note: good news! I finished writing the last two chapters for this story in a day, just a few hours ago. I only have the epilogue left to write! 

I've been waiting to share this chapter and I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Do leave your thoughts in the comments. I'd love to hear what you think of this dinner <3 

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London once told Andrew that if she were to have any kind of superpower it would be to predict the future. What if he possessed a superpower like the one she described? That way, he could see how the rest of his life was planned out, and more importantly, he could see how successful or disastrous this dinner would turn out to be.

"You ready to face hell?" He looked to the backseat to find London and Aurora giving him amused glances.

"It's going to be fun. I missed Nainai's food," his little girl replied, sticking out her tongue at him.

"Ah, but the question is, did you miss Nainai's scoldings?"

Aurora giggled. "She never scolds me. Just you. I'm her little princess."

"Well, tonight's going to be fun," London laughed and his eyes instantly went to her. He could see the nerves play out on her soft features so he reached across the back and placed his hand on top of hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Aurora put her small hand on top of her father's, grinning widely like a kid with too much sugar, and said, "Let's do this."

"I see she inherited your funny dramatic flair," London told him teasingly. She had said it before on a couple of occasions and everytime she mentioned it, his heart felt warm.

Two minutes later, brave faces on, the three of them stood in front of the door. Meiling Cai was the one who opened the door for them, a welcoming smile on her face.

His mother first spotted Aurora, who stuck by Andrew's side, and her smile grew wider. Aurora hugged her Nainai, beaming up at her.

"Have you grown taller?" she said to Aurora, then pinching her cheeks, "Why do you look so thin? Have you been eating properly?"

"She's been eating fine, Mama," Andrew laughed lightly, used to the same greeting whenever he brought Aurora to see his parents.

"Tonight, we're going to feast and I'll make those chubby cheeks of yours again back to how they're supposed to be," Meiling said, giving her granddaughter's cheeks one last squeeze while Aurora giggled in approval.

His mother's eyes finally landed on London and he could see those judgemental eyes of her's sizing up his girlfriend. His mother was far from subtle. Just as Andrew was about to step in, London bowed slightly, head tipped down as she said, "Nin hao."

His mother's eyebrows rose slightly and surprise was clear on her face. So was it on Andrew's. He'd told his mother that London was a second-generation immigrant and that she was not in touch with her heritage as much as she'd like to.

"Oh, Andrew never said you knew Mandarin," his mother said, unconcealed surprise in her voice.

London laughed nervously, smiling like she always does. "I don't. But my parents did teach me to properly greet elders."

His mother laughed. "Oh, come on, I'm not that old." And then extending her arms and opening the door wider, she said, "Huanying."

Andrew allowed himself a breath of relief and a smile as they entered the house and removed their shoes, placing it on the shoe rack by the entrance of the house. His mother did not seem so hostile as he thought she'd be but still, he kept his guard up and his mind sharp. Meiling Cai was a cunning, intelligent woman. Despite knowing her for all of his life, she always had the capability of shocking him somehow.

All four of them entered the dining room.

"Yeye!" Aurora squealed, running towards Andrew's father at once. Andrew smiled, watching his daughter hug her grandfather's legs before his father pulled back slightly and bent down to place a kiss on Aurora's forehead.

"Ba's smiling. And setting up the table," Andrew commented cheekily at his father. "That's new."

He looked sideways at London and saw that her fingers fidgeted with each other so he reached out, intertwined his fingers with hers and pulled at her hand slightly. They walked towards his father and London's hand squeezed Andrew's. He was nervous for her to meet his parents but he could only imagine that she must be more nervous. He sure as hell knew that he was both dreading and looking forward to meeting her father next week for Christmas.

"So you're the famous London Liang my son told us about," his father said. "He told me you work at Tollerz. That's my favourite restaurant."

London's cheeks coloured and the grip she had on Andrew's hand loosened. "Working at Tollerz is amazing."

"You need to let me in on your restaurant's secrets?" his father said. Did Ba just joke? Andrew thought, slightly mortified but mostly amused by this interaction. Things were going okay so far. More than okay, actually. They were going pretty good and he hoped it stayed that way.

"Anything you need to know," London laughed along.

"I'd love to talk more," his father said. "Meiling and I will go fetch the last of the dishes. You get comfortable. I hope you didn't have anything before because my wife's food is to die for."

Andrew watched, perplexed as his father and mother sauntered out of the dining room and into the kitchen.

"Is it just me or is Yeye more cheerful than usual?" Aurora asked, looking at her grandparents' backs as they walked away.

