Since Harold was back, thui would go to her own house, to her parents at nights to sleep. She refused to stay there because she knew it might ruin her plan. She already knew the concept of playing hard to get. Harold every night suggested to walk with her, but she always denied. She wanted that twenty minutes walk to home alone. Walking home, she mostly had the vision of the poor, inferior home of her parents, the stifling of their personal odors, and also the implicit dissatisfaction she felt there. However she knew that nothing was for ever and her luck soon would be changed.
Walking home, her mind traveled more openly on that boundless expanse. She thought intensely about what amplified her soul, or gave opinions to her about eternity and idealism.
She had moments of joy. But even her joy seemed coming like a wave of sadness. She looked at everything as though she had to challenge them; however, her soul was still shown nude in her dark eyes. She had this look of yearning on her face at all times. Her recklessness was almost her revenge on her circumstances; and on her wanting very different things, so unusual than other eighteen years old girls in her country.
When one day sitting in the balcony and dreaming, Harold told her that she brought him a new imagination and vision about life, she secretly smiled and knew that her pretending modesty, or playing hard to get, was about to pay off. He was very romantic that night and without speaking wanted her to stay. She understood.
In the bedroom, for the first time she undressed in the dim light in front of him. She was not worried anymore that he could guess that she had had a baby. Her breasts were back to normal size. There was no more milk left in them. Her figure was also back to to the shape of before pregnancy. All the walking she did, not only had made her to lose the baby fat but also had shaped her like a model.
He confessed to her that he had not had sex for a long while because of thinking about her constantly. "I couldn't!" His old body looked like a weapon, strong and sure against hers. He saw her dark eyes being naked with love, being frightened and desirable. His mistake was that he did not know that she had two faces, and each face was a true face. For a moment those eyes hurt him. First she said that they should not do it; but his burning body against her caused her not to fight anymore. As old as he was, this was the best sex Thui had in her short life. Nonetheless, their love making that night and other nights that followed were only a sort of crude primitivism to Thui.
Every morning, Thui opened the window of the bedroom so the glaring light to leap in. In one of these mornings, only after a week of her staying at nights, Harold called her inside from the balcony and asked her to sit. He seemed serious. Thui's heart began throbbing with fear. Was he going to leave her or to ask her to marry him?
"You know I'm leaving for America next month!"
Thui nodded her head for acknowledgment.
"I hate to leave you. I am very fond of you..."
"What do you mean?" Thui almost whispered.
"You know I have older children. I have grand children your age. My family will hate me if..."
Thui knew what this conversation was going to. All her plans seemed being ruined. She needed to think and do it fast. She bent her head into her chest and wept silently, visible enough for him to notice.
"I'm sorry to cause you pain." Harold said after a few moments of silence.
"No, you're not. You just used me like any other girl. I thought we have something special!"
"Oh, yes, we do, we do."
"Then marry me!"
Harold seemed being shocked by a high voltage electricity.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, I am. I love you. You need to have a life, too. Your children have their lives, you need to have yours."
"Do you really love me?'
"Yes, I do, I do..."
Harold thought for a minute. He had never imagined that an eighteen years old could be in love with him, an old man. But she seemed so sincere, so pure, so beautiful.
"Okay, I marry you but I have one condition."
Thui jumped up and down and hugged him and rained kisses on him.
"Any condition, anything, I marry you." Then she added: "What is your condition?"
"We must have a prenuptial agreement."
"What is that?" She truly did not know what that was.
"It's an agreement before entering into marriage that protect us in case of divorce."
"Oh, I never divorce you."
"I know, sweet heart. But if we have that agreement, my family would accept you much easier."
"I don't care, what ever, anything... Will you take me to America with you?"
"Yes, I will. I have my lawyer to prepare the agreement, and then we can marry when we go to America."
"Let's marry here before we go."
"Okay!"
###
To Be Continued
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