Two years later... (December 1939)
Suet angrily came running into Quay's room. "How could you do this?" she asked with an upset tone as she shoved the door open. Quay stood up from her vanity table. She was dressed in a white wedding gown. The headpiece was a thick lace that fitted her head like a French cap. Even though Suet seemed angry with her Quay smiled and opened her arms to receive her cousin.
"You're back! Welcome! I knew you would come back for my wedding. How do you like my wedding dress?" Quay responded to Suet's question. Suet walked up to Quay. "I can't believe you can still ask me these silly questions. Do you know what you're doing?" Suet questioned angrily.
"Of course I know what I'm doing. I'm getting married today." Quay said boastfully. Suet shook her head. "How can you do this? I thought you loved Phong?" Quay became upset at the mention of Phong's name. "It's been two years and he hasn't returned!" she shouted. "What do you expect me to do, wait forever? I'll be an old maid before he returns!"
"I can't believe you! Just so you don't end up an old maid, you won't wait for him to return? I thought you loved him!" Suet questioned. Quay looked away. "I do love him but he hasn't written for over a year. What if he?' dead? Am I supposed to wait till I die?" Quay yelled. Suet looked around distressed. She didn't have a response to that question. She slicked back her hair, rubbed her eyes and in a calmer voice said, "So that's it. You're going to marry Fei?"
Quay sleeked out her wedding gown with the palms of her hand. She looked into her full length mirror on the cherry wood oak as she straightened her hair and fluffed up her wedding gown. "I don't know how to explain it but it's... it's strange. Since Phong hasn't been around I've developed feelings for Fei." She said in a hesitant voice.
Suet was filled with anger. "You're trying to tell me you love Fei and Phong?!?! What's wrong with you! I don't believe you love Fei. It's Fei's money that you love!" she screamed.
Quay was stunned because part of what Suet said was true. She did need Fei's money just as much as she loved Phong, but she felt something for Fei too. She became lonely after Phong joined the army and with Fei accompanying her most of the time she could easily develop feelings for him. And with the whole world coming apart she realized that she need Fei's money to stay alive.
"Well I'm getting married today. I don't have time to argue with you. Are you going to take part in my wedding?" Quay asked trying to look away from Suet.
Suet bit back all anger. "Of course, how could I not go to my own cousin's wedding." Suet said pungently, "But before you go through with it, I'll let you know Phong is coming." After being trained as a nurse she was coincidentally sent to the same camp as him. They were talking on the day she received and opened the wedding invitation Fei sent her.
"What? How is that possible How did he know?" Quay asked anxiously. She couldn't face him. She didn't want him to know. It would be too devastating for him and her to see each other. She knew it was not in her or his best interest. Suet shook her head. "You don't seem surprised that he's still alive." Suet said suspiciously. "You never doubted that he was, you just didn't wait for him." She crossly said pointing at Quay.
"I'm... I'm.... Forget that, but how did he know? You told him!"Quay accused Suet as she ran up and clutched Suet's arms. "How could you!" she said angrily. Then she clumsily picked up makeup and applied it to her face. "I'm getting married no matter what!" she walked pasted Suet opened the door to call a servant. "Siu-Hong!" she called. "Siu-Hong!" she called again.
Finally she heard footsteps, which she thought was her servant Sui Hong but the person standing in front of her was Phong. "Phong." she gasped almost tripping over herself. Suet knew it wasn't appropriate to be around. So she excused herself. "I'll let you two talk." She said in an awkward voice. She also knew that the Kwoks would be very upset if they saw Quay and Phong talking. "I'll also make sure the Kwoks don't get in here."
Suet walked out not sure if she was doing the right thing. She stood next to the door pondering if her choice was right or wrong and if Quay and Phong would run off together, leaving her alone and miserable. But she settled everything to herself and told herself that no matter what happened, even if Phong and Quay wanted to run off together, she would support anything that made Phong happy.
A few minutes later Fei came walking up the stairs. He was excited to see Suet and immediately greeted her. "Hi, how have you been? You haven't written lately. Have you been busy with your patients?" he asked mocking her new profession as a nurse.
"You can say that." She replied nervously. She was happy to see Fei since he was her good friend but knowing Phong was in Quay's room now she had to divert his attention away from the room. "I didn't know you and Quay were getting married until two days ago, when I received the invitation. I would have never imagined you and Quay would ever..."
Fei smiled graciously. "I couldn't believe it myself. I don't know how I could have went from...." he paused then shook his head. "She's nothing like you but that's what makes her different." Suet looked away uncomfortably so Fei quickly added, "Don't get me wrong, I no longer have feelings for you. I'm marring Quay because I love her." he replied half truthful and half decieving.
Suet smiled and said, "Promise me you'll treat her good. She deserves the best." Fei nodded. "Definitely, I promise." He said reassuring her. He pointed to the room door. "May I go in there to get the bride?"
Seut blocked him. "Also promise me you'll forgive her for everything she does. Sometimes she doesn't know what she's doing, but she never means any harm." Suet said in a tender voice. Fei smiled and nodded amiably. "I promise. May I?" he asked pointing to Quay's room indicating he wanted to go into the room.
Suet still needed to hold him back. She smiled and jokingly said, "Hey don't you know what the tradition is? You need to come with a group of men to pick up the bride. Oh and don't forget the traditional red envelope or I won't let you have the bride. Can't let traditions go to waste." she winked.
Fei nodded playing along with the joke. "Yes Miss tradition and customs. Everybody knows you know everything about traditional manners and customs. I'll go downstairs and get more people to come up here." He walked down the stairs to get everything together. Suet knocked on the door to check if Quay and Phong finished their conversation. They didn?t respond so she opened the door only to hear the conclusion of the argument.
