to-show-up-at-work-the-next-day-naked-had-to-shop.

"I do! I keep trying to tell you that you're a natural, with an excellent eye and taste, Elaine, which shouldn't come as a surprise considering how you're an artist and all."

"Yes, but creating pottery and then painting it is a whole lot different than picking out clothes to dress myself. I'm hopeless when it comes to trying to create ensembles." She said the word in an affected hoity-toity sort of voice.

"Well, let's see what else you got and I'll tell you if I think you should return anything."

"Okay."

There were skirts, dresses, and pretty new blouses. There was even a pair of fashionable capri pants with matching shoes, and a new purse. And they all passed muster. This surprised Jane; she knew her sister was more of a jeans and t-shirts sort of person. It suited her profession better since pottery was often a messy sort of business, and she was forever ruining her clothes.

"Okay." She put the things back into their bags and turned around to challenge her sister more effectively. "What gives?"

"What?" Elaine asked, stepping around her sister to get to her bags. "Can't I go shopping without getting the third degree?"

"Yes. But not when you come home with stuff like this!"

Elaine had started hanging up the new clothes she'd brought home and un-boxing the new shoes to place on the floor of her closet, but stood to shrug her shoulders nonchalantly. "I hadn't been shopping in a while. I thought it was time I updated my closet."

Jane didn't believe that for a minute. "Won't Ma be happy?"

Elaine rolled her eyes. Their mother was constantly harping on her wardrobe and telling her that the reason she didn't have a boyfriend was because she dressed like a man, refused to wear make-up, and looked like she'd stepped out of a rag bin. Who would look twice at a woman dressed like that, their mother always wanted to know.

Elaine's view was that a man should appreciate her for who she was - on the inside - and not what she looked like - on the outside. Her mother's view was that you had to ensnare a man with outward appearances first before he would even deign to get to know the person within. Elaine didn't think a man like that was worth her time, and thus the argument between mother and daughter always turned into one vicious cycle, with no one emerging the victor.

"But really, Elaine. It's not like you to go out and have a shopping spree. I usually have to drag you to go shopping with me."

"Okay. You really want to know what happened?" Elaine turned away from the closet, no longer able to hide her excitement from her sister. In her hands she still held a hanger and her new floral blouse. "I met a guy today and we exchanged numbers!"

Jane felt like she'd been knocked over with a feather. This was her sister they were talking about, and Elaine was never this spontaneous. "Whoa." She shook her head as though she were clearing her ears of excess water. "What?"

"I know! It's crazy isn't it? I never do anything like this." Elaine threw her hands up and the hanger and blouse went flying.

Jane wasn't fazed in the least. She just leapt onto her sister's bed, steadied herself on her knees, and began the barrage of questions. "Who? What? When? Where? Come on, Elaine. I want details. What happened?! Start from the beginning and don't leave anything out."

"Okay. Remember that guy from the elevator?"

"You ran into him again!" Jane guessed in squealing excitement. "Does he really live in our apartment building then?"

"No. His friend lives here though. I ran into him at Starbucks."

"Really," Jane said with interest in her voice.

"Yes! And it was so cute. He offered to buy me a slice of cake for my birthday." Elaine laughed at the memory. "So of course I had to explain that my birthday wasn't for another three months. He was so good-natured about the whole thing that any awkwardness I might've felt was instantly wiped away. He said he wanted to buy me a slice of cake anyway. So I let him and he did."

"And?"

"And, we didn't talk for long."

"Oh."

"He was on his way to meet a friend," Elaine explained. Both sisters pursed their lips into matching pouts, expressing their disappointment. "But, we did exchange phone numbers - I gave him my cell phone since Billy seems to have taken over our home phone - and I really think he's going to call. At least I hope he'll call."

"That's great, Elaine!" Jane was always telling her sister that she needed to go out more and to meet new people. The problem was that with her sister's hectic work schedule she rarely had any free time. She couldn't believe that a golden opportunity like this had fallen into her sister's lap with such ease, but she was glad that it had. Even more, she was glad Elaine had actually snatched the opportunity up rather than letting it pass her by, as she was often wont to do.

"What's he like and what's he look like?" Jane waggled her eyebrows with unconcealed interest.

Elaine sighed romantically. "He was really nice, Jie. He has such a pleasant face. You could just see the lines of laughter on his face, which leads me to conclude that he's got a wonderful sense of humor. He's also very smooth, knows just what to say. And his hands," Elaine practically swooned. "I could've stared at them all day long, they were so strong and muscular-looking. If you want to know the truth, Jie, he's totally hot." Elaine laughed as she shoved the remaining new clothes to the side so she could lie down on her bed. "I sound like a giggling pre-teen."

"No. You sound like a woman in the first flushes of love. I remember feeling the same way when I first met Charlie - giddy, happy, excited, over the moon, unable to form a coherent thought."

"Yeah," Elaine sighed in hearty agreement, remembering how his smile had made her stomach flutter and his melodic voice had knotted her tongue. Her voice suddenly changed though and became more business-like as she noted, "He's not Asian though." Elaine frowned.

Jane shrugged her pretty shoulders totally unconcerned. "So?"

"You know what Ma's going to say."

"Yes, but who cares? Besides, when have you ever cared about what Ma has to say?"

"True," she said very slowly, drawing out the word into several syllables.

"What matters, Elaine, is that you like him."

"You're right." The sisters lay head-to-head on Elaine's bed, staring at the ceiling. "I really hope he calls," Elaine said after a while.

"It sounds like he will."

"I know. But you know how men are."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed for you."

"Better him than Billy." On cue, the phone rang. "Noooooo!" Elaine groaned.

Jane quickly scrambled to her feet. "I am so out of here. I can't handle answering another one of his phone calls, if that is him calling."

"How do you think I feel?" Elaine asked as she glared at the ringing phone.

