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Back This Time Will Be Different Save as PDF
Chapters (77)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part I
  6. 3
  7. The History of My Beef with Brynn Foer-Preston
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part I
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part I
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part II
  20. 13
  21. The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part II
  22. 14
  23. 15
  24. 16
  25. 17
  26. 18
  27. 19
  28. The Complicated History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Imaginary Relationship with Her Nonexistent Dad
  29. 20
  30. 21
  31. 22
  32. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part III
  33. 23
  34. 24
  35. 25
  36. A Brief, Backward History of the McAllister Family, as Paraphrased from the San Jose Mercury News
  37. 26
  38. 27
  39. 28
  40. A Quick and Eerily Relevant History of Asians in America
  41. 29
  42. 30
  43. 31
  44. 32
  45. 33
  46. 34
  47. 35
  48. 36
  49. A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part IV
  50. 37
  51. 38
  52. 39
  53. 40
  54. 41
  55. 42
  56. 43
  57. 44
  58. A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part II (Or Maybe It’s a Prequel)
  59. 45
  60. 46
  61. 47
  62. 48
  63. 49
  64. 50
  65. 51
  66. 52
  67. 53
  68. The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part III
  69. 54
  70. A Note from the Author
  71. Index of Flowers and their Meanings
  72. Acknowledgments
  73. About the Author
  74. Praise for This Time Will Be Different
  75. Books by Misa Sugiura
  76. Back Ad
  77. About the Publisher

“You can read it later,” says Mom. “I am so mad at Hannah. Did you know about this, by the way? Did Hannah tell you she was going to the press with this story?”

Fuck. I shake my head, which technically isn’t lying because I’m technically not saying anything. I could just be clearing my sleep-fuzzed brain.

“I’m going to kill her. I can’t even confront her now because of course she’s left extra early for the flower market. On purpose, I’m sure. God, what a baby! Hurry up, CJ. I want you out of here in fifteen minutes.”

“Where am I supposed to go? It’s four thirty in the morning.”

“I don’t care. Go to Sweet Emily’s—they start baking at four, right? Just don’t go to Heart’s Desire, because the TV crews could be there, too.”

“Where are you going?”

Mom, who’s already on her way out of my room, pauses with her hand on the doorframe and says, “I’m going to work. We have some serious damage control to do, thanks to your aunt. God help her if the sale doesn’t go through because of this. I swear, I’ll murder her.”

Wait. What?

“What do you mean, if the sale doesn’t go through? I thought you said you were only talking about it,” I say.

“We are talking about it. But now I’m less in a position to think about it and more in a place where I’m going to have to beg McAllister not to back out.”

The truth opens up before me, and for a moment it blots out everything else. “You never believed we could save Heart’s Desire. You’ve been planning on selling it this whole time.”

Mom squeezes her eyes shut and clutches her forehead. “You know what, CJ? Fine. You got me. That store is nothing but a headache, and I can’t wait to get rid of it. I don’t care how Hannah feels about the McAllisters. Seventy years and three million dollars is enough time and money for us to drop the grudge and move on. Now, please hurry up and get dressed.”

Twenty minutes later, Mom’s gunmetal-gray Tesla Model 3 glides silently down the street ahead of my old Camry. She heads toward the expressway, and I head to Lincoln Avenue and park behind Sweet Emily’s, still stunned. I knock on the back door, and Tim, the head baker, lets me in and gives me a croissant fresh out of the oven. I take a bite and check the Merc online. It’s eye-opening, to say the least.

A Brief, Backward History of the McAllister Family, as Paraphrased from the San Jose Mercury News

The super-short, sanitized version: 1900–present