The Apology (10)

Eager to change the subject as well, Joann took the seat and answered Auntie Xiao's question, "I just came out for a stroll. There's nothing important. Life is going well. Xu Jing and I have a daughter, and she's now in her 20s. You know how it is for young people her age but she doesn't worry me that much. I'm very proud of her, so I suppose life is great."

Joann forced a smile at the end. Auntie Xiao gasped, "You have a daughter now? Oh, that's wonderful! You have to bring her to come see Auntie Xiao next time! I'm sure she is as gorgeous as her mother!" Auntie Xiao had purposely dropped the mention of Xu Jing, she could have said, 'you have to bring her... and your husband to come see Auntie Xiao next time' but she didn't. Despite her age, Auntie Xiao's mind was still quite sharp.

Joann smiled at the compliment. The conversation hit a lull as she turned to look around the shop. Then, she asked Auntie Xiao the question that had been bothering her since she arrived, "Auntie Xiao, are things normally this quiet?" She was referring to the shop's lack of customers.

This time it was Auntie Xiao who had her face drawn. However, unlike Joann, Auntie Xiao was willing to share her troubles with others. At her age, she had already learned to face the world with an open heart. She saw no point in hiding around.

Auntie Xiao sighed and admitted, "It has been like this for quite some time already. The golden period for this business is already over. Perhaps it's about time for me to close this shop..."

Joann was shocked by this revelation. "But how can this be? Is it because the new owner of the shop has messed up your recipes? Auntie Xiao, you have to seriously lecture and scold them just like how you did when I was working for you. I'm sure with your cooking, the legacy of this place will be able to carry on. Speaking of which, who is the new proprietor of this shop? I'll go have a little talk with them, I'll be sure to remind them how important this place is to many people's memories."

Joann assumed that it was Auntie Xiao's children who had inherited the shop so the old lady did not have the heart to lecture them so Joann volunteered to whip them into shape.

Auntie Xiao smiled a meaningful smile. "You're talking to the proprietor of the shop and trust me, I know its history very well."

Joann gasped, "Auntie Xiao, you're still managing this place? Why hadn't you handed it over to your children?"

"Look around you. Do you think I can let my children get entrapped in a place like this? It's better that they seek their future elsewhere." Auntie Xiao flashed a rueful smile. The shop was a dying business with no customer. Auntie Xiao knew her children would be obedient enough to take over the shop if she asked but she knew better than to burden her children with this sinking ship. Her children had the intention to go seek their fortune elsewhere and Auntie Xiao was more than willing to allow them to spread their wings and fly. She would stay to guard this place until she could not anymore.

Every day the shop was bleeding money as long as it was in operation but the place meant more than a shop for Auntie Xiao. As Joann mentioned, it had that irreplaceable sense of history. You could call it responsibility or stubbornness but Auntie Xiao just did not want to let the shop down.

In her urgency to resolve the issue, Joann blurted out before she could stop herself, "Could this mean the taste is no longer as good as before?" At this point, Joann quickly stopped herself. She realized she had just insulted Auntie Xiao's cooking. She quickly backtracked, "I mean, Auntie Xiao, perhaps the recipe needs some alteration or..."

Auntie Xiao laughed, "It's okay, I understand what you're trying to say." She did not mind the offense. She saw Joann as her own daughter and she understood Joann was just trying to help.

"Wait here." Auntie Xiao told Joann as she stood up to head to the counter. Then, minutes later, she came back with a bowl of red bean paste. Joann smiled. "Auntie Xiao, you still remember my favorite."

Auntie Xiao smiled in return. Joann took a sip of the dessert and the memories from years gone by flooded her brain. The heavy school work, the challenges of a new actor, the need to make sure she have enough money to pay rent at the end of each month, the struggles she was in to juggle the three different aspects of her life, Auntie Xiao's support and Xu Jing's tolerance, the red bean paste brought them all back. It tasted the same as how it was several decades before when she was still working at Auntie Xiao's. Nothing has changed... Joann told herself.

Joann put the spoon down and she turned to ask Auntie Xiao, "Then why? The food still tastes as delicious as before. The recipes have remained unchanged, so what happened?"

Auntie Xiao then said something that had been echoing within Joann's mind for the past few days, "Because everything has changed."

It felt like Auntie Xiao had reached into her brain to pull this particular sentiment out, it stunned Joann to say the least.

Auntie Xiao reached over to grab the bowl of red bean paste. She circled her calloused finger around the rim. "Time moves on. We might not be able to notice it because the change happens little by little but one of these days you're going to look around you and realize nothing seems familiar anymore."

Auntie Xiao held the bowl in her hands and she continued, "I can still remember how much I purchased these bowls for when I planned to open this place. They came in stacks of tens and they were new and shiny but look at them now. Stained and cracked."