Sex and Vanity

“Mrs. Churchill, this flounder in spicy garlic sauce is amazing. I haven’t tasted anything this good since moving to New York,” George said.

Marian beamed at the compliment. “Thank you, George. It’s so easy to make, I’ll give you the recipe. It’s actually one of the few things I know how to cook, but I’m inspired to try my hand at more Chinese dishes now.”

Rosemary had brought an incredible array of fruits specially flown in for her from Asia for dessert, and as they began cutting up the Thai mangoes, Japanese white strawberries, Korean pears, and honeydew melons, Marian looked around the table happily. “It’s been years since I hosted a real Chinese lunch like this. I feel like I’m in the midst of a Wong Kar-wai film.”

Rosemary’s jaw dropped. “Waaah! You know Wong Kar-wai? I love his movies!”

“Who is this?” Freddie inquired.

“He’s a Hong Kong director, one of the great auteurs of Asian cinema,” George informed Freddie.

“Oh my goodness, I watched every one of his movies in the cinema the moment they came out in Hong Kong. I was obsessed. I wanted to be Faye Wong.” Rosemary sighed as she popped a strawberry into her mouth.

“Me too!” Marian said. “I discovered his work when I moved here to do my residency at Saint Vincent’s. I was always on call at the oddest hours, and I lived way up in Morningside Heights, so instead of trying to go home during my breaks, I would relax by going to the movies at Film Forum.”

Rosemary nodded in approval. “Days of Being Wild. I could have watched that movie a million times. Leslie Cheung was so amazing, how I miss him.*2 Which one is your favorite?”

Marian paused in the middle of sucking on a mango seed. “Oh, come on, you can’t make me choose! Chungking Express I can watch every night of the week. In the Mood for Love is an absolute masterpiece. But I have a soft spot for Fallen Angels because of Takeshi.”

Rosemary banged her hand on the table dramatically. “Oh! My! God! Takeshi! I wanted to have his babies!”

“Get in line, sister, you would have t

o fight me over him!” Marian cackled.

“Who is this?” Freddie asked again.

“Takeshi Kaneshiro! He was the star in a few of Wong Kar-wai’s movies, the dreamiest of all dreamboats.*3 Actually, don’t you think George looks quite a bit like him?” Marian raised an eyebrow.

“My George? No way! George is handsome, but not that kind of handsome!”

“Hmm…I don’t know about that,” Marian retorted.

“But Takeshi was a bad boy, a sex god! Are you saying my son looks like a sex god?” Rosemary demanded.

George squirmed in his seat. “This is getting a bit awkward…”

“No shit. I never realized Mama was a cougar.” Freddie chuckled.

Marian turned to Lucie with a smile. “Why don’t you show George your artwork?”

Lucie looked at her mom awkwardly. “Um, I’m not sure he really wants to see it now…”

“Actually, I’d love to see your work.” George jumped up from the table, eager to escape.

The two of them headed out the French doors and took the winding, moss-covered path past the pool house. As they arrived at the art studio at the bottom of the garden, Lucie paused for a moment. “You should lower your expectations. My mom was talking things up way too much.”

“I have no expectations,” George said.

Lucie slid open the barn door, revealing a room flooded with natural light from the skylights in the roof. In front of them was a five-foot-square canvas Lucie had recently finished.

“This is my latest painting, and behind here is—”

“Wait,” George said, putting a hand on her arm.

“Oh, sorry.”

George took a few paces back and contemplated the painting for a few minutes, while Lucie stood next to the canvas uncomfortably.