Three Loves Seven, Chapter 22, Part 13 - "He Finally Got to Finish That Sentence"

Dear Gentle Readers,

Chapter 22 winds up today with Faye's recollection of what Dr. Wong and her mother were saying to each other at the end of a very long day.

We circle back to references of avian biologist Laura Ehrenbock whom we heard from earlier in this chapter. Don't pay her too much mind. She may surface one more time in reference, but that's it. For those of you who wonder why parts get into stories (she may get written out), she's there to give a little window into how Clete used to be and that you see he does not treat his age peers on The Island (the First Princesses) any differently than he treats his professional peers.

To get a little into Qi's head here, in her middle age she has come to question her raison d'etre, not just for remaining on that island but for her very existence. She was raised in a culture of prophecy and expectation, a culture that told her she was something special and worthy to be sought out--and yet nobody has sought her out, her good looks are fading and she's about to become an old woman. So, she has retreated deeply into an extreme version of her culture's religion. She's been trying really hard to get into the belief where she can deny her self-existence.

And then Clete shows up. And he gets to be her private experiment on how one puts one's esoteric and ethical principles into practice against a real, live case. So, whether she knows it or not, she's pretty happy right now. Plus, it's nice to have a male slave dressed in a loincloth doing things for you, (it would be nice if he were younger) even though he seems so stupid that he can't follow directions.

ANYWAY, she's used up her time with him and we need to get him out of jail and on to the next scene.

So picture Clete and Qi bedecked in formal court garb (he looking like a master of the Tea Ceremony, and she in black gown and cloak with gold combs and ornaments in her braids, piled high and elegantly on her head), returning to Qi and Faye's home, the Hall of Justice as night has finally fallen ... as the story continues ...

At last, Mother took his hand and pulled him along on the short walk back to our house. I tried very hard to eavesdrop on their conversation.

     “Judge Qi,” said the Professor, “that was quite a well-balanced, reasoned, humane judgment you rendered back there.”

     “Thank you Dr. Wong.”

     “Quite frankly, I’m confused.”

     “I’m very harsh on foreigners if you’re comparing your own treatment to theirs. I still don’t know your motives. They are royals, they are family, and they are still children in my eyes while YOU are a stranger.”

     “Ah!”

     “By the way your testimony really said nothing. It was totally useless.”

     “As you said, they’re just a bunch of children yet. I count it all as the indiscretions of youth. Nothing more needs to be said about them. I am sure there are things you did at their age that you prefer your mother not hearing about.”

     “You spent a lot of time today with my cousin Ting Ting.”

     “We finally had an extended conversation.”

     “And?”

     “She is a very athletic person. I take that back. Extremely athletic. And cool under pressure.”

     “Is that all you have to say?”

     “For the time being, yes. You can ask Ting Ting about our time together. You two talk don’t you?”

     “My relationships are none of your affair. And you encountered the Sea Witch?”

     “We did.”

     “And she just gave you her late father’s vestments of high office that she happened to be carrying around?”

     “She was embarrassed for me that I was undressed. Which I appreciated. She said she would retrieve them later.”

     “So you’re saying she is more cultured and refined than I am.”

     “Jump to all the conclusions you want. You’re only revealing your own insecurities.”

     “Speaking of the Witch, I just realized you smell like herbs from The Grove. I think I am not the only one who had a bath today.”

     “Ting Ting’s route of escape took us through deep water in The Grove. You should ask her about it. Too much has happened to me today to remember all details. My mind is a blur.”

     “You’re lying.”

     “You’re a judge. So you’re probably right. Tell you what, after I’ve had some time to journal this, I’ll let you read it. But may I suggest that you need to buy a stronger set of prison doors. Your Gateless Gates are worth less than what you paid for them.”

     “And I would say being able to install Gateless Gates about one’s home is one of the costliest things one can attain this life, or in any number of past or future lives.”

Our bowls of mush were exactly where we left them. Wen did not come back with us. I suspect her mother was lecturing her on end at this very moment.

     “Untouched. Not even a fly drowning in the center,” said the Professor.

     “So, how do you like karma-free living?” asked Mother.

     “It definitely has its perks.”

     “Dr. Ehrenbock … whom you were talking to ... ?”

     “Which one? Biology or chemical engineering?”

     “The woman, Laura. You knew her from before you were teachers.”

     “That’s right. How did you know?”

     “It’s obvious.”

