Face Time – Chapter 38

Lee

The drive to my parents’ house is enlightening. Nari was always jealous of me? She was depressed? She’s an alcoholic, went to AA, got sober, and is in therapy. All the news comes straight from Laura, and that’s the most amazing part. Would Nari have ever even approached me if it weren’t for Laura?

“She said she spent a lot of time hiding everything from the family. She got lucky you were always at school or work and then Korea. But it was ten times as hard once you started dating Sandra. Really, she wants to tell you this herself, so I won’t go into any more details.”

Laura cranes her head to look out the window and up at the house as I pull into the horseshoe drive and park in front of the five-car garage. The landscapers have been busy planting spring flowers and keeping the lawn short. My mother added pots of bright pink and orange flowers around the pond to the side of the house. She’s been busy.

My hands shake as I walk Laura to the front door. What I want to do is take her by the arm, turn around, leave, and never come back. I haven’t warned Laura about the private detective and his dossier on her. How does one even approach a subject like that? It would kill her. I’m hoping this is all a joke, and we have nothing to worry about.

We let ourselves in the front door, and the house beeps robotically, the alarm system chiming and announcing our arrival. This is the house my father built when he finally “made it big.” Before this, we lived two neighborhoods over in a completely fine four-bedroom, late-fifties ranch. But my dad had big plans and dreamed of the perfect house, so he built this. He loved modern architecture, passing his love of clean lines and acute angles down to me. While I was in college, we took a trip down the coast of California to view mid-century modern homes. I don’t even remember half of the ones we looked at but I do remember every dinner we had together, every drink, every conversation.

He had this house built to remind him of all the things he loved about mid-century modern design. The front entryway is a large atrium with warm stone floors and natural sunlight from skylights, and I’m immediately calmed when I walk in. The house has three stories, but the levels are split over the entire footprint. The bedrooms are in the back. The master suite has a sitting room with floor-to-ceiling windows that lead out to the Asian garden. My father’s study is on the second floor over the entryway. The general layout is hard to describe, and everyone who comes here gets lost.

“I love this house,” I say, removing my shoes at the door and getting into house slippers. “I want to build something like this for myself someday.” I pick out a pair of slippers for Laura and hold her hand while she takes off her heels. Suddenly, she’s shorter than me again. “Hmmm, I was just getting used to you at eye-level. This is the first time I’ve seen you in heels.”

“I like flats. Ensures a quick getaway, if I need one.” I’m about to open my mouth and inquire into whatever new and incredible tale she has when she shakes her head and smiles. “Don’t ask. An incident in Singapore, and it’s possible I’m on a black-list.”

“My experience as a lawyer is going to come in handy in the future, isn’t it?”

“No worries. I’m not as reckless as I used to be.”

“Something tells me that’s the biggest lie I’ve ever heard.”

“I would never lie to you, Lee.” She bats her eyes at me and clasps her hands like a not-so-innocent four year old. If my life was boring before Laura, she is going to make it worth living from here on out. Never a dull moment when she’s around. I want to pick her up, throw her over my shoulder, get her to the couch, and then tickle her until she confesses every little thing to me.

“Lee. Laura.” Nari turns the corner of the hallway to the kitchen and smiles at us both. I scowl back but stop immediately, sighing at my stupid instincts. I have to remember everything Laura told me today in the car. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but a thirty-year history is hard to forget. “I’m glad you came early. Mom, Chase, and I are in the kitchen. I’m about to make Chase an early dinner since Mom catered tonight. Jin and Mimi aren’t here yet. Danny is having a drink in Dad’s study, Lee, if you want to join him.”

Nari is already taking Laura by the arm to lead her away. Nari’s voice is quiet, and she’s unable to make long eye contact with me. I’ve never seen her humbled before, and it warms me in a way words cannot. I stop her and lean in to give her a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll come down in a bit, and you and I can go out to see the fish in the pond, okay?” It was one of our favorite things to while away an afternoon as kids, to sit next to the pond, and drag our hands in the water until the fish would swim to us. Some years there were frogs too, if we were lucky. Snakes, if we were unlucky. Despite the fact that we fought a lot, we still have a few things that make us smile.

“I’d love that,” Nari responds, and I kiss Laura on the cheek before heading up the stairs.

From below, I hear Nari whisper, “You told him?” I turn my head back while climbing, and Laura smiles and nods before Nari embraces her in a hug. I shake my head in wonder.

—-

Daniel pours me a Scotch with one ice cube, and I take a long sip. I don’t think I can face my mother completely sober.

“So. Nari…” I sit in the Eames lounge chair opposite Daniel. I stopped staring at the books in this library ages ago, but now I wonder how many of them my father read in his lifetime. Probably all of them. “What the hell happened?”

“I threatened to leave her and take Chase with me not long after you confronted me.”

“Really?” How much influence did I have on their situation?

“Yeah. I had been trying to get her to counseling for three years. You know how much she loves Chase. More than me, I’m sure.” Daniel laughs but he doesn’t seem bitter. “She couldn’t bear to be without him.”

“But you two are better now?”

“Our relationship is really good. We’re happy. She doesn’t talk to Sandra anymore. We exercise together. Go out on dates.” Daniel shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head before laughing. “It’s better than when we were first dating. I’m proud of her. So many people aren’t strong enough to make the kind of change she has.”

Nodding my head, I remember Nari growing up. She used her strength to get her way in anything. Now, she’s using it to improve herself. Laura uses her strength, too. She’s been through hell, and she’s still fighting. She showed me her vulnerability in New York, and my heart aches again with the memory of holding her on the floor of her bathroom. She needs my support and love as much as I need hers.

I turn and look at the door, my leg bouncing in time to my rapidly beating heart. I hope she’s okay.

“We both like strong women,” Daniel says, smiling at my concern. “Sandra was strong, too, but in the wrong way. I like Laura.” He nods at me, and my gut twinges with jealousy. “I told Nari last night I was sure she’s sticking around. Chase couldn’t stop talking about her.”

Jin felt the same way. I think everyone can tell she’ll be sticking around for some time.

Daniel sets his drink down and stands up. “I have to go get Chase’s room set up for the night. I’ll be right back.”

Now that I’m alone, I take my Scotch to Dad’s desk and sit in his chair. Leaning back, I survey his study, his library, his place to be at peace and away from my mother. He spent a lot of time here working or relaxing in the lounge chairs. It was always the first place I looked when I needed to find him.

This could all be mine. There are two paths my life could take: I could break up with Laura, stay in Seattle, take a job at my father’s firm and marry Sandra, never have a family, and be unhappy for the rest of my life. Or I could take Laura from here today and never come back, have a family with her, and a career overseas. The choice is clear to me. I want to be happy.

On the desk in front of me are framed photos I’ve seen a million times before, but the one of my father as a boy, newly imported to America with his older brother to live with distant relatives, makes me burst into tears. His older brother, my uncle, died a few years ago, and my dad was never the same after. They were both such loving people, always taking care of everyone in the family no matter how much it cost or how stressful it was to juggle schedules and deal with personalities that clashed. That’s the kind of man I want to be. I want to support my family. I want to continue to be loyal and kind and never think about expense.

I wipe the tears from my face with my hand, ignoring the tissues on the desk. I miss you, Dad, and I love you. I’ll try to do right by those in the family who will be happy for my help, but I won’t force myself on them.

Laura tried to help everyone in her family, and she was neglected and crushed. She has so much love to give. I can’t walk out of here today and never see my brother and sister again, if they still want to see me. That kind of love is precious. It’s something Laura fought for and lost. If her own family can’t give her the love she deserves then she’ll get it through mine, if I have anything to do about it.