The Dream

1 THE BIG DECISION-2

“I know, Mae, I know, I guess I’m just scared”.

“You are a thinker, Lek, so consider this. Craig gave up all his friends and family to come here, and since making that decision, has probably given up all his money too. If you want to give him credit for that, you should go with him until you can do it no more. Like I said, help until you are no longer able to. That is all you can do, and all that anyone can hope from you.

“It is clear to me that your place is with your husband, not least because of the commitment he has shown to you over one and a half decades. Still, the choice is ultimately yours, as always. Soom is coming up for your birthday, isn’t she?”

“Yes, I will talk to her about it. I don’t want you to get sick when I am not around to help either, Mae”.

“Thank you, but I am sure that I made arrangements for that, should the occasion arise, many years ago and there are lots of other people around… and if I die while you’re away, then we will meet again one day, have no fear of that. I have enjoyed my time on Earth and you have been a dutiful and loving daughter, I will be sure to seek you out alive or not”.

“Thanks, Mae, that means a lot to me… I feel the same”.

Lek was close to tears and knew that her mother knew it, but it was still difficult for her to cry in front of anyone.

“Is that the time already?” she exclaimed looking at her watch, “I’d better go and check on the shop and hotel. Thanks for the chat, Mae. I love you…”

“I love you too, Lek. Take care of yourself and then those who love you, or you won’t be able to take care of anyone. Remember that. I’ll see you later, dear”.

Lek checked on both establishments, but the girls they had in charge could run them without any help, so Lek phoned Ayr and arranged to meet her for lunch in a small restaurant in a village nearby, where they were unlikely to be disturbed.

“Something has come up”, she told Ayr, “but it isn’t life-threatening, so no need to worry”.

“OK, but I’ll pick you up at eleven. I’m curious and there’s no sense taking two cars”.

When they were seated in the restaurant and had ordered prawns and mixed seafood salad, Ayr could wait no longer.

“Come on then, out with it, you’ve had me guessing for hours”.

“It’s quite simple really; Craig wants to go back to Europe for a few years and wants me to go with him”.

“Great! So what’s wrong with that?”

Lek told her everything that had passed between her mother and herself earlier.

“Yes, I see your point, but I agree with your mother. I think that you should go. Craig has stuck by you, now it’s your turn to stick by him… not to mention the fact that you nagged him for years to take you”.

“But what about you and the businesses? I can’t just swan off and leave you to run them on your own”.

“Listen, Lek, we don’t run them now… our managers do. Anyway, I haven’t told you this before, but Ross has been asking me to go back to Australia with him for at least the last year…”

“Well, why didn’t you say anything?”

“For the same reasons as you just gave…”

“Oh, I see. Thanks. Now what?”

“What’s the problem, don’t you want to go?”

“I just told you about that…”

“Yes, but, really?”

“I don’t really know…”

“OK, darling, but there’s no need to use excuses with me; we’ve known each other too long. Keep that for others, if you like and I’ll back you up”.

They hugged and Lek started to cry again, seconds before Ayr did.

“If we do this, Little Sister, we may never see each other again. We won’t be at the opposite ends of the country, but at opposite sides of the world”.

“That thought was also making my decision difficult, but Ross has been very patient. He is wealthy, so we could visit you whenever we wanted to, but I know that is not your predicament…”

“I also know that visits, like phone calls, peter out… even faster than phone calls…”

“Yes, it is true. I wouldn’t try to argue with that”.

“Our lives will never be the same again, ever…”

“No, I know. Gone but not forgotten, though, eh?”

Lek stared at her friend for a while and then looked out of the window. It was just too painful to contemplate.

“What does Soom say about it all?”

“She doesn’t know yet, but she’ll be here for Mother’s Day - the day before, in fact”.

“That’s good… I don’t need to discuss it with anyone but you… There is no-one else who matters, but even when my parents were alive, I would have gone anyway. I agree with your mother’s point of view”.

“So do I really, but having someone else say it to you sort of lets you off the hook, doesn’t it?”

“You’re not a coward, Lek, but I know what you are talking about”.

“Just what would Goong make of all this, I wonder?”

“I think she’s sitting not far away, smiling to herself and wondering what all the fuss is about… aren’t you, Goong?”

They smiled at each other and wished it were so.

∞

“Mike, so you won’t be coming up to the village with me for Mothers’ Day, my mother’s birthday and Paw’s?”

“No, my dear, I went to the village last year, remember? So, it’s only fair that I go to spend the day with my own mother this year, and if I do that, I might as well do a day’s work in the bank as well. I only wish I could come with you. I’d love to see Shell again, and your family will be more fun than mine, but I’ve got to take Mae’s feelings into account as well… it’s only fair”.

“Yes, I know, but I still wish you were coming too…”

“We’ll go up there together for the weekend early next month. Give Shell and everyone my love, won’t you? I’ll speak to you on video link every day too”. He kissed her, made himself comfortable and prepared to go to sleep, but something was bothering Soom.