      “How so?”

      “It just is. You think of me as cruel don’t you?”

      “If you define cruelty as meting out disproportionate corporal punishment for minor offenses, and your seeming to take delight in my suffering, then yes.”

     “I have my reasons for what I do. I think you were very cruel to Dr. Ehrenbock. But I find myself wondering what your reasons are for your offenses against her.”

     “Are you talking about my sarcasm and verbal sparring? I’m like that with all of my friends. They know me and how I joke around.”

     “Do you have a picture of her?”

     “As a matter of fact I have something on this phone. This is Ron and her and me at a retirement reception for a colleague.”

     “Don’t tell me. That must be her, next to you? Hand on your shoulder?”

     “Yes. The photographer told us all to get close.”

     “Ron is on the other side of her?”

     “No. He’s on the other side of the group. Bowling shirt on.”

     “What kind of shirt?”

     “Green with wide tan stripes.”

     “My, he’s very tall. Why is he over there?”

     “I don’t know. The picture was impromptu. He was at the other table. It just sorted out that way.”

     “Different tables? So you were talking business?”

     “No. It was a social affair. What are you getting at?”

      “I am just asking questions. It is very interesting the way that couples distribute themselves at parties, don’t you think?”

     “I suppose. I know ‘power couples’ who strategically divide up a room and compare notes later.”

     “Ron does not look that type of man.”

     “Maybe so. How are you so socially savvy? So when was the last political event you had on Dog Island? There are no spouses for anyone to observe anything here.”

     “Even with these women, we have our intrigues. AND if a person is conscious of her past lives, as I am, some wisdom is never forgotten.”

     “The only past lives I think are understandable are those that authors write down in books.”

     “And that’s what I would expect of you Professor. Laura is younger than you. By how much?”

     “Eight years.”

     “Horse. How NOT surprising. Was she a student of yours?”

     “When we first met, I was a graduate assistant supervising her work and leading her undergrad study section. I wasn’t responsible for her grades. So no I can’t say I was her prof. But later on, during the breakup of the Cold War with Russia, we got better acquainted. They opened up a forest in a Central Asian soviet to a yearlong science delegation to study an area no Western scientist had ever set foot in. We were both in that delegation. She was working on her doctorate, but she could spare a year.”

     “You were there as a geologist?”

     “Yeah, but they wanted me as a two-fer. They also wanted some consultation on possible oil and gas deposits they thought were there. I had a pretty good history of calling wet holes. They were right to call me in. They’ve got tons of oil. If they could only get a reasonable government in power, they could be quite prosperous.”

     “So you spent a year together in this foreign land then?”

     “There were others. It wasn’t just us.”

     “Was it cold there?”

     “One of the harshest winters of my life. What is all of this?”

     “Humor me. This is very much fun for me. I am probing the depth of your cruelty. That’s all.”

     “I, am NOT a cruel person.”

     “She was very fond of you. Wasn’t she?”

     “I don’t know … maybe. If so, it was only one-way.”

     “So she met this other doctor Ron then?”

     “I actually introduced them.”

     “So you are the one who arranged their marriage?”

     “To put in your cultural terms, I suppose I made the initial match. They decided themselves whether to progress or not.”

     “You went out of your way to find a man with very similar temperament to you, that Ron. From what little I heard him speak he is quite like you.”

     “Qi. You’re reading a lot more into this than I think you should. Laura did not need to be wasting her time on me. I am fully aware that women have a limited time horizon if they want to raise a family. OK? Jeez.”

     “Do they have children?”

     “They had a son. He did not survive into adulthood.”

     “He died? An accident?”

     “He made it just past 13. I was his godfather. He had an autoimmune disorder. Jared was a smart kid. Ron and him and I would go fishing.”

     “That is tragic that he died so young?"

     "By some yardsticks yes. But Jared mastered and understood more higher mathematics most college-educated adults that I know. He could play the Bach cello etudes. And while he was with us he gave his parents great joy and stimulation."

     "Is it not sad to you that he did not reach adulthood?"

     "People leave this life at all ages. My brothers were not that much older than him."

     "May I see the picture you sent her? With the Soul Birds?”

     “Sure. There are two, frontal view and rear.”

Mother took a long look at both and sighed.

     “The gods of fate can be quite evil. She would have had such a different life if she had never met you. Do not call me cruel, Clete. You are more cruel than I am by far.”

     “How do you figure?”

