A Thread Unbroken (13 page)

“
Dui.
I forgot. Get in there and shuck the oysters. Tonight the boys will be home before dark, and Zhongfu will expect dinner to be ready.”

Chai breathed a sigh of relief that her escapade had gone unnoticed. As she hurried toward the kitchen to help Josi prepare dinner, she couldn’t get the taste of the sweet cake or the beautiful eyes of Sister Haihua out of her mind.

O
nly a week after her daring adventure and chance meeting with the beautiful Sister Haihua, Chai peeked through the door into the master bedroom. The old midwife sat beside Mother, wiping her head with a wet cloth. She was glad Lao Chan had left her the sampan in case Mother went into labor, because Chai had used it to row to the mainland to get the old woman early that morning, right after he and the boys had left for work.

Ironically, the baby had come almost a year to the day that Chai and Josi had been brought to the fishing village. Its birth marked their anniversary of being abducted, a sign that Chai didn’t know whether to take as bad luck or a good sign for her future.

Mother moaned, oblivious to anything going on around her. After only five hours of pushing, she had given birth, but she was still weak. On the floor beside her bed was a basket. Chai could hear the infant mewling softly from inside. She saw a tiny fist make an arc above the edge, but nothing else. Next to the basket was a huge pile of bloodied rags, making Chai feel faint as she studied them.

The midwife heard her and muttered some orders. “You! Go to the mainland and find the ingredients to make
lóng yăn shuĭ yú tāng.
Hurry! Turtle soup will fix her right up and renew her strength.”

“But what do I need? And what about the baby?” Chai didn’t want to come closer; the old woman scared her just a little bit.

“You are stupid, child!” The old woman turned around, her bony finger pointed at Chai, who immediately pulled back, feeling as if she had just been cursed by a wicked old sorcerer.

Josi stepped around. “I know what’s needed; I can tell her. And I’ll care for the infant until Mother can hold it.” She pulled Chai away from the doorway.

“Chai, we need a small turtle. You take the sampan and go to the mainland. You’ll have to ask someone where the herb stand is. It can’t be far because Mother gets her supplies there each week. When you find it, ask them for a bundle of dried longans, a foot of fresh yam, some ginger, a handful of red dates, and one fresh lily bulb. Don’t forget the turtle, and tell them it needs to be from fresh water.”

Josi went to the two little boys who sat huddled on the couch, fear on their faces. “It’s okay, boys. Your mother is just fine, you’ll see.”

Chai rummaged through the kitchen drawer until she found the charcoal pencil and a scrap of paper, and began scribbling down the ingredients.

“Also get a baby bottle and some soy milk. I have a feeling Mother is not going to be able to nurse today.” Josi spoke quietly. “Chai, quiet down—we need to try to keep some semblance of normalcy in the air for the boys.”

“But I don’t have any money. How will I pay?”

“Just tell them that Lao Chan’s wife has had the baby, and when he returns home he’ll come settle up. They’ll let you charge it, I’m sure.”

Chai quickly left the house, climbed into the sampan, and headed toward the mainland.

Josi quietly crept into the bedroom and went to the wicker basket. The infant had calmed and was quietly staring at the ceiling. Josi stopped in her tracks when she saw a gaping hole in the child’s face where his top lip should have met his nose. Other than that, the child was beautiful, his dark almond-shaped eyes sparkling like tiny stars up at Josi. His cap of black hair peaked at the forehead, framing the tiny face perfectly, set off by the light blue colors of the receiving blanket he was wrapped in.

She bent and picked up the basket and turned to leave the room.

The midwife stood and followed her out into the living area, shuffling close behind her. The garlicky smell of her breath wafted all around the room, making Josi wrinkle her nose in disgust.

“She doesn’t want that baby. I’ll take it with me when I go.”

Josi sat down on the couch, her knees weak. “What do you mean she doesn’t want her son?”

“It is not a son. It’s a girl, and a defective one at that. There’s no place for an infant girl like that here with a fishing family. She’ll be nothing but a burden; the missus knows what must be done.”

“Well, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. You should watch what you say in front of the boys; you’ll scare
them.” Josi reached in and pulled the baby girl from the basket and held her up to study her as Ying and Yifeng huddled around her. “That explains the beauty of this child—it’s not another toad of a son, but instead a tiny princess. You’ll not take her anywhere. Chai and I will care for her until Mother comes to her senses.”

The old woman grunted and rolled her eyes. “You know nothing of caring for a baby, and no wet nurse will come for one who has this problem suckling. It will die anyway. Much more humane to let it go now; I have a system for children born like this and can take it away.”

Josi looked around, wishing Chai had not left. She hesitated, gathered all her courage and stood as tall as she possibly could, then narrowed her eyes.

“Boys, go outside on the deck for a few minutes.” Josi pointed at the door, and the boys grabbed their toy cars and left the house.

“Now let me tell you something, old woman. Tao has told us all about you and the evil things you’ve done. I can promise you that you’ll have to pry this child from my dead fingers before you will take her out to the end of the bay and throw her in. She stays with me until Mother is fully awake. Once she sees her, she’ll want her. It is her child. And I do know how to care for a baby; I’ve cared for them in my own family.” She stopped, not daring to say more about her family in case Mother was awake and listening. She held the baby close to her chest and rocked back and forth.

“You are wrong, and you have no business handing out orders. Imagine, a child like you trying to tell me what to do!” The midwife laughed to herself while gathering up her things. “But I must go. I have another patient on the mainland to care for today. When that other girl comes back, hurry and make the soup and feed it to the missus as soon as possible. She’ll be fine,
though she’s weak from so much blood loss. I stitched her up, but you’ll need to change the padding between her legs at least once per hour, more if needed. Don’t let her sit up until tomorrow, but I’ll come back to check on her and to get the baby.”

