Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Arya felt her face stiffen and she awkwardly looked toward Jack for help.  Daniel Mother was extremely happy to join them at their table.

"How come you are here?"  Jack refused to meet Arya's gaze, he only chatted with his mother.

"I came out with my friends for fun."

"Where are your friends then?"

"They already left."

"Then why are you still here?"

"Actually, I was about to leave but before that, I went to the toilet.  I saw Arya dear making a phone call in the toilet and she called the person on the phone, Dr. Jack.  I felt very close to her since she also knows a doctor by the name of Dr. Jack.  She called out the names Dr. Jack and Lord Jack and I thought this doctor's name is also Jack just like my son's name.  So I decided to stay back to see."

It can be said that she deliberately stayed back to listen to the gossip.

His mother had also referred to her as dear.  Oh, God!  She really wanted to drill a hole in the ground and sneak away through the hole.  Jack’s Mother must have overheard the live broadcast of everything regarding her blind-date.

"Ai……I was not sure whether the person you were seeking help from is really my son.  If I had known it is really him, I would have sat by your side and spoke up for you."

Arya shook her stiff frozen head.  In her heart, she lamented…….Auntie, did you think that the situation just now was not chaotic enough?

At this time, Mother bumped Jack's shoulders and said.  "Son, are you not going to introduce us?"

After having listened to the live broadcast then what is the purpose of an introduction?

"This is my mother…….this is Arya."  Jack's face was expressionless and did not have the slightest inkling of Arya's heartfelt thoughts.

"How are you, sweetheart?"  Jack’s Mother said kindly.

"Auntie, nice to meet you."  Arya felt nervous.  This Auntie will not be asking her a bunch of questions, will she?  She really cannot withstand any more torture today.

"Do you really have an Elder phobia dear?"

It's coming, it's coming and she is starting to ask questions.  And the first thing she does is…… she is going to ridicule me and make me the butt of her joke.

The next thing Arya did, was to look at Jack again and before he had time to speak, Jack’s Mother said again.  "It is normal to feel nervous when you are with elders but it is not necessary when you are with me since I am so young."  After Jack’s Mother had finished speaking, she put her hands to her face and gestured to emphasize her point.

Arya stared blankly and said.  "Did you give birth to Dr. Jack in your teens?"

Jack’s Mother laughed out loudly and Jack said with displeasure.  "Arya, stop your flattery."

Arya looked innocently at his Mother and adjusted her glasses.  She was not flattering.  His mother does really look so young.

"Ignore him.  I like this type of genuine and sincere flattery."  Jack’s Mother smiled with her eyes in slits and she was full of vitality and energy.  "Jack is my biological son and he is not picked up from somewhere."

"Mom, will you pay more attention to your image as an elder?"

"I did.  Son, how did you meet this pretty girl Arya?"

"She is a good friend of Mark’s girlfriend."

"Does Mark have a girlfriend?  Aiya…..I have not seen that child for a long time.  Tell him to invite me for dinner and the point is that I want to meet his girlfriend."

"If you say it this way, Mark will definitely not agree."

"Then you can change the way of speaking.  In any case, I want to have a look at his girlfriend."

"If I tell him using my way of speaking, he will be more reluctant."

"Then it is you who is not good at speaking.  You have to be more tactful and clever in your speech."

Arya who was sitting upright and still in her seat, carefully looked at both mother and son.  She noticed that they were gossiping about Mark and quickly took the opportunity to intervene.  "Dr.Jack, Auntie…..you can carry on with your talks  I'll not bother you, I'll take my leave first."

Jack nodded his head and his Mother also nodded.  Arya heaved a sigh of relief and was about to get up when Jack’s Mother said.  "We are also leaving.  Let's leave together."

Arya glanced at Jack and saw there was no response from him.  It seems he is very obedient to his mother.  This type of behaviour really surprised Arya.

"Dear Arya, just now it was rude of Jack to say those words to you. Please don’t mind. I'm really sorry.  I apologize on his behalf."

"It's nothing Auntie, I'm alright."  Arya fiercely waved her hand in denial.  "That is Dr. Jack's style."

Style?  She felt a bit embarrassed and sheepishly adjusted her glasses.  This time, she felt like she was really dispensing flattery.

Fortunately, Jack’s Mother was smiling and it seems she did not think much of her words.

"Jack's father will be arranging a blind-date for him later.  Why don’t you also come and take revenge on him?"

Arya shook her head and fiercely waved her hand.  "No.  No."  Oh God!  This type of elderly whom one is unable to guess what is their next course of action, is even scarier.

"It doesn't matter.  You don’t have to flip the table.  You can do as he did today, just walk over halfway through and say something interesting."

Is saying she is mentally-ill considered as something interesting?

"This trick cannot be used on Dr. Jack.  If I were to ask why he did not go to the psychiatric department, other people will think he is going there to perform surgery only and the desired effect will not happen."  And also why should she go and disrupt his blind-date appointment?  He will think she is still terribly in love with him and intends to wrestle for his love.

