Everyone found a place around one of the two mah-jong tables, one for the women, the other for the men. Uncle Joe coaxed Father towards the men’s table, but he did not take a seat. Uncle Joe took the west side, Uncle Ming Kwan took the east side, Uncle Ed Woo took the north, and Uncle Paul Tang took the south. Uncle Stephen, Uncle Roy Song, and Uncle Sam Lau decided to sit this one out with Father. Similarly, the women took their positions, with Auntie Carrie taking the north side, Auntie Miriam Woo the west, Mother the east, and Auntie Joan Ng the south. Auntie Elizabeth Lau, Auntie Choo Neo, and Auntie Betty Tang sat behind them.

Arms made big sweeping motions over the table to shuffle the mah-jong tiles as if everyone was doing the breaststroke. “Let’s go swimming!” exclaimed Auntie Carrie. Clackity-clack. The banging of the tiles was so loud that some of us covered our ears. As the ladies started stacking the tiles, I could hear Uncle Joe slamming his tiles together aggressively, trying to wake them, he said.

“Joan ah!” Auntie Carrie called out.

Auntie Joan looked up from the tiles.

“Tell Betty what you heard the other day when you were working in the restaurant.”

Auntie Joan glared at Auntie Carrie. “Why must you do this now? Such a happy occasion and you want to talk about that.”

The women started moving the tiles towards the middle, making a rough rectangle. Auntie Choo Neo shouted, “If not now, then when? What are we talking about?”

The aunties shifted in their seats as they glanced between Mother and Auntie Elizabeth. Auntie Joan looked at Mother and said, “You brought her.”

Mother was about to say something when Auntie Elizabeth broke in. “I have no idea what everyone is talking about. I was invited here.”

“Well, Elizabeth, to be frank, it’s about the mine,” Auntie Joan explained. “We don’t mean to gossip, but the men’s jobs are our life. And, well, your husband’s position in the mine …”

“Oh, I see.” Auntie Elizabeth nodded. “Listen, what is discussed here stays here. I don’t work for the mine, and I hate talking shop with Sam. I really have no idea about anything he does at work.”

Auntie Carrie gave Auntie Joan an encouraging look. “Ah ya,”Joan began. “Okay, the other day some very important people came into the restaurant for lunch. They think we don’t understand English, or they don’t care if we do, so they talk freely.”

The women started pulling tiles towards them and turned them over to reveal their faces.

“They ordered spring rolls,” Joan added.

The women started throwing their mah-jong tiles into the middle of the rectangle as they rapidly took their turns.

“Joan ah! Get to the story,” Auntie Carrie urged.

“Okay, okay. I overheard Terry Miller talking to some men who came from Vancouver. They were talking about layoffs at the mine.”

The women at the table stopped playing at once.