Twenty minutes later she emerged from her bedroom. Jane was sitting on the couch, flipping through the latest edition of her Architectural Digest magazine. "Well?"

"That was Billy."

"What a surprise," Jane rolled her eyes.

Elaine threw a sofa pillow at the back of her sister's head. "Thanks for leaving me to answer the phone all by myself."

"I told you I didn't want to play your secretary anymore. He's starting to put on the smarm charm on me, probably thinking that will somehow get his message to you faster and that it will prompt you into actually returning his call." There was the faintest hint of rebuke in Jane's voice, suggesting that if Elaine would actually return Billy's phone calls he wouldn't call so much in the first place.

"But what's the point of calling him back when I know he'll call me again within the next half hour?"

"True," Jane sighed. "So, what'd you guys talk about? That was actually one of your longer phone calls with Billy."

"I told him I was seeing someone."

Jane sputtered. "You did what?!"

"I know," Elaine whined. "Very bad of me. But I was growing rather desperate and it was the only way I knew how to get Billy to shut-up and go away. He wouldn't believe me when I said I wasn't interested. He said his mom told him that women often didn't know their own minds, so he should keep asking me out just in case I changed my mind. As if! She also told him it would demonstrate his dying affection for me. Great, huh?"

"Wonderful."

"So, I thought if I told him I was interested in someone else he'd finally get the hint. I think he did. At least, I hope he did."

"You know it's going to get back to Ma," Jane warned.

"I know." Elaine bit her bottom lip. Then she brightened. "Maybe by the time it gets back to her I really will be seeing someone else!"

Jane shook her head. Only her sister. "That reminds me. Your cell phone rang while you were in your bedroom."

"Really? Yeah?" Elaine practically ran for her tote bag, which she'd hung on a hook just inside their front door. She couldn't find her cell phone and ended up dumping the entire contents of her tote bag onto the floor in an effort to find it faster. Apparently, it'd been stuck at the bottom of the bag.

"Was it him?" Jane yelled.

"I don't know. Hold on." She scrolled through the "Missed call" screen. The number was one her cell phone didn't recognize. Hoping that meant it was Will who had called, Elaine quickly pawed through the rest of the pile on the floor and pulled out the scrap of paper with his number on it. She compared the number on it to the one on her cell phone.

"Yes! It was him! He left me a message too." Elaine wasted no time in accessing her voicemail:

Elaine - Hi. This is Will. Um. You know, the guy you met this afternoon in the coffee shop. I know we only just met, so I hope you won't think me overeager or forward. It's just that I really enjoyed meeting you this afternoon, and was hoping we could further our acquaintance. The friend I was meeting ended up standing me up this afternoon, but by the time I got back to the coffee shop, you were already gone. I was sorry to have missed you. At any rate, my friend is making this afternoon up to me by taking his girlfriend and me out to dinner tonight. I know we just met. But, I was hoping you'd join us for dinner. I hate being a third wheel. I hope you'll be a fourth. Call me.

"Oh my gosh, you won't believe it, Jane!"

"What? What did he say?"

Elaine sat down with nervous, excited energy as she explained his voicemail to her sister. "He's going out to dinner with a friend and his friend's girlfriend tonight. He wants me to come along. Me! Can you believe it? Oh my gosh, I have to call him back. Of course I'll go out with him tonight!" Elaine squealed her delight.

"Elaine, wait!"

She'd finished dialing his number and had her finger hovering over the "call" button when Jane interrupted her. "What?"

"You can't go out with him tonight."

"Excuse me?"

"You can't go out with him tonight," Jane repeated more slowly.

"And why not?"

"I'm sorry." Jane winced. "Charlie called me earlier today and asked us out to dinner. Yes, that's us - meaning, you and me. I already told him you'd go. I'm really sorry, Elaine," she rushed to say. "I didn't know it was going to be a problem. I never dreamed you'd have your own plans for tonight, and I thought it was high time for you to get out," she added a bit defensively.

Elaine flopped back onto the couch. There was no point in getting upset with her sister. She hadn't known any better. It wasn't as if she'd known that Elaine might have other plans when she accepted Charlie's invitation on her behalf. Heck, Elaine thought, she probably would've said yes to Charlie if he'd asked her directly. That was how quickly things had progressed between her and Will.

"It's okay." Elaine squeezed her sister's hand reassuringly. "You didn't know."

"I thought it'd be a good thing for you to come out with us. You never get out, but this new schedule you're working out with Madeline - it's great. You'll have more free time. And it sounds like it's come at just the perfect time."

"You're absolutely right, Jie."

She got up to return to her bedroom. "What are you going to tell him?" Jane asked.

"I don't know. That I already have plans for tonight, I guess."

"I'm sorry." Jane was still wincing regretfully.

"It's okay, Jie. Really. Wait! I know what I'll tell him."

"What?"

"That hopefully we can get together some other night."

Will moped around his new apartment for a bit, and then pressed the button on his answering machine to listen to her message one more time, foolishly hoping that maybe this time it would say something different, though he wasn't sure how that could be. He'd been in the shower when she called:

Will - Hi. This is Elaine. I got your message. It was great to hear from you. Unfortunately, tonight is not a good night for me. My sister already made plans for her and me, so I'm going to have to take a rain check. I'm sorry to leave you hanging as a third wheel. Hopefully we can get together some other night. Look forward to hearing from you again.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been disappointed when a woman turned him down. Yet, here he was tonight wishing her message had left a different sort of answer. He was embarrassed to admit it, but he'd even studied the message several times just to make sure he wasn't interpreting it in a way that he wasn't supposed to.

Did she think he was a stalker for calling her so soon after their first meeting? She didn't sound petrified. Was she not interested in seeing him? She sounded genuinely regretful. Did she never want to see him again? She said she wanted to hear from him again.

Or, was she just being polite? That was the question he couldn't answer.

Fortunately he didn't have to ruminate over her message any more as there was a buzz at his front door. He pressed a button and spoke through the speaker. "Yes?"

