Waxing Moon (13 page)

21

Nani received Mrs. Wang, looking grim. She lacked her usual childish lightness. Her voice low and hoarse, she said, “Oh, Mrs. Wang, so kind of you to come promptly. Our lady is waiting for you.”

“Give me some water,” Mrs. Wang demanded.

“Surely. Please follow me,” Nani said and walked on.

Mrs. Wang, following behind, could see that Nani’s figure had fully matured.

“Soonyi, stay in the kitchen. Keep an eye on the fire in the oven. When the water boils, reduce the heat and add the chopped onions in the bowl. Mistress Yee wants beef stew for dinner. So beef stew it is, until she changes her mind,” Nani whispered the last sentence in a strained voice.

“How old are you?” Mrs. Wang asked Nani.

“Too old for marriage, too young for the grave. I just don’t know what to do with my life, Mrs. Wang,” she replied with a sigh.

Mrs. Wang narrowed her eyes at the maid. She herself had said so once a long time before.

Mr. O was lingering outside his wife’s chamber, looking lost and impatient. As soon as he saw Mrs. Wang, he visibly relaxed. Skipping any formalities, he said, “What a relief to see you, Mrs. Wang. Please, hurry in.”

Nani arranged Mrs. Wang’s shoes and quickly stepped ahead of her in the anteroom and announced Mrs. Wang’s arrival, but only low groans came from inside.

Then Mirae answered from inside, “Please come in.”

Nani opened the door before Mirae finished her sentence.

Stepping into the room, Mrs. Wang looked in the ceramic chamber pot with a lovely blue magnolia blossom design. Frowning slightly, she sniffed the urine. Mistress Yee was lying with her legs raised on several pillows and her eyes half closed. Mrs. Wang sat and asked Nani when Mistress Yee had most recently eaten and urinated.

“She has no appetite, Mrs. Wang,” Nani said.

Mistress Yee opened her eyes, threw a bronze bowl in her maid’s direction, and barked, “That wasn’t the question! Why do I have to put up with a pack of stupid maids?”

Mrs. Wang advised her, “You need to calm down. The color of your urine indicates you are not well.”

“I want the baby out! I have a small frame. There is too much pressure on my hip. I can no longer sit or walk. What am I to do?”

“Let me have your hand, please.” Mrs. Wang put her hand out.

Taking Mistress Yee’s petite hand, Mrs. Wang closed her eyes and held her breath. After a moment, she released her hand with a deep breath.

“Please undress.”

“We did that the last time you were here. Why do you need to do that again? The baby isn’t coming out now, is it? I am so frightened. How in the world will a baby pass through me? I will die before that happens!” Mistress Yee complained in a high and fragile voice.

Mrs. Wang didn’t respond. She just motioned for the maids to help their mistress undress. Mirae was lost in thought. Mrs. Wang snapped her fingers right next to Mirae’s ear. She jerked.

“What is the matter with you, Mirae?” Mistress Yee scowled.

Mrs. Wang could see that the maid was unwell. She seemed extremely fatigued.

“I think that you might be coming down with something. You’d better leave your mistress at once so that she doesn’t catch anything,” Mrs. Wang said firmly.

“Oh, heavens! Is that chicken pox again?” Mistress Yee shrieked.

“No, I don’t believe anyone can have chicken pox twice in a lifetime,” Mrs. Wang reassured her.

“Don’t get near me if you are sick. This is a bad omen. And it also means you don’t care what happens to me! I will have a word with you later.” Mistress Yee narrowed her eyes.

Mirae got up and bowed, looking bleary-eyed and chalk-pale like a ghost.

“She looks bad,” Mrs. Wang pointed out to Nani.

Mrs. Wang examined Mistress Yee with dexterous hands. There was nothing so exquisitely created in the entire world as this woman’s vagina, she decided, just as she had each time she had examined Mistress Yee. Her charcoal hair against her porcelain skin was a work of art, like the calligraphy by virtuoso Han, known for his dynamic strokes and even tone. Of course, she would not reveal her thoughts to anyone; nevertheless, she thought it unfair that she was the only one besides Mr. O to have the privilege of viewing Mistress Yee’s private parts.

Mistress Yee’s belly was moving up and down, and Mrs. Wang gently massaged her, asking the usual but necessary questions.

Mistress Yee giggled and said, “You are tickling me.”

“Turn to your side, please,” Mrs. Wang requested.

“Oh, gods, Mrs. Wang, you know how hard it is for me to move,” Mistress Yee complained.

Nani, perched in the corner, came over to aid her mistress. Mrs. Wang rubbed Mistress Yee’s side warily.

“That hurts.” Mistress Yee winced.

Ignoring her complaint, Mrs. Wang kept massaging her belly carefully.

“I had a shooting pain in my lower abdomen the other day. Mr. O’s been preoccupied with the politics recently, and he doesn’t realize my due date is approaching. Please tell him he will have to pay attention to me every second from now on.”

