Her Unexpected Affair (The Robinsons) (32 page)

“That’s nonsense.” Edna snorted. The noise was so cute Meilin nearly smiled.

Edna’s outrage also made Meilin feel a little better. She wasn’t alone in feeling the unfairness of the situation. They hadn’t told her this was part of the contract. Had she known, she might have refused to sign. She sighed. Or not. Knowing what all was on the line, she might have shrugged and signed anyway. Before meeting Drew.

After meeting Drew… Well that was the critical turning point. A test of her loyalties to her family. A test she was failing, miserably, to the great disappointment of her mother. Her brother had a little more sympathy, but didn’t hesitate to point out how marrying Shan was best for everyone. Best for him, Mother and Father, however no one mentioned how it would be best for her. They didn’t care if she was happy about it or not. She’d signed, accepted the proposal, and now she was committed. The end.

In their opinions.

“And how does the beautiful blond man with the English accent feel about all this?”

Meilin looked into Edna’s watery emerald eyes. Hair that had once been red was now thin and white. Skin once smooth as alabaster was wrinkled and translucent, showing signs of aging that would never be reversed. The thin shoulders inside cashmere were slightly hunched. Blue veins stood out on the hands knotting with arthritis. Hands that could still knit a sweater, afghan, or baby bootie. In her gaze, there was little sign of age, unless it was decades of life responsible for the wisdom there. The kindness was innate.

“He doesn’t know about the latest. I mean, he knows I was engaged and determined to get free of it. He knows I don’t want to marry Shan. He knows I love him, although I’ve never said the words. He also knows Shan is not the only obstacle in our way. Were Shan not around, we’d still be facing the issues of age. He’s ten years younger than I am. Just out of college, for Christ’s sake!”

Edna snorted. “Age is merely a number. Besides, a younger man will keep you young longer. What does your heart tell you?”

Meilin stared at their hands. Hers smooth and strong. Edna’s gnarled and stronger yet. “My heart says he’s the one. Nevertheless, we still have other problems to consider.” In a few sentences she outlined Drew’s new career and how it didn’t match with hers. She also told Edna what Drew had said about that.

“Listen to your heart, my dear. He’s wise, your young man. Talk to him. I bet he has solutions you haven’t even dreamed of. I bet he has ideas so outrageous they have to work. I have the feeling he’ll do anything to keep you from marrying where your heart doesn’t wish to go.”

“What if his solution is the same as Shan’s? Marry me and take on the burden of my parents?”

“What if it is? Didn’t he mention you could work for his father’s company? I bet they have some sort of insurance program that would cover your parents. My son put me on his so that when I need a nursing home, the insurance will help with most of the costs. Not that I intend to go quietly when he decides I’m too senile to take care of myself.” A wicked twinkle entered her eyes. “Beside, when I go into a home, I want to be spry enough to pinch the butts of the orderlies.”

Meilin laughed. “I’d pay money to see that.”

“Just come see me when the time comes, and I’ll consider it payment enough. You can sneak me in some cigarettes and booze. By then I’ll want the end to come quickly, so don’t try to tell me how those things will kill me.”

Laughter rose again. “I promise. Might even hire a male stripper to make the deliveries from time to time.”

“Only if you’re off gallivanting around China or England. Lovely as a stripper would be, I’d rather see you.”

Meilin sobered again. “I’ve already told my family I’ll go ahead with the marriage. I never got the chance to tell Shan. In fact, he is insisting I move into his condo this weekend. He wants me to care for him rather than the home health aide and his housekeeper. And he wants to prove to me how well we’ll get along married.” Only three days away. Tears swam in her eyes again at the thought. “For so many reasons, I don’t want to. I have commitments I just can’t drop and keep my business reputation, and yet he’s demanding I do so.”

“Then don’t.” Edna shook their still clasped hands. “Talk to Drew. Don’t give up and roll over. You’re made of stronger stuff than that.”

Sniffling back her tears, Meilin nodded. “You’re right. I’m a modern woman who started her own business from scratch. I need to find my own solution here that doesn’t involve a man bailing me out.”