"Will? It's me. Charlie."

"Oh. Hey. Come on up. My door's unlocked." He buzzed his friend through the front door of his walk-up apartment, and slid the sliding chain open before unlocking his door and leaving it open ajar.

While Charlie let himself into his friend's apartment, Will retrieved a shirt from his bedroom. "Hey," Charlie called out to his friend. "Your apartment looks great. You've put a lot of your stuff away."

Will came out of his bedroom and kicked a half-empty cardboard box out of the way as he pulled his shirt over his head. "Yeah. It's coming along, I suppose. Slowly, but surely. I try and do a little unpacking each night after work. Hey, thanks again for helping me move my stuff in the other day."

"No problem. What are friends for?" Charlie asked, slapping his friend on the back of his shoulders.

"Want a drink?" Will asked.

"No, that's all right. We'll be leaving for dinner in a minute anyway."

"So where we going tonight?" Will asked as he rustled around his apartment looking for his wallet. When he found it, he slipped it into his back pocket.

"I thought we'd go to Gold Mountain."

"Chinatown?" The restaurant Charlie had named was a Chinese restaurant found on one of the main streets of Chinatown. The interior was a bit on the drab side, but the food was excellent and even better, affordable. The restaurant was an old favorite of his and Charlie's; they'd frequented it often in their youth.

"Why not?" Charlie asked. "You like Chinese food. Jane, her sister, and I obviously like Chinese food."

Will held both his hands up, letting his friend know it wasn't a problem for him. "Hey. If it's fine with you, it's fine with me. I was only asking."

"Great. And since it's summer, the Chinatown Night Market Fair's going on. You've never been to one of those, have you?"

"No. What is it?"

"The Night Market Fair is great. You'll love it. It's like a street bazaar with lots of different booths - some booths sell things and others have games where you can win prizes. There's also a lot of street entertainment: dancers, karaoke singers, the dragon dance, jugglers, Chinese acrobats, and martial arts performances. Oh, I could go on. It's just like the sort of night market you'd find in Taiwan or Hong Kong during the summertime."

"Sounds cool."

"It is. And I thought the four of us would have a lot of fun, walking through the night market after dinner. No doubt we'll probably be able to use the exercise after a dinner at the Gold Mountain."

Will narrowed his eyes, not missing that Charlie had now mentioned that they'd be a foursome tonight for the second time already. "Foursome. You're not trying to set me up with Jane's sister are you?"

"Er. No."

"Good because I already told you I didn't want to be set up. Besides, it'd be awkward when I met someone else today."

"Oh yeah? My man Will, hard at work already! Well? What's she like and where did you meet her?"

"In your neck of the woods, actually. It's the girl from the elevator."

"The Secret Asian Woman?"

"The very one."

"You don't say!" Charlie whistled. "Aren't you lucky?"

"I know. I ran into her at the Starbucks, down by your apartment building this afternoon. I was running early, so thought I'd stop off to get a drink before heading up to your place. Wouldn't you know, she was there too, so we sat and had a brief chat. I would've stayed longer, but I thought I had to meet you." This was where Will stared poignantly at Charlie, who had the grace to blush apologetically. "We exchanged numbers before I left. I ended up calling her later to invite her to come along tonight, didn't think you'd mind, but she couldn't make it. Said she already had plans for tonight. Guess I'll have to take her out some other time."

Charlie sensed his friend's disappointment, though he'd made a valiant attempt at trying to mask it. "Hey man, it's all right. You'll take her out some other time. It's probably better that way. You wouldn't really want Jane and me tagging along on your first date now, would you?"

"That's true. It's stupid, I know. I only just met her but I can't help but want to be with her. To spend more time with her and get to know her better."

"Sounds like you've got it bad, Will."

"I know. Whoever thought that when I fell, I'd fall hard?"

Charlie laughed, amused by his friend's antsy state. "I hope things work out for you, and I hope I'll get to meet this girl who's made my friend so dimwitted." It was certainly something he'd never seen before. His best friend was always the cool and collected one of the two, the suave and sophisticated one that always had women eating out of the palm of his hands. Yet, here was wringing his hands like a nervous wreck.

"Time will tell," Will said. He grabbed the keys to his apartment and pocketing them, asked, "Should we be on our way?"

"Yeah." Charlie looked at his watch. "Don't want to keep the girls waiting."

"I appreciate your giving me a ride tonight."

"The least I can do for standing you up this afternoon."

"No kidding! I still don't know why you didn't just page me." Every doctor, Will included, was outfitted with a pager so that the hospital and other doctors could find them easily. Even though Will hadn't yet gotten a new cell phone, Charlie could've paged him to cancel their basketball date.

Charlie blushed. "I know. I forgot that I could page you! Sue me."

"Be careful what you wish for," Will warned. "I can't wait until I get my car."

When Will moved back to San Francisco from Washington, D.C., he hadn't seen the point of driving cross country just to bring his car back to the west coast. Nor had he seen the point of spending the extra money to have it professionally transported. Therefore, he'd sold it to a friend and bought a new one upon his return to the Bay Area. Unfortunately, the car color he'd wanted hadn't been available on the lot at the time. Thus, his new car was on backorder with the car dealership.

"When's it coming in?" Charlie asked as he waited for Will to look his door.

"I don't know. The car salesman left me a message this afternoon and said he thought it might be in mid-week."

"Let's hope so."

"Tell me about it," Will groaned. "It's a killer having to catch public transportation or a cab everywhere."

"Well, I don't mind giving you a ride whenever I can," Charlie told him.

"I know. And I appreciate it. But I know it's out of your way to drive out here just to pick me up." They both slid into the car and buckled their seatbelts.

"I don't mind. It's a nice night," Charlie observed.

"The weather's holding up," Will agreed. The city was so far north in California that mid-summer nights in San Francisco could turn chilly. So far, it was still warm out. Warm, but not hot. "Let's hope it stays that way."