"Than usual?" Andrew chuckled. "Your grandpa and cheerful should not belong in the same sentence."

"Oh come on," London said, nudging his side, "He's so nice."

"Another word that shouldn't be associated with my dad." Which got him thinking. Why was his father in a good mood? When he last met him, his father didn't say much to him, other than for him to mind his own business and health and to get his shit together. Something was definitely up and the nagging voice in the back of his mind knew just what it was. He didn't want to scare London away just when he was beginning to love her so he ignored the voice, hoping that the night wouldn't end with the subject coming up.

"If anything, I think I made it awkward with your mum," London said. "Should I have just greeted her normally? Did I overdo it?"

He smiled comfortingly and put an arm around her waist. "You did good, and my mother seems pleased—"

"Too pleased, don't you think, Ba?" Aurora piped in, still looking in the direction her grandparents had disappeared in.

Even his daughter noticed the change in his parents' behaviour. Something was fishy but he decided not to dig deep into it until he was faced with the problem, so he ushered London into a seat, one that was beside his father since she seemed like she'd have an easy conversation with him. London paired with the topic of food and there would never be a dull moment, and since his father's favourite restaurant was the one she was now a sous chef in, Andrew was certain that conversation between the two of them would go smoothly.

Almost half an hour later, everyone was engrossed in food and light conversation. Andrew felt himself putting down his walls, letting his anxiousness for the night wash away as he watched his mother ask questions — questions which were surprisingly not as invasive as they usually were — and his father talk about Tollerz. London was excited to talk about the restaurant and food and whatever it was that his mother asked. Until, of course, his mother asked about her parents.

"Well," London said with a smile but Andrew, having been around almost all of her smiles for the last month, knew that this one was a nervous one. One that screamed discomfort. She had confided in him that she didn't want to tell his parents the truth about her mother's death and her father's drinking problems, so he had naturally told her that it was up to her how much and what it was that she wanted to share, but seeing the discomfort in her hidden smile made him uneasy.

Under the table, he put his hand over her stocking-clad knee and gave it a squeeze. She placed her hand over his and gave him a smile. This one said thank you.

"My mother passed away four years ago," London told them.

He thought it was brave of her when she continued, giving them the raw truth. His parents were conservative mostly close-minded people and he was scared that she'd get judged by them. She knew how he felt about his parents and still telling them the whole and real truth made him feel proud. No one had the right to judge London but herself.

"She was in a car accident. It wasn't really an accident though," she said, her gaze flickering from her plate of food to his parents' faces, gaze moving so fast that she didn't properly gauge their reactions.

"That's awful," his mother said. "We're so sorry to hear that."

"It is what it is," his girlfriend replied though by how tight she was squeezing his hand, he knew that the nonchalant vibe was not for her sake but for his parents.

"Mum wrote a letter which we found on her dresser in my parents' bedroom. It was consoling. She, uh, wanted to be near her daughters and since my sister and I moved here, to Porte Orlands, she wanted to be buried here and not in London."

"Your mother wrote a suicide note." Andrew's father stated, the judgement clear in his voice.

London laughed lightly but there was nothing funny about the conversation. Even Aurora had stopped eating. "I suppose that is the correct terminology."

"Wasn't she happy?" his mother asked. "Did she not love you and your sister? Or was she unhappy with your father?"

There it was — the invasive questions.

London's grip tightened, her nails now digging crescent shapes onto the back of his hand and though it did hurt he did not complain. He kept on holding her hand, knowing that this was extremely difficult for her.

"I think she loved us. She said so, and she loved dad. Sort of. It was complicated but we were happy. She just..."

London trailed off, not knowing how to end her sentence as her eyes glassed over and her nails dug into Andrew's hand.

"Zhe jiu goule!" he said, looking at his mother with accusatory eyes.

"Shenme?" his mother replied, tone defensive, "I just asked a couple of questions."

"This is your first time meeting my girlfriend. You could take the questions easy," Andrew shot back, angry at his mother for ruining the lively atmosphere at the dinner table, and angry at his father for always being so blatant and blunt.

Everybody shut up then, swallowing their words as they returned back to their plates, tense silence creeping up on them.

"London's a good person," Aurora inputted, her soft voice breaking through the ice. "She's a good cook. We make lunch together on Sunday and watch movies after lunch. She makes me laugh. She makes Ba very happy. That should be the only thing that matters."

Everyone's heads turned to Aurora, this little girl who was most likely a wise monk in her previous life. She stated the truth, plainly and simply, and looking at her now made Andrew's heart softer. The anger subsided as he gave his daughter a cheeky smile and a wink. She beamed back at him.

