Why are my async functions not awaiting properly in Node.js event loop?

I'm encountering a strange issue where some of my `async/await` calls in a Node.js application seem to execute out of order or resolve prematurely, causing data inconsistencies. I've double-checked Promises and error handling, but it feels like the event loop isn't holding things as expected. What common traps or patterns should I investigate when `await` isn't behaving predictably in a busy server environment?