Chapters (77)
- Cover
- Dedication
- 1
- 2
- A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part I
- 3
- The History of My Beef with Brynn Foer-Preston
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part I
- 8
- 9
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part I
- 10
- 11
- 12
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part II
- 13
- The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part II
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- The Complicated History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Imaginary Relationship with Her Nonexistent Dad
- 20
- 21
- 22
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part III
- 23
- 24
- 25
- A Brief, Backward History of the McAllister Family, as Paraphrased from the San Jose Mercury News
- 26
- 27
- 28
- A Quick and Eerily Relevant History of Asians in America
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part IV
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part II (Or Maybe It’s a Prequel)
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part III
- 54
- A Note from the Author
- Index of Flowers and their Meanings
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Praise for This Time Will Be Different
- Books by Misa Sugiura
- Back Ad
- About the Publisher
“Do you think she’s going to go through with it?”
Hannah says nothing.
I try again. “I don’t want Heart’s Desire to go away,” I say.
“Oh, sweet pea.” Hannah’s eyes fill with tears. “Neither do I, but you know how your mom is when she makes up her mind about something. I just don’t know what to do.”
My heart sinks. I realize that I wanted her to offer some encouragement, to help me scrape together the will to keep trying. But Hannah seems so hopeless. Are we just going to give up?
The bell rings. Hannah glances at the security monitor, which shows a guy shaking out his umbrella. He turns toward the camera and she brightens immediately. “It’s Richard! He said he’d be dropping in around this time. Ugh, my eyeliner’s running. CJ, you go out and chat with him, and I’ll fix my makeup and get his order.”
She hustles into the bathroom, and I go out to the front to talk to this Richard person who, I realize when I see him, is the first-date guy we made the boutonniere for. Violets and pansies. Romantic Richard, I think.
Evidently that date did not work out. “But I’m going to try again,” he says, blushing. “Hannah and I worked out a new formula this time.”
“Added a rose leaf for hope,” says Hannah, sailing in with the box held aloft in her hand. “Ta-daa!” She sets the box down on the counter with a flourish and a little flip of her hair.
Richard pays, and Hannah gives him a big smile and two thumbs up as he waves goodbye at the door. Once he’s gone, she rests her elbows on the counter, chin in her hands, and sighs. “What a sweet, sweet man.”
“A little desperate, though, don’t you think?” I say.
Hannah frowns. “He’s optimistic. And resilient. I admire that. It’s tough out there as a single adult, you know.”
I shrug; I actually don’t know since I’m not a single adult. “I don’t see why it’s such a big deal. Why put all that effort into looking for a girlfriend or a boyfriend or whatever? Seems like odds are that you’ll end up being unhappy and breaking up eventually, anyway.”
“That’s no way to talk, CJ. You have to have hope. How do you expect anyone to cultivate a happy relationship with an attitude like that?”
“I don’t. That’s my point.”
“People should never give up on finding love, CJ.”
I roll my eyes. “You know, some people actually don’t need true love. Some people are happy without it.”