The following morning after Mai discovered that she was pregnant, her mother woke her up really early.
"Mai, wake up and get dressed," said Mai's mother in her usual commanding tone. "Today, you are meeting Mr Summerton, the gentleman whom you will marry. Put on your best dress. Don't forget that you need to make a good first impression."
Mai's original plan was to postpone this meeting to as late as possible so that she could have more time to recover mentally from the loss of Hung. Nonetheless, now that she had discovered her own pregnancy, she was instead eager to marry Mr Summerton as soon as possible, before her parents find out.
"If mother finds out that I'm pregnant with Hung's child, she would definitely force me to get rid of the baby," thought Mai to herself. "I must do all I can to protect our baby, even if it means sacrificing myself to marry someone whom I dislike, as it is the only piece of remnant that symbolizes our love."
Therefore, Mai acted like a good, obedient child and obeyed her mother's words. She put on her best dress, which was her eighteenth birthday present her father had given her, and put on some makeup in order to hide her swollen eyes and tear marks from all the crying from the previous night. In a café in the Bronx, Mai and her parents met Mr Summerton, who was a middle-aged balding man several years older than Mai's father. He was a construction worker who had been married once already with no children.
"Hello, my name's Bob. What's your name?" enquired Mr Summerton as he shook Mai's hand.
"My name is Mai. How are you?" said Mai in English, the only phrase she knew in the language.
"I'm great, thanks. Nice to meet you Mai! You look beautiful!" smiled Mr Summerton warmly.
"Seems like they're destined for each other," whispered the broker to Mai's parents, who nodded in agreement.
Only three days after their initial acquaintance in the café, Mai's wedding with Bob Summerton took place in a small church in the Bronx. An immigrations officer was present at their wedding as a witness, as well as Mai's parents, her brother Thanh and the broker. Mai's wedding dress was a cheap, laced, white dress bought by Mr Summerton, as requested by the broker and Mr Summerton wore his best suit with a pink bowtie. Mai wore heavy makeup in order to conceal her swollen eyes and tear marks from the previous sleepless night. Like a good, submissive wife her mother taught her to be, Mai put on a forced smile on her face even though she felt dead inside. Her only source of strength sprang from her motherhood and her strong will to protect her child.
In fact, the night before her wedding, Mai dreamt that Hung came to rescue her at the altar. But that never happened in reality.
~To be Continued~
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