Dial A for Aunties

Meddy is still very attracted to Nathan and is inwardly ecstatic to notice that he isn’t married. Her family is shocked when they learn he is the hotelier, thinking he is a ghost; Meddy hurries to correct them, though Nathan is hurt that she introduces him as merely a “[f]riend from college” (105). Nathan leads them to the kitchens. While the other Chans go to inspect the body, Meddy promises to make time to talk with Nathan later. She joins her relatives in the walk-in fridge, opens the cooler, and screams.

Big Aunt realizes the problem immediately, soon followed by Second Aunt and Ma. Jake was actually still alive when they put him in the cooler last night; he is definitely dead now. The women also know now that he is not actually a hotelier named Jake; he is Ah Guan, Ma’s lily supplier. They realize that Ah Guan had manipulated Ma into setting him up with Meddy. While the aunts argue, Meddy realizes that the wedding must go on. Since only she and Fourth Aunt (who just arrived) are free, they will take the cooler back to the mainland while the others take care of their various wedding responsibilities.