“Well, let Drew bail you out a little. Hire on with his company and take the insurance option. That will mean making your contribution, not throwing yourself solely at his mercy. It will make you more equal, which is the way marriage works best. Partners who bring their own talents to the relationship. Whether that means you keep the house so he can concentrate on making a good living, or both of you working and sharing household duties, or him staying home while you work, it’s all up to the two of you to find the balance. Not what your parents and millennia of ancestors determine. You determine how your marriage should work. That’s what should be traditional these days.”

Leaning forward, Meilin carefully took the fragile woman in her arms. “The world needs more of your wisdom. I’ll do it. I’ll talk to Drew.”

At the end of two very long weeks, Drew was hard pressed to paste a smile on his face. Hell, he was hard pressed to remember to shave or do laundry. More than once he’d sat brooding over his choices from choosing law school to ultimately moving to China. Was it really what he wanted from life? Was he crazy for ever starting down this path? Had it been his idea to begin with, or a careful manipulation by his father or grandmother? And with the move from Stanford to Peking University imminent, he had no time to work things out.

The Mandarin lessons certainly seemed to be a huge miscalculation on his part. Almost everyone in the class had voiced the same doubts at least once, so possibly he wasn’t wholly off track. Although, the lessons seemed to be progressing. However, for him, not quickly, not easily, and he still questioned his intelligence for thinking he could learn Mandarin. For one, he was lacking the musical ear that could help him hear the subtle tones. He had a greater appreciation for foreigners learning the crazy way English had words with similar spellings, but far different pronunciations.

Learning Mandarin and getting ready to move to China were big items, but neither truly quite topped his list of things that seemed bollixed up. Meilin took the top spot. She hadn’t answered a single text in over a week. Not knowing how she was doing, or what she was doing to break herself away from Lin, was driving him up a tree. All he knew was her father was in the hospital with some severe health issues. A tidbit he’d learned from Arnie after nearly a week of silence from Meilin. Something Arnie had learned only by calling to beg Meilin to come help with the evening tutoring.

All Drew had to comfort him were the pictures on his phone and a framed copy of the one of him dipping Meilin at the wedding. Him with the damned garter on his arm, her holding the flower, the two of them looking into each other’s eyes. It was the most painfully romantic photo he’d ever seen.

He wanted to call, but held himself to one text a day. A simple message of,
I Miss You
. For three days she’d answered with,
Miss You Too
. Then nothing for eight excruciating days.

Here it was, Friday night and no word if she’d show for tutoring. Or to see him. Or anything. Didn’t stop him from keeping an eye out for her.

Dinner was nearly done when she appeared in the doorway. He was so glad to see her he nearly jumped from his seat and captured her in his arms. A very public display they’d agreed couldn’t happen. He was past caring. The need to hold her, to kiss her silly, was almost too strong to rein in.

The hesitant look on her face stopped him from following his impulse. Barely.

Instead of running to catch her up in a hug, he stood and held out a chair for her. The small, tentative steps she took toward him were worrisome. The tired expression on her face also had him concerned. Her eyes looked pained, her lips pinched, and weariness seemed to bow her shoulders. She’d lost both weight and the lustrous shine from her skin.

One glance confirmed the absence of the ring on her finger. The desire to catch her up in his arms intensified. Questions poured into his brain. Did it mean what he hoped? Then why did she appear so stressed? Was her father’s health so precarious? Had a business deal gone bad? Was Lin harassing her for wanting to break the engagement?

But when her gaze met his, she gave him a brief, tiny, tremulous smile.

It lifted his heart so high he could barely breathe. Just seeing her eyes light up dissipated his cloud of worry and brightened his world. Once more he believed he could conquer anything, even learning Mandarin. All he needed was her by his side.

As she approached the table, she quietly greeted each of the students by name, asked simple questions in Mandarin and smiled at their responses. No, no one had the accents close to perfect, but even he could tell the difference just five weeks into the program. Maybe there was hope for them all.

Meilin swept her skirt under her bottom and gracefully settled into the chair he pushed in for her, never giving away her feelings, until he sat, and then she slid her foot up against his.

