Rich People Problems-Kwan 2017 (WWT)

house. Please don’t take this personally.”
“How am I supposed to take it, then?” Nick said with a wry smile.
Eleanor spoke up. “This is ridiculous! Why can’t Nicky go into the house? He just wants
a chance to say he’s sorry to Mummy.”
Victoria winced visibly. Even after four decades, she had never gotten used to her sisterin-law
calling her mother Mummy. “Eleanor, tell me what I’m supposed to do? You of all
people should know what my mother is like. I’m just following her wishes.”
Philip looked at his sister skeptically. “Mum specifically told you she didn’t want to see
Nick?”
“Actually, she told Eddie.”
“Eddie! My goodness! You actually believe him? Eddie has been jealous of Nicky since
they were children!” Eleanor scoffed.
Hearing his name come up among the chatter, Eddie sauntered over to the group.
“Uncle Philip, Auntie Elle, let me be very frank. Three days ago, when I was with Ah Ma
in her bedroom, I told her that Nicky was on his way home. I thought it would soothe her
to know that he was coming to make amends, but instead she got so upset that she went
into cardiac arrest. Auntie Victoria was right there when it happened. We almost lost her
that day.”
“Well, that was three days ago. I’m going up to see my mother now. She can tell me to
my face if she doesn’t wish to see Nicky,” Philip insisted.
“You’re really going to put Ah Ma’s life at risk again?” Eddie said.
Philip stared contemptuously at his nephew, who was drenched in sweat, his clammy
skin showing through in large blotches on the most unflattering areas of his white outfit.
What a ridiculous boy he was, all dressed up like he was playing in a cricket match at
Lord’s. He didn’t trust him for one second. “Eddie, let me worry about my mother.
Perhaps you should be more concerned about your own children at the moment.”
“What do you mean?” Eddie swung around and saw his children standing by the icecream
bar with their cousin Jake Moncur. Constantine, Augustine, and Kalliste were
happily licking away at cones topped with double scoops of ice cream, oblivious to the ice
cream melting down their hands and dripping all over their white linen outfits.
Eddie broke into a sprint toward them as he began screaming, “FI! FIONA! LOOK WHAT THE
KIDS ARE DOING! I TOLD THEM NO ICE CREAM IN THEIR BRUNELLO CUCINELLI LINENS!”
Fiona Tung-Cheng, who was huddled in conversation with Piya Aakara and Cecilia
Cheng Moncur, looked up for a brief moment. She rolled her eyes and went right back to
talking with the ladies.
With Eddie urgently marching his three children off in search of Ah Ling and the head
laundress, Nick took his place in the badminton game while his parents went into the
house with Victoria. “She’s really not supposed to have any more visitors today,” Victoria
muttered as she led Philip and Eleanor down the corridor toward Su Yi’s bedroom-cumhospital
suite.