The Rainbow After the Rain

Chapter 1Anson Lee glanced toward the entrance when he heard the loud beeping sound. “Hey, there. My name is Anson Lee. Welcome to Ding Dong Teahouse.” The customer nodded while approaching the counter. There he picked up the menu, which was a laminated piece of paper with food and drink items printed on one side, and briefly browsed before raising his head and gazing into Anson’s eyes. “What does passionflower tea taste like?” “The flavor is mild with sweet undertones,” Anson replied. “I’ll try it out then.” “Awesome. Cold or hot?” “Cold, please.” “Tea is always freshly brewed for every customer, so I’ll give you a glass with some ice in it. Is that okay?” “Yeah.” “Anything to eat? It’s almost lunch time.” The customer read through the menu again for a few seconds. “I’ll have two ham and cheese sandwiches.” Anson was taken aback. “I serve generous portions. Unless you’re extremely famished, I suggest that you start with one, especially if you wish to get a slice of cake for dessert. You can purchase another sandwich later if you’re still hungry.” The customer shrugged. “Sounds good to me.” Anson typed in the order into the cash register. “Toasted bread or nah?” “Toasted, please.” “What do you want as the side dish?” Anson asked. “You can choose from the hot creamy corn, hash brown casserole, potato salad, coleslaw, mac and cheese, cheesy broccoli soup, or some fries.” “The casserole. What’s the cake of the day?” “Today is Saturday so it’s red velvet cheesecake. It’s only available once a week. Or you can get one of our chocolate cakes. I baked three kinds of chocolate cakes this morning.” Anson pointed at the display case next to the cash register and his customer studied the cakes inside for several seconds. Anson waited patiently for the man to make a decision. “The chocolate cakes are tempting, but I think I’ll have a slice of red velvet cheesecake,” the man informed Anson after a while. “That’s an excellent choice.” “Can you bring out the cake after I’m done with my sandwich?” “Of course. May I have your name for the order, please?” “Peter Yang.” Anson thanked Peter before inputting the man’s name into the system. After Peter had settled the bill, Anson prepared the tea and sandwich. He was curious about Peter because this was the first time the man had entered his teahouse. After all, his teahouse wasn’t exactly a mainstream establishment. Other than tea, he didn’t sell any other beverages. As for the food, the variety was limited. Hence, nearly all his customers were the regulars who had patronized the teahouse for years. Anson could count on two hands the number of new customers he would get every month. If he was lucky, one out of ten would become a repeat customer. Another reason why he was intrigued by Peter was because the man’s face seemed familiar for some reason, but he couldn’t remember where or when he had seen it before. After all, Los Angeles was a big city and the population was huge. Anson concluded that he might have mixed up Peter with someone else he had encountered in the past, and that individual happened to have a similar face. Like a doppelganger or something. Moments later, when Anson was done with the sandwich and tea, he placed them on a tray before carrying everything to Peter’s table. Peter had an irritated expression on his face while reading something on his smartphone, but he smiled a bit when he noticed Anson was about six feet away from him. Anson beamed widely in return as he walked closer to Peter’s table. He put the tray down on the table before neatly arranging the sandwich, the mini casserole, the pot of hot tea, the utensils, and a glass with some ice cubes in it. “Here you go.” “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” “Now that I’m looking at the sandwich, I’m glad that you stopped me from getting two of them. This sandwich is really huge and thick, and it smells delicious.” Anson grinned. “Try it and let me know later.” “I will.” “Holler if you need more ice for your tea.” “Okay. Thanks.” Anson nodded, and he glanced around for a few seconds to make sure that none of the other customers required his assistance before returning to the cash register. For the next several minutes, he had nothing to do so he wiped the counter and the display case even though they were pretty much spotless. He peeked at Peter every once in a while. He couldn’t help it. He was curious about Peter because he was pretty certain that he had seen the man somewhere before. Besides, Peter was incredibly handsome. Even though his clothes weren’t form-fitting, they weren’t that loose either. Anson could tell that Peter had a great body. The other thing he liked was that Peter was taller than him. His height was five feet and nine inches while Peter had approximately four inches over him. He weighed one hundred and forty-six pounds, and he estimated, judging by Peter’s slightly bulkier body, that the man was probably around twenty pounds heavier. Both of them had dark brown eyes and black hair. When the lunch hour arrived, Anson didn’t get to ogle Peter as often as he wished anymore. His regular customers were coming in one after the other. Most of them occupied the remaining tables while others chose to take their food elsewhere. Anson only got to briefly chat with Peter when he brought the cheesecake to the man’s table. Other than that, he was kept busy. When he was able to relax a little, he peeked at Peter’s table. He was disappointed when he discovered that Peter was no longer there. He sighed softly before making his way to Peter’s table, along with the ones that the other customers had vacated. He had to clear the dishes and wipe the tables in preparation for the next batch of customers. He carried the dirty dishes and walked past the cash register. He entered the kitchen through the door to the right side of the cash register before stacking the dishes in the sink. He would wash the dishes when the teahouse was closed for an hour from two to three o’clock in the afternoon. He was taken aback when he got back to the dining area because Peter was standing next to the cash register. “Hey! I thought you had left.” “Nope. I was using the restroom.” “Oh, okay. Do you need anything else?” Peter shook his head. “Just want to let you