She lay there staring at the ceiling until she heard Mike start to snore and then she rolled onto her side. She knew what it was that had irked her now. This was the first time that Mike had not been keen to make love to her when they knew that they would be apart for several days. In the past, he would have been all over her. Tears slid down her cheeks and she wondered whether this was the first sign that they were becoming an ‘old married couple’, although it had only been four years, or was it a symptom of deeper-rooted problems?

If it were, then perhaps that was why he was so blasé about not going with her to see his own daughter. Perhaps, he had other activities planned, which only partially included a brief visit to wish his mother a happy Mothers’ Day.

The idea bothered her off and on all night and on the journey to the village the next day. Sure, he had taken her to the airport in the morning and kissed her goodbye, but that could have been show. The circumstantial evidence worried her, and wouldn’t go away.

“Thanks for picking me up, Mum, happy birthday and a happy Mothers’ Day. I have some presents for you in my bag in the boot. So, how’s my little girl today, how are you and Paw and what have you got planned for this evening?”

“Your Dad is well; he’s writing his next masterpiece, you know. I’m fine and so is Shell. I dropped her off at nursery this morning at nine as usual and then drove out to pick you up. I had a couple of coffees in the airport lounge and read a magazine while I waited. I really enjoyed it. I pretended I did it really often and tried to look like an international jet-setter, you know”.

“You do do it quite often; I come up at least once a month… and tonight?”

“Yes, I suppose I do, don’t I? Oh, tonight? Nothing special… the same as every year. We’ll have a small family party in your grandmother’s house for us three Mums… three generations of mothers all celebrating. It’s a pity my grandmother couldn’t have lived a few more years to see it… still you can’t have everything, can you?

“How’s Mike?”

“He’s OK too, but he has to be careful with his mother, so he has to try to divide his time up evenly, but make her think she’s getting the lion’s share. He was up here last year, so it’s her turn this. It’ll mean he can get an extra three days work in which will keep the boss happier than if we were both away at the same time.

“Can you take me to visit ‘The Old Lady in The Tree’ today or tomorrow?”

“Sure, we’re all going to be busy today, but tomorrow certainly. Why, is there something bothering you?”

“No, nothing specific, but I always come away from those visits feeling ‘better’ somehow… more at peace with myself and the world. Do you know what I mean? When did you last go?”

“Yes, I do know what you’re saying. A visit has the same effect on me. You know, it’s funny, I haven’t been along there this month yet, but I have something I’d like to talk to her about as well. I’m glad you brought it up. Oh, wait a moment… we are going to four parties rolled into one tonight, so we’ll have to wait and see how we feel tomorrow… we can’t go there with hangovers, it wouldn’t be right”.

“No, fair enough, as long as I get to see her at least once before I go back”.

Soom knew better than to ask her mother what she wanted to talk to The Old Lady about. That would have been nosy and rude, but she was curious, nevertheless.

“OK, first stop the ‘Big C’ supermarket to get some essential supplies for tonight; then lunch, and then home to see Craig and get started on tonight’s parties. Does that suit you?”

“Whatever you say, Mum, it all sounds great to me!”

To save time, they decided to have lunch, just a bowl of rice-noodle soup, in the restaurant upstairs in the supermarket. They sat at the edge of the large restaurant, which overlooked the shoppers with their trolleys below.

“How many are you expecting to be there tonight, Mum?”

“Well, you and Shell, me and Craig, Gran, my sister and brothers and their spouses… that’s er, eleven, so if we cater for twenty we should be OK… and with any luck we’ll have food left over for tomorrow, just in case we do feel a bit tired”‘

Soom laughed. “Good idea!”

Lek slowed down as they passed the nursery on the edge of the village, but the children were inside, so she drove on, slowing again as they approached the hotel in the centre of the village.

“I thought he might be here. ‘Soaking up inspiration from the day-to-day village activities’ he calls it, but I think it’s more like drinking beer Chang from a bottle. The food will keep if you want to stop for half an hour”.

“Yes, please, Mum”, she leant over kissed her mother on the cheek and waved at Craig, as Lek parked the car on the forecourt in the shade of their shop next door.

Soom jumped out of the vehicle as soon as it stopped and ran to Craig who stood up with his arms out wide as she approached.

“Hello, darling, lovely to see you again”, he said as he hugged her and she made a sound as if all the wind were being squeezed out of her, as she always did. She reached up, kissed him on the cheek and he let her go. She was a tiny forty kilos to his one hundred and twenty. “What are you having to drink, ladies?” he asked as Nong arrived.

“I’ll have an ice cold Chang, Nong, a small one. Soom?”

“Same, please”.

“Wow, that’s unusual, Soom. Good for you. Lek?”

“And my usual, please, Nong”.

“We’re not staying long, just the one beer because Soom wanted to say ‘hello’. There’s food in the car that will go off in this heat, so we’ve got to get it to Mum’s house soon and then we can start preparing for this evening. You won’t get too drunk before you come back, will you?”

“Why would I? Jeez, Lek… Ah, thank you, Nong.

“Happy Birthday, Lek, my dear wife, and may you have many more”.

“Happy Birthday, Mum and Happy Mothers’ Day”.

“Thank you, both, and Happy Mothers’ Day to you too, Soom!”

“Yes, Happy Mothers’ day, Soom!”

“Thank you!” and they all clinked bottles several times.