Charlie, ever the optimist, said, "I think it will. A night as perfect and special as tonight, how could it not?"

Even as they drove down the hill and towards the center of San Francisco, Will couldn't help but think that his evening would have been more perfect and more special if he'd been on his way to have dinner with Elaine, and not Charlie, Charlie's girlfriend, Jane, and Jane's sister - whoever she was.

"Will you stop pulling and tugging on your clothes?" Jane chided her sister for the fifth time. They'd parked the car a ways away and were walking towards Gold Mountain.

"I can't help it," Elaine huffed. "I'm not used to wearing a skirt. Are you sure it's not too short? I can't help but feel like I'm exposing too much of my legs, or that any moment a gust of wind is going to come along and blow my skirt up, thus exposing my bottom half for the entire world to see."

Elaine had wanted to go to dinner in one of her old jeans and t-shirts - it wasn't as if she had anyone to impress tonight - but Jane had put her foot down. "What's the point of buying new clothes if you're not going to wear it?" Jane had demanded. Consequently, Elaine had allowed her sister to browse through her new clothes and put together the ensemble she was now wearing.

"No," Jane said exasperatedly. "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times already. Your skirt is supposed to be that length. It's not too short. Besides, do you really think I'd let you out of the house wearing something I didn't approve?"

"Fine. You're the expert." But Elaine still tugged on the skirt one last time, for good measure. "Can you slow down?" she asked. "I'm not used to wearing such high heels."

"Oh, all right." Even as she spoke, Jane slowed her steps to match her sister's.

"I don't know why you're in such a hurry anyway," Elaine said petulantly. "It's not like Charlie's going to be on time. He's always late."

"I know, but I still like to get there on time. Just in case. You never know. Maybe tonight will be the one time he's on time for something."

Elaine snorted. "That's not very likely, is it?"

"Let's cross the street here," Jane suggested when she saw a lull between the oncoming cars in the street. Since she didn't really have a choice, Elaine scurried across the street as best she could, teetering on her new shoes.

"I wish you'd give me more advance notice," Elaine complained, once they were safely on the other side of the street. "Just like tonight."

"I already apologized for that."

"I know. But still. I bet you were just trying to set me up with Charlie's friend when you accepted, weren't you?"

Jane would be lying if she said no, but it hadn't been her only reason for wanting her sister to come along tonight. "I already explained. I thought it'd be good for you to get out of the apartment."

"Well it's a good thing you didn't after all, isn't it? I mean, now that I've met Will."

As Elaine spoke his name and mentally hugged the memory of the man she'd only met that afternoon, Jane stopped dead in her tracks. Will? Had her sister just said the name, Will? Surely there were many men living in the Bay Area named Will. But, it was awfully coincidental that this Will would also have a friend who lived in the same apartment building where her boyfriend lived. The same boyfriend who also had a best friend named Will.

"What's up, Jie?" Elaine asked after almost running into her sister's back when she'd stopped abruptly in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Did you just say that the name of your elevator man is Will?"

"Yeah." Elaine couldn't decide if she liked the look on her sister's face. "Why?" she asked cautiously.

They'd neared the restaurant by now and Jane could see her boyfriend and his friend approaching the restaurant's green awning from the other side. For once Charlie was on time. Jane stopped once more, and pointing, asked, "That wouldn't happen to be him, would it?"

Elaine followed the direction her finger. "Oh my gosh."

He saw her at the same time she saw him. Shock gave way to pleasure. "Elaine!"

"Will!"

While Jane laughed merrily, Charlie looked on confusedly. "You two know each other?"

Chapter 5

Posted on Wednesday, 10 November 2004

"I can't believe this," Elaine said, repeating words both she and Will had spoken time and time again ever since they'd discovered each other's true identity outside. The foursome - Elaine, Will, Jane, and Charlie - had been seated and their dinner ordered; they were now waiting for the food. "I kept telling Jane I didn't want to be set up with Charlie's friend. Who knew?"

"No kidding," Will picked up. "I did the same. I hate blind dates, and Charlie kept slyly hinting at bringing you and me together, and I kept putting him off."

Jane picked up her napkin and unfolding it, placed it primly in her lap. "Maybe next time you'll listen to us."

"I don't know, Jie. I think Will and I did pretty all right for ourselves." She smiled at Will and he smiled back at her.

"This is amazing," Charlie said. He was practically bubbling at his end of the table. "So you're Will's Secret Asian Woman?"

"Secret Asian Woman?" Elaine and Jane asked at the same time.

Will coughed and glared in Charlie's direction. The men were saved by the arrival of their food. "Mm, look at this," Will quickly said. "Looks great."

One by one the waiter placed the food they'd ordered on the table. First, there was the hot pot of three cup chicken - a chicken dish flavored with a cup each of soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, and a hint of basil both for garnish and added flavor. ¹ It was followed by shrimp-stuffed tofu over greens, ² a stir-fried noodle dish made up of broad rice noodles, shredded pork, shrimp, and other flavorings, ³ and sautéed dou miao - a popular Chinese vegetable dish, loosely translated as pea vines, pea tips, or pea shoots. ⁴

Charlie breathed in the heady aroma of the food. "Dig in, everybody. Dig in. Don't be shy." Everyone picked up his or her chopstick, eager to comply. They ate family style, as was the Chinese custom.

Will had never had san bei ji - the three cup chicken dish - before, so Elaine placed some in his bowl for him and encouraged him to try it. She blushed as she realized she'd unconsciously fallen into the Chinese custom of a host serving her guest portions of food on the premise that the guest would be too polite to serve himself. ⁵

"Sorry," she stammered, hoping he wouldn't misinterpret her actions and think her presumptuous in forcing food into his bowl.

Will, however, thought she was being sweet and told her so. "Thank you. You're absolutely right. The chicken is delicious."

