Rich People Problems

Colin and Nick entered the Botanic Gardens when it was still dark. Colin felt ill at ease in the darkness, and Nick joked that they might run into a pontianak. Nick illuminated a shadowy figure with his iPhone and saw that it was Astrid. Nick smiled and guessed, correctly, that Astrid had received a note similar to the one that he had gotten at Colin’s.

The three of them jumped after seeing a light come on in the pump room, which controlled water levels in two ponds. They then heard a steel door being unlocked from within. Vikram came out and ushered them all inside. He led them up a ladder and through a tunnel which, he told them, would take them to Tyersall Park. Nick realized that the stories that his father had once told him about secret passages in Tyersall Park were true. The tunnel, Vikram told him, was used by Nick’s great-grandfather Shang Loong Ma. It was his means for getting in and out of the property without being detected by the Japanese. At the end of the tunnel, they climbed out of the shaft and ended up in the middle of Su Yi’s orchid conservatory. Ah Ling greeted them and instructed Colin to remain in Ah Ling’s room while she took Astrid and Nick to Su Yi’s bed room. Su Yi’s Thai maids, Madri and Patravadee, knew all about the plan and would keep the nurses away.

Astrid went into her grandmother’s bedroom, where the Thai maids were watering orchids and tidying up. They nodded in acknowledgement of Astrid and left the room. Astrid went to fill a cup with a bottle of the Adelboden water that was flown in from Switzerland and bade her grandmother to drink. Su Yi awoke and asked if Astrid had just returned from India. She then asked to see the ring. Astrid held her hand up and Su Yi admired the sight of her former engagement ring on her granddaughter’s finger. She also revealed that she had given Charlie the idea about elephants by telling the story of how her friend “the Maharaja of Bikaner proposed to his queen” (187). Astrid laughed in pleasant surprise, understanding now how involved her grandmother was in the whole plan. Su Yi then asked Astrid to promise her that, even if she died before her wedding day, Astrid would still have her March wedding, as planned. Astrid, holding back tears, promised. She then told Su Yi that Nick was back in Singapore and was outside waiting to enter. Su Yi asked Astrid to send him in.

Oliver had just boarded a flight to London and was about to steal an extra pillow when Kitty called him to complain that the dinner at Yolanda Amanjiwo’s was the worst evening of her life. She recalled how the Swedish ambassador glared at her when she refused to curtsy to Colette. Oliver placated Kitty by saying that Yolanda’s sense of etiquette was wrong—a British earl doesn’t have precedence over the First Lady of any nation in which he is a visitor.

Oliver wondered why Kitty was so offended. It wasn’t as though Colette had caused a scene. Kitty said that what Colette did was worse—she didn’t acknowledge Kitty’s presence at all. She then asked Oliver, who was seated beside her stepdaughter, why Colette was even in Singapore. Oliver told her that the earl, Lucien, was an environmentalist. They would be in Singapore for a month before heading to Sumatra where they were to observe conditions there for orangutans. Apparently, thousands were dying due to deforestation and Colette had become involved in orangutan rescue.

Kitty asked if Colette knew of her and Oliver’s connection. Oliver said that she didn’t. He then asked why Kitty didn’t simply go over and say hello. Kitty insisted that Colette was the one obligated to introduce herself. After all, Kitty was the stepmother. Oliver realized that the two women had never met. Kitty revealed that Colette hadn’t seen her father since she found about his and Kitty’s affair. She also refused to go the wedding, telling Jack Bing that he was “marrying a whore” (192).

As Kitty spoke, Oliver heard that Kitty wanted to cry. In both China and Singapore, Kitty was overshadowed by Colette. A flight attendant came up to Oliver and gestured at him to turn off his phone. He told Kitty that he had to go. Kitty found that curious, given that, in first class, the flight crew typically didn’t care if you used your cell phone. Oliver lied and said that he wanted to watch the safety demonstration. In fact, he was in economy class, and the flight attendant asked him to return the extra pillow.

Astrid left the room to leave Nick and Su Yi alone together; he hadn’t seen her in five years. As she walked out and closed the door behind her, she ran into Professor Oon and blocked his way. Professor Oon was easily distracted, staring at the outline of Astrid’s body in her “skater punk outfit” and how much better she looked than anything on a “Japanese-schoolgirl porn site” (194).

Nick knew it was time to apologize to his grandmother. Su Yi asked if Nick was comfortable in his bedroom. He told her that he was staying at Colin’s, which surprised her. Nick then realized that Su Yi hadn’t known that he was in Singapore for over a week. This meant that she hadn’t banned him from Tyersall Park. Su Yi summoned her Thai maids, whom she instructed to tell Ah Ling that Nick’s rooms should be prepared immediately. Nick took this gesture for his grandmother’s forgiveness.

Su Yi asked Nick to look for a pale blue box in the top drawer of her bureau. At the bottom of the box, he would find silk pouches. She requested that he bring her the yellow one. Inside of the pouch were a pair of earrings, which Su Yi instructed Nick to give to Rachel. Nick felt the urge to cry, as this was his grandmother’s first acknowledgement of Rachel as his wife. Su Yi’s father had given her the earrings when she was preparing to leave Singapore. By then, the Japanese had invaded Johor, meaning that the island would have little chance of resistance. She asked Nick to look after the earrings carefully, and he promised to cherish them.

Nick took Su Yi down to the breakfast room in her wheelchair to join the other family members. Once there, Su Yi asked if Alfred was coming for Friday-night dinner. Ah Ling assured her that he was. Su Yi then told Astrid that she ought to invite Charlie, which pleased Astrid to hear. Su Yi then asked if everyone had seen Astrid’s engagement ring. Astrid’s aunts stretched their necks out to look, and Victoria quietly registered disappointment, as she had always hoped that the ring would one day be hers. Su Yi then suggested that they have a party to celebrate both Astrid’s engagement and Nick’s homecoming. Fiona looked over to see that Eddie was apoplectic with rage.

Astrid presented her Singapore Identity Card to the guard outside of the Wu estate. She drove onto the property—one of the largest privately-owned estates in Singapore—and parked behind a gray Mercedes SUV, driven by her distant cousin, Lincoln “Ah Tock” Tay.

Lincoln showed Astrid a large plastic bag containing Valentino—Irene Wu’s “prized super red arowana” worth at least $250,000 after his recent eye lift and chin job (203). Astrid was incredulous at the notion of fish getting plastic surgery. Lincoln told her that the best plastic surgeon for fish was based in Singapore and specialized in arowanas.

Suddenly, Irene Wu was rushing toward them, asking about the condition of her baby, Valentino. Lincoln said that the fish was fine, only a bit sluggish from anesthesia. Charlie waited at the front door. Astrid smiled brightly at the sight of him and they hugged.

Charlie wasted no time in ushering Astrid to his bedroom and kissing her tenderly on his bed. Astrid recalled how, when they were teenagers, Charlie sneaked her into this room on Saturdays. She told him, too, about how happy she was to see her grandmother. Charlie revealed that Su Yi had also invited Irene to the party, which surprised Astrid.

The pair got out of Charlie’s bed and went back downstairs. They entered the living room and watched Valentino swim around in a 200-gallon fish tank. As Charlie and Astrid sat down to enjoy the tea service that was set out, Lincoln nervously entered the room. Charlie asked where his mother was. Lincoln said that Irene was lying down. He then instructed Astrid to call home, because her grandmother had just died.