1. and happy, the man seemed to have something to tell me. All eyes were on me as he dragged me to a table set lavishly with 2. bowls, 3. napkins, and a 4. of 5. sashimi strips, 6. of shrimp, 7. crab, and 8. lobster (all tail and no claws). 9. people piled food on my plate and someone poured me a drink. Moments later, the first man returned, dragging a second in cummerbund and flip-flops.

‘Welcome to you,’ the 10. man said in 11. , drunken English. ‘Very lucky! Very, very lucky!’

Disengaging myself from a 12. of lobster tail I stood and thanked the man, and agreed that I was indeed very 13. to have stumbled upon such a feast.
His smile was 14. , all mouth and eyes. ‘No…my meaning is that we are lucky. For Chinese wedding…you coming means baby will come soon.’

His smile was wide, all mouth and eyes.

‘No…my meaning is that we are lucky. For Chinese wedding…you coming means baby will come soon.’

The man, I found out later, was the groom. And my 15. arrival, according to tradition, portended 16. conception.