Chapter 26...Chapter 26...
After so many difficulties and obstacles, they were finally together. And nothing can separate us again. Quin closed her eyes, listening to Fei’s rhythmic breathing. Fei stirred again and opened his eyes wearily. Quin smiled and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Quin: (softly) Good morning, sleepyhead.
Fei smiled and flung his arm around Quin.
Fei: (eyes half-closed) What time is it?
Quin: 20 minutes to 8 o’clock.
Fei: (sleepily) Plenty of time.
Quin got up from bed and dragged Fei’s arm.
Quin: Come on. We better get ready for work. Get up, lazybones. I’ll get the water ready for your bath.
The answer she got from Fei was a gentle snore. Exasperatedly, Quin pulled the comforter out from under Fei, causing him to fall down on the floor with a thump.
Fei: Ouch.
Quin opened the closet and threw out some clothes for Fei. She herself threw on a dressing gown and opened the door. Suddenly, Quin felt a wave of nausea hit her. She ran into the bathroom. Fei immediately picked himself up from the floor.
Fei: Kwan, are you okay?
Quin: Uh-huh. It’s probably just flu. Lots of people are getting it nowadays.
Quin: I’m okay.
Fei: Where are you going? (grinning) I thought we are going to take a bath.
Quin: To make breakfast. And YOU are going to take YOUR bath. I’m going to take mine later.
Quin walked into the kitchen and took out some bacon and eggs. She got into work and breakfast was ready in 15 minutes. Quin set out the breakfast neatly on the dining table and retreated to the kitchen to get some orange juice. As she was pouring out the juice, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist from behind.
Fei: Breakfast smells great. I’m getting a great bargain in marrying you. I get a wife and a cook, two in one.
Quin smacked Fei on the arm but couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
Quin: Eat your breakfast, and don’t talk so much.
As they were eating, Quin spotted a brochure on the table. Curiously, she picked it up. “HOLIDAYING IN JAPAN”, the brochure proclaimed in large words.
Fei: I got this a week ago while checking out the tour packages for our honeymoon. I thought you might like to go to Japan. Springtime is beautiful there.
Quin: (raised her eyebrows) A week ago? Honeymoon? Why are you so sure I’ll accept your proposal?
Fei: (smirking) Who else wants you but me? (lei mm ka ngor, ka pin gor?)
Quin swatted Fei across the table with the brochure.
Quin: Ha, I’ve got millions of boyfriends. You’re just one I picked out from the line-up. YOU got lucky.
Fei: Yeah, I guess I got lucky. To be able to find you. To be able to love you.
Quin smiled. She felt the same way.
Man was looking at Tong Sum’s grave.
“Thank you for your blessing, Tong Sum. I will take good care of Chi San. We will be very happy together.”
Chi San appeared beside Man. He was smiling. Man smiled and held her hand out to Chi San.
CLICK! A pair of handcuffs snapped themselves onto her wrists. Man looked up, horrified. Chi San’s face was stony and hard.
“You are under arrest.”
Man stared disbelievingly at Chi San.
“Chi San…”
“Don’t “Chi San” me,” Chi San’s voice was hard and his face was expressionless. “Take her away…”
Two burly officers appeared and dragged Man away. Man cried out, “Chi San! Chi San!”
Chi San walked away and didn’t look back. Suddenly, Man found herself in court.
A judge glared menacingly down at Man. “I sentence you, Mun Yuen Lan to life imprisonment for killing Josh Chan.”
“I didn’t kill him! Chi San, help me!”
Chi San sneered.
“You’re a murderer…murderer…murderer…you killed him…”
Man felt the floor collapsing beneath her.
“Chi San! No!” Man cried desperately after Chi San’s retreating back.
“Chi San…”
Man: Chi San! Don’t abandon me!
Man sat up in her bed, sweating and breathing hard. She glanced at the familiar surroundings and relaxed. It was just a nightmare. Just a nightmare. Josh’s murderer was caught, and she wasn’t you. Inhale. Exhale. Relax.
Man got up weakly from her bed. She had been having this nightmare continuously for a few days. Recent events had brought everything back to her, the pain, the fear…everything that she had worked so hard to forget in the past 2 years. She was just going to succeed, just going to. But it all came back to her. The pain that she felt from Chi San’s painful assumption and partial accusation was still fresh and sharp. And that was why she avoided seeing and hearing from Chi San. She knew that he wanted to apologise. But she doubted that she could forgive him.
Man complemented the past nights and days of hell. All because of one simple sentence from Chi San’s mouth. That sentence alone had done much damage to Man’s emotional and mental state. Man walked into the kitchen for a drink of water. As she was drinking, her eyes rested on a bottle of sleeping pills.
