Bauhinia and The Bayou

Unpacking a moving truck in the June heat of a Seattle Summer is not for the faint of heart, I was hot. We didn’t have much left to take off of the truck so, I was happy about that. My dad’s Steinway piano was one of the last to be moved and was still on the truck. I had caught the same love my dad had for music and loved to play his instrument whenever I had the chance. With the movers on a short cool down break, I took just a moment to caress the keys. Beethoven’s Pathetique is my go-to whenever I want to perform something elegant and a bit challenging.

I get swept away in the embrace of encompassing sound every time my fingers touch piano keys. The piano is my favorite form of instrument, I find its song so tantalizing. I never realize how lost in the beauty I get. I didn’t know I had an audience until I heard a small applause once I had finished. I turned around to see three girls about my age beaming with adoration!

“Wowww we have our very own Mozart in the neighborhood now, that sounded so awesome!” I couldn’t believe how poised this girl was balancing on her skateboard. She then hopped onto the truck, the other two took the opportunity to make themselves comfortable and sit. “Well hi I’m Sarah! I live right across the street, I have to say we’ve all been wondering who was eventually going to move here.” She was admiring some of my brother’s artwork that was left to be moved. I was amazed at how cool these girls were, having no idea who I was but coming over to speak, I finally found my words.

“Hey, nice to meet you Sarah! My name is Sinoon!” I shook her hand and she nodded over to the other girls. “That’s my cousin Lee, and my friend Luna.” “Sup!” Lee seemed like good energy and so did Luna who smiled and waved.

“Well, we were headed to my Parent’s restaurant for Brunch if you wanna join us; It’s the best place to dine on this side of town. You’ll really want to, trust me!” Sarah was really convincing and seemed harmless so, I agreed! I told my dad I was going to get lunch and he was alright with me going with the girls after meeting them. He told Sarah he had actually had lunch at their restaurant when in town on business.

We started making our way to the restaurant, two of my new friends on their skateboards the other on a bike like myself. I was excited that I had made some new friends so quickly and that the rest of the summer looked promising! Sure, I was going to miss New Orleans; but I was excited to see where my life was taking me and what amazing souls I would meet.

The heat during summer time in Seattle made the days working at my parent’s restaurant unbearable. It was so hot, it felt as though you could literally swim through the humidity. Summer vacation for my family meant working. Getting up at 7 am to prepare the restaurant to be opened by 9 am, where we offered an exquisite breakfast selection. We serve authentic Asian-fusion food throughout the day, but our breakfast and brunch are highly favored among the city and our usual clientele. People from all over Washington travel to experience our establishment. My father says it’s because the menu is phenomenal, but I believe it’s because my mother put her heart and soul into the decorum. Tropical foliage, exquisite light fixtures, and Bonsai trees made for the most elegant of experiences.

I was finishing setting the tables, arranging each decoration precisely to adhere to the ambiance of the room. My next task was helping our chef get the working station ready, to make sure plating the meals would run smoothly. My absolute favorite part of working was being in the open style kitchen with Chef Kiet; whom we called, CK. CK was already marinating and seasoning a huge bowl of fresh salmon that he would prepare for his infamous Salmon benedict.

“Hey Chai, I need egg yolk! You crack egg now!” He placed a carton of eggs on the counter in front of me. I quickly washed my hands and began working. Cooking is one of my many joys in life; the festivity of ingredients, the color of fresh vegetables and spices, the sense of satisfaction every customer had closing their eyes to savor every bite. Was it my love for food or was it the presentation I cared so much about? Both played an important part in the delivery of service at Bauhinia; named after a flower found in Hong Kong that was customary to our culture.

It was my father’s dream to open a restaurant in America, after they came here from Hong Kong when I was 2. I don’t remember much about home, and as I grew older my mom would always tell me stories about the beautiful land we were from. I could tell she missed her mom and sisters; but knew she trusted my father in hopes of a better life for me and my unborn baby sister she was pregnant with.

The only home baby Sarah knew was America, and meeting Sarah you would never have guessed she came from a family of refugees. She was so American, barely ever spoke our native language. She had American boy band posters in her room, she skateboarded, and she knew all of the current pop culture gossip.

I took just a moment to look out into our parking lot and saw that cars were already starting to pull in and park. The morning crowd was going to be walking in just as soon as we opened in about 5 min. I could sense that today was going to be a busy day, a great and busy day. That made me so happy for my parents. This city absolutely had so much loved for their restaurant.

In came Sarah with our cousin Lee and their usual group of friends. They abuse the fact that they get the family discount. Sensing they would be popping in sooner or later; I had a table on the patio ready for them. Today, however, there was a new face with them, a beautiful face, a face I had not seen before. I was bussing a table careful to not get caught taking in the sight of her striking features. She was petite with almond shaped eyes, her curls were pulled back into a loose low knot. Her cheekbones were shimmering with a dash of gold, her dangling gold earrings accentuated her jawline and long slender neck. She was striking.

“Hey cousin!! Do you have our table ready for us?” Lee jokingly asked in the most pompous voice she could muster. I couldn’t stop myself from staring, she was a work of art that had stepped through the doorframe. Lee repeated herself and then looked to see what had my attention. “Ayee, Chai.. cuz stop being weird- you’ve wiped that same spot like a bunch of times, pretty sure the table is clean.”

The first thing I noticed was her face, Sunkissed to perfection and I couldn’t quite place her background. All I saw was…beautiful. Her skin was radiating without a blemish to be found.

“What’s up big broskii, this is Sinoon! She and her family just moved to the neighborhood, I saw them moving in and I invited her to hang with us! So, where are we sitting today?” I suddenly noticed the way her eyes gleamed, she was looking directly at me. She smiled, I froze. I think I smiled back, but I’m not sure. “Yeah-so, we are just going to be on the patio, mkay? You think Hilal can hook us up with some special drinks, huh?” Sarah nudged me as she and the group walked past, Sinoon bringing up the rear. She moved a curl out of her face that had gotten free.

“I’ll see you around…” She hadn’t caught my name. I stuck my hand out forgetting my hands were wet and grimy from bussing tables. “I’m Chai, like the tea- oh I’m sorry about that, my hand’s kind of gross.” Sinoon chuckled as I wiped my hands on my apron. “Nice to meet you Chai Tea, you’re a hardworking guy. I like to see that!” when our hands met, I could feel a shock wave; but I don’t know if the feeling was mutual. My heart jumped to my throat making me realize, I definitely wanted to spend the rest of my summer getting to know Sinoon.

My new friends and I sat down on the patio, I was immediately drawn to the décor. Paper lanterns strung about the ceiling, luscious grassy walls, hanging plants and beautiful flower arrangements on the tables each different than the next. The inside of the restaurant was gorgeous as well and I could tell whoever put thought into the ambiance loved paying attention to detail and had a passionate eye for gorgeous decorum.

I glanced behind me and saw Chai, who I just met, walk past the patio door toward the kitchen