Halfway through eating, Megan suddenly laughed. "Mom, the way my brother chewed her out on the phone just now? I loved every second of it."
Brenda gave a satisfied grunt. "Your brother knows what's what. He knows exactly who his real mother and sister are."
"See? That's the beauty of having a son in your corner."
"You'd better pull your weight too. Pop out a big healthy boy, and your husband's family will treat you like a queen."
The bird's nest tonic gone, Brenda started rummaging again.
She yanked open the fridge, swept her eyes over the shelves, and let out a sudden cry of delight. "Ooh, what's this?"
She pulled a golden durian out of the bottom drawer, turned, and waved it at Megan. "Look at this. She was hiding it in here."
Megan's eyes lit up. "Durian! I love this stuff!"
I'd bought it on my way home from work, the flesh a deep golden yellow, plump in fat little segments.
The two of them didn't hold back, picking it clean.
Not a single bite left for me.
But right then, I had no appetite for anything.
The smell of that stewed meat still hung in the room, refusing to clear out.
I threw open every window, hoping Cotton's spirit could escape faster.
The kitchen floor was covered in her soft white fur.
Such a sweet little Coton de Tulear. She was always lifting that round little face to look at me.
Her small tail used to sweep back and forth across the floor, stirring up little clouds of dust.
It never took long for that pretty little tail to get dirty.
Every time, I'd tap her on the nose and say, "Greedy little thing. Let me peel you an egg."
And now, the life seemed to have drifted out of that pile of white fur, right along with its owner's spirit.
All the old shine was gone, the fur dry and tangled, heaped into a dull little mound.
My legs gave out and I dropped to my knees on the floor, gathering the fur up in my arms.
As if doing that could bring Cotton back, bring back the six unborn little lives in her belly.
Ding-dong. The doorbell rang.
"Anyone home? We're here with the fish delivery, scheduled for eight tonight. Mind opening up?"
I opened the door and directed the workers to set the tank under the spotlights in the living room.
The tank was wrapped tight in thick cardboard.
The workers peeled the cardboard away, and the instant the spotlights hit the water, Brenda and Megan both froze at the sight.
"What is that thing?" Brenda asked.
I didn't bother answering. I paid the workers and saw them out.
Light fell across the fish's back as it drifted lazily through the water, its body well over half a meter long.
The living room was dead quiet, just the faint trickle of water from the tank's filter.
I found myself staring, transfixed, at the fish in front of me.
John had told me it was called an Emperor Green-Skin Chili-Red arowana.
Against the green base, the gold-red and silver blended into a gradient, glinting with a dazzling light. It was breathtaking.
But something shuddered inside me.
I couldn't help thinking, what kind of awful person would look at a creature this beautiful and want to taste it?
I thought of Cotton.
Cotton had been just as beautiful. That round little face, those pitch-black eyes, the way she ran like a ball of cloud rolling across the ground.
It was them. I cut a hard glare sideways at Brenda and Megan.
A low murmur reached my ears.
"Mom..."
Megan kept her voice down.
"I didn't get enough to eat tonight."
Brenda didn't say anything, but she licked her lips.
Megan leaned in closer. "Hey, you think that fish has a belly full of soft little fry, same as the dog did?"
The blood in my body froze solid.
"If it really does... oh, Mom, I'm hungry!"
Megan whined, impatient.
Brenda gave her hand a little squeeze. "Keep it down. Mom hears you. I'll figure something out right away."
The corners of Megan's mouth slowly spread into a grin, her eyes flooding with greed.
Just then my phone rang. It was John.
"Hey, the fish get there? Any fish food? Feed it a tiny bit and see how it does."
I answered in a low voice. "There's no fish food. I'll go out and buy some in a bit."
John pushed at me, irritated. "Hurry up, then. Any later and the stores'll be closed."
"I'm telling you, you'd better take good care of that fish. Bryan borrowed loan-shark money behind his wife's back to buy it."
"The contract with the hotel owner's already signed. I get a twenty-thousand cut, and Bryan clears sixty thousand on the middle."
"If we screw this up, we owe the hotel owner five times the penalty! It's only at our place for three days, so be careful!"
I kept my voice quiet. "Okay, got it. Pull up the home security camera feed and keep an eye on the fish, so nothing goes wrong and gets pinned on us."
"I'm heading out for the fish food right now. You just watch it for half an hour."
Hmph. Half an hour. More than enough time for those two to deal with the fish.
