“Is it always this crazy?” I shouted to Tai over the chaotic crowd.
“Of course I am!” Tai yelled back with a wink.
“No, not you! The New Year’s Parade!”
Tai gripped my hand tight as we made our way through the crowds lining the streets of the capital of Aujina. It had been some time since I had visited this country, but I didn’t remember there being so many people in it.
“This is most important holiday in Aujina!” Tai yelled above the crowd and music. “People come from everywhere to see parade. This way!”
He tugged on my arm, taking me towards the front of the crowd. I felt guilty for shoving my way through the crowd and cutting into the front – after all, I was the princess of the neighborhood kingdom, and being a line-cutter didn’t seem like a thing princesses did – but no one seemed to mind the invasion of personal space. After navigating through a maze of people, Tai pointed to the marching band accompanied by gorgeously dressed horses. The music was lively and a low-key folk bop; a mix of flutes, violins, large drums, and some long pipe instrument I had never seen before. It was a mix of classical Western music and Chinese traditional music, but – for some reason – reminded me of Italy.
Aujina in a nutshell.
The crowd danced and clapped with the beat, and I watched Tai’s gorgeous face scrunch in disapproval.
He groaned. “These people… You clap on two-four beat, not one-three beat!”
I laughed, hanging on his arm as the band marched by, followed by ribbon and sword dancers. I had never seen sword dancing before in America, but here it looked completely natural.
Tai’s hand snaked around my waist as he pulled me close. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye and bounced his eyebrow flirtatiously.
“There could be paparazzi,” I said, leaning into his ear. “This could turn into quite the scandal.”
He leaned back into my ear, grazing his lips against my cheek as he did.
“Good,” he replied. “I want everyone to know you’re mine.”
He gave me a quick peck below my ear as I tried to hide my face. I didn’t want him to see how stupidly I was smiling.
We watched the parade for ten or fifteen minutes more before the tail of it started to fade down the street. The crowd began to break up, but Tai had no intention of browsing around the festival.
“I have special place,” he said in his adorable broken English. “Want to see?”
I nodded immediately.
He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close, guiding me back through the crowd. Even on a mission to show me something special, he was still incredibly leisurely about it, not bothering to race through the overwhelming crowd. He barely acknowledged it, and went his own way without any hassle.
I would need to learn that from him someday.
After a twenty-minute walk, we ended up at a large Chinese restaurant, hidden in the back of an alleyway. I glanced at the enticing market of wares and street food that stretched down the alley next to it, but Tai nodded for me to come inside the restaurant before I could get a good look. His cocky smile was more exciting to me than the market anyway, if I was honest.
The restaurant was pretty busy, filled with Aujinians and foreigners alike. The smell of garlic and sesame oil mingled in the most delicious way possible, and looking at the large tables filled with various entrees made my mouth water.
“It looks delicious,” I said, almost forgetting to speak in a regular volume.
“Thanks,” Tai replied as if he had made it himself. “Let’s get a table.”
“It looks like we may have to wait a while.”
“Nope,” Tai replied, shaking his finger at me. “I never wait for a table.”
He nudged me forward and we made our way back to the kitchen. I didn’t understand why we were going directly to the kitchen, but I didn’t know what to say about it, so I just followed Tai’s lead. He leaned into the window of the kitchen, suddenly switching to Chinese as he spoke with one of the cooks.
The cook greeted him warmly and looked over his shoulder, yelling to someone else.
Then a woman squealed.
A curly-haired woman in an orange apron and red lipstick flew out of the kitchen, wrapping her arms around Tai. She patted him hard on the back, chatting happily while he gave her a huge smile. They talked for a moment in their own language. I only stood there awkwardly. Eventually, Tai met my eyes again, motioning over to me.
“Marina, this is my mother,” he said.
He then introduced me to his mom in his native tongue and I nodded and smiled as if I had understood anything he had said.
