The Funeral at Our Engagement Party

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Anne James and I had finally reached the end of an eight-year courtship, and we were about to hold our engagement ceremony.

What I never expected was that on the day itself, when my parents and I arrived early at the hotel private room Anne's mother had booked, the room had been done up to look like a memorial shrine.

Instead of the red, celebratory setup it should have been, the room was crowded with funeral wreaths, and long strips of white cloth and black gauze hung from the ceiling, drifting faintly in the draft from the hotel's air conditioning. The whole thing looked genuinely eerie.

On the altar table facing the door sat a black-and-white photo of Anne's father. The middle-aged man in it, with features so much like Anne's own, gazed out at us with a sorrowful face.

My parents and I just stood there, stunned.

...

Anne and I had been high school classmates, and we tested into the same college. I'd had a crush on her back in high school, and in college I pursued her hard, until finally, in our sophomore year, she became my girlfriend.

Now I'd just finished my master's degree and landed a spot at a solid large corporation here in town, and Anne's job had settled down too, so we'd finally put the wedding on the agenda.

I never imagined that the moment we simply started the engagement, Anne's mother would greet us with a show of force.

Anne's father had died when she was very young, and her mother, Sophie Finch, had raised her by selling breakfast food. Back in high school, there were always clueless kids who mocked Anne for smelling like breakfast sandwiches.

So in my memory Anne was always insecure about herself, and over the years I'd been understanding about how hard things had been for her, careful with her sensitive feelings.

That was why, when Sophie insisted on setting the engagement banquet on the fourth day of the fourth lunar month, even though I thought the date was unlucky, I still agreed, and even helped talk my parents around when they found it distasteful.

I'd even sent her three thousand dollars when she insisted on booking the hotel and arranging the banquet herself.

But it never crossed my mind that Sophie would set up the engagement banquet to look like a memorial shrine.

My mother reacted first, glaring furiously at Sophie. "In-law, today is the big happy day my Bill Whitney and Annie get engaged. What is all this stuff you've filled the room with?"

Sophie ignored my mother entirely and came over, all smiles, to pull me by the arm.

"Bill, you're here. Come on, quick, kneel and bow to Annie's father, light three sticks of incense. Once he knows Annie's getting married, he can rest in peace."

Then she looked at my parents. "In-law father, in-law mother, don't just stand around. After Bill finishes his bows, it'll be your turn too."

The whole thing left me completely stunned.

My mother was about to explode on the spot, but my father, his face gone dark, held her back.

I wanted to blow up too, honestly. Setting up the engagement banquet like a memorial shrine was already absurd. Fine, make me, the son-in-law, kneel and burn incense for my father-in-law. But why drag my parents into it?

Seeing that I hadn't moved, Anne came over and tugged at my clothes. "Bill, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and bow to Dad, he's still watching."

"Why?" I heard how dry my own voice sounded.

"Why what?" Anne asked me.

"I'm going to marry you, and paying respects to your father is only right. But why does it have to be at our engagement banquet, and why is the banquet set up like this?"

I looked straight into Anne's eyes as I asked.

Anne's gaze flickered toward Sophie, and Sophie straightened her back with total conviction. "You're about to marry our Annie. How can you even ask a question like that?"

"After the engagement, we're all one family, so of course you kneel and bow to her father. If you won't, then don't expect to marry our Annie."

I gritted my teeth and was about to speak when Anne quietly tugged at my clothes again, looking at me with those pitiful eyes.

Looking at her like that, my heart softened all over again.

"I truly want to marry Annie. I can even let go of the fact that you've set up our engagement banquet like a memorial shrine, and I'll go along with paying respects to my father-in-law. But why—" I turned to look at my parents. "Why make my parents kneel and bow to him too?"

Sophie curled her lip and didn't bother answering me. She just reached under the altar table and pulled out three white cushions, slapping them down onto the floor one after another, lining them up in a neat row.

Then she grabbed three sticks of incense off the altar, stuffed them into my hands, and jerked her chin at my parents. "In-law, in-law mother, don't just stand there. The guru said that as long as we kneel and burn incense for my old Joshua James today, both our families are guaranteed smooth sailing from here on."

With that, she pressed her palms together and murmured to the portrait of Anne's father. "Old Joshua, I know it hasn't been easy for you down there all these years. Once your in-laws kneel and burn incense for you, your merit will be complete. You have to bless our Annie with a lifetime of wealth and fortune."

In the second year of my master's, Anne had once told me Sophie seemed to have joined some kind of organization that said if you worshipped devoutly, you wouldn't suffer in the next life.

I was a little worried at the time, but I was buried in coursework, so I just told Anne to keep an eye on Sophie and make sure she didn't get swindled out of her money.

Now, though, it was clear the brainwashing was more frightening than being swindled.

Watching Sophie rambling in her trance, I turned to look at Anne, who stood there at a total loss. "Annie, do you honestly think my whole family should kneel and bow to your father?"