The next few days at the Yang household were pleasant enough, despite the presence of Beatrice Yang. Owen held his tongue, whenever she made her biting remarks, because he didn't want to cause dissension or make waves. The only time he felt his anger rile up was when she was shouting at his children. Iris and Laurel were little kids and were bound to make some sort of mess. He could not stop himself when he found her, screaming at the kids. The tiny girls were cowering, while holding on to each other and crying. "I told you before that I will not tolerate any messes in this house," Beatrice yelled.
"Beatrice!" Owen spoke, loudly, his voice booming across the room. The two little girls ran to him and hugged his legs. He stroked their heads as they cried on his pants. "Do not yell at my children." Beatrice glared at him and said, firmly, "This is my house and I like it kept clean and tidy. Look at this mess they have made." Owen looked at the floor. There was a broken glass, spilled milk and a hand towel on the floor.
"What happened, Iris?" he asked the five-year-old. "I got Laurel a glass of milk and it slipped from her hands," Iris said, softly. "I tried to clean it up before Miss Beatrice saw it. I got a towel from the bathroom and tried to wipe it up."
"Okay, Iris, you tried to do good," he said, ruffling her hair. He then addressed Beatrice. "I will clean it up. It was an accident. They are only little kids."
"Look at what she used to clean up the mess," Beatrice continued. "My monogrammed hand towels."
"It is only a towel, Beatrice. It can be washed. There is no need to yell at them," he said. He went to the kitchen and got some paper towels, bent down and wiped up the mess from the floor. He picked up the broken glass and threw it in the garbage. He washed the milk out of the hand-towel and then put it up to dry. "Iris, you and Laurel, should have called me to help you. You both could have been cut with this broken glass."
"We didn't want Miss Beatrice to yell at us," Iris said. "But it was too late. She caught me, trying to wipe it up."
"It is okay," he said. "Come on, go to your room and watch some television. I will come and check on you in a bit." Iris took her sister's hand and they went to their room. Owen shook his head and went to find Cristina. After that incident, he was so elated that he had asked Cristina to marry him. He could not bear that she and her girls would have been living under Beatrice's critical eye on a daily basis. It would have been such a miserable environment for the three of them. He found Cristina in the backyard, picking flowers to place in her father's bedroom.
"Cristina, I can't take it anymore with that woman," he said. Cristina looked up at him, with a slight smile on her face. She knew he was talking about Beatrice.
"I guess you know that I wasn't exaggerating, when I told you about Beatrice," Cristina said. "She was yelling at our kids for spilling some milk on the floor," he said. "I was so mad and I held my tongue. I could have really told her what I thought about her. Cristina, I am sorry but I can't stay here much longer. I know your dad is sick and you want to spend time with him but that woman is a tyrant and just hates our kids. It is not good for them because they are so scared of her. Iris and Laurel tried to clean up the mess by themselves but they could have got hurt with that broken glass on the floor. Plus they don't even have kid-friendly plastic glasses in this house."
"Are they okay?" she asked, the concern apparent in her voice. "Yes, I cleaned up the mess and put them in their room to watch tv," he said. "They needed a bit of calm after the trauma."
"Thank you," she said, quietly.
"Why are you thanking me? I was just helping our kids out," he asked, a little puzzled. "For saving us from this life where we would have had to live with Beatrice," she told him and wrapped her arms around him. "It was the best thing I ever did," he told her, kissing her on her forehead. They stood there for a few minutes, just being quiet and enjoying being in love with one another.
"Okay, we can go back home," she said. "Good," he replied. "I will book our flights. I think you should tell your dad that we are leaving." She nodded, as she released herself from his arms. "I am going to put these flowers in his room and I will tell him." He watched her as she walked back into the house. He called the airline and made reservations to get them back to California, the next day.
As they all finished up dinner that night, Bertha came down from Dr Yang's room, after removing his tray of dirty dishes from his room.
"Major Hunt," she said. "Dr. Yang would like you to come visit him, after you are through with dinner."
"Okay," Owen said, more than surprised. "Cristina, too?" Bertha firmly shook her head. "No, not Cristina," she said. "Just you."
"Alright, I will go up, now," he said, as he got up from the table. He went to Dr. Yang's room and knocked on the door.
"Come on in, Owen," he heard his father-in-law say. "I have been waiting for you." Owen walked in the room, not really knowing what to expect.
"Hey, Harold, how are you doing?" Owen asked. He hadn't seen much of his father-in-law during his visit there since he knew that Harold needed his rest. Cristina and the girls visited him every day. He could see the flowers that Cristina had picked in the vase on the bedside table.
"Much better, actually," Harold said. It was the truth. He certainly looked much better than when they first saw him on the day that they arrived. "Cristina and the girls being here have done me good."
"Yes, you do look better," Owen said. "That's excellent."
"I heard that you all plan to leave tomorrow," Harold said. "I am sad to see you all go but I can understand why. Beatrice is not the easiest person to get along with but despite all of her flaws, I know that she loves me."