     “What do 150 phone call messages to you say about her?”

     “She really, REALLY wants to study a Soul Bird?”

     “You sent her a picture of something she really loves but cannot have.”

     “Yeah, advancement in her profession—misguided by the prospect of Dodo bird look-alikes. I’m just trying to protect the privacy of you Islanders.”

     “I appreciate that Clete. Thank you. But it’s not the birds.”

     “That’s all she was talking about. What then?”

     “The man. You. Dressed in the undergarments of her ancestral tradition that she reveres. Seeing what you would look like if she were your spouse. I am not stupid. Just because I prefer not to wear clothes does not mean that I do NOT understand what it means to be unclothed to others. In fact, I am acutely aware of it. That picture of you meant a lot to her. And then she tells you she wants to be where you are, to rescue you if need be. She offers her body to you, I heard it, spoken from the bed she shares with her husband, who is present and listening, and you rebuff her and insult her. You said ‘You have nothing I want.’”

     “Hold on, that’s EXACTLY what you told me a couple of days ago. It’s a really good line! I’m gonna use that one.”

     “You will not. I FORBID IT. A man must NEVER say that to a woman.”

     “What kind of double standard is that?”

     “Are you so stupid that you don’t know men are different than women? Are you so unfiltered? That was so cruel. I don’t know her and my heart hurts for her. She even married the man you chose for her. That’s how much she regards you. At least that’s what I think. By the way, I don’t think she likes Ron all that much, but she has settled and made peace, … until you sent her those pictures.”

     “Do you think I should apologize?”

     “No. You cannot help how she feels. You are who you are and she should be reminded of that now. Let her view of you diminish. The more attention to pay to her the harder it will be on her.”

     “Why did you want to talk to her in Old Japanese?”

     “I was just curious about her. I didn’t want to make it easy though. The Sea Witch uses that language for spells and imprecations. It is highly mannered speech and it is good to speak it to the Sea Witch because it draws the lines between our ranks quite keenly. Your friend surprised me though.”

     “Fuck yeah! Me too! But why Old Japanese?”

     “The way she says certain words in English reminded me of the Sea Witch. I thought she might be a Japanese history scholar. Just a hunch. So why were you not interested in her? As a woman. She’s very pretty. AND very respectful and polite, I might add. Obviously highly educated. She’s a lot like Feng. I enjoyed our short conversation. I would enjoy talking to her some more. I think she would enjoy hearing the words we have come up with for modern things in that ancient language.”

     “You didn’t say much to each other.”

     “Much of what I am telling you I merely heard in the sound of her voice. Tell me, what was objectionable about her to you back when you spent that year together in the Soviet Union?”

     “Nothing at all. I could have … started to court her, except that someone else was in line before her.”

     “‘Someone in line’ … I don’t understand.”

I could not help except to butt in.

     “American idiom Mother, he told Auntie Feng all about it. He was probably still searching for his wife Rico then.”

     “Thank you for that Faye," said the Professor, "Couldn’t have said it better myself. Maybe I am cruel. However, you’ve known me long enough now that it should not surprise you that I am not good with the opposite sex, or even my own sex. Let’s wash dishes.”

     “In my house, we really don’t need to clean. I have just been making you work. All of my little helpers clean away any food left on a plate or bowl or pot.”

     “I’m impressed and disgusted at the same time.”

     “It's hard being a complex person like me. And tiring. I’m sure you’re tired too. Let’s just retire for the night and get into the hammock, shall we? You can tell me all about what really happened after we settle in.”

     “Aren’t you going to discharge me?”

     “I pronounced you free back in The Classroom. You’ve been free to go any time since. I just assumed when you came back home with me you were planning to stay another night. That IS why you bathed me, isn’t it? To make me acceptable to you?”

     “I thought you would enjoy a hot bath after a day of hard labor. Wouldn’t it be against your principles to consort with a criminal?”

     “On Dog Island, there is no shame in having been a criminal. There have been so many. I’m absolutely done with these clothes. Undress me. That is something men like to do correct?”

     “They like to undress women whom they have not seen undressed previously. Love of novelty. By the way, you wear this outfit quite well. It’s very impressive and good looking on you.”

     “I know how to use a dress to make a point. Let me start with you by removing your coat.

     “Leave it on. I’m not going to be spending the night.”

     “Clete! Stop giving a girl mixed messages. Why? You make such a good mattress, truthfully! I’ve never rested better than when you are beside me.”

