Chapter Nine. I will support you
1503 Words
Chapter 9 I'll Support You
"A friend gave it to me."
Dan made up a reason, which made Roslyn's heart tremble due to some disturbing misgivings.
Could it be a gift from a sponsor? She ruminated.
While she did not want her husband to be a gigolo, she thought that the membership card system of that store was far beyond his means. Annual consumption of ten million dollars was the threshold level of the store. Even if the card was given by someone else, if the consumption level was not reached, the membership would be cancelled. Just how much money could he make working in a bar?
She calculated in her mind, afraid that she might think it out aloud. The two walked in and were warmly received by the clerk.
"Pick some clothes for my wife," Dan told the clerk.
The clerk's surprised eyes were fleeting, so fast that Roslyn missed to read the awe in them as she was still glancing at the decoration inside the store.
"Wife?" The clerk wondered silently. "Is Mr. Panter married? Isn't it said out there that Mr. Panter likes men but not women? It's pitiful to be his wife."
Not wanting to keep him waiting by engaging in her mental judgement, the clerk asked Dan to wait on the sofa in the waiting area as she appraised Roslyn's size. A few minutes later, she brought a few sets of matching clothes, and asked her to try them on in the fitting room.
As Roslyn picked the clothes, she felt that the clerk looked at her with sympathy, and wondered if she was overthinking. Why should she sympathize with her?
Could it be because the customers who shopped there were either rich or noble, and Dan's card was borrowed? She had no immediate answer and she ultimately made a mental note to change her husband's current working environment.
She came out of the fitting room looking gorgeously beautiful and Dan nodded approvingly.
"I'll take them all." He waved his hand and went to swipe the card.
"No, one is enough." Roslyn hurriedly stopped him, determined to buy only one, the one she was wearing.
Her rationale was due to the fact that while in the fitting room, she had taken a look at the price and had been shocked. The cheapest dress cost hundreds of thousands. A few random clothes cost millions, and she would definitely not be able to afford them all. She could not therefore let her husband go to the checkout counter only to find out that he did not have enough money, which could be quite embarrassing! She was still worried if he could afford even one.
Dubious of his status, she followed him to the checkout, ready to swipe her card if his was found to be wanting. However, the swipe was successful.
Dan turned around and saw her standing behind him, looking serious and worried.
"Are you worried about something?" He inquired of her.
"Yes."
"Say it."
"Let's talk about it outside."
After the two of them went out, she whispered her doubts
"The clothes here are not cheap, how do you have so much money?"
He was slightly stunned, but he was in time to remember who she thought he was. Used to spending money, and he had brought out his usual habits without paying attention to whom he had set out to be in his quest to learn more about her true self.
He reminded her that he was a waiter in a bar. The last time they had met in the bar was because his grandfather was sick and needed money urgently, so he "sold his body" and only did it once.
Nevertheless, he still found it really hard to explain that a bar waiter spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a piece of clothing.
"You didn't ask for a dowry when you married me. I just bought you a piece of clothing. It's my duty. I will save money in the future." He made up a reason to explain his largesse.
She bit her lower lip and frowned slightly.
Dan could not guess whether she believed it or not, so he did not say anything more as he waited and watched.
Meanwhile, Roslyn was weighing how to express her mind without hurting his self-esteem. She felt that his job was quite demeaning and was not worthy it as far as decent incomes were concerned. Determined, but afraid of his reaction, she finally gave voice to her mind.
"Husband, you should quit your job and stop working in a place like a bar. I will support you."
Dan was touched and greatly taken aback. It was the first time someone had uttered the gracious phrase "I will support you."
He stared at her for what seemed to be an eternity. This sent shivers down Roslyn's spine and she became dumbfounded.
She thought she had hurt her husband's self-esteem, and immediately decided to make amends.
"I'm not saying you are useless. I'm saying that there are all kinds of people in places like bars. You must have your reasons for doing that job. I won't ask about your past, but don't go to work in places like that in the future..." She apologized.
"Okay."
"You agree?" She was delighted, even moreso because she had not expected him to accept without putting up a fight.
"Yes, I agree," he echoed blankly.
He did not like going to bars in the first place, and "bar waiter" was just an identity he made up. If he wanted to quit, he could just quit. It saved him from having to find excuses.
She smiled with her eyebrows curved as joy filled her entire face. Her smile was so contagious that Dan could not help but radiate his own smile.
When the two were about to reach Roslyn's parents' house, Dan received a call from his grandfather asking him to go home quickly as there was some contingency.
"Something?" She inquired. Seeing that he frowned slightly, she added sympathetically, "If you have something to do, go first, it's the same if I go back by myself."
"I'll join you soon, no more than two hours," he stated.
"Okay," she concurred as she alighted at the gate. He turned and drove off as she entered her parents' house.
Though she had expected it, she had not prepared herself for the solemn atmosphere in the living room. It was conspicuous from her parents' attitude that the previous day's wedding did not count.
"Marriage is not a joke, you can't find just someone to get married," her mother started. "Marriage must have an emotional foundation. If you are not going to be happy after marriage, we would rather stop the loss in time." She paused long enough to gauge her daughter's feelings.
"Nothing is more important than the happiness of our only daughter," her father joined in. "Even if the reputation is bad, the worst thing is to get married for a lifetime of misery. We are not prepared to go along that way because we are more than capable of raising you for a lifetime!"
Roslyn kept her cool while thinking of the best way to explain her relationship with Dan.
"Yesterday at the wedding, our daughter suddenly woke up, and the groom was temporarily replaced," her mother continued. "All this happened too quickly and too suddenly. We didn't react, so we let you go with that man. Now we regret it."
"Lest you forget, dear," her father hastily observed, "they only held a wedding, and didn't get a marriage certificate. Will the man still rely on our docile, almost coerced verbal agreement? I don't think he will succeed."
"No." Roslyn disagreed, slightly frowning. "Mom and Dad, you have taught me since I was a child that I must keep my word and not go back on it. Yesterday, Dan and I swore at the wedding that we would stay together no matter what, poverty or illness notwithstanding. It's only been a day and you want me to go back on my word? No, I can't do it."
Her mother began to regret that she taught her daughter too well, only teaching her to be kind, but not letting her see that there were still many uglinesses in the world.
"The oath is a procedure at the wedding, no one will take it seriously, but marriage is not just a ride in the park. We don't object to you marrying a poor boy, but what if another worthy man like Kevin comes along?" Her mother posed.
"I won't, and don't want to think along that line," she maintained her stand. "Besides, Dan is different from Kevin in many ways."
"You chose Kevin yourself in the first place, can you promise not to make the mistake again?" Her father retorted.
"Time will tell, but I have the feeling that..." She lacked the phrase to describe the feeling and decided to leave the sentence hanging.
- Writer