Mrs. Wang said, “You must rest but move about a little. Energy begets energy. Take plenty of fluid.” There was a tinge of gloom in her voice. Mrs. Wang moved toward the door.

“Mr. O won’t let you leave the house,” Mistress Yee said, while Nani dressed her mistress promptly. “Nani, show Mrs. Wang where she will stay.”

“Yes, Mistress Yee,” Nani said quickly and led Mrs. Wang out.

Standing in the yard, Mrs. Wang said, “I need to see Mr. O right away.”

Nani’s face was a question mark.

“No,” Mrs. Wang corrected herself.

“What is the matter, Mrs. Wang?” Nani asked.

“Let me write a letter to Dr. Choi. No. Go quickly and tell Dr. Choi to come as soon as possible,” Mrs. Wang said.

“What’s the matter, Mrs. Wang? Is there something wrong with Mistress Yee?” Nani asked with a grave curiosity.

“Go quickly. No. Get the boy. Your boy. What’s his name? Send him to fetch Dr. Choi,” Mrs. Wang said.

“Mrs. Wang, Min is not here.” Nani dropped her head and explained that he had disappeared again. The first time he had disappeared, the maids and servants had kept it secret, but now he’d been gone more than three days. Mr. O had found out this morning, when he was looking for him to go fetch Mrs. Wang. Soonyi had slipped and complained that Min had not been seen for many days.

“Many days!” repeated Nani, tears swelling in her eyes. “This is the third day. But Soonyi said ‘many days.’ Mr. O was furious. I am sure that Mr. O will have his legs maimed when he returns.”

“You need to go fetch Dr. Choi. Get someone who can run fast, or you go if you can afford to be absent for a while,” Mrs. Wang said.

“Yes, Mrs. Wang. I will get Bok. He moves as speedily as a mouse,” Nani said, and rushed to the backyard, where Bok was probably trimming the branches of the fruit trees and sweeping.

Mrs. Wang sat by the well near the maids’ quarters and pondered the news of Min with renewed interest. He was a good-looking young man, she remembered. His eyes were lively and he carried himself seriously, in spite of his lowly state. A servant with a disability was like a chipped bowl, a disposable item, but he didn’t behave like one.

Feeling wretched, she paced back and forth, and then around the well. If she could, she would have liked to have a sudden attack of stomachache so that she could go home and leave everything up to Dr. Choi. The baby inside Mistress Yee didn’t seem to be active. This was the last news she wanted to break to the would-be parents. The poor would blame fate, the wealthy the doctor or the midwife or the pregnant woman or all of the above.

From inside the maids’ quarters, Mirae called her through a slit in the door. “Would you like to come in and have a seat?” she asked in a feeble voice.

Mrs. Wang went inside. She wanted to lie down for a short while before the doctor arrived.

“You need some red ginseng to recover,” Mrs. Wang said, surveying Mirae whose eyes were encircled with dark rings.

“Thank you, Mrs. Wang, for saving me earlier. I could not sit there any longer with Mistress Yee. When I see a pregnant woman, I feel like throwing up. I don’t know why,” Mirae confessed, looking miserable.

“Simmer a few roots of red ginseng and a handful of dates overnight in a clay pot. Drink the brew several times a day for a while. You will feel better. You should also eat some pork,” Mrs. Wang suggested.

“I can’t get hold of regular ginseng, let alone red ginseng. You know that, Mrs. Wang. I am a maid. Everything good goes to Mistress Yee first. My mistress doesn’t care what happens to me anymore,” Mirae said, hopelessly. She produced a cushion for Mrs. Wang.

“Even a dog needs attending when it’s sick,” Mrs. Wang said. “You will not recover speedily if you don’t take a remedy and, above all, good nourishment. If you don’t have an appetite, take licorice,” Mrs. Wang said, lying down and placing the cushion under her head.

“I want to leave this house before Mistress Yee has her baby. I can’t be a nanny. I just don’t want to take care of a baby after what I’ve done.” She bit her lip and couldn’t continue, but she didn’t cry.

“Whatever happened to Min?” Mrs. Wang asked abruptly.

Mirae widened her eyes and wondered how in the world Mrs. Wang had penetrated her thoughts. “What makes you think I would know anything about him?” she asked awkwardly.

“I just heard that he had disappeared,” Mrs. Wang said.

“Oh, that. He is involved with those crazy peasants who meet at night. I’ll bet they drink, mainly, and gamble a little too,” Mirae said.

“Where is he now?” Mrs. Wang asked, looking into Mirae’s eyes.

“The gods only know. But when he returns, he will have to face the consequences. Mr. O said we should report to him the moment that Min is sighted,” Mirae said thoughtfully. Her mind drifted back to the time when she had lain with him in the field, some months earlier. It was crazy, she thought, but the more she tried to dismiss the incident, the stronger it flashed back. She had been possessed, she decided: otherwise, she would never have felt anything for a handicapped man. She was now ashamed for having been with him. And she hoped that her secret would remain a secret until she died.