Princess Aurora saved the day.

"London is a wonderful woman," Meling Cai said as Andrew helped with the dishes. He'd given his mother the silent treatment since dinner, only answering direct questions and not engaging in any conversation, so when she said this, he kept quiet and continued to wipe the dishes.

"Erzi," she sighed, removing her cleaning gloves. "Gen wo shuohua."

"What do you want me to say?" He looked at her, eyebrows raised daringly.

"I say one thing at the dinner table you disagree with and you become so upset. This generation is so sensitive. I'm just asking questions—"

"There's a line, Mama!" he exclaimed, putting down the dishcloth and looking at his mother, giving her all of his attention. "You don't know London, not the way I do. She's smart, she's beautiful, she's the most emphatic person I've ever met. Her kindness inspires me. She's wonderful, and you making her upset is what is making me angry. And you never even apologise for what you do."

"I don't have to apologise for anything. Did I do something wrong?" She looked hurt by his words, like he didn't understand his mother one bit.

But he did understand her, which was why he just sighed and turned his head, wiping the last of the dishes as he said, "Just drop it."

"What else do you like about her?"

Rolling his eyes, he put down the dishcloth and gave his mother a pointed look. "Qing tingzhi."

"Ni ai ta ma?"

He faltered.

"Do you love her?" she repeated, this time in English.

A part of him knew that question was coming and yet the other part of him was taken by surprise. He faltered, not sure how to answer that question, or if he was even ready to answer it. With his ex, he was easy to jump into it. They had only dated a few weeks but he and Talia were already exchanging their I-love-you's. Perhaps their rushed relationship was what caused it to spiral out of control. Did he want a repeat of his mistakes? Was there anything wrong about being certain about his feelings before admitting them?

He truly did like London a lot. His life was much better with her in it than without and he wanted her in his life with every inch of his heart. But to admit he loved her? He wasn't certain he was ready for that step.

When he refused to answer, his mother placed a gentle hand on his arm. "If you love her, Andrew, marry her. Life is short, Ba and I want more grandchildren, and you need to move on. Love is love. It's simple."

He looked at her face to see her eyes on his finger, the one with his old wedding band ring, and not on his face. He moved away abruptly, avoiding her gaze when she searched for his.

"It isn't simple, and you and Ba know that very well."

"Relationships are complicated, yes," she continued, taking a step forward again and placing her hand back on his arm. "But love is simple. You love who you love."

"And you love Ba?"

She sighed, removing her hand. "We may not be perfect for each other. We may not be happy all the time. But we do love each other, and that is enough."

"So that's why you and Ba were all welcoming and happy when we first came?" Andrew questioned incredulously. "Because you want me to get married and settle down?"

"Life is short, erzi. Make the most out of it. Your time is running out. We're just looking out for you, Andrew," she said softly.

"Xiexie, Mama," Andrew said as gently as he could, "but I can take care of myself."

With that, he leaned down and kissed his mother's forehead. "This is my life. Let me handle it," he said softly, not wanting to lash out and to gently lay it out for her. "I should get going."

Mother and son walked to the living room, a room with an entirely different atmosphere. It was lively. His father and his girlfriend both had a glass of red in their hands, while Aurora nursed a cup of hot cocoa, with mini-marshmallows of course, they were all on the floor, photo albums scattered everywhere. His father had never done this with Talia but the fact that he was doing this with London, on their first meeting, must really mean that he wanted them to get married. After having the taxing conversation he'd had with his mother in the kitchen he thought that this would annoy him, and yet there he was, standing some distance away, struggling to fight off the smile because the sight of it just made him really, undeniably happy.

His parents accepted London. They liked London, despite some reservations they had. They were holding back on the nasty thoughts but they did like her.

So instead of going home as he'd earlier told his mother, he turned to her and gave her a look that said, you-might-be-right, and walked towards his father, his girlfriend and his daughter, joining their circle.

"My baby photos," he groaned, picking an album up, but the smile on his face was not one of protest. They all laughed lightly as his mother settled into the couch behind them.

Aurora held out a picture. In the picture Andrew was eight, maybe nine, and he stood in front of a table which had his birthday cake on it. It was at one of his birthday parties. "Don't I look cuter than Ba?" his little girl said, giggling to herself.

"I agree," London said, "Much cuter."

"Totally feeling the love right now," Andrew shook his head with a fake frown, and as everyone laughed around him, he thought that to be actually true. He did feel loved, he treasured this moment and he thought that if life were to stop here on an infinite loop, he would not mind at all.