His words put Elaine right back at ease, and she was able to relax for the remainder of their dinner. Conversation flowed freely between the foursome, as though they'd been friends for ages. As the dinner progressed, it became a sort of battle as to who could embarrass whom the most. Charlie and Will had stockpiles of youthful transgressions to divulge about the other, and Jane and Elaine were not without their fair share. By the end of their meal, their bellies ached both from the massive quantities of food they'd eaten and the never-ending laughter that had permeated the entire evening.

"That was wonderful," Will said as he pushed his chair back from the table to allow his stomach more room to stretch.

Charlie groaned his agreement. "Anyone up for dessert?" Jane asked, as she spied their waiter coming towards them.

"No!" Three voices chorused back at her.

"Okay. Guess not."

"Besides," Charlie added, "there's always food to be had at the night market."

"How can you think about eating more food when we've just eaten?" Elaine wanted to know.

"Charlie has a bottomless stomach, Elaine. He can eat whatever, whenever, and be pretty much okay," Jane told her.

"It's true," he said solemnly.

"That's sick."

"I remember," Will began, "one time in high school when we decided to have a competition as to who could eat the most McDonald's Chicken McNuggets." Charlie was already starting to groan from the memory. "We both ordered - what? Around fifty pieces each?"

"No," Charlie corrected him. "It was sixty. Fifty was when you started getting sick."

"Started???" Elaine asked, her mouth agape. She couldn't remember a time when she hadn't started feeling overstuffed after ten of those Chicken McNuggets.

"Charlie, amazingly enough, managed to polish off every single one of them. I don't know who was more disgusted - him or the people who were with us and watched us eat all of those Chicken McNuggets."

"To this day, I haven't been able to eat another Chicken McNugget," Charlie said. "Sixty of them in one sitting was definitely an overdose that set me up for life."

"I'll remember that for the next time you take me out to dinner. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for McDonald's Chicken McNuggets," Jane said wickedly.

The waiter returned with their check and there was a brief disagreement as to who was going to pay the bill. For a minute, Elaine had bad memories of feeling embarrassed as she watched her parents and their friends fought over the dinner bill.

"No, no, no. This time I pay. Next time you pay," was what they'd always say to one another. Then, inevitably, one pair of adults would always manage to snatch the bill away from the others and they'd race to the cash register with the other pairs trailing behind. Their children had always remained at the dinner table with their eyes covered and averted, hoping that the rest of the restaurant's patrons wouldn't link them with the adults now squabbling loudly around the cash register.

The matter of the bill was finally settled when each agreed to pay his or her share of the meal. "Next time though, it's my treat," Charlie said. Elaine almost banged her head on the table. It resonated much too closely to what her parents and their friends would always say if someone else ended up picking up the tab, and Elaine's biggest fear was turning into her parents.

"Are we going to the night market now?" Jane asked, as she returned her wallet to her purse.

"I think so," Will answered as he stood and then helped Elaine out of her seat. She smiled her thanks while appreciating his gentlemanly behavior.

Naturally, the foursome paired off as they exited the restaurant and walked in the direction of the Chinatown Night Market Fair. Located in Chinatown's Portsmouth Square, the night market ran every Saturday night from July until October. Its original purpose had been to revitalize Chinatown's ailing economy following the 1989 earthquake, but it proved so popular an event that it'd been brought back every summer since its inception.

Like an excited boy on the morning of his birthday, Charlie led the way, tugging Jane along with him as he bravely foraged a path through the dense crowds. There were so many locals and tourists that came out every Saturday night that the crowds could barely move. Having reached the perimeter of the crowds themselves, Will and Elaine looked at Charlie's fading back, looked at each other, and then by non-verbal, mutual assent decided to try their hand at finding their own way through the crowds.

Will took advantage of the crowd and used it as an excuse to link his hand with Elaine's. "Where do you want to go first?" He shouted over the noisy din so she could hear him.

"Why don't we try over there?" Elaine suggested, pointing their joined hands in the direction of an amassed huddle. Where there was a cluster of individuals, there was usually something interesting to see. They gingerly made their way to the front and saw that a pair of Chinese acrobats was performing.

"Wow, look at that!" Will marveled, as they watched one of the acrobats kick a bowl onto the other acrobat's head. Twenty other bowls soon followed until they were all stacked neatly atop the second acrobat's head. As if the performance hadn't been impressive enough, the acrobat catching the bowls had done it all while walking around on stilts.

"Aren't they amazing?" Elaine asked, as they proceeded to watch the acrobats move onto their next performance of intricate dance and body contortions.

"Any chance of you knowing how to do some of those moves?"

Elaine raised her eyebrow. "Dream on."

From there they moved onto the bargain booths. There were Chinese scrolls and paintings, small figurines, books, hair accessories, CDs, DVDs, VCDs, men and women's clothing, purses, shoes, almost anything that could be purchased with money - and all at a bargain. "See anything you like?" Will asked as he watched Elaine carefully examine everything in sight.

"No, not really. I just like looking."

Like the patient gentleman that he was, Will followed her from behind. "Oh, look at that!" Elaine pointed excitedly at one booth.

Will looked to where she was pointing and frowned in confusion. "What is it?" All he could see was a white sheet spread out over the ground. On top of the sheet were tiny trinkets and figurines. Wooden hoops were scattered around the ground.

She tugged him toward the game. "I used to play this when I was little and we were on summer vacations in Taiwan. My cousins would take us to the night markets there and we would play this game. You throw the hoops and try to get them to land around the trinket or figurine. It's harder than it looks," Elaine cautioned. "You have to make sure that it actually encircles the item and lands around it. It's not enough to just knock it over."

"You want to try it?"

"Yeah! Sure!"

The game was two dollars and fifty cents for five hoops. Will handed five dollars to the bent-over, old man. "Who gets to go first?" he asked.

"You do," Elaine told him. "Remember," she said, as he leaned over to throw. "Pick out what you want and make sure you throw the hoop around the item."