“Is he the one?” Mrs. Wang asked, her eyes barely open.

Mirae was stunned. Somehow, she managed to maintain her cool. “The one what, Mrs. Wang?”

From outside, Nani called, “Mrs. Wang, are you there?” Nani opened the door and informed her that Bok had run to fetch Dr. Choi. She sat, panting, examining the two inside with a friendly but suspecting smile. “Is there anything wrong with Mistress Yee?” she asked matter-of-factly, although inside she was extremely curious about what might be wrong with her pregnant mistress.

“I almost fell asleep,” Mrs. Wang said, sitting up, “And I would sleep if you could just leave me alone for a minute.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Wang. It’s just because our previous mistress, you know what happened to her, and I am worried,” Nani said in a monotone.

Mirae burst out laughing until tears welled up. When she gathered herself, she said, “You are such a fake!”

“
You
are the one who is a fake, always getting sick at your convenience. How dare you call me a fake? You get sick every day just when there’s much to do. You think no one notices that? A long tail will be stepped on, sooner or later. I see your scheme!” Nani said vehemently.

Mrs. Wang cleared her throat and sat up straight, frowning contemptuously. She thundered, “You two, who taught you to behave that way in front of your senior? Don’t you have any manners? Take me to the visitors’ quarters so I can rest.”

“I am sorry, Mrs. Wang,” Nani said. Then she explained sheepishly that a servant had just started a fire in the heating chamber in the visitors’ quarters; it would take a while to get the floor warm.

“Prefer to be in a cold room to a coop with squabbling chicks,” Mrs. Wang said.

“Please forgive me, Mrs. Wang. Dr. Choi will arrive soon. I was just going to bring sweet rice drink. May I give you a back massage?” Nani asked.

“Do you have anything to say?” Mrs. Wang turned to Mirae.

Mirae lowered her head and whispered, “Sorry.”

Mrs. Wang cleared her throat.

Nani approached Mrs. Wang and began to massage her back. “My mother used to say I was the best masseuse,” she said cautiously.

“Well, I will go get the rice drink.” Mirae got up.

But Mrs. Wang said, “I don’t feel like anything sweet right now.”

“I will bring something else then,” Mirae said and left. “Bitch,” she muttered on the way to the kitchen.

“So I hear that Min has joined the revolutionists,” Mrs. Wang said.

“He doesn’t know what he is doing, Mrs. Wang. He is a loner. How could he join any group? He is passing around pamphlets without knowing what they really mean. I read the pamphlet and asked him if he really believed what it said. He just shrugged. He is so . . . so naive!” Nani pressed sharply on Mrs. Wang’s spine. She continued, in a hushed voice, “Do you know what it says in the pamphlets? We are all born equal, and we deserve what the aristocrats deserve. They stole not only what belongs to us but also our right to live like human beings.” She continued to massage and held her breath, waiting for Mrs. Wang’s response.

“There is time for everything,” Mrs. Wang said quietly.

An eerie silence hung between them. Nani stopped massaging Mrs. Wang and sat down behind her. “Mrs. Wang, some of them are in jail. Have you heard the news?” Nani asked in a restrained voice.

“Don’t stop. No, right under my left shoulder. There. That feels good. I have to say, your mother was right when she said you were the best masseuse,” Mrs. Wang said sleepily.

“Mrs. Wang, do you support this whole thing?” Nani asked, looking at the door.

“What thing?” Mrs. Wang asked.

“You know what I am talking about, Mrs. Wang,” Nani said exasperatedly.

“I never said I don’t,” Mrs. Wang replied.

“Mrs. Wang, I need your help. May I confide in you?” Nani asked desperately, massaging fast.

“Slow down, child,” she said.

At that moment, Mirae came in with a tray holding a few dishes, one of which was leftover yam noodles sauteed with beef strips and vegetables. The nutty aroma of the sesame oil from the dish permeated the air and whetted Mrs. Wang’s already aroused appetite.

“Please,” Mirae set the tray in front of Mrs. Wang, who, raising her eyebrows, examined the food. “Please help yourself,” Mirae encouraged her.

Mrs. Wang took a bite of yam noodles. “Don’t just look at me. You have some too,” Mrs. Wang suggested weakly.

After the snack, Mrs. Wang said that she would need a little rest. Mirae and Nani left the room, and once out of Mrs. Wang’s earshot, Mirae lashed out, “She must breed a bear in her stomach!”

“She has a great appetite,” Nani said dismissively.

“She eats more than a cow! Didn’t you see how she licked the whole tray clean?” Mirae shook her head disapprovingly.

Nani didn’t want to talk behind Mrs. Wang’s back, especially with Mirae. As they arrived at the kitchen, Bok was running toward them. Dr. Choi, he said, had arrived.