Find out what happens to Amelia at tea in the final part of Chapter 15.

Chocolate cup cakes with cream, chocolate sprinkles and maraschino cherry.  Decadent!
Chapter 15 Tok Min’s Favorite Grandchild
Soon, the adults moved to other things.  I tackled my last cup cake.  There was a ritual in the way I ate each cake.  First, I peeled off the paper cup.  I take a tiny bite from the side of the cake.  Slowly, I worked my way counter clockwise.  The best - always the middle part - I saved for last.  It was my favorite for it had the maraschino cherry on top of cream and rainbow colored chocolate sprinkles.  

Midway way through my final cake, the adults began a new discussion.  To my dismay, the topic was what they wanted their children to be one day.  Dijah announced she'd be a manager way before her parents shared their views.  Her candidness made the adults laugh.  Auntie Wong suspected Ruo Li would work with computers; lately he had been bothering her to buy one.  She had no clue what her Jian Fei would become.  Yet, she confessed she prayed hard daily he wouldn't turn into a sumo wrestler.  Laughter filled the room.  Ah Fei, ignoring everything, watched the ceiling.  His mother was curious on my parents' wish for me.  I cringed.  Papa informed everybody he and Ibu saw me being a lawyer.  The cupcake I was eating suddenly tasted bitter.  My parents, Papa boldly claimed, were convinced I could become one.  However, Papa complained, I read too many fairy tales.  I completely shut out the remaining conversation.  The last mouthful of cake, I swallowed fast.  This was followed by a greedy gulp of my tea.  It was hot it burned the insides of my mouth.  Later that night, my mouth still felt raw, not because of being scalded, but of anger.  After the cake and tea, I hoped hard I was able to keep everything down.  I didn't want Tok Min to get the wrong idea if I suddenly vomited at the table.  A lawyer was the last thing I’d ever be!  Tok Min saw through my unhappiness.

'Oh,' she laughed and interrupted the conversation.  'Amelia will get what she wants.  She'll marry her Prince Charming and they'll live a happy ever after.'

Ibu shook her head.  Papa stared at his mother in disbelief.  Then he politely asked Tok Min not to give me funny ideas.  He told everyone again I'd grow up to be a lawyer.  Ibu briskly nodded in agreement.  My parents had made the decision for me, as if it were the only job I’d do after university.  I remained quiet, seething in discontent.  Underneath the table, my hands fisted.  I held back angry tears.  All I did to calm myself was stared blindly at my empty plate.  The little flower prints dotting the border became blurred.  I knew tears were welling and I knew I had to do something.  Fast.  I started a new tale.  Once upon a time in the future, I'd be grown up.  My Prince Charming would find me.  I didn't want him to be tall, dark and handsome.  I might end up with D.J. Dave who sang beautiful Malay songs even though he was Indian.  The singer definitely wasn't my type.  My prince would be tall, fair and handsome.  Someone like...Then Papa called my name.
I looked up.  ‘Yes, Papa.’
‘Auntie Wong has asked you a question. ’
‘Oh.’  I turned to a smiling Auntie Wong.  ‘Sorry, Auntie.  I didn’t catch your question.’
Auntie Wong spoke again, accompanied by her signs.  ‘We were wondering whether you’d like to join my boys when they go fishing by the stream.  They’ll bring books for you to read.  Your parents believe you should have a more diverse selection.’
‘Books?’  I repeated, all puzzled.  What funny arrangement my parents had agreed with Ruo Li and Ah Fei's mother!
‘Not text books aaa,’ Ah Fei offered, his hand moving swiftly for Ruo Li’s knowledge.
‘We have many good story books at home.  Your parents mentioned you’re still reading fairy tales and it’s time you graduated to other kinds of books,’ Auntie Wong assured me.  ‘Perhaps you would want to drop by our house first, check out the books and borrow a few?’
‘Come, come to our house,’ Ah Fei interjected excitedly as his hand signs became wilder. ‘We have many books, Amelia.  I can lend you all my Al-chies.’
Suddenly Ruo Li shook his head.  ‘Archie’s not a book.  It’s a comic.’
Ah Fei sourly confronted his brother, his voice stern.  ‘Eh, comic is stoly book aaa.  Stoly book with pictures one.  And definitely not a fail-ly tale!’
‘Jian Fei…’ said his mother.  Her tone obviously warned her son he shouldn’t start a verbal quarrel with Ruo Li.  

