Just Friends

3

I rang the doorbell of my parent's apartment while swatting away the branch of cherry blossom branch in my way.

The door opened and Jasmine greeted me. I gave her a quick hug and asked how she was before asking where my mother was.

"In the living room." She said. Her hair had some white streaks nested in her dyed light brown hair.

"Thanks," I smiled. Since I left my for college, I grew to be more grateful to Jasmine.

I took off my pumps that I borrowed from Jessica, then I walked down the entrance hall. When I got to the living room I saw my mother in her red qipao dress, directing caterers and staff she hired for this event.

"Hey Mom," I said when she caught glimpse of me. "How are you?"

She gave me a quick hug before saying, "Stressed. Why is your skirt so short and what is that slit?"

"What do you mean?" I glanced down at my qipao hemline. It was right above my knees and the slit went up to my mid-thigh. "You told me to borrow from Jessica and you knew that shes like three inches shorter than me."

That was a lie. I bought it after meeting Kelly yesterday in the window of a boutique next to Jessica's. It was hot pink with golden dragons embroidered into it.

I loved wearing qipaos. They were like a silk sock that slipped over your body hugging all the right curves. The mandarin collar looked amazing on my long neck. That was one of the few reasons why I liked Chinese New Year. Not to mention they made me feel sexy. After being the big girl in high school against Jessica who was the scrawny one, I was so ready to accept my thin athletic body I had worked so hard for.

"Go change!" She demanded, pointing in the direction of the bedrooms. "You look like someone's mistress"

"What!" I exclaimed my jaw dropping.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I am not arguing with you on Chinese New Year. Now go change. I knew this was going to happen so I bought some backups. They are laying on your bed. Also wear your shoes, we are having gua lows over. "

Gua lows was a slang for the white people. White people gave the Hong Kong socialite parties some "extra diversity", as my little brother, Matthew, liked to say.

Matthew was still had classes and therefore was unable to fly back per my mother's request for the holiday. I'm sure he wasn't missing out on much and was probably going to his ABC, American Born Chinese, girlfriends house to celebrate, whom my mother did not know existed.

I scowled. I knew I wasn't going to win. My mother would kill me before I started an argument in front of the help especially In preparation for a Chinese New Year party.

I grabbed my heels before I went to my old bedroom. It still looked the same, with the posters of singers and academic-related posters were mixed together. On my twin bed laid an array of dresses. All, of course, were long enough to cover my ankles and range of red shades. I picked up each one examining each before slipping on the one with the highest leg slit. My mother probably didn't realize how tall my heels would be. I was going to have my Angelina Jolie moment, whether she liked it or not.

I looked at myself in the floor length mirror hanging in my closet door, now full of my mother's clothing.

It was bright red with a gold embroidery with capped sleeves and a mandarin collar. Plus the high leg slit and killer heels made me grin. I fixed my hair in it's its low chignon that Jessica suggested me to where. She was arriving later with her parents as guests. I reapplied my lip stick before exiting my old room.

Guests started to arrive at 6 pm. My father just made it into the door and changed from his work suit into his own Chinese New Year costume my mother probably bought for him. I had given him a quick hug and he told me I looked beautiful as the doorbell rang.

It was the old money elites who always came on the dot. I shook hands, bowed and hugged so many people before getting dizzy. I was about to go excuse myself when my a familar face appeared. It was my parents oldest friends, Fiona and Edward Collins. They were like family. Fiona, like my mother, was part of the socialite circle and from old money in Singapore while her husband was the CEO of a Hotel Corporation in Asia.

"Hi Aunty Fiona," I said giving her a quick embrace, "hi Uncle Eddy." After I gave them both hugs, they complimented me on how pretty I looked and I returned the compliment respectively to each.

"It's so nice to see you." My mother gushed genuinely. "Where are the boys?"

My mother was referring to Fiona and Edwards gorgeous wasian , white and asian mixed, sons. Aunty Fiona was Singaporean while Uncle Eddy was British. They both were attractive themselves, resulting, as expected, with three handsome sons. We grew up as best friends but they all left in middle school for boarding school. Our parents were still close and I only got to see them when they would come back to Hong Kong for the holidays.

First, there was Kayden, who was three years older than me and the ringleader when we were kids. The last I heard, he was in his mandatory Singaporean military training. My older brother, Maximillion, still kept in contact with him because they were close in age. I remember having the tiniest of tiny crushes on Kayden when I was a teenager.

Then there was Aiden, who was my age and who I was closest to. I saw on Facebook he was living in London and was studying for a medical license. And last was there was Nicholas, also known as Nicky. I heard from Jessica that he had actually turned into a major playboy and tramped around Asia with a new girl on his arm when he got bored of the last. I could always count on her for the gossip.

"Oh Kayden will be here," Aunty Fiona said."And Nicholas will be home tomorrow from his trip to Bali. Aiden is still in London for his classes but will be here by the weekend, in time for the new years."

"Well, we will be looking out for them." My father said with a smile and ushered them towards the living room where people were milling around. Photographers were already snapping photos for tomorrows magazine news. Everyone wanted to know who was at Esther Song-Wu's party.

I excused myself after another two parties of guests arrived.

I sneaked off to the kitchen where the carters were busying themselves. I helped myself to a glass of water, sipping delicately with a straw like my mother had advised me to.

After finishing my glass of water I slipped back out running into a couple who I only remembered my mother scowling as they walked in and whispered to me that the lady was his mistress.

"Mali!" The man with a big potbelly coming over his belt buckle. He had a greying mustache and the girl looked almost my age.

"Oh hello." I smiled."Are you enjoying the party?"

"Yes very much," The girl grinned before letting the man launched into a conversation about how the beautiful my parent's collection of antique Japanese teapots on display to my left were so special.

I nodded while words went through one ear and then the other.

It must of been a solid thirty minutes before suddenly the man stopped talking and stared behind me. The girl clinging to him did too. I turned and saw a man letting out a large laugh. He was standing next to my older brother and his wife, Grace, and my two-year-old nephew Joey.

I could only see the man's profile. The man was tall with broad shoulders and lean muscular legs flexing in his suit pants. He had slightly messy dark brown hair and stubble slightly scattered long his sharp angular jaw. He was holding a glass of champagne in one hand. His other hand flexed the fingers and I could tell his hands were bigger than the size of my face.

It took me a moment before I realized who it was.