It was alright if he just misunderstood this but what she feared most was his revenge later.  She knows she cannot win over him.

"Of course, we must change and use a different excuse.  If you use the same excuse, then there is nothing fresh about it.  I'll help you think about this.  Ah, yes…..you can say….. Jack, I finally found the brand of haemorrhoid cream that you frequently use and bought it for you."

Pu…….   Arya choked on her own saliva.

Is this really Dr. Jack's biological mother?

"You also think this is a good trick, right?"

"Auntie, Auntie……you are really humorous."

"Fortunately, Jack's bad temper and impatience are inherited from his dad.  His handsome features and sense of humor is inherited from me."  In short, all the good points came from her and all the bad points were from Jack's father.

Arya looked at her smiling eyes and suddenly felt a bit envious of Jack.  If she has such a lovely mother, she will be very willing to move back to her city.

Jack drove the car over and said to Arya.  "I will send my mother home and I still have to return to the hospital.  So I will not send you."

Arya nodded and felt Jack is really filial son.  At least in front of his mother, he behaved like a human being.  Jack’s Mother did not display any politeness, waved her hands at Arya and said “goodbye dear. Also you will look really pretty without these ugly glasses. Next time let us meet and buy contact lens for you. Take my number from Jack and call me dear.”

Arya nodded her head and bid goodbye. She watched as their car turned onto the driveway, then she turned around and slowly walked down the street.  She thought to herself……what exactly did she inherit?  She thought for a long time…….well, her pettiness is inherited from her mother and her timidity is inherited from her father.

This very night, Arya talked to Daisy on the phone and she told her what happened at the meeting today with Jay and his mother.  Daisy agreed that Dunphy Mother was a bit over exaggerating and told Arya not to be affected by this.  She also assured Arya that she knew what she will tell the Dunphy Family if they do call her later.

When Arya hung up the call, suddenly she missed her mother and she wondered whether her mother was still angry with her.  Her mother is extremely stubborn and once she decides on something, it is difficult to change her mind.  How is she going to communicate with her family to tell them about her decision that she does not want to make a living back home?

In comparison, Jack has a warm, caring mother and a stern father, his family condition was good, he has a successful career and his future is bright.  He also has firm childhood friends.  But she does not have many friends, her salary is not high and her future is uncertain…….

Arya sighed.  She really feels envious of Jack……

She surfed the internet and got bored. She took out canvas white board along with the brushes and started painting while thinking about day’s event. She loved to draw since childhood but her parents didn’t supported her decision to persue arts. Hence, she started learning on her own and started teaching kids as well to earn few extra bucks.

After she was done, she herself got shocked on what she painted.

In the beautiful garden, a man in white robes stood with his hands clasped behind his back displaying confidence and at ease without inhibitions. Irony he looked like Jack.

She blushed unknowingly. She held up the canvas to look left and right and was very satisfied with her work.  Jack said he was dumped three times and she was really curious to find out what actually had happened.  She wondered whether she will get to know this in the future.

On the same night, as Arya closed her eyes to sleep, the image of the tall and slender figure standing in the garden lingered in her mind.

For the next few days, nothing special happened.

Jay Dunphy did not look for Arya and neither did he look for Daisy regarding the matter with Arya.  These few days, there was nothing from Jack, no calls or text messages.  She looked at the painting.  This is normal for even if they are friends, they cannot always be talking on the phone and in addition, there is nothing between them.  If she suddenly looks for him, then that is definitely looking for trouble and so it is better not to look for him.

This day, Arya called home and enquired about the health of her parents.  Recently, every time she calls home, she will feel nervous but she cannot avoid calling her parents.

Her Mother again asked when she will be returning home and she answered again that she did not want to go home.  This time, her mother did not bang down her phone but instead said unhappily that she did not know what her daughter was thinking.  Her mother said that since young, Arya's health has not been good and to take care of her was the most difficult task. She has done a lot for her. In the end, she is now less filial compared to her brother and it was a mistake to raise her.

Arya did not answer but in her heart, she felt very sad.  When she was a child, her health was not good and was always sick. For a sickly child like her, her mother had made a lot of effort to take care of her.  But when she was at home, she did all the household chores, like buying food, cooking, washing dishes and cleaning.  She had always taken the initiative to do all of these chores while her brother had never helped in the house.  She helped to run errands, buy medicine for her parents, collect water for cooking and all these chores were done by her while her younger brother usually goes out to play or stay at home to play games.

When she started working, no matter how much she earned she would send money home to help her family.  She wanted her parents to eat better and not to work so hard.  She knew her mother wanted face and she also wanted her mother to be able to lift up her head with pride in front of their relatives and friends.  Whenever these elderly people gathered together, they love to enquire about the income everyone's children and how much money they send home to their respective families.  So she gritted her teeth, lived frugally and tried to send money home.