Will scanned the items on the sheet. There was nothing in particular that he wanted. He doubted anyone would want any of the items offered on the sheet; it was more for the fun and principle of the game. He settled on the tiny statue of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The first hoop he threw too light. It fell short of his mark and landed practically at his feet. He overcompensated on the second hoop and threw it so hard it overshot his mark and knocked something else over. "This is harder than it looks," he said, his tongue between his teeth.

Elaine patted his arm. "It's okay. Try again."

His third hoop landed just right of the Golden Gate Bridge and his fourth hoop came the closest, knocking the statue over. Feeling confident that he'd finally get it with his fifth hoop, Will threw it and watched it sail over the Golden Gate Bridge. Just as they both thought it would land comfortably around the statue, it veered to the left and landed right next to the statue. It was as if Will had thrown the hoop with a spin on it.

"What a scam!" Will pouted. "That last one should've had it!"

"Ah, but it didn't."

"I bet it was the wind that blew it off its path." Will was hell bent on coming up with a reason for his missed throws. "Really. Don't you feel that wind?"

With her palm raised to the sky, Elaine shook her head. There was nary a breeze to be had.

"Hmph."

Elaine laughed at Will and pushed him out of the way. "Ha ha. My turn."

"Yeah, let's see how you do," Will taunted.

Elaine had never been one to back down from a challenge. Deciding that the Golden Gate Bridge was an unlucky statue, not ready to leave its owner's hand just yet, Elaine chose to focus on something else. A frivolous statue of a duck, dressed in a red cap and dress, carrying a basket of flowers. The duck looked as though it could have come straight out of a Beatrix Potter book. Like Will, the first couple of hoops were spent trying to gauge how much force she needed to use in order to reach her target.

"Two down, only three more hoops left."

Elaine glanced in Will's direction. "Thanks for the reminder." Then, blocking him out, she concentrated on visualizing the hoop landing around the tiny duck. She threw the hoop and held her breath as she watched it land mostly around the duck, and then slide the rest of the way down. The duck bobbled, but it did not fall. By the time the hoop was all the way on the ground, the duck was still standing. "Oh my gosh! I did it!"

"I can't believe it," Will said. "You actually did it!"

"Yes, I did!" Elaine stated proudly.

Chuckling at his guests' antics, the little old man presented the duck to Elaine. She accepted it with both hands, as was the Chinese custom when accepting gifts. Then she shoved it at Will and said, "Here. Hold this for me." After all, she still had two more hoops.

Elaine determined that ducks were definitely within her luck tonight. "I'm going for that one," she told Will, pointing out another duck. This one was similarly dressed in a red cap and dress, but it was riding a tricycle that held a basket of flowers in between its handlebars.

She got it on her first try.

"I can't believe this!" Will groaned. He slapped his forehead and shook his head in dismay. He was being bested by a girl!

Elaine jumped up and down in glee as she was presented with her second duck. She quickly sighted another duck - this one clutching a book and a flower in its wings. Whether it was overconfidence or overexcitement, Elaine missed the duck and thus was all out of hoops. "Darn."

"That just proves that the other two ducks were pure luck," Will told her.

"Were not!" Elaine protested. "I won them because I was good. You're just jealous because you're not as skilled as I am."

"You had the advantage of having played the game before," Will pointed out. "I was just a beginner."

Because she knew he was just spouting hot air, she didn't try and point out that the last time she'd played the game she'd been about ten-years-old. "Do you want to play again?"

"Nah. Maybe another time."

"Why? Because you know you'll lose again?"

Will accepted her teasing for what they were and swung an arm around her shoulders to squeeze them as they walked away from the booth. "Nah, more like because I don't want to ruin your winning streak."

"Right. I'm sure that's it," Elaine chortled. As they walked, she examined her little ducks. "Aren't they cute?"

"It's not polite to gloat, Elaine."

She stuck her tongue out at him. He thought her action was adorable. He couldn't remember a time where any woman had deigned to stick her tongue out at him. There was something so playful and so endearing about the gesture. Who knew that a tongue could be so attractive, he thought to himself.

"So, which one do you like?" she asked him.

Because she'd asked, he took the ducks from her and examined them himself. "Hm. I don't know. Maybe the one riding the tricycle. It's more manly and more dignified."

"Really?" Elaine inspected the duck more closely. "How so?"

"There are less flowers surrounding the duck," Will answered drolly.

"Then you should have it." She took the duck carrying the basket back and left the one riding the tricycle in his hands.

"Yeah?"

"Why not? You can call it a consolation prize."

Though he tugged her hair, Will was pleased by her gesture. "Thank you." After that, he carried it around even more carefully, taking ever effort to make sure it wouldn't get broken.

They passed a booth selling food. "We never got dessert. Should we get something here?" Elaine asked him.

Now that they've walked around some, there was more room in their stomachs. "Sure. What do they have?" Will asked.

There were lots of Asian dessert items to choose from, but Elaine settled on hong dou bing - shaved ice topped with sweet red bean paste and drizzled condensed milk. ⁶ The entire concoction was light and simple, the perfect sort of summertime treat. Upon her recommendation, Will decided to order one for himself as well. He started to pull out his wallet, but Elaine stayed him with a hand on his arm. "You treated me to the game. Let it be my turn to treat you."

He wanted to argue, but he could see something in her eyes. "Fair enough." He slipped his wallet back into his back pocket.

Because they realized they needed their hands in order to eat their desserts, Elaine carefully slipped their ducks into her purse. "There, that should do it." She zipped her purse back up and patted it to make sure everything was in place before reaching for the bowl of shaved ice Will had been holding for her.

"Do you like it?"

Will carefully scooped a spoonful of the shaved ice and red bean paste and swallowed it. "Mm," he said with some surprise. "It is good." The combination of the shaved ice chips and dense paste gave it an interesting, roughish sort of texture. But the taste, added with the condensed milk, was decidedly sweet. He'd always liked red bean paste so he found the shaved ice combination very much to his taste.

