Meg emerged from her shower some minutes later to the sound of lively, if incomprehensible conversation. She was grateful that she'd had the presence of mind to take a full complement of clothing into the bathroom with her and dress before coming back into the bedroom, as John's mother had appeared in her absence.
Lee Ma and John were speaking Cantonese to each other, she sitting on the bed next to him, urging him to eat from a steaming bowl. Meg enjoyed watching the affectionate by-play between the two for the moment or two it took for them to become aware of her presence.
John's mother stood and bowed to her, murmuring a greeting,: "Li taai-taai, nay ee ho oh ma?"
Meg returned the bow, though she had not understood Lee Ma's words, she took them for a salutation. "Good morning Lee Ma. Thank you so much for feeding Jian. Did you sleep well?"
John looked at her, smiling at the Chinese pronunciation of his name, then turned back to his mother, speaking again in his mother tongue, translating for the older woman.
Lee Ma smiled and spoke again, three mysterious syllables repeated twice more in the course of her response. Again, "Li taai-taai".
Meg waited patiently for a translation.
"She says she slept very well, thank you very much. Liu Shen still sleeps, she has not been well lately, and Ma did not wish to disturb her rest."
Meg walked closer to the bed, gesturing Lee Ma to sit back down even as the woman indicated that Meg should take her place. Instead Meg climbed onto the opposite side of the bed, sitting as close to John as she thought respectable in his mother's presence, "I'm sorry, John, I was so worried about you, I didn't pay close attention to Liu Shen. Is she all right now? Is there anything she needs?"
John dutifully chewed and swallowed a mouthful of food offered him by his mother, then turned back to regard Meg reassuringly, "She has always been plagued by nervous conditions. The stress of the last year has been difficult for her. I'm hoping that being here, and finally being safe will be all that she needs to fully regain her health. That and Ma's Chinese medicine."
Meg nodded, resolving to keeping a closer eye on John's sister. She watched as John's mother continue to feed him for a few minutes, then set the bowl aside, nodding approvingly. The older woman removed the small dish towel she had spread across his chest as a napkin, revealing that the bandages Meg had thought to change were gone, a bulky, damp cloth draped over his shoulder in its place.
Noting her interest, John assured, "An herbal poultice, to draw out any remaining infection and reduce pain."
Meg smiled and nodded, grateful that more knowledgeable hands were joining in the healing effort and that the herbs she had bought were being fully utilized. Perhaps between the western medicine and the Chinese, John would soon be back on his feet.
"Is it helping?" Meg asked.
"Yes, the pain is less. Once the heat has escaped the poultice it will be removed. Lee Ma has requested that you then apply the western medicine once she has done that."
Meg smiled, "I will. You are feeling all right after your little adventure?"
John smiled ruefully, "I felt so well this morning, I thought I could manage. I am sorry to have worried you."
"I've spent the last six months worrying and wondering. I can handle a little more," Meg said mildly.
"I need to thank you again, for your help. For taking us in with no warning. I had made other arrangements, but it was not possible to keep them once we arrived. I had planned to come see you, but alone." John explained carefully stressing the last sentence.
"It's all right, John. I'm honored to have your mother and sister here, and everyone is welcome to stay for as long they wish," Meg responded, understanding the necessity of circumspection in front of John's family, but selfishly missing closer contact, especially after the night they had just spent.
As if reading her thoughts, John reached for her hand. As though to reassure and reaffirm, he interlaced his fingers with hers.
Lee Ma noticed the intimate touch, and a small smile came over her serene features. She stood and picked up the bowl she'd used to feed John, then, speaking a few more words of Cantonese, she left the room.
"Did I say, or do something? Why did she leave?" Meg felt alarmed that she might have somehow offended John's mother.
"Not at all," John soothed. "She just said she would come back after the poultice has cooled. She also said the Chinese equivalent of Ôthree is a crowd'."
"I don't ever want your family to feel ill at ease--you'll tell me, won't you John, if I do anything to offend?" Meg pressed, not quite sure she should take his assurances at face value.
He drew her hand to his lips, kissing her fingertips, abashing her yet again with the freeness of his affection. "Of course. Liu Shen and Lee Ma like you, very much, don't worry. Ma was telling me as you came into the room from your shower how grateful she is to you and how much she likes you."
"I keep hearing her say something that sounds like Ôtie-tie'. What does that mean? Is she referring to me somehow?" Meg asked, her curiosity finally defeating her caution.
John glanced down, smiling a secret smile. " Taai-taai. It means wife. She is expressing that she feels you are one of the family, like a daughter in law. In China, family is most important. She means it as a compliment to you, a term of honor not of fact."
Meg was flabbergasted, uncertain at first how to respond. An unwelcome thought came to her. "She doesn't know--you didn't tell her... about last night."
"Some things a son does not confess to his mother the morning after." John responded dryly at first, then seeing dismay flash across Meg's features, he continued, soothingly, "Merely because even a mother has no right to know certain things about her children. She wouldn't be offended though, Meg. Don't worry."