As to her younger brother who was still studying in the university, even part of his tuition fees was paid by her.  Her mother did not find it too difficult to take care of her brother because from young she had helped her mother to take care of her brother.  She had also contributed a lot to the family.

But in the end, she only received the comment that she is not as filial as her brother.

Arya did not speak but her mother continued to talk.  She asked how insurance was sold.  Did Arya have to nod her head and bow down from the waist begging everyone to buy with a smiling face?  The way her mother said that was unpleasant to the ear and Arya did not even have the strength to explain to her.

The call finally ended when Arya gave the excuse that she was very tired and needed to rest.

After hanging up the call, Arya sat on the bed distractedly.  She felt very sad, but she did not cry.  She always felt that once she gets used to crying, it would be hard to control.  The more a person cries, the weaker the person becomes and so she tries not to cry.

In fact, she has always been thinking about how to make her family feel happy and satisfied.  But she had thought for a long time and still cannot think of a solution.  She does not like some of the ways her parents do things, and she is not acceptable to the way her parents want her to live her life.  But if she cannot meet their requirements then she will be forced to return home and live the life they planned for her.  But living a life like they are living now, is one thing she cannot accept. She has her own dreams.

Suddenly Arya missed Jack.  She missed his nonchalant expression, she missed his poisonous tongue and missed the way he seriously reprimanded her.

If he is here, she will not feel so sad.  Although he always makes her angry, she will get over it and will eventually fall into a good mood.

She misses him.

Has he gone on his blind-date yet?  How does his blind-date look like?  Is she the daughter of the Dean?  Ah…….then their child should be named as Dean Daniel.  Arya laughed to herself when she thought of this.  If not, he can still be called Dr. Daniel since they are a family of doctors.

She looked at the cell phone in her hand and painting.  Mr. poisonous tongue was still standing in the garden with confidence and at ease.  She missed him but did not want to call him.  She did not have anything to talk to him about, how to call him?  In case he says again…… Arya, don’t you have nothing to do and now want to quarrel with me again, do you want to die?

Arya could imagine his voice tone and smile to herself.

She hopes the Dean's daughter will shout at him……Jack!  You still haven't wash your child's diapers, do you want to die?!

She put the phone aside and lay down on the bed with her arms folded.

He will have a happy life and she will also have one too.  She cannot be pessimistic and negative; she must not feel sad.  She is still young, and she still has a long life ahead.

Although her mother's mouth is unforgiving, her mother still feels distressed for her.  Although her father did not dare to voice out any opinion against her mother's decision, he still supports her.  Although her brother is a bit naughty, he is still good to her.

Therefore, she should cheer up and be more vigorous in life.

She felt her mood had improved a lot.  The last thought in her mind before she fell asleep was to give Cindy a call tomorrow to enquire how she and Mark were getting along recently.  Maybe she could find a chance to join them for a gathering and perhaps Jack will also be there.

She really did that, but Jack did not turn up.  On the day of their gathering, Jack was on duty.  She was embarrassed to ask whether they should postpone the gathering and wait for Jack to be free to attend before they gather again.  So, she passed a lively evening but without Jack's presence and she felt a bit lost.

The next day, she took out her phone from time to time and was in a dilemma.  She wondered whether she should call Jack to tell him that a few of them had had a gathering yesterday but he did not come and at the same time enquire how he was doing……..will this be okay?  But it seems this is too deliberate.

She thought again and again……. hesitated and hesitated…..her work was neglected.

As she was thinking over and over again, she received a call.  It was from Jay Dunphy.

The first thing he did was to apologize for his mother's actions that day.  He said that his mother's actions were not meant to be malicious but it is due to her character.  She loves to be in charge of everything, constantly feel anxious and wants everything to be settled quickly.

She replied courteously and was afraid he would not give up on her, this mentally ill woman.

Jay did not mention anything about blind-dating and after he said some polite words, then he said something that was unexpected.  He said his uncle had suffered an emotional blow and has been in depression for some time.  His uncle had consulted a lot of doctors but he did not seem to show any improvement.  The most famous psychiatrist in this city is Director Jon of a certain hospital and he asked whether Arya's doctor with whom she had an appointment on that day, is the same doctor he just mentioned.

Arya was in a daze.  She did not have any appointment with the doctor before, so how would she know?  However, the hospital he mentioned is the hospital where Jack is working, that she is very sure.

"Director Jon is very famous throughout the country.  It is also very difficult to get an appointment to see him.  Two days ago, my aunt came to my house and talked about this.  She said she had tried for several months and still could not make an appointment then my mother suddenly thought about your appointment with him.  Is your friend who came to fetch you that day acquainted with Director Jon?  He also said that Director told him you had made an appointment but you did not turn up.

"Oh, then they should know each other."

"Then can you please help me and get your friend to make an appointment for us?  Our whole family is very worried about my uncle's illness.  So if you need any reward, it is not a problem."

At that moment, Arya felt she was not kind at all.  The first thought she had was not sympathy for the patient, but she now has a legitimate reason to call Jack.