Late from the agreed time, Brett arrived at the Chen residence.
"Oh, Brett's here!" Chen-mama shouted to the direction of the living room as she opened the door for him.
He removed his shoes and properly placed them at the shoe rack by the door. "Sorry, I'm late," Brett apologized.
She patted his shoulder, "Come, come, quick, " and both of them went to where the guests are.
Brett was called to Chen's due to some of Chen-mama's relatives are visiting. They also heard the news of Eddy being engaged, so they were curious to see to whom.
On the living room, Eddy was chatting with the aunties along with some snacks.
"Tsk!" Auntie #1 clicked her tongue, "It's just Brett," she crossed her arms and legs, "we want to see the fiancé, la!"
Auntie #2 nodded in agreement.
Chen-mama, Eddy, and Brett were silent and gave each other looks before all turned to the aunties.
She let out a small laugh, then the disclaimer: "You will be surprised," Chen-mama directed to the aunties.
---
Brett spent the night at Chen's. The aunties gave an expected surprised reaction, thankfully non-violent. It was unexpected for the couple that the aunties easily accepted their engagement despite that they had a strict traditional upbringing.
But it was not easy, for here comes the "new housewife initiation" part.
---
Eddy was the first one to wake up. He headed downstairs, to the kitchen, for some coffee. He would eat later when Brett wakes up, Eddy decided.
In the kitchen, the aunties were chatting over coffee. Eddy greeted the two then proceed to make himself a cup.
"Eddy, why don't you make breakfast for Brett?" Auntie #1 said as she turns her chair to Eddy's direction.
Auntie #2 nodded and sipped her coffee.
Eddy gulped. Slowly he turned to his aunts, "I... I'm not a great cook..." He said in all honesty.
"Just try," Auntie #1 encouraged Eddy, "we'll give you some pointers while you're at it." She smiled.
Auntie #2 nodded in agreement.
He sighed. "Okay..." And Eddy proceeds to make some fried rice from whatever ingredient he found in the fridge.
After a few moments, the experimental fried rice was done.
Eddy's hands slightly shook as he put the bowl of fried rice in front of the aunties. He gave them a fork each, hoped that they'd say it's 'passable.'
The first one to dig in was Auntie #2. She quietly stabbed on a piece of ham and gathered some rice with her fork and brought it to her mouth. She chewed slowly. No notable expression on her face as she put her cup on her mouth. She swallowed it along with her coffee.
He let out a loud exhale and wiped a bead of sweat on his forehead. Worried of what she might say, Eddy, eyed Auntie #1.
She quickly got some of the fried rice on her fork and ate it. Chewed, one time, two times, then swallowed. She was quiet for a while. Auntie #1 put down her fork then turned to Eddy and said,
"This will be the reason for your divorce."
---
"No, Eddy!" The older Yang sibling exclaimed. "Bad cooking is not a valid reason for a divorce." He bit on his donut and leaned back to his chair.
The two are in the coffee shop beside the older Yang's clinic. As they wait for Brett to return from the restroom they talked about the Chen aunties, for it made Eddy down about his cooking skills.
Eddy sighed. His head hanged low as he played with the empty sugar packets he used on his coffee. His thought of wanting to learn to cook became stronger.
"But if you want Brett to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at your house," older Yang leaned to Eddy's direction and pointed him with the half-eaten donut on his hand, "you better start learning now!"
He again sighed. Eddy reached for his cup. 'I'll practice when I get home! ASAP' he thought, then took a sip of his coffee.
Still leaning on the table, older Yang ate the rest of his donut and said, "Bad cooking can be a reason for having a mistress though."
Eddy choked on his drink.
---
Eddy was lying on his side on the couch, hugging a throw pillow. His eyes were almost watery. The thought of how his 'bad cooking' may turn his upcoming marriage life miserable was going on and on in his mind.
Brett walked to the living room from the kitchen with a plate in hand. "Here, have some cookies," he placed the freshly baked cookies on the coffee table in front of Eddy. He sat on the couch and rested Eddy's head on his lap. "Mom just made them."
He just stared at the innocent cookies. Eddy knew that they taste good just by the looks of it. He sighed and hugged the pillow tighter.
"You've been down lately," Brett said as he picked a cookie from the platter "something you wanna tell me?" He took a bite and fed the remaining half to Eddy.
It was kind of difficult eating lying on his side, but Eddy still ate the cookie. As he thought, it tasted good. "I can't cook."
A chuckle escaped Brett, "I know." He ran his hand through his lover's hair.
Eddy covered his face with the pillow, "I don't want to feed you bad cooking every day."
"You'll learn," Brett smiled, "you have all the time in the world to practice that," he removed the pillow on Eddy's face to look at him in the eyes and said, "and I'll cook for you too."
YOU ARE READING
The Bridge To Success
Fanfiction"Mom, I want to marry Eddy." From this announcement forward Brett had made a choice, to be with his best friend. With parents hoping for a normal marriage life for them, a somewhat knowing best friend of his, siblings that cheered him on, and people...