With a small sigh, her shoulders relaxed and her posture straightened.

She needed contact with him as much as he needed the contact with her.

The last of his doubts lifted away like a puff of smoke.

He didn’t care what it took, this woman was his. The other half of his soul. With her at his side, he’d conquer new worlds, travel many mountains, explore valleys deep and mysterious, and cross all the oceans of the planet. One day they might add a child or two to their adventures, but for now, just the two of them would be perfect. And the minute he got her alone, he’d tell her so.

Holding back and following the motions of studying, working through pronunciations, he stumbled through the evening hours until Professor Chung called a stop at half past nine.

“It’s Friday,” the teacher said. “Tomorrow we’ll start at ten. More fun vocabulary followed by a few videos in the afternoon. Tomorrow night you get a break. Those who want to go into the city for some authentic Chinese food, in a restaurant where the menus are in Chinese, let me know in the morning. We’ll make a night of it. Perhaps even hit a night club to blow off some steam. We’re at the halfway point and you’re all making great progress. We’re ready for the next step, five weeks in China. Longer for some of you.”

Everyone smiled except Cindy who frowned unhappily. “I can go for dinner, but night clubbing…” She shrugged.

“Right,” Drew said. “I don’t think we have time to get you a fake ID.”

Cindy’s eyes flew open in shock while everyone but Chung snorted with laughter.

“Invite your parents,” Chung offered.

She nodded with resignation. “I suppose. Or I can go over my final packing.”

Meilin shot her a sympathetic smile.

“Count me in,” Drew said as he stretched. “Who’s driving? I think my sister will claim the car again.” Damned nuisance now that they had different schedules.

“I can take three in my car,” Bob volunteered.

“I call shot gun,” Drew jumped at the offer.

“Professor, let me know the final plans, and I might be able to meet up with you,” Meilin said, gathering her purse and briefcase. “I have a client meeting in the afternoon, but don’t have solid plans later.”

Drew stole a glance at her and bit his tongue to keep from cheering.

“Let me walk you out,” he said, standing and taking the briefcase from her hand. So what if he’d just announced their connection to the small class? He didn’t care. He wanted the world to know. And he wanted the details on the missing ring.

As soon as they stepped from the building into the warm night filled with the song of frogs and cicadas, he swept her up into his arms and hugged her tight. The kiss followed naturally and he thrilled to her immediate response.

“Meilin, Meilin, how I’ve missed you. Worried about you. I’ve been slowly going mad day by day.”

She clung to him, arms tight about his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. “I’ve missed you so much.”

The words sounded on the edge of a sob.

“Hey, we’re here now. Together. Let’s take a little walk and talk.”

Her quiet agreement nearly broke his heart it was so faint.

They dropped her briefcase and purse in her car, locked it up, then hand in hand strolled down a path to a private bench. Their private bench. The dark summer air enveloped them, protected them from prying eyes, the way lit by lamps bright enough to illuminate the path, but not so bright as to simulate the harsh sun.

Once they reached their spot, under the sheltering branches of a tree that provided more shadow, and settled close beside one another, the question burst from him.

“Is it over?”

Meilin folded her hands in her lap and dropped her head. “No.”

“What? You’re not wearing his ring.” He grabbed her hand and turned to face her. “Tell me.”

Meilin took a deep breath before raising her face to him. “The first move has been made. I told my parents. It didn’t go well. My father grew very angry with me, and my mother became very angry with him. I was about to follow up that meeting up with a call to the family lawyer. Instead, my brother called. Told me that Papa had collapsed soon after I left their house. A heart attack.”

Drew squeezed her hand.

“I went to the hospital where my mother all but accused me of causing the heart attack by being selfish.” Tears welled in her eyes, but she drew in a deep breath and blinked them back. “These last eight or nine days, I’ve lost track, have been horrible.” It took some time, but eventually the whole story came out. Halting nearly every sentence, she told him every bit.

It took all he had to let her get to the end without interrupting other than to squeeze her hand or gently prompt her to continue.