Crazy Rich Asians

“Well, somehow the vegetable woke up, and he’s even talking! The cousin of my maid’s daughter-in-law is the night nurse at Mount E, and apparently she got the shock of her life when Patient Shaw woke up at four this morning and started demanding his Kopi-O.”[90]

“How long has he been in a coma?” Eleanor asked, looking up and noticing Nick stroll into the kitchen. Oh my. Nick was over bright and early. Something must have happened!

“Six years now. Nadine, Ronnie, Francesca, the whole family have rushed to his bedside, and the news crews are just arriving.”

“Huh. Do you think we should go down too?” Eleanor asked.

“I think let’s wait. Let’s see. You know, I hear that sometimes these coma victims wake up right before they die.”

“If he’s asking for Kopi-O, something tells me he’s not going to kick the bucket anytime soon,” Eleanor surmised. She said goodbye to Daisy and focused her attention on Nick.

“Francesca’s grandfather woke up from his coma this morning,” Eleanor relayed, buttering another piece of toast.

“I didn’t even realize he was still alive,” Nick said disinterestedly.

“What are you doing here so early? Do you want some breakfast? Some kaya toast?”

“No, no, I already ate.”

“Where’s Rachel this morning?” Eleanor asked a little too eagerly. Was the girl tossed out in the middle of the night like garbage?

“Rachel’s still asleep. I got up early to talk to you and Dad. Is he up yet?”

“Alamak, your father sleeps till ten, at the earliest.”

“Well then, I’ll tell you first. I’m going away with Rachel for a few days, and if all goes according to plan, I intend to propose to her while we’re away,” Nick declared.

Eleanor put down her toast and gave him a look of unconcealed horror. “Nicky, you can’t be serious!”

“I’m totally serious,” Nick said, taking a seat at the table. “I know you don’t know her very well yet, but that’s been my fault entirely — I haven’t given you or Dad the chance to meet her until now. But I can assure you that you’ll soon discover what an amazing human being she is. She is going to be a fantastic daughter-in-law to you, Mum.”

“Why are you rushing into this?”

“I’m not rushing into anything. We’ve dated for nearly two years. We’ve practically been living together for the past year. I was planning to propose on our two-year anniversary this October, but some stuff happened, and I need to show Rachel how important she is to me, right now.”

“What stuff?”

Nick sighed. “It’s a long story, but Rachel’s been treated badly by a few people since arriving — Francesca especially.”

“What did Francesca do?” Eleanor asked innocently.

“It doesn’t matter what she did. What matters is that I have to put things right.”

Eleanor’s mind raced in circles. What the hell happened last night? That stupid Francesca! Alamak, her plan must have backfired. “You don’t have to marry her just to put things right, Nicky. Don’t let this girl pressure you,” Eleanor urged.

“I’m not being pressured. The truth is, I have been thinking about marrying Rachel almost since the day I met her. And now, more than ever, I know she is the one for me. She is so smart, Mum, and such a good person.”

Eleanor was seething inside, but she tried to speak in a measured voice. “I’m sure Rachel is a nice girl, but she can never be your wife.”

“And why is that?” Nick leaned back in his chair, amused by the absurdity of his mother’s words.

“She is just not suitable for you, Nicky. She does not come from the right background.”

“Nobody is ever going to come from ‘the right background’ in your eyes,” Nick scoffed.

“I’m only telling you what everyone is already thinking, Nick. You haven’t heard the horrible things I’ve heard. Do you know her family comes from Mainland China?”

“Stop it, Mum. I’m so fed up with this ridiculous snobbery you and your friends have toward the Mainland Chinese. We are all Chinese. Just because some people actually work for their money doesn’t mean they are beneath you.”

Eleanor shook her head and continued in a graver tone, “Nicky, you don’t understand. She will never be accepted. And I’m not talking about your dad and me — I’m talking about your dear Ah Ma and the rest of the family. Take it from me — even though I have been married to your father for thirty-four years, I am still considered an outsider. I am a Sung — I came from a respectable family, a rich family, but in their eyes I was never good enough. Do you want to see Rachel suffer like that? Look at how they have frozen out that Kitty Pong girl!”

“How can you even compare Rachel to Kitty? Rachel isn’t a soap-opera star who runs around in skimpy clothes — she’s an economist with a PhD. And everyone in the family has been perfectly nice to her.”