"Good," Elaine beamed. "I'm glad you like it."

He watched her lick a corner of the mouth where some of the condensed milk had dribbled, and found himself overcome with the most ridiculous desire to lick it for her. "What?" she asked, once she'd noticed that he was looking at her in an odd sort of way.

Will shook himself free of his reveries. "Nothing."

She cocked her head, but said nothing. After a second, she turned and resumed their walk through the night market. As they ate, they checked out the other forums of entertainment. There were martial arts street performances, Chinese opera singing, and other musical performances featuring traditional Chinese instruments, just as Charlie had predicted.

"So, how did you get into pottery?" Will asked after a while. Over dinner, it had been brought up that Elaine was the co-owner of a pottery store, and that she and her partner created their own inventory. This had fascinated Will, and he'd expressed interest in stopping by her store one day. Elaine had invited him to do so without any sort of hesitation.

"Oddly enough, purely by happenstance. I was about five years old when my mother got tired of cleaning up after me. See, I used to think of the walls of our apartment as an open canvas, waiting for my brilliant artistic genius to cover it with my crayon and marker drawings. My mother, however, was much less imaginative and saw our walls as walls. Suffice to say, she was less than thrilled with me every time she had to pull out the trusty Windex. So, one day, she came home with some play dough and told me that if I wanted to make art, I was to play with my play dough. I soon discovered that play dough wasn't half as much fun to play with when I tried to stick it to the walls, and ever since then my mother's walls have finally been safe from my brilliant artistic genius."

"And from play dough you moved onto clay," Will guessed.

"You've got it. I didn't actually stumble upon clay until high school. That's when our piano teacher moved next door to an art supply store. I used to hate piano lessons, so my mom started bribing me by letting me visit the art store after our weekly lessons. I ran across some clay one day and decided to buy some with my New Year's money."

"New Year's money?" Will interrupted to ask inquiringly. As far as he knew, he'd never gotten any money for the New Year. Christmas presents, yes. But nothing on New Year's. Pity.

"The Chinese New Year," Elaine explained. "The Chinese follow the lunar calendar, so our New Year always falls at the end of January or in early February. It's probably our biggest holiday and celebration, and it's customary for family and friends to visit one another during the New Year. On those visits, the elders pass out little red envelopes filled with money for the children. They're called hong bao. You also get them from your parents. Technically, you're supposed to get them until you're married, at which time it becomes your turn to give away money, but my parents stopped giving Jane and me New Year's money a long time ago." ⁷

"Ah. I see. Nice way to rake in the dough," he teased. "But forgive me. I interrupted you just as you were about to tell me how you stumbled upon clay."

"Oh. Right. So, I bought some clay and to my delight discovered that I loved the medium. It was so much fun! I loved the way the clay's coolness felt against my hand and the way the clay oozed through my fingers when I mushed it all together. I didn't know what I was doing, but I had fun making things out of it. Eventually I got better, so good that my dad decided that I should see about getting some formal training in pottery. My mother wasn't too happy about that; she thought my time could be put to better use - like studying and learning how to play the piano better. But, it was determined that I had natural talent and, ever since, I haven't looked back.

"I branched out in college and tried other art forms - drawing, photography, even textiles - but I always came back to pottery." Elaine shrugged carelessly. "I love it. Why fix something that isn't broken, isn't that how the saying goes?"

Will watched her eyes as she spoke. Her dark chocolate eyes shimmered with pure joy as she explained to him how she'd come to fall in love with pottery. How she and her best friend from college had decided to make the ultimate leap of faith when they plunged their savings into their store, and how they were slowly but surely making a success out of it.

"I think it's great that you've found something you love. It's how I feel about medicine. Not many people can say that they love their profession with the passion we feel about ours."

"Did you always know you wanted to be a doctor?"

"For the most part. Oh, I ran the usual gambit as a child. I wanted to be a policeman, a firefighter, even a professional basketball player. Interestingly enough, because my own father was a doctor, there was a time where I resisted the idea of following in his footsteps. People would always come up to me, pinch my cheeks, and ask me whether I was going to be a doctor just like my daddy, all the while winking their eyes. I'd baldly tell them no, probably mortifying my parents in the process. As I got older, I couldn't deny my interest in science and eventually I had to accept that I was destined for medicine."

"I bet your parents were happy."

"They were. But they would've been happy even if I'd come to them and told them I wanted to be a racecar driver. Well, maybe not a racecar driver. My mother would probably have an apoplectic fit at the thought of me crashing my car into the wall or something. Mostly, they just wanted me to choose a profession where I'd be happy."

"That's nice."

"It is," Will agreed.

Eventually, they ran into Jane and Charlie again. They hadn't seen them since arriving at the night market. "Hey!"

"Did you guys have fun?" they asked.

"We did," Will answered for them. "We played a game where you had to win the prize by throwing a hoop around it. I sucked, but Elaine rocked. She won twice." Elaine fished the ducks out of her purse to show them off.

"Oh, how cute!" Jane said.

"And then we had some shaved ice with red bean paste," Will finished. "What about you guys?"

Charlie held up a small shopping bag. "Jane got sucked in by the clothes."

"Not clothes, silly. Scarves." She pulled out the two scarves she'd bought and showed them to Elaine. "Aren't they nice?"

"Very nice," Elaine said, fingering the silky scarves.

Jane put them back into her bags. "And while I shopped, Charlie gorged himself on food."

He grinned, patted his lean stomach, and announced gustily, "Food is the best part of the night market!"

"We were thinking of heading on home though. It's getting late."

Elaine looked at her watch and groaned. "Ouch. You're right. I have to open the store tomorrow too."

"I guess I'll drive Will back to his place," Charlie said.

Jane plucked his car keys out his hand and handed Elaine her own. "Don't be silly, Charlie. You'll drive me home. I'm sure Elaine wouldn't mind taking my car and giving Will a ride home."

