‘You know what I hate about people? They like to say, “That will teach you a lesson.” But what’s the point of a lesson? There’s no make-up exam when you fail something in life.’

It was October, and the evening air from the Bay had a chill to it. Auntie Mei had nothing to say except to warn Chanel not to catch a cold.

‘Who cares?’

‘Maybe your parents do.’

Chanel made a dismissive noise.

‘Or your husband.’

‘Ha. He just emailed and told me he had to stay for another ten days,’ Chanel said. ‘You know what I think he’s doing right now? Sleeping with a woman, or more than one.’

Auntie Mei did not reply. It was her policy not to disparage an employer behind his back. But when she entered the house Chanel was already in the living room. ‘I think you should know he’s not the kind of person you thought he was.’

‘I don’t think he’s any kind of person at all,’ Auntie Mei said.

‘You never say a bad word about him,’ Chanel said.

Not a good word, either.

‘He had a wife and two children before.’

You think a man, any man, would remain a bachelor until he meets you? Auntie Mei put the slip of paper with Paul’s number in her pocket.

‘Did that man leave you his number?’ Chanel said. ‘Is he courting you?’

‘Him? Half of him, if not more, is already in the coffin.’

‘Men chase after women until the last moment,’ Chanel said. ‘Auntie, don’t fall for him. No man is to be trusted.’

Auntie Mei sighed. ‘If Baby’s Pa is not coming home, who’s going to shop for groceries?’

The man of the house postponed his return; Chanel refused to have anything to do with Baby. Against her rules, Auntie Mei moved his crib into her bedroom; against her rules, too, she took on the responsibility of grocery shopping.

‘Do you suppose people will think we’re the grandparents of this baby?’ Paul asked after inching the car into a tight spot between two SUVs.

Could it be that he had agreed to drive and help with shopping for a reason other than the money Auntie Mei had promised him? ‘Nobody,’ she said, handing a list to Paul, ‘will think anything. Baby and I will wait here in the car.’

‘You’re not coming in?’

‘He’s a brand-new baby. You think I would bring him into a store with a bunch of refrigerators?’

‘You should’ve left him home, then.’

With whom? Auntie Mei worried that, had she left Baby home, he would be gone from the world when she returned, though this fear she would not share with Paul. She explained that Baby’s Ma suffered from postpartum depression and was in no shape to take care of him.

‘You should’ve just given me the shopping list,’ Paul said.