The woman gave one last look in at Mother, then grabbed her bag and left. Josi heard the splash of the midwife’s oars slicing through the water as she moved away from the house.

Josi sat back down with the baby girl, cradling her in her arms. If not full, she knew her hands would be shaking from the feelings the woman’s words had dredged up inside her. She’d struggled her entire life to bury her feelings of resentment that she was treated differently because of her leg. Among other names, she had been called a cripple many times by her school peers, village neighbors, and even her own father when he was drunk and spewing off at the mouth about his bad luck. If it weren’t for Chai, most of the time she would have felt completely alone in the world. It hurt her to think that the baby girl would suffer through years of the same or even worse abuse because of something she had no control over.

She gave the baby a reassuring smile.

“Did you hear what she said? Don’t pay her any mind, okay? She’s just a haggard old woman with a hump on her back. You are precious and beautiful. There are doctors who can fix your lip, and then you will be just fine.” She rocked the child back and forth and giggled softly as the baby girl stared back at her intently, her tiny mouth puckered in concentration.

Soon she heard Chai return and the familiar noise of her tying up the small boat. “I’m back! I got everything, except I had to buy milk powder for the baby. No fresh milk was available.” Chai went to the kitchen area, set the bags down, and began unloading the items.

“Oh, I think powder is what we want anyway.” Josi’s voice softened. “Chai, Mother didn’t have a son.”

Chai turned around, her eyes wide. “Oh, no. She was so sure it was a boy. Does she know?”

“I don’t know if the old woman told her or not. But it gets worse. Come here; look at her.”

Josi turned the baby around for Chai to see. The girls were silent for a moment as they both studied the imperfection of the infant’s mouth.

“Josi, what’s wrong with her?”

“It’s called
chúnliè
. My cousin had a baby with a cleft lip, and Mama said it was because she didn’t get enough fresh vegetables in her diet while pregnant. Or it could have been because their water system isn’t the cleanest. Sometimes it’s worse, and there’s a problem at the roof of their mouth, but from what I can tell, hers is only on the outside. The poor little girl. You know Mother’s going to be so angry. She thought she was getting strong fisherman number five.”

“Well, she’s just going to have to change her thinking. And maybe this baby girl will grow up to be a great fisherwoman—she might just fool them all.”

“There is nothing we can do about it for now, but we’d better take care of Mother before she wakes up like a growling tiger.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Josi put the baby back down in the basket. “I’ll start water boiling for the soup. You go check the padding between Mother’s legs. There’s a bag of fresh bundles at the end of the bed. When you come back, if you will chop the yam, I’ll make up some milk for the baby. Once the water boils, we have to fry the turtle meat with ginger, and then throw it and everything else in the pot to
simmer. It needs to cook for at least two hours, so I hope Mother doesn’t wake up for a while.”

Chai whistled, “Jeesh, Josi, and you say I’m the smart one? You’re going to have to tell me all that again—I’m not going to remember everything you said, but I’ll check on Mother and chop the yam for starters.”

They both hurried to start their next chores, anxious to get back to caring for the baby girl but knowing that Mother had to come first.

C
hai sat on the edge of the bed, feeding Mother the turtle soup one spoonful at a time. The woman had awakened and was hungry from the exertion of childbirth. Chai was glad that Josi had told her the longan in the soup would make Mother sleepy once again. It gave her something to look forward to, for the woman was easier to handle when her eyes were closed and her mouth silent.

“It smells awful in here. Can I open your window?”

“No! It is one of the rules of
zuo yue zi
, the month after childbirth. If you open a window, I’ll have pain in my joints and migraines in my old age.”

“Well, tomorrow I’ll wash your hair. It’s greasy, and a thorough washing will help the room smell fresher. I’ll even braid it, so it won’t lay about you in such a mess.”

“You or Josi can braid it, but I can’t bathe or wash my hair for thirty days. More rules.”

Chai’s eyes widened. “What? You won’t wash for an entire month? Mother—we will not be able to stand to be in the same room with you!” She held her nose, and the corner of her mouth twitched as she tried to hide her amusement. It was a rare treat
to be able to poke fun at the woman while she was unable to discipline her.

“If I felt stronger, Chai, I’d slap you for your disrespect. I’ll wash using hot water, alcohol, and salt. You’ll need to soak a towel in the solution and help me to wipe my body. But no more talk of this. Feed me so I can go back to sleep.”

Chai smirked, knowing the woman would not slap her, but letting her have the last word anyway. She did feel sorry for her; the labor had not been easy. At one point, Chai had asked the midwife why they didn’t take her to a hospital, and the old woman had snapped back that the women of the fishing village were tough and didn’t need to spend their husbands’ money on needless hospital bills. During the labor, Josi had taken the little boys out of the house and tried to camouflage the sounds of their mother crying out, but they had still heard enough to make them silent and somber for the rest of the day.

Chai fed her the rest of the soup and stood to go. “Mother, do you want to see your daughter before you sleep?”

“I have seen her. I don’t need to see her again.”

“But don’t you want to try to nurse her?” Chai used her sweetest voice, hoping to convince the woman.

“No. I can’t. Didn’t you see her mouth?”

“You
can
nurse her, or at least try! How will you know if you don’t try?”

“Zhongfu doesn’t want a girl. We can barely feed our own and cannot handle caring for a useless girl. He is going to be angry when he returns, and he will never let me keep her.”

“Mother, she
is
your own. She isn’t like Josi and me—she is your flesh and blood; she belongs to you and to Lao Chan.”

“I’m tired of talking. When the midwife comes tomorrow, she will take the child away, no matter what I say. She knows
who the boss of this household is, and she would never defy Zhongfu.”