I don’t say anything, though I happen to agree with her.

“Really. What are you doing with someone like her?” my mother asks.

“You’d prefer I was with Kimberly?”

“No! Well…Kimberly would at least be okay with your triad association.”

“I thought you didn’t want me with the triad anymore?”

“I don’t. Tommy tried to talk me into being okay about you taking your father’s place in counterfeiting. He made it sound like you were going to do it.”

“Is that why you’re here? You want to talk me out of it?”

“Yes! You know you could get up to twenty years?”

“That’s not so bad.”

She makes a face. “I did not spend eighteen years raising you, then sending you off to college so that you can end up in jail. What would happen to Bridget if you went to jail?”

“She’d end up like you, is my guess. A rich widow.”

“With a broken heart. Is that what you want for your girlfriend?”

“She’s not my…we might not even be together in a month.”

“Why are you together now? I thought you were coming stag.”

“I thought it’d be fun to invite Bridget.”

“You should be careful. What if she falls in love with you?”

“She’s too levelheaded to do that.”

“Women are capable of a lot of irrational behavior.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“I thought I was levelheaded.”

I stretch my legs out. “You’re different. You were okay with Dad being in the triad until he went to jail. Bridget doesn’t even drink. Hell, I had to bend over backwards just to get her to accept an all-expenses-paid trip to Thailand. What woman in her right mind doesn’t automatically say ‘yes’ to an invitation like that?”

“You should call it off with her sooner rather than later. Before you get too serious about each other.”

“You worried about me?”

“It’s for her benefit, too. She’s one of those do-gooders. You’ll mess up her life.”

For some reason, that thought doesn’t sit well with me. Maybe my mom’s right about calling it off sooner rather than later.

“So what did you tell Lee Hao Young?” my mother asks next.

“I told him I’d think about it.”

“You don’t have to follow in your father’s footsteps.”

“I don’t want to run The Lotus for the rest of my life.”

“So do something else. You have a degree from UCLA.”

“To do what? Work for some boring-ass company? Risk golden handcuffs instead of jail?”

“If you don’t like boring, why are you with Bridget?”

I surprise myself when I look at her and say, “She’s not boring.”

My mother grows silent before saying, “I know you won’t necessarily take my advice. You know what will make me happy when it comes to the Jing San. And if you do stick around with the triad, you’re better off letting Bridget go.”

Per Bridget’s request, we hit the street markets for dinner. JD and Amy opted to dine at one of the five-star restaurants and go clubbing afterward, and I’m glad to have Bridget to myself. She gawks at the long line of food vendors stretching through the Laird Yai and insists on treating me to moo ping and som tam from a street vendor.