"Is there a particular reason that you asked to see me?" Owen asked, trying to steer the topic away from Beatrice. There was a lot he could say about that woman but he felt it would not have been appropriate.
"Yes," Harold said. "I want to thank you for taking care of Cristina and the girls. It makes me rest easy, knowing that they are in good hands."
"I love them very much," Owen said. "They are my life."
"Good," Harold said. "You know that Josh, Cristina's first husband and I did not have the best of relationships. I always wanted the best for Cristina and I didn't think Josh was it. When he joined the army at 18 and I sent Cristina off to college, I thought that would be it for them. But they had other ideas and when they told me that she was pregnant, I was so mad. I thought this boy was going to bring her down. Then, they got married and had another kid and then, he died."
"He died an honorable death and I realize now that I was unfair to him. Being so close to death gives you a lot of clarity," Harold said. "He was a good boy and he loved my daughter so much."
Owen was silent. He knew that Cristina's dad probably did not have much time left.
"So we come to you, Owen. After I am gone, I would trust that you will continue to love and take care of Cristina and my grandchildren," he said. "That goes without saying," Owen said. Harold put up his hand, as he wanted to continue talking.
"I want to tell you the contents of my will, Owen," Harold said. "I am leaving this house and the property to Beatrice. She loves this place and I doubt Cristina would want it. Beatrice will also be paid an allowance from the estate, so she can live comfortably for the rest of her life. Bertha will also receive a lump sum for her years of dedication to our family.
"The bulk of my financial assets are going to Cristina and her children. She doesn't know that and I would like to keep it that way until my passing. Cristina will get her inheritance immediately but I have set up trust funds for Iris, Laurel and any other children that you and Cristina might have."
"That is very generous of you, sir," Owen said. Harold chuckled. "She is the best gift I ever got," he said. "I remember holding her in my arms when she was a baby and all I could think about how I wanted to give her the world. She was always my little shadow and I was the most important man in her life. Until, she fell in love and I was no longer the most important man in her life. Maybe I was jealous of Josh that he had taken away my baby's affections; maybe that was why I gave him such a hard time. My attitude towards Josh caused a rift in our relationship. She would always choose Josh. I know that, now."
"I wished you would tell Cristina that," Owen said. "It would mean so much to her to hear that."
"I already did," Harold said. "I told her that today, when she told me that you were leaving. I was wrong about Josh. He was good and kind and true. That he died a hero's death for his country."
"I think she was probably glad to hear that," Owen said. Harold cocked his head and looked at him. "But Josh is no longer here. It is you, now. Promise me that you will always love her, that you will always be there for my baby girl."
"Always," Owen said. "That I can promise." The older man had tears in his eyes as he and Owen shook hands. "I am going to turn in for the night, now," Harold said. "Glad we had this talk, Owen."
The next day, it was time to say goodbye. Cristina and the girls had a tearful goodbye with her father in his room. Then, there were the hugs for Bertha and the polite handshakes with Beatrice. The two little girls said in unison, "Goodbye, Miss Beatrice," as they gratefully got into the taxi, glad that they never had to see that scary woman for a long time.
When they got home, the family was exhausted from the day's traveling. The two girls fell asleep quickly, while Owen and Cristina were snuggled together on their bed, happy to be in their own home.
"I am glad that we went to see dad," she said. "Yeah, I think it was important that you did," he replied.
"I am not fooling myself into thinking dad is going to make it," she said, softly. "I know his time is limited so I am going to cherish this." Owen nodded and closed his eyes.
"He told me he was wrong," she said. Owen opened his eyes. "Wrong about what?" he asked.
"Josh. He was wrong about him," she answered. "I was glad that he said it but I was kinda sad that Josh wasn't around to hear it. Dad always gave Josh a hard time."
"Well, maybe your dad was afraid of losing his little girl," Owen said. "After all, it was just you and him." Owen could say this, having had that insightful conversation with her father.
"Maybe," Cristina said. "I hadn't thought of it like that. Overall, I think it was a great visit, in spite of the presence of Beatrice."
"Oh, Beatrice," Owen said, slapping his forehead with his hand. "I couldn't get away from that woman, fast enough. I couldn't stand the way she spoke to the girls."
"Despite everything, I know she loves my dad," Cristina said. "She is fiercely protective of him and will do anything for him."
"I don't doubt that but she needs a personality transplant," Owen said. They both laughed, hysterically.
He wrapped his arms around her. "Do you know what tomorrow is?"
"Hmm," she said, with mirth in her voice. "I wonder what it is."
"Stop playing with me," he said, as he started to tickle her. "You know what it is." She screamed. "Stop, stop it. I give. I give. It is our first anniversary!"
With a smile on his face, he turned her around and claimed her lips with a deep kiss. As she kissed him back, she knew that she was the luckiest woman in the world to have experienced such depths of love, twice in her life. "I love you forever and ever," she whispered. "Always," he agreed.
A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. Thanks for being kind enough to do so. I do appreciate when people make the effort to leave a review.