Ana holds the fortune in her left hand, traces its outline with her right index finger, places it on the table, blinks, and reaches for her wallet. Behind her driver’s license is another fortune.
Yep. It’s the same. The same fortune she got in high school - on that Christmas trip into the city to see Cats. They ate Chinese before the show. She had Mongolian Beef and an eggroll. Her mom had something with shrimp. And her dad had hot and sour soup and something that looked gross and smelled worse. She had been practicing with chopsticks for weeks and didn’t disappoint herself when her food arrived. Her parents complimented her, but didn’t speak very much to each other. The tea was too hot, and the cookie was too bland.
"There is prospect of a thrilling time ahead for you."
It seemed so perfect. It summed up what she felt, how she saw the world and her place in it. Where she would go.
She realizes that she’s still waiting. Outside her apartment, she sees Christmas lights hung from condo balconies and snagged in trees, in bushes, along the sidewalk. She thinks about home, singular, this home - and then about all her homes. They got divorced her freshman year in college. Her mom remarried and moved around a lot, ending up in L.A. Her dad stayed in New York.
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