know that everything is delicious, and I love them all. The sandwich, the casserole, the tea, and the cake.” Anson grinned. “Glad to hear that.” “I’ll definitely come back again for dinner.” “You can’t,” Anson said, and Peter looked surprised. “Why not?” “The operating hours are Tuesday through Saturday from ten in the morning until six in the evening, but it’s closed for an hour starting from two o’clock so I can deal with the leftover chores and have a short break before the customers come in for their afternoon tea.” Peter seemed disappointed. “So, the teahouse isn’t open for business on Sundays and Mondays?” Anson nodded. “And also not during the major holidays.” “Damn!” Peter exclaimed. Anson chortled a little. “Sorry about that.” “I’ll be here at half past five then. I want to try another one of your sandwiches, and maybe get a slice of one of your chocolate cakes.” “Sure.” “Can I order the tea for takeaway?” “Of course.” “I loved the passionflower tea.” “Are you already addicted to it?” Peter laughed. “Possibly. It has a calming effect.” “Passionflower tea works like an anxiolytic. It’s an excellent anxiety reliever.” “I definitely need it. Work is killing me lately.” “That bad?” “Yeah. I’m a songwriter and a scriptwriter. At the moment, I’m busy with a few different projects music-wise, and I have to be on set for this new TV series that’s currently in its initial production stage.” “That’s amazing! Is the series being shot nearby?” “About three blocks away from here.” Anson was stunned upon hearing that. “Do you happen to know a director named Caroline Kim?” Peter was obviously taken aback. “Yes. I’m the scriptwriter for the show she’s in charge of.” “Small world. Caroline grew up in the same neighborhood as I did many years ago. When she moved away, we kept in touch. She got promoted as a director a few years ago, and she rented one of my houses for her first TV show. She also got some of the other production companies to use my houses and even this teahouse in their TV series and movies.” “Wow! So, does that mean Caroline is renting your house right now?” “Yeah. I’m guessing that you’re currently on your break.” “I am. I love your house, by the way. It has a modern vibe to it from the outside, but the interior is reminiscent of something from the 1920s or 1930s. It’s a wonderful house.” Anson chuckled. “Thanks. The house belonged to my late maternal grandparents. I need to update and renovate certain things in it. Like the plumbing. Or make sure that the electrical wiring isn’t faulty. After all, the house is really old. When Caroline first asked if she could use the house in one of her movies all those years ago, I was hesitant, but the money was tempting. I eventually agreed because I could use the money to perform such much-needed maintenance on the house. After Caroline, other directors and producers also approached me about the house. Before I knew it, it has become more or less a routine for me to rent the house out.” The money was the deciding factor. For the most part, Anson could receive anywhere between one thousand and five thousand dollars per day from the production companies. The amount varied, depending on the length of time that the house was needed, which company wanted to use it, and a few other details. Anson had once received twelve thousand dollars per day from a certain production company because the director wanted to use the house for nearly five weeks, and things inside would be altered. Anson had only agreed after making sure that the changes would make the overall appearance of the house better than before. “What about your other houses and this teahouse? How did you begin to lease them out for movies and stuff? What were the stories behind them?” “I only have one other house. I got it from my late paternal grandparents.” “Okay.” “And again, it was all Caroline’s fault,” Anson said before winking at Peter to show that he was just kidding. “I’m thankful, though. The money I earned was quite substantial.” Peter laughed, and Anson joined him. “Nice.” “Yeah, and now I know why you look familiar. I believe I’ve seen your face in some of the photographs on Caroline’s smartphone.” “Okay. I don’t really know of many people who allow their friends to browse through the photographs on their phones. Your friendship with Caroline must be awesome.” “It is,” Anson said with a smile. “Earlier this morning, Caroline kept on telling everyone on set that we have to check out your teahouse when we get the chance. She swore that everything here is delicious.” Anson was deeply touched by Caroline’s kindness. He was also pleased and proud. Then he was abruptly reminded of something that he must tell Peter about. “You don’t have to come back at five o’clock.” Peter frowned. “Why not? I would rather eat a cold sandwich from your teahouse than to suffer through some of the atrocious food the production company will purchase for us.” Anson snickered. “Thank you. That’s such an amazing compliment, but you really don’t have to stop by for the sandwich and anything else because the production company has ordered a ton of sandwiches from me. Among some other things. I’ll deliver everything to the house at seven o’clock this evening.” Peter seemed relieved. “Great! I’m looking forward to dinner then. I ate your food, and I’m still feeling fine so I’m sure I don’t have to worry about food poisoning.” Anson gaped in surprise. “Has that happened before?” Peter grimaced. “Yeah. I ended up puking and doing the big business in the toilet over and over again for almost two days straight. Three of the production crew members had to be hospitalized.” Anson winced in sympathy. “Damn!” “Worst two days of my life so far.” “Ouch! Sorry to hear that.” “Not as sorry as I was. Trust me on that.” “I bet.” The two of them chatted for a little bit longer before Peter left the teahouse. Anson felt much more energized and excited now because other than Caroline, he would also get to see Peter later that evening. He had only known Peter for a short while, but he already liked the man quite a bit. He felt that the two of them got along quite well. Moreover, he might get a peek at some of the things that occurred behind the scenes on the television show that was being shot in his house. That would be so cool.