"Forgive me please!" Quay cried holding Phong's arms. He pushed her off him, "If wealth is more important to you, that's your choice. Have a good life Mrs. Kwok!" he said angrily walking out of the room. Quay continued crying but soon realized that if he left through the front door the Kwoks might see him. "Phong! Phong!" she cried as she ran over to him.
Suet and Phong both thought she had realized she wanted to be with Phong not Fei. But she pleaded with Phong to leave through the back or climb out of the window. He angrily pulled his arms out of her hand, picked up his hands to slap her but couldn?t bear to do it. They stared at each other lingering on memories of their relationship. A few seconds seem like an eternity. Quay shook her head in tears as she held onto his arms.
Finally the knocking of Fei and his best men broke their nostalgic gazes. They all yelled for the bridesmaids to open the door or they were going to push the door in. Quay had a worried look on her face. Suet immediately dragged Phong towards the window and told him to leave as she screamed, "Let me see the red envelope!" to Fei and his men.
Phong looked back at Quay who was running to the vanity table grabbed some makeup and freshen up for Fei and disappointingly left. Suet wanted to leave with Phong but she knew she couldn't leave her cousin alone at the moment. She ran to the door and hollered back at the men. "$9999, or I'm not handing my cousin over!" she shouted.
The men bargained and after much dispute Suet opened the door and allowed Fei to take Quay. They went downstairs but instead of continuing the traditional tea serving and praying to the gods, the Kwoks gather the couple into a carriage and rode off to the church, where they would be married the catholic way. Suet took this opportunity to leave and find Phong
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Suet looked everywhere for Phong. She finally found him at an open sidewalk restaurant. He was drunk and still drinking. She ran to him and tried to stop him from drinking. :What are you doing here? You are drunk? Stop drinking!" she demanded pulling the wine out of his hands. He grabbed backed the wine. "What do you think you're doing? Give that back to me." He hollered
Suet shook her head disappointedly. He continued to drink, one cup after another. Finally Suet couldn't stand it any longer. She pulled the wine bottle from his hands and dragged him out of the restaurant. He resisted but since he was too drunk he couldn't do much. Suet dragged him to his home. First thing she saw opening the gate to the front yard was a water basin. She dragged him to it and pushed his head in and out.
His mother and sisters came running out to see the commotion. "What's going on?" Ying, the eldest of his younger sisters asked. Suet didn't answer she was too busy yelling at Phong. "Wake up! Are you conscious yet? Wake up!" Suet yelled. Phong pushed Suet off him. "Let me go. It's none of your business what happens to me. Go away!"
"What do you mean none of my business, I'm your friend and I have the right to care about you!" She insisted. Phong waved her away with his hands. "Even if I die, it's nothing to you because you're nothing to me, nothing!" Phong said too drunk to realize the devastation he just caused.
Hearing his words crushed her heart. She didn't know what to think or say. Her anguish overwhelmed her. Hearing the man she love say she was nothing to him crushed her hear into millions of pieces. She tried not to cry but tears forced themselves out of her eyes.
She swiftly wiped her tears off her face. "I don't care what you think! Look at you!" she screamed pulling him up to look at the image in the water basin. "All this for a women that doesn't care if you live or die!" she continued screaming and crying. Phong looked at his image in the mirror. He saw how enervated and pathetic he looked. He couldn't believe he let himself come to this condition.
As he looked at his image, his mother, Lam Fu Yan, ran to Suet. "Suet, what's happened?" she asked worried about her son because he looked so enervated. Suet circled Phong. "Phong came back from the military camp today to find out that Quay was getting married. He couldn't take it so... so..." she said hesitantly.
Lam Fu Yan now looked angry with her son. "Because of a woman he is in this condition! What kind of man are you? How can you fight for the country and protect our nation if you can't face a small discontent as this!" she said frustrated.
"Yes eldest brother!" his other sister Jing said helping him up. "I have always looked up to you because you could pick up obstacles and put them down without difficulties." Ying nodded to agree with her younger sister, "Eldest brother our family relies on you to be the stronger one. You are the only man in this family." She said.
Phong shoved the water basin away from him and ran out the yard of his house. Lam Fu Yan, Ying, and Jing were all shocked by his action. He was usually a very rational man but the man in front of them was like a stranger, foreign from the reasonable man they knew. They all looked at each other not knowing what to think.
Suet immediately ran after him. From her knowledge, Quay was the love of his life and he couldn't live without her. She didn't know what he was going to do next. She wasn't very far behind him. She followed him from his yard through the bustling city of Shanghai until he finally stopped, falling to his knees from running breathlessly throughout the whole city.
He was in the meadow and had fallen next to a big Rosewood tree. He screamed Quay's name as he screamed why over and over. Witnessing this display of love he possessed for Quay, Suet broke into tears. She walked slowly over to him bent down and embraced him in her arms. He didn't hesitate to cry into Suet's arms and also held on tightly to her.
For minutes, the two held onto each other in a deep embrace. Phong felt complete comfort in her arms. He looked at her and she was radiant. He didn't know what he felt but his stomach turned, his heart throbbed.
She imagined that she was dreaming. The whole thing was not real she thought to herself. But as she pulled herself away to look at him, he kissed her! His lips pressed against hers. Her dreams come true. She kissed him back. He kissed her passionately and pulled her on top of him.
He didn't imagine she was Quay. He knew she was Suet and for some reason unknown to him he laid her down as he continued to kiss her. Together that day on the soft new green grass, which grew up to 26 inches high, the two united in a moment of intimacy and made love.
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