Who's Michael?

"Sun Mei, you dropped something."

Sun Mei turned around, only to see Mr. Wu holding the post-it where Michael had jotted down his number.

"Who's Michael?" he asked with a frown.

In an instant, Sun Mei turned bright red. She reached for the paper clumsily, almost knocking over the rest of her stuff, which was still on the table.

"No one, I uh…"

"This is ridiculous!" Sun Mei chided herself silently. "Stop feeling embarrassed! Mr. Wu is just your boss. You can exchange numbers with anyone you like."

She took a deep breath and said firmly, "Actually, he is someone I just met. We might meet again this weekend."

"Oh…" Mr. Wu seemed surprised and maybe a little worried, but he did not seem upset.

He glanced quickly at Lily, who had found Jennifer and started playing with her, before he added, "You are allowed to have a… social life, Sun Mei."

He paused a little before concluding, "Just… Just be safe."

"What does that even mean?" Sun Mei thought to herself.

Meanwhile, she answered, "Of course, sir."

Mr. Wu helped her clean up the mess she had made on the table. Then, they served the food Vivian had cooked for them earlier (including a portion for Jennifer) and sat down to eat.

"So… If you don't mind me asking, what does this Michael do for a living?" Mr. Wu asked as he had a spoonful of soup.

"He is a student," Sun Mei replied reluctantly. She was afraid Mr. Wu was going to ask her a question she couldn't answer. She had just met Michael that day after all.

"Really? Where does he study?"

"I know that one!" Sun Mei thought triumphantly.

"At UC Berkeley," she answered with pride, as if Michael was her own son.

"That's a very good school," Mr. Wu said, his voice full of approval. "I'd be happy if Lily studied there someday."

"Where, daddy?" Lily looked up from her bowl with interest. Soup was already dripping down her chin.

Sun Mei wiped it off with a napkin as Mr. Wu said, "UC Berkeley. We have been on campus together for a picnic. Don't you remember?"

Lily nodded with vigor. "Yes!" Then, she turned to Sun Mei with a serious expression. "The naughty grass stained my pants!"

"What Lily means is that she rolled around on the grass until her clothes turned green," Mr. Wu said with a nostalgic smile. "The grass was not to blame."

"I blame it!" Lily said with a pout.

"Well, Vivian blamed you when she had to wash the clothes." Mr. Wu grinned at the memory. "She also yelled at me a little for letting you get that dirty."

"Vivian is mean!" Lily proclaimed.

Sun Mei and Mr. Wu laughed.

"I suppose she is a little mean," Mr. Wu admitted. "But she loves us and she can detect a lie from a mile away, so you can't blame the grass again."

Before Lily could pout some more, Mr. Wu's cell phone started ringing.