Man bit her lip, eyeing the bottle. She took the bottle down, wincing as she remembered her past trouble with sleeping pills. But she was so tired. And she needed her sleep. After a moment’s hesitation, Man popped 2 pills into her mouth. Just this time.
Fei walked into the station, holding Quin’s hand tightly.
Korean: Make way for the love birds, Fei Gor and Miss Mo!
Fei: Miss Mo? In future, you guys will have to call her by another name.
Gigi spotted the huge diamond on Quin’s ring finger. She gave a scream and ran up to Quin.
Gigi: Don’t tell me…you two are engaged?
Fei smiled good-naturedly as Quin blushed a deep shade of red. The answer was obvious from their faces. Everyone in the station began to clap and cheer.
Hoi: Took you both long enough!
Chi San: (snapping) What the heck is going on? What are you all doing? You’re supposed to be working!
Everyone fell silent. It was rare to see Chi San angry. He was always so calm and collected about everything.
Korean: Urmmm…Fei Gor and Miss Mo’s engaged…
<>
The angry expression on Chi San’s face melted away, replaced by one of surprise and pleasure. He smiled tiredly.
Chi San: Congratulations, both of you.
Quin: Thanks, Chi San.
Quin: (whispering) Talk to the poor guy. He could use a friend.
Fei: Meet me for lunch afterwards?
Quin: Sure.
Fei brushed Quin’s lips with a light kiss, drawing catcalls and hoots from his teammates. A blushing Quin immediately ducked out of the office and towards her own office. Fei walked towards Chi San’s office and knocked lightly on the door.
Chi San: Come in.
Fei opened the door and walked in. He made himself comfortable on the chair across from Chi San’s desk. Chi San looked like hell. His chin was dark with 3 days’ stubble and he looked dead tired.
Fei: Buddy, you all right?
Chi San: What do you think?
Fei: I hate to say this, but…
Chi San: Don’t even think of saying it. I know what I said and did was wrong. But how much longer do I have to pay for it? It was a mistake. A stupid mistake. Is it so hard for Man to forgive me?
Fei: (solemnly) You really hurt her pretty badly.
Chi San: I know, and I’m sorry. I really am. I couldn’t bear to lose her again. Not after all we went through. (sighed) Me and my big mouth.
Fei: I have to say, for someone who’s supposed to be smart, you can be really stupid sometimes.
Chi San: Is that your idea of comforting me and making me feel better?
Fei: (wincing slightly) If you want my advice, just let her stew it out. She’ll be okay in another few days. Meanwhile, show a little sincerity.
Chi San: (sarcastically) You want me to fold a gazillion stars and put that in a bottle with a price tag of 5 gazillion dollars?
Fei: (smiled) Of course not. Tsui Fei copyrighted that trick. (seriously) Try asking her out again, and contacting her. Show your sincerity and love. I’m not making any promises, but women dig that kind of thing.
Fei: You cannot give up. Keep on calling her. Or send her big bouquets of flowers everyday. One day, just to get you to shut up, she’ll want to see you. And that time, blow her over with your love and sincerity. Play the violin and serenade her or something.
Chi San: Fei, you make the world’s worst relationship counselor.
Fei: (laughing) Hey, I tried. Anyway, I just wanted to get a smile out of you.
Chi San smiled. He was lucky to have a friend like Fei.
She was supposed to write a client’s progress report, but somehow, Quin just couldn’t concentrate. She toyed with the engagement ring on her finger, sending a shower of sparks across the room as the sunlight hit the diamond. She admired the ring, repeating to herself that this wasn’t a dream; it was reality…she was engaged to Fei. The sweet proposal of the previous night brought a smile to her lips. I’m going to marry Fei. I’m going to become Mrs.Tsui. Quin’s smile widened. Mrs.Tsui. She liked the sound of that. Suddenly, her phone rang. Quin gave a start, dropping her ring. It rolled onto the floor with a soft “ping”.
Quin grabbed the phone receiver. It was a client confirming an appointment. After she hung up, Quin got down onto her knees and searched for her ring. She couldn’t find it on the floor. A wave of panic hit her. No. No, this is not happening again. She frantically rummaged the files on her table, hoping to see the ring on the table; perhaps she hadn’t dropped in on the floor. But it was to no avail. Quin slumped down on her chair. She couldn’t believe it.
Quin awoke to the bright sunlight streaming through the blinds in Fei’s bedroom. She yawned widely and glanced at the man sleeping beside her. Her fiancé. Her future husband. Quin felt a thrill ran through her. Gently, she touched Fei’s face. Fei stirred and mumbled something, but remained asleep. Quin smiled and snuggled up against his side. One glance at the clock told her that she probably should wake Fei up and get ready for work herself. But she just wanted to spend a little more time with the man she loved.