Ah Fei paid a sidelong glance at her.  A sheepish grin followed and he swiftly reverted to me.  ‘Amelia!  Come aaa.  We have a nice lib-lal-ly at home.  Sure you like one.  So many books.  Big, sholt, fat, tall, sad, happy, sour!  Better than your school lib-lal-ly, and my clappy school lib-lal–’
‘Jian Fei!’ came a stinging cry from Auntie Wong for his inappropriate word choice.
‘Eh, solly.  The polite term is dleadful.  Our lib-lal-ly is better than my dleadful school lib-lal-ly.  I can gua-lan-tee one.’  His mother seemed appalled.  I didn’t know any better at that stage why she looked so.  Much later, Ah Fei proudly shared with me his sign read ‘shitty’ although he uttered ‘dreadful.’ I saw Ruo Li shaking his head in disapproval.  He was perhaps thinking the prospect of his brother being reformed to a mannered person was a complete lost cause.
Wordless, I blinked for seconds.  I didn’t know how to respond to Ah Fei. 

As usual, one of my parents, this time, Papa, made the decision for me.  ‘Amelia, you’ll go to Auntie Wong’s place next Saturday, OK?’  

My head bobbed up and down, twice. 
‘It’s important you retire from reading Grimms, Andersen and Perrault and move to something more substantial, such as the classics.  You should pick up Black Beauty, Anna Karenina, Robinson Crusoe, Wuthering Heights.’  

Slightly frowning, I slowly continued the nods as if the requests were in foreign language. I still didn't understand the meaning of substantial.  Sub-stan-tial.  It sounded like it came from Mars.  Or Jupiter.
‘Dijah will accompany you.’  

I abruptly stopped nodding and had an impulse to shake my head.  My lips curled down in disapproval.  There was nothing I could do though.  Dijah was grinning widely.
Uncle Halim suddenly remarked, ‘Oh!  I remember something.  We have to cut short our Saturday visits from next week onward.  Dijah has an extracurricular activity at her school, some leadership training for girl guides. She’s not going to be around to accompany Amelia.’ 
What a miracle!  Dijah immediately let out a dramatic sigh.  Uncle Halim reminded Dijah she was the one who insisted on signing up for the training.  My cousin glanced at me and lamented ‘Why oh why oh why?’  The adults were amused.  My face lit up with the return of my smile.  Dijah certainly would miss the opportunity to boss me around!   
‘Madam Wong,’ Papa addressed our elegant visitor.  ‘If you don’t mind, could your boys pick Amelia up from here and walk her to your house and back here?  If she feels like joining the boys before she heads home, she can do so.  Amelia can read the books by the stream while they fish.  We’re normally here Saturdays from noon until seven.  Amelia will be available say, around four o’clock.  We expect her return at six thirty, quarter to seven at latest.’
Our visitor seemed pleased.  ‘That’s a good plan, Encik Abas.  I’m positive my boys will be more than happy to show Amelia the way to our house and accompany her back.  Yes, if she’s up for it, she can join my boys near the stream.  I’ll pack some food for them so that they can have a picnic there.  I’ll make sure there’s no pork and no lard in the food.’  She turned to her sons.  ‘Right boys?’  I caught Tok Min giving me a mysterious smile, one I couldn't understand.  Not for many, many years to come.
Ruo Li gave a zesty yes.  But he asked his mother the reason behind the food restriction.  Auntie Wong explained to Ruo Li my family and I were Muslims and therefore didn’t take ham or pork.  Ruo Li nodded.  She focused on the other son, who was already eyeing the cupcakes again.  She wanted to know if he was OK with the arrangement.
Without removing his laser like attention from the cupcakes, stubby Jaws showed two thumbs up.  ‘Light on, Ma!’*