Tai and I had been a couple for months, but no one knew about it – at least my parents didn’t – and I tried not to show how nervous I suddenly was.
Tai’s mother clapped and smiled in return, suddenly hitting Tai in excitement.
“So pretty!” she said in English. “Are you from Aujina?”
“America,” I replied. “My parents are from Paijeana.”
Actually, my parents were king and queen of Paijeana, the neighboring
country, but I didn’t think it was necessary to bring that up.
“Welcome, welcome!” she said happily. “I’m so happy to meet you!”
I laughed at her enthusiasm, realizing where Tai got all his energy from. She said something in Chinese, pointing at my stomach. Tai visibly blanched.
“What did she say?” I asked.
Tai rubbed his jaw, looking mortified. “U-uh, nothing. Let’s get a table.”
He grabbed my hand and dragged me to the back of the restaurant before I could ask anything else. There were a few tables in a back room, all separated by high, private walls. It looked like small party rooms, but most of them were empty.
We took a seat at one of the tables, and Tai ordered for us. I rested my head on my hands, thinking about how sexy he sounded as he ordered for us in his native language. He caught my eye and raised an eyebrow at me.
“What?” he asked.
“I never hear you speak Chinese this much.”
He shrugged. “I can’t use it at the castle. Most of my work is done in English. Which reminds me: I have news. I’ve been asked to perform at the Captial Opera House.”
My jaw dropped, and I couldn’t help but clap. “That’s fantastic! The opera house in Aujina is massive!”
Tai gave his shyest pink smile, trying to hide it behind his hand. “Of course, I have VIP seats for the Princess of Paijeana, if she’s interested.”
“Absolutely! I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”
He reached over the table and took my hand, rubbing the skin with his thumb as he smiled shyly once more. When the waiter came with our soup and beer he didn’t pull away, and I felt a rush of adrenaline as he showed me off to everyone as his own.
Suddenly, I wanted to do the same.
“Can I invite my parents?” I asked.
Tai’s lips flattened, and he seemed lost for an answer for a moment. I had never seen him look so troubled in such an instant.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
‘N-nothing’s wrong,” he replied, still holding my hand. “I want to meet them. It’s just that…”
He stopped, looking at his soup. I shook his hand to get his attention.
“It’s just what?” I asked.
He sighed. “I’m just musician, Marina. And I’m not famous yet. I don’t have anything that will impress them.”
I tried not to laugh. Not because what he said was funny, but because I was surprised that he wanted to impress my parents so much.
“Tai,” I said firmly. “My mom and dad lived in California as a middle-class family for more than twenty years. My uncle is a prince and he gave it all up to marry my aunt and start a karate dojo. My family may be royalty, but they care about character more than status.”
He was silent for a long moment. “And if my character is questionable as well?”
My heart sunk a little, and I reached over to hold his other hand.
“Don’t say things like that,” I said. “You’re a good man, Tai. You’ve always been the first one to come to my rescue when I needed you. You’re always there to cheer me up when I feel overwhelmed. You know, I noticed that you play slow songs when I’m stressed.”
His lips pulled back in a half-smile.
I squeezed his hands. “I love being with you. And I love your character. My family will too.”
“My character isn’t half as good as yours.”
“I know that. I’m fantastic.”
He burst into laughter, squeezing my hands in amusement. I smiled because he was smiling.
“It’s never boring with you, Marina,” he said. “And that’s what I love most.”
He stood up, leaning over the table and giving me a firm kiss on the lips. I accepted the kiss, the smell of the soup making his lips somehow even more delicious.
He sat back down, taking a deep breath. He then nodded as if one of us had asked a question and he was answering it.
“Alright,” he said. “Invite your parents. Even if they don’t accept me, I want them to know how important you are to me.”
I smiled, reaching for my soup. “That’s very bold of you.”
He reached for his own bowl of soup. “You’re worth being bold for.”
We raised our glasses of beer together, the clink of the glass turning into the most beautiful sound in the world.