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Lai Di's Good Luck                                                                       ( Fiction  Part 2)                                                              Second Stroy About Emigrants                                                                             By Lisa Lee                                            Contents

When Lai Di and Wing were walking toward the exit of the arrival area, they heard a boy call “Dad.” Wing’s son and Wing’s two cousins came to pick them up.

Wing made the introduction: “This is my wife Lai Di.”

“A Show.” (Sister-in-law), they greeted her in Chinese.

Lai Di nodded, but she could read the surprise on their smiling faces.

Wing patted his son’s shoulder and said cordially, “ Jack, welcome your mom.”

Jack just said, “Hi!” Then he lowered his head.

In Taishanese, “Hi!” is homonymous with a very rude word, so Lai Di was startled at Jack’s saying this vulgar word to her. Anyway, she pronounced with difficulty, “Jet, how are you?” The sentence, “How are you?” she had practiced by heart at least twenty times, but still she could not say it fluently. And though it was easier for her to remember “jet” than the similarly pronounced foreign name “Jack”, in Taishanese, “jet” means “tickle”. So this was a strange introduction for Lai Di and Jack alike.

As they were driving home, Jack kept silently looking out the window. One of Wing’s cousins spoke in English, “Wing, you could choose a better one in Canton or Taishan. Nowadays in China many girls or women fall all over themselves to marry an American citizen.”

Wing smiled. “Did you ever hear that the best jade is wrapping in a rough stone?” The other cousin Joked, “It is sure that nobody’s sweetheart is ugly.” Lai Di was slightly nervous because she knew they were talking about her, but she could not understand the content. By Wing’s grasping her hands firmly, Lai Di felt her husband’s devoted love and strong support.

When they arrived at Wing’s apartment, Lai Di was startled again by the scene. From the door of the room, socks, underwear, T-shirts, jeans, caps, slippers were thrown everywhere. The apartment was smelly. Wing threw an apologetic glance at Lai Di. She smiled and sighed. This home really needed a woman.

After his cousins left, Wing went in Jack’s room while Lai Di was picking up the dirty stuff.

Wing said seriously, in English, “Listen, Jack, you should call her Mom.”

Jack retorted, “No, I don’t know her.”

What? You don’t know or you don’t want to know?”

“A Po (Jack’s maternal grandmother) said nine out of ten stepmothers are bad. She told me to keep her at arm’s length.”

Wing cursed the old woman in his heart because she had planted bad seeds in his son’s mind. He almost begged his son, “Believe me, Son. Lai Di will be a good stepmother.”

“Let’s see.”

“At least, you have to call her Auntie, not ‘Hi’!”

“Okay,” replied Jack.

Lai Di did not know about their conversation, but she felt that Jack did not accept her as a mother, even as a stepmother. Wing came out with a sad face. “Lai Di, sorry…”

Lai Di interrupted, “Show me where the bathroom is.”

Wing led her to the bathroom and showed her how to use the hot and cold water faucets and flush toilet.

“Oh, it is very convenient. Now I can wash the clothes.”

Wing said, “Let’s go to the laundry. Lai Di, you can talk to Jack in Taishanese.”

Lai Di was amazed at the washing machine and dryer. Only on hour and a half later, all their stuff was clean and dry. Oh, what a day! Lai Di thought with complex emotions.

The next afternoon, Jack went home after school. He found their apartment seemed larger because everything was put in order. He had not felt that his home was so clean and delightful since his mother died. It was a piece of cake for a woman to clean up a house, Jack thought. And it was only natural that he should not have to waste time finding his socks or books.

Wing came home excitedly because he got a job in a big restaurant in Midtown. He said, “Lai Di, you’re my lucky star.”

Lai Di smiled. “I don’t think so. The cooking training enhanced your ability.”

On Saturday night, Wing held a four-table banquet to entertain his relatives and friends. Lai Di dressed simply and for jewelry only wore a jade bracelet which her parents gave her, and her wedding ring. She thought to have a psychological preparation was more important than to dress up. During the banquet, it was “so far so good”, only when the guests hit their plates with the chopsticks, Lai Di did not know why. As Wing kissed her cheek and people laughed loudly, that made her very embarrassed.

When Lai Di was in the restroom, she overheard two women talking. One said, “What a bumpkin! She has no taste in clothing. Obviously, she married an old nab to get a green card. I’m afraid this marriage will not last long.”

The other added, “Who knows? There are some tragedies involving old husbands and young wives.”

“I hope she will not maltreat poor Jack.”

“A Chinese proverb says, ‘To understand a woman is as likely as finding a needle in the sea.”

Lai Di was distressed at the unavoidable gossip even she had expected. She remembered her parents’ words. She told herself: I can handle it. My virtue and actions will change people’s prejudices.

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