Chapter 1
“So, when is the big day?”
Nathan Wong tilted his head to the side and stared in confusion at his best friend of twenty-five years, Abigail Chan. They were having lunch at their usual Chinese restaurant, Golden Fortune. They worked in the same area, so they met for lunch daily unless there was an emergency at work. Their friendship was as strong as ever. They’d met on the first day of year one at the local elementary school and hit it off right away. They’d been inseparable ever since. Initially, their parents thought that the two of them would end up getting married. However, as the years passed, his attraction towards those of the same gender grew stronger. He’d been equally terrified of coming out to his family and his best friend.
Fortunately, they were accepting of his sexuality when he eventually stepped out of the proverbial closet at the ripe old age of twenty-two, which also happened to be his last year in college. His parents’ reactions had been milder than he expected them to be and his two siblings were totally nonchalant about it. Abigail had simply smirked at him and nodded knowingly. He smiled in relief at the easy acceptance by the people closest to him and it made his coming out to his other friends that much smoother. He’d been an out and proud gay man for the last ten years.
“Big day?”
“Come on, Nate. Don’t keep me in suspense.”
“Abby, I love you. I really do, but I wonder about your sanity sometimes. What the fuck are you talking about? Big day? Do you mean my birthday? It’s in July and you know that al—”
“Nate, it’s legal now. Don’t you watch the news to keep up with the current events? Life is not all about fashion, hairstyle, and screwing the next available man, you know?”
“Rude. Not all gay men are fashionista wanna-bes and not all gay men are in the habit of keeping up with the latest hairstyle trends. Most importantly, not all gay men are sexually promiscuous. Besides, I’m in a rela—”
“Okay, fine. Still. It’s legal now.”
“Abby, my love, my precious,” he replied and paused dramatically. “When you have regained your sanity, come and talk to me. I will be right here waiting for you.”
“Don’t get sassy with me, young man. I—”
“Uh, news flash? I’m older than you are.”
“By three months only. Anyway, marriage. Gay marriage is legal now.”
“So?” He arched one of his eyebrows.
“Jason and you should—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let me cut you off right there. Neither one of us has popped the question yet.”
Jason Yang, his boyfriend of seven years, was a college professor. The man was four years older than him. They’d met at a mutual friend’s birthday party. Corny as it might be, it had been love at first sight for them both. He’d tried to play it cool and accepted the other man’s invitation for a date as calmly as he could, but on the inside, he freaked out like a teenager about to go out on his first date ever. One successful date had turned into two. Soon, he’d forgotten to keep track of the number of dates. Slightly more than a year later, they moved in together.
“Why not?” Abigail whined out loud.
He cringed a little at the tone of voice and his best friend’s facial expression was not helping. He shook his head and grabbed her hands.
“Abby, a grown woman does not whine and pout in public like a baby.”
“Oh, shut up. Don’t change the subject now.”
“I’m not—”
“Yes, you are. We have been best friends for—”
“Alright. Fine. Whatever.”
He rolled his eyes in exasperation when Abigail grinned triumphantly at him. She was such an ungraceful winner. He sometimes wondered how the two of them have stayed friends for so many years.
“So?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t play coy with me now, Nate.”
“I’m not…What the hell are you trying to ask?”
“Wedding.”
“And I have already told you that neither of us has—”
“Why don’t you just pop the question already? What are you waiting for?”
“Abby, why are you so invested in this wedding stuff anyway?”
“Well, the two of you have been together for more than seven years now. That…that’s like seven thousand donkey years and—”
“Are you a donkey?”
“Hush. Don’t interrupt me. Where was I? Oh, yeah. Jason and you have been together for more than seven years. Don’t you want to get married and settle down?”
“Uh, news flash. Just in case that you haven’t noticed it, Jason and I are settled. We have been living together for six years.”
“But a wedding.”
“Not quite sure what exactly you—”
“Get married already.”
“Abby,” he answered with a slight whine in his voice. “Lucas and you are happily married, but not everybody—”
“I know, but a marriage will give you additional security.”
“And also a divorce?”
“Don’t be a pessimist. Listen to—”
“No, you listen to me. I love Jason and I have faith that he loves me, too. The two of us are content the way we are.”
“But…”
“But if we were getting married, you would be the first…second to know.”
“Second?”
“I have to inform my family first.”
“But you have to tell so many people before me. You have your parents, your siblings…It will take forever.”
“Okay, let me rephrase what I said. Outside of my family, you will be the first to know.”
“Okay, fine. Fair enough, I guess. Anyway, how’s the shop?”
He grinned cheerfully and began to talk about the ideas that he had about the herbal shop he would someday take over from his parents. As the youngest of three children, he hadn’t expected to inherit the shop at all, but it had happened anyway. His two brothers, Larry and Matthew, had chosen to become a pediatrician and a corporate lawyer, respectively. His parents had been saddened by their decisions, but they were understanding.