Aunty Lee's Deadly Specials Read Online Free Page B

he and Mabel had
     had servants to do the actual work. It was far worse now that his son was making bigger
     messes and bigger fusses. “He’ll have trained professionals looking after him there—”
    “You’re just trying to get rid of him—your own son, and all you can think about is
     shipping him off somewhere you don’t have to bother with him. What kind of father
     are you?” Mabel could go on for hours, but Leonard’s buzzer was sounding and she started
     toward the stairs. “Go and find Sharon. She should be helping. This is all for her
     and she can’t even be bothered to help!”
    The office phone rang. GraceFaith ignored it. She had more important things to do
     than answer phones. And thanks to Sharon seeing her there, she would have to come
     up with something to justify her presence in the office that morning.
    Aunty Lee’s Delights had been commissioned to cater a brunch for fifty people to celebrate
     Sharon Sung being made partner in Sung Law, the law firm founded by her mother, Mabel
     Sung. Even though this made it almost a family affair, Aunty Lee had been surprised
     that a company function was being held at the Sungs’ residence rather than a hotel
     or country club. Didn’t lawyers usually go to expensive restaurants and celebrate
     with expensive wines and liquors? But Mabel Sung, the founder of Sung Law, was also
     said to be very Christian. Aunty Lee had thought perhaps Mabel Sung believed in giving
     money to the poor rather than spending it on alcohol and restaurants for herself.
     But once Aunty Lee saw Number 8 King Albert Rise, it was clear to her that the Sungs
     did not mind spending money on themselves.
    There was no one at the back gate Aunty Lee had been directed to bring the food around
     to, but the gate was not locked, and looking through it, Aunty Lee could see the pool
     and patio area with several long tables and stacked-up chairs. That would be where
     the party was going to be. Aunty Lee told Nina to park the bright yellow Ford Focus
     on the side of the road by the entrance. There was a white line indicating no parking
     at all times on both sides of the road, but it was unlikely the Land Transport Authority
     would act unless residents complained. This was probably the entrance that service
     and tradespeople used. From here, the residence looked far grander than Aunty Lee’s
     own house. She had heard rumors that the Sungs’ fortune was not as stable as her late
     husband’s, but Aunty Lee knew most of the time rumors only meant other people were
     envious of what you had.
    Aunty Lee had been more intrigued to learn that Leonard, the Sungs’ havoc (an untranslatable Singlish term used to describe an uncontrollable or promiscuous
     child, but with indulgent overtones) son had recently returned from the United States
     and moved back in with his parents. Leonard Sung was said to be a drug addict, an
     AIDS victim, a cancer patient, or all of the above. But none of the people who fed
     Aunty Lee these delicious news nuggets had actually seen the boy since his return.
     Not having children herself, Aunty Lee loved hearing details about problem children.
     But what interested her most about Leonard Sung was her stepdaughter, Mathilda, telling
     her Mabel Sung had once tried to matchmake Mathilda and Leonard.
    “She’s not good at taking no for an answer,” Mathilda had said wryly when Aunty Lee
     told her who her latest catering job was for. Aunty Lee had continued the weekly long-distance
     phone calls to Mathilda in London after her father’s death. She wanted Mathilda to
     remember her roots in Singapore, and besides, she liked the girl.
    “You didn’t marry the boy, so you must have said no, right?”
    “Why do you think I’m staying out of Singapore until she’s married him off to someone
     else? Actually she never talked to me. She was bugging my parents and implying that
     unless they accepted her offer, they would never find a nice Chinese boy willing