A 20-year-old Baton Rouge girl's fiancé dies from cardiac arrest and she remembers him by going to the place where they first met.
China House Restaurant, located on 13180 Coursey Blvd in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is known for its unique style of Chinese food. The restaurant is open six days a week and is known for fast service and allowing customers to watch their food being cooked. The menu shows a variety of different food such as soups, egg rolls, chicken fried rice, and chow mein. Also, the menu shows customers lunch specials dishes that are offered at low prices which includes a free fortune cookie. China House Restaurant is the place where families and friends go to enjoy a great Chinese meal at an affordable price.
However, for Erika Fulton it is a place where she goes to remember her deceased
fiancé Rick. Erika and Rick met while having lunch at China House Restaurant during her
freshman year at Louisiana State University (LSU). They began dating and once a week they would have lunch at the China House Restaurant. In 2009, a tragedy struck Erika's life six weeks after her son Trenton was born.
On Oct. 8, 2009, after having lunch at China House, Rick told Erika that he was having problems breathing and chest pains. They figured that he had the flu. They were wrong. The morning of Oct. 9, 2009 Rick suffered a cardiac arrest and died.
"China House Restaurant will always be my special place because it is where I can eat
lunch and remember all the wonderful times Rick and I shared here," Erika Fulton said.
Erika's mother Pamela Fulton received the news about Rick's death first and she wanted to be the person who told Erika. Pamela sent a text message to her daughter asking her to meet her at the China House Restaurant. It was there where Pamela told her daughter about Rick.
"After I heard the news of Rick's death I knew it would hurt my daughter very deeply. I decided to tell her at the same place they had met. It broke my heart to tell her but I knew I had to," Pamela Fulton said.
Amy Fontenot knows Erika well. Amy is a waitress at China House. One afternoon, she noticed Erika crying while eating her lunch in the restaurant. She became very concerned about her and decided to go over to Erika's table and talk to her. Amy told her that she had also lost someone that meant a lot to her and that the only way she can honor Rick's death is to live happily.
"I felt it was my responsibility to help her because when I lost my mother, I did not have anyone there for me and I wished that someone would have sat down and talked to me," Fontenot said.
Erika and Amy became best friends and talk frequently. They have lunch often together at China House where they sit and discuss any problems they have. Amy is now the godmother of her son.
"I am very happy that I met Amy. She has helped me so much in my life and I do not know where I would be without her," Erika Fulton said.
Erika's sister Emily Fulton has had a huge impact on Erika's life. After Rick's death, Emily became involved in her sister's life by helping Erika raise her son and always being there for her when she needs it. Since Rick's death, on Valentine's Day Emily has lunch at China House with Erika so that she does not have to spend Valentine's Day alone and depressed.
"I knew that my sister would need help more than ever after Rick died, so I wanted to make it easier on her," Emily Fulton said.
Erika has begun to move on with her life. She is now a junior at LSU where she is majoring in Business. Erika hopes one day that she can open her own restaurant.
"I hope that when I open my restaurant it can give people a place to go to eat great food, spend quality time with their family and make memories with their love ones," Erika Fulton said.
My five sources were
- China House Restaurant Menu (The menu is written, and it is on paper, and it is a source of information. Thus it is a documentary source).
- Erika Fulton
- Pamela Fulton
- Amy Fontenot
- Emily Fulton