     “You mean on top of me. Didn’t all that closeness make you hot? And claustrophobic? I thought we were like a box of puppies, all on top of each other. Your face was next to mine all night.”

     “You don’t know the meaning of hot. You are just a big baby. Besides it rained. Didn’t that keep you cool? Please stay. I haven’t slept through a night like that in over 10 years.”

     “I don’t think the Security Council will approve.”

     “I don’t care. I’m a dissenter. And we’re not under a roof. So no laws have been broken.”

     “How do I put this? If I stay another night, you will not be sleeping through it. OK? I prefer not to break my vows. If I’m with you, it’ll be … it will be … hard.”

     “A vow to whom? Your EX wife? Certainly NOT that Laura …”

     “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

     “How is tonight different than the last three? And it’s a long walk back to the guest cottage.”

     “Tonight I have a choice. And tonight, to use your words, you are acceptable to me.”

     “Because I am clean?”

     “That and, dammit, you look and smell great.”

     “So a clothed woman is more attractive to you than a naked one?”

     “You’re a fuckin’ raincloud of pheromones or Viagra. I’m as deeply in rut as a 50-year-old man can get! All right? You want me to spell it out any more for you? Jesus!”

     “That’s not a very artful seduction, Clete, in fact it’s terrible. But I take your point. Fei dear?"

     "Mother? Did you say something?" I asked. "I haven't been listening."

     “Go get me my sewing kit please.”

I was of course lying about not listening. I hurried not wanting to miss a word, but they had gone on to some other topic by the time I came back.  I asked what they said to each other while I was gone, but Mother would not say. “Just grown-up things.” She had me cut off 10 centimeters of string. They were still deep in conversation.

     “… broke perimeter today.”

     “You can’t hold me responsible for that. It was not my doing.”

     “Your intent does not matter. It is an absolute liability.”

     “You are not cutting off my finger! I will NOT comply.”

     “You are lucky I am a merciful woman. The well-balanced, reasonable, and … what was that third word you used to describe me earlier?”

     “Humane.”

     “I like it. Magistrate Qi the Humane will only take a proxy. Hold up your right hand and extend the pinky. Fei dear, the string?”

I saw Dr. Wong cringe as he held out his hand and mother removed her knife. But she pierced her own pinky to let some blood with which she stained the string red. She tied it onto his pinky.

     “I realize you regard me as your adversary and tormentor. I don’t think that’s unfair. But I am starting understand you. You are interesting and can be useful. But hear this, as long as you remain on Dog Island, you will wear this string on your pinky to remind you of your crimes. Even though that finger is yet on your hand, it belongs to me. And when I want it, for whatever reason, you will bring it to me. Understood?”

     “If you don’t like jungle-girl-as-cannibal stereotypes about yourself, this kind of stunt does not help. Man, you are one sick, twisted sister. If you want me on call for you, why don’t you just ask me to be a friend? Like Na or Lum or Feng? If they ask me to do something, I’d do it because I like them. Why must you back up everything you do with threat of force?”

     “I like to feel … secure and in charge.”

     “I’ll get you a fuckin' walkie-talkie. Faye, whatever you do, do NOT grow up to be pretty like your mother. It will ONLY make you hopelessly neurotic--like ALL pretty women I know.”

Later that night when I told Wen about that conversation, she said:

     “I’m surprised he did not borrow her knife and cut off his own finger to end the obligation right there.”

     “Wen! That is so mean. You apologize for that right now.”

     “I’m sorry. But your mother can be … demanding?”

     “More than yours?”

     “Let’s call them even. Do you think the Professor understands what tying a red string to his pinky means?”

     “I don’t think so. And I’m surprised Mother went that far herself. She said to me, ‘He is so dense in things of common sense, so to get mad at him is like getting mad at a child. He is a curious mix of sacred and profane. Of stupidity and wisdom. If the chance happens to come about, direct him to The Rookery at any of the times that I do my regular visits.’”

     “The Rookery?" said Wen, "Nobody is allowed there, it’s so dangerous. Why doesn’t she just invite him there herself?”

     “She said she wanted him to have no preparatory thoughts. That that was the only way she could honestly assess him.”

     “So he walked all the way to his cottage?”

     “He didn’t have to. Auntie Lee showed up with the jeep just as he was leaving.”

© Copyright 2012 by Vincent Way, all rights reserved.