Meg still wondered over the title Lee Ma had bestowed on her, making sense of the words in their context now. She had said Li Taai-taai. Wife of the family Li? John's wife? Not used to thinking of herself as anyone's anything, Meg was unsure how to feel, how to react. Morning after etiquette had never been taught in sex ed in high school. And her past dalliances hadn't usually gotten this far into the light of day.
And as for the question of the honorific--Meg wasn't sure she was respectable enough to be considered anyone's theoretical daughter-in-law. She still hadn't told John she loved him. She'd experienced precious little of that particular emotion growing up, had no good role models on which to base a knowledge and recognition of it. She had often wondered if she even possessed the basic capacity for the emotion.
And God help her, love was the one thing John deserved above all else. That and a peaceful, happy future, the chance to put the life he had led in what amounted to indentured servitude behind him.
Most of all John deserved someone who could love and treasure him, be his comfort and solace. In essence, he deserved someone far worthier than Meg Coburn.
John watched the emotions play on Meg's face, dismayed at the strange, faraway look that came over her. He had thought to offer her an alternate translation of his mother's honorific, afraid of just this very thing. Too much, too soon, even for so little a matter.
He had spent six months coming to realize that he loved Meg--that his life would never be complete without her in it, and that he did not care to live, if it meant living without her at his side. Being wounded had crystalized those feelings, made the need to get back to her urgent.
In making love to her the night before, he had sought to communicate to her his need for her, his desire, his commitment, to bind her to him with an unbreakable bond. Waking this morning, he felt he had.
Yet he also knew that in spite of her bluff and bravado that Meg was fragile. What little she had told him of her background, in those few days together in shared purpose in February, had informed him of so much about her that he had, at first, found mystifying. He'd had months to consider, to ponder, to try understand her.
And to strategize the most important battle of his life, the winning of Meg's heart.
Looking at her now, he knew the battle would be difficult, the care he must take exquisite. He was impatient with the weakness of his body. He wanted to prove to Meg how much she was cherished. Bringing her breakfast in bed this morning would have been a good beginning. But his body had betrayed him, leaving him weak and helpless, creating stress and worry for the one person he wished more than anything to comfort and calm.
She was withdrawing into herself, in front of his very eyes, pulling her defenses back around herself like a coat of armor. Unwilling to allow it, he moved to draw her closer. She hesitated for a moment, then yielded to his gentle insistence.
He drew her head to his good shoulder, stroking her still damp hair. Their positioning was such that her face was turned away from him, but he endeavored to communicate with touch, what seemed beyond her ability to fathom in words.
Betrayed once more by his weakened body, he drifted off to sleep, his mind as uneasy as his resolve was strong.
Lee Ma and John were speaking Cantonese to each other, she sitting on the bed next to him, urging him to eat from a steaming bowl. Meg enjoyed watching the affectionate by-play between the two for the moment or two it took for them to become aware of her presence.
John's mother stood and bowed to her, murmuring a greeting,: "Li taai-taai, nay ee ho oh ma?"
Meg returned the bow, though she had not understood Lee Ma's words, she took them for a salutation. "Good morning Lee Ma. Thank you so much for feeding Jian. Did you sleep well?"
John looked at her, smiling at the Chinese pronunciation of his name, then turned back to his mother, speaking again in his mother tongue, translating for the older woman.
Lee Ma smiled and spoke again, three mysterious syllables repeated twice more in the course of her response. Again, "Li taai-taai".
Meg waited patiently for a translation.
"She says she slept very well, thank you very much. Liu Shen still sleeps, she has not been well lately, and Ma did not wish to disturb her rest."
Meg walked closer to the bed, gesturing Lee Ma to sit back down even as the woman indicated that Meg should take her place. Instead Meg climbed onto the opposite side of the bed, sitting as close to John as she thought respectable in his mother's presence, "I'm sorry, John, I was so worried about you, I didn't pay close attention to Liu Shen. Is she all right now? Is there anything she needs?"
John dutifully chewed and swallowed a mouthful of food offered him by his mother, then turned back to regard Meg reassuringly, "She has always been plagued by nervous conditions. The stress of the last year has been difficult for her. I'm hoping that being here, and finally being safe will be all that she needs to fully regain her health. That and Ma's Chinese medicine."
Meg nodded, resolving to keeping a closer eye on John's sister. She watched as John's mother continue to feed him for a few minutes, then set the bowl aside, nodding approvingly. The older woman removed the small dish towel she had spread across his chest as a napkin, revealing that the bandages Meg had thought to change were gone, a bulky, damp cloth draped over his shoulder in its place.
Noting her interest, John assured, "An herbal poultice, to draw out any remaining infection and reduce pain."
Meg smiled and nodded, grateful that more knowledgeable hands were joining in the healing effort and that the herbs she had bought were being fully utilized. Perhaps between the western medicine and the Chinese, John would soon be back on his feet.
"Is it helping?" Meg asked.
"Yes, the pain is less. Once the heat has escaped the poultice it will be removed. Lee Ma has requested that you then apply the western medicine once she has done that."