Elaine practically leapt on the idea. "Of course I wouldn't." She quickly dug out her own keys to give to Jane so that her sister would have a way to get back into their apartment.

"That'd be great," Will agreed.

"Looks like that's settled then. I'll see you at the hospital tomorrow, Will. 'Night, Elaine."

"I'll see you when you get home, Elaine. Until next time, Will."

Elaine threw Jane's keys up in the air and caught them in her hand. "Well? Should we be off?"

"Lead the way."

Except for Will giving Elaine directions to his place, they drove in silence. "This is it," Will pointed to one of the Victorian houses that lined the street.

"Wow. It's beautiful." With the wraparound porch, its yellow siding, white trimmings, and window boxes filled with red flowers, the house looked just as a child's playhouse would.

Will was quick to point out that it was a Victorian house that had been converted into several rental apartments. "I'm on the second floor." Then, shyly, he asked if she would like to come up for a cup of coffee or something.

"I can't," Elaine said regretfully. "Even though we open later on Sundays, I still have a lot of paperwork I'll need to take care of in the morning. I was supposed to work on it today, but I didn't."

"Another time then."

"Yes, definitely. Another time."

"Thanks for the ride home."

"You're welcome."

"I had fun tonight."

"I did too. Oh! Don't forget your duck." She extricated the statue from her purse and handed it over to him. Their hands brushed as the duck exchanged hands.

"Thanks."

They dragged the silence out for another minute before Will reached reluctantly for the door handle. He was loath to part, but there really was nothing left to say. At the last minute, he had a thought and turned back around. "I'm really glad you turned out to be who you are."

"Your Secret Asian Woman?" Elaine couldn't help but ask, with just a hint of tease to her voice.

"Darn. I was hoping you'd forgotten about that. It was just a little nickname Charlie assigned to the nameless woman I'd met in the elevator."

"It's okay. You were the 'elevator man,' " Elaine confided.

Will laughed. "I was disappointed when I got your message this afternoon," he admitted. "After running into you this morning, I was really hoping we could spend more time together and get to know you better. When you called to say you couldn't join me for dinner, I definitely wasn't looking forward to dinner tonight. Don't get me wrong. I love Charlie like a brother and your sister's great - it's just, seeing them together always puts a hitch in my stride because they're so happy together."

"I know." Elaine nodded understandingly. "When they're together, they're permeated with this radiant glow and it sort of hovers around them while repelling everyone else around them. I get stuck as their third wheel a lot too. And, honestly? I wasn't looking forward to tonight either. Especially not after I got your voicemail. I was just about to accept your date when my sister told me I couldn't go. Jane and I are really close, but I've never wanted to sock my sister as hard as I did then."

"We lucked out, didn't we?"

"Yeah, we did."

"How about next time we ditch my friend and your sister and strike out on our own?"

Elaine smiled. "I like the sound of that."

"I'll give you a call then."

"Great."

Unable to resist the allure of her delectable mouth in the moonlight, Will leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. He felt as though he'd been kicked in the stomach. He didn't know what he'd been expecting, but it hadn't been this. This instant spark and instant pull. He deepened the kiss and heard a low moan. He prayed it wasn't him. Then, just as the kiss was about to consume them both he tore himself away reluctantly. "Good-night, Elaine."

He was already halfway up the stairs to his house when Elaine finally found her voice. Watching him disappear into the darkened hallway of his Victorian house, she touched her molten lips, and whispered, "Good-night, Will."

Upstairs in his apartment, Will hurried to the window and, like a love-sick puppy, watched the break light of Elaine's car flare before she executed a perfect U-turn and drove her car down the hill, towards her home downtown. He waited until her car was completely out of his sight before turning away.

He headed straight for his bedroom where he turned on the lights and started to strip down to his plaid boxer shorts. In the adjoining bathroom, he washed his face, brushed his teeth, and took care of other necessary needs before returning to his bedroom where he slid into bed. As per his nightly ritual, Will made sure his beeper and telephone were easily accessible to him even in his sleep. Then, he adjusted the alarm settings on his alarm clock. Once he'd adjusted it to the desired hour, and double-checked it, he returned the clock to its assigned place on his bedside table.

He made sure he left enough room for the duck though.

Grabbing his jeans from the end of his bed, Will pulled the duck out of his pocket before throwing his pants to the aside. He chuckled as noted the duck's quirky smile grinning back at him. "You're a cute little thing, aren't you?"

He set it next to the alarm clock and then, turning off the overhead light, he stared at the duck, illuminated by the moonlight. The duck's smiling face was the last thing he saw before his eyes closed and he fell asleep.

Footnotes:

1. Recipe for San Bei Ji - Three Cup Chicken, see http://www.a-zofwomen.com/Recipe_2505-+San+Bei+Ji.htm

2. Recipe for Shrimp-Stuffed Tofu, see http://www.low-carb-recipes.ws/_Pile_of_Gold_Tofu_Stuffed_with_Shrimp.html

3. Recipe for Stir-Fried Rice Noodles, see http://www.nicemeal.com/special/special13.html

4. Recipe for Dou Miao - Sautéed Pea Shoots, see http://www.low-carb-recipes.ws/Sauteed_Dou_Miao_with_Garlic.html

5. On Chinese dining etiquette - http://www.china-window.com/china_culture/food_drink/chinese-dining-etiquette.shtml

6. Shaved ice can be topped with almost anything. Red bean paste is certainly a favored item, but it can be paired with other ingredients as well. Here's one variation of shaved ice with red bean paste - http://www.low-carb-recipes.ws/Red_Bean_Ice_Dessert_Pot_Bingsu_.html

7. Hong bao - red envelopes - are also passed out at Chinese weddings in lieu of wedding presents. For more information about these red envelopes and an example of what one looks like, see: http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa_03red_packet_a.htm

Continued in Next Section