(Fei still looked worried.)
(She walked out of the bathroom and towards the kitchen.)
(Fei’s playful expression turned seriously. He stroked Quin’s fingers.)
(Chi San walked in amidst the commotion.)
(Both Fei and Quin smiled.)
(Chi San headed towards his room. Quin nodded towards Chi San’s direction.)
(Fei nodded.)
(Chi San glared at Fei.)
(Chi San was quiet.)
(Chi San was unable to stop a smile from spreading across his face as he heard Fei’s cheesy ideas.)
She was rummaging through some books. Absently-mindedly, she rubbed her fourth finger on her left hand. She felt nothing. Shocked, Quin looked at her finger. Her ring was gone. She frantically ran around, trying to look for it. But she found nothing.
“Have you had a ring this design?”
“I’m sorry, this ring is sold out. How about this one? It’s very nice.”
“No, it must be that one, it’s my engagement ring!”
“I’m sorry, miss. I cannot help you. This ring is a limited edition.”
She slipped off the ring, toying with it in her hand. Suddenly, a kid careened into her. She gave a jump and dropped her ring. Horrified, she watched as her engagement ring fell into the deep blue sea. It was gone forever. Too devastated even to cry, she could only stare at the sea in which her precious ring had fallen into.
Suddenly, inexplicably, Quin was filled with foreboding.
Fei and Quin strolled through a shopping mall after lunch, hand-in-hand, when Quin suddenly spotted a machine where a couple can take their pictures and have a look at their future child. She immediately dragged Fei towards the machine. When their baby’s picture came out, they burst out laughing.
Fei: She’s so tanned!
Quin: Of all things, the skin color has to take after you…
Fei: (pointing at the dimple on the girl’s cheek) Look…she has my dimples. (smirking) Our kid gets all the good things from me.
Quin: (thoughtfully) I wonder how will our children look like?
Fei: (slyly) Want to find out now? Why don’t we go home and…
(Quin smacked him on the arm.)
Quin: Dirty-minded.
(Fei laughed and slipped his arm around Quin’s waist.)
Fei: Seriously, I can’t wait to start a family with you. I want a bigggg family…I want lots and lots of kids, ten, at least.
Quin: (laughing) You want me to become a big fat barrel?
Fei: I don’t care. I want at least ten kids.
Quin: (rolled her eyes) You wish! Two is enough for me. A boy and a girl. If I’m lucky, I’ll get fraternal twins, one girl and one boy. One pregnancy is enough for me.
(Fei nuzzled Quin’s neck.)
Fei: Two is enough for you, but I want ten.
Quin: Get another woman to help you with that.
Fei: No way. Only Mo Chiu Kwan is eligible to have Tsui Fei’s babies.
Quin slipped her arm through Fei’s as they started down the steps towards the parking lot. Fei was still yakking away about his future kids. Quin had to smile. Fei was so cute. He was obviously dying to be a father. Suddenly, Quin lost her footing on a step. She stumbled and caught Fei’s arm. But the momentum was too strong. Quin slipped and fell down, tumbling over the steps. She rolled to a stop, looking dazed.
Fei: (yelling) Kwan!
Fei hurried down the steps to Quin’s side.
Fei: Are you okay?
A grimace covered Quin’s face. She was clutching her stomach. Her face was ashen.
Quin: Fei…it hurts…
Fei immediately carried Quin in his arms. He was taking her to the hospital.
Fei: You’re going to be okay, Kwan.
Later…
The doctor came out from ER. Fei looked up, surprised. That was quick. It had barely been an hour.
Doctor: Mr.Tsui?
Fei: How’s my fiancée?
Doctor: She’s okay, but…
(The doctor’s voice trailed off.)
Fei: (foreboding gripping his heart) What? What’s wrong?
Doctor: We couldn’t save her baby. It was an unstable pregnancy, and with her fall…I’m sorry, Mr.Tsui.
An earthquake would have provided a smaller impact. Fei felt the wind knocked out of him as he stared at the doctor.
Fei: (in a whisper) Baby? What baby?
Doctor: Miss Mo was 2 months pregnant. And…well, the baby was gone.
How will Quin ever cope with the loss of her child? Will the tragedy bring her and Fei even closer in their grief…or drive them further apart?
Chi San thought that Man’s feelings were just hurt. Little does he know that Man’s emotional sanity is very unstable and affected, and something will happen to make him regret deeply.
Back to MAIN
Yong June-Ling
Copyright 2001