Meg smiled, "I will. You are feeling all right after your little adventure?"
John smiled ruefully, "I felt so well this morning, I thought I could manage. I am sorry to have worried you."
"I've spent the last six months worrying and wondering. I can handle a little more," Meg said mildly.
"I need to thank you again, for your help. For taking us in with no warning. I had made other arrangements, but it was not possible to keep them once we arrived. I had planned to come see you, but alone." John explained carefully stressing the last sentence.
"It's all right, John. I'm honored to have your mother and sister here, and everyone is welcome to stay for as long they wish," Meg responded, understanding the necessity of circumspection in front of John's family, but selfishly missing closer contact, especially after the night they had just spent.
As if reading her thoughts, John reached for her hand. As though to reassure and reaffirm, he interlaced his fingers with hers.
Lee Ma noticed the intimate touch, and a small smile came over her serene features. She stood and picked up the bowl she'd used to feed John, then, speaking a few more words of Cantonese, she left the room.
"Did I say, or do something? Why did she leave?" Meg felt alarmed that she might have somehow offended John's mother.
"Not at all," John soothed. "She just said she would come back after the poultice has cooled. She also said the Chinese equivalent of Ôthree is a crowd'."
"I don't ever want your family to feel ill at ease--you'll tell me, won't you John, if I do anything to offend?" Meg pressed, not quite sure she should take his assurances at face value.
He drew her hand to his lips, kissing her fingertips, abashing her yet again with the freeness of his affection. "Of course. Liu Shen and Lee Ma like you, very much, don't worry. Ma was telling me as you came into the room from your shower how grateful she is to you and how much she likes you."
"I keep hearing her say something that sounds like Ôtie-tie'. What does that mean? Is she referring to me somehow?" Meg asked, her curiosity finally defeating her caution.
John glanced down, smiling a secret smile. " Taai-taai. It means wife. She is expressing that she feels you are one of the family, like a daughter in law. In China, family is most important. She means it as a compliment to you, a term of honor not of fact."
Meg was flabbergasted, uncertain at first how to respond. An unwelcome thought came to her. "She doesn't know--you didn't tell her... about last night."
"Some things a son does not confess to his mother the morning after." John responded dryly at first, then seeing dismay flash across Meg's features, he continued, soothingly, "Merely because even a mother has no right to know certain things about her children. She wouldn't be offended though, Meg. Don't worry."
Meg still wondered over the title Lee Ma had bestowed on her, making sense of the words in their context now. She had said Li Taai-taai. Wife of the family Li? John's wife? Not used to thinking of herself as anyone's anything, Meg was unsure how to feel, how to react. Morning after etiquette had never been taught in sex ed in high school. And her past dalliances hadn't usually gotten this far into the light of day.
And as for the question of the honorific--Meg wasn't sure she was respectable enough to be considered anyone's theoretical daughter-in-law. She still hadn't told John she loved him. She'd experienced precious little of that particular emotion growing up, had no good role models on which to base a knowledge and recognition of it. She had often wondered if she even possessed the basic capacity for the emotion.
And God help her, love was the one thing John deserved above all else. That and a peaceful, happy future, the chance to put the life he had led in what amounted to indentured servitude behind him.
Most of all John deserved someone who could love and treasure him, be his comfort and solace. In essence, he deserved someone far worthier than Meg Coburn.
John watched the emotions play on Meg's face, dismayed at the strange, faraway look that came over her. He had thought to offer her an alternate translation of his mother's honorific, afraid of just this very thing. Too much, too soon, even for so little a matter.
He had spent six months coming to realize that he loved Meg--that his life would never be complete without her in it, and that he did not care to live, if it meant living without her at his side. Being wounded had crystalized those feelings, made the need to get back to her urgent.
In making love to her the night before, he had sought to communicate to her his need for her, his desire, his commitment, to bind her to him with an unbreakable bond. Waking this morning, he felt he had.
Yet he also knew that in spite of her bluff and bravado that Meg was fragile. What little she had told him of her background, in those few days together in shared purpose in February, had informed him of so much about her that he had, at first, found mystifying. He'd had months to consider, to ponder, to try understand her.
And to strategize the most important battle of his life, the winning of Meg's heart.
Looking at her now, he knew the battle would be difficult, the care he must take exquisite. He was impatient with the weakness of his body. He wanted to prove to Meg how much she was cherished. Bringing her breakfast in bed this morning would have been a good beginning. But his body had betrayed him, leaving him weak and helpless, creating stress and worry for the one person he wished more than anything to comfort and calm.
She was withdrawing into herself, in front of his very eyes, pulling her defenses back around herself like a coat of armor. Unwilling to allow it, he moved to draw her closer. She hesitated for a moment, then yielded to his gentle insistence.
He drew her head to his good shoulder, stroking her still damp hair. Their positioning was such that her face was turned away from him, but he endeavored to communicate with touch, what seemed beyond her ability to fathom in words.
Betrayed once more by his weakened body, he drifted off to sleep, his mind as uneasy as his resolve was strong.