Me After Meeting You

In the afternoon, Amber had to request time off to go see Calvin’s mother. The department head gave her no trouble at all; he simply waved his hand and said, “Go, go.”

He then personally scheduled a doctor to fill in for her.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Amber was very grateful.

She took a taxi directly to the address that Calvin’s mother had sent her. Despite the cold winter winters, the streets were still crowded, and Amber’s ride over was plagued by traffic jams.

When she finally arrived, she waited at the doorstop for quite a while before a housekeeper-like figure came over to answer the door. “Are you Ms. Camille?”

“Yes.”

Only then did the housekeeper open the door and let her in. Calvin’s mother was on the second floor. When Amber walked over, she was trimming flowers by the corridor. The temperature had been unprecedentedly cold these last few days, and even though they were indoors, she was dressed very warmly with a white wool sweater and a sapphire-blue marten coat with a white fur collar trim. Framed by the dusky rays of the sun, Calvin’s mother looked far younger than her actual age.

But she was clearly not in a good mood, and her mood was reflected in her pruning; a perfectly good banyan tree had been ruined by her terrible trimming.

Amber noticed that upon seeing Calvin mother’s handiwork, the housekeeper by her side snorted lightly with a speck of disdain in her eyes. Then she curtly announced, “She’s here,” before leaving right away.

Calvin’s mother ignored the disdain in the housekeeper, put down the scissors, and then smiled at Amber. “I’ll bring you to see my old man first.”

The old man she was referring to was the owner of this house, as well as Calvin mother’s current husband.

She had said that he was old, and she hadn’t been exaggerating at all; the man who appeared in front of Amber was old, very old. His head was completely bald, his body thin and skinny, and his skin covered in liver spots.

His bedroom had long been converted into a sickroom. In front of the bed were some common medical apparatuses, and two people who looked like doctors were sitting by his bedside. The master of the house was lying in bed with one hand outside the blankets. There was an IV by the bed, with fluid slowly dripping down from it.

Upon hearing the noise of two people entering the room, he opened his eyes slightly. Calvin’s mother walked in, leaned by his side, and said, “This is Calvin’s classmate. She’s here to see you.”

The old man’s dusky gaze meandered over, landing on Amber’s face. After quite a while, he opened his mouth and said, “Okay.”

“Then I’ll go and talk with her now. Stay well.” After Calvin’s mother finished talking to the old man, she considerately helped him arrange his blankets before pulling Amber out of the room.

Only after they exited the room and were once again breathing the fresh air outside did Amber slowly release a pent up breath.

“Were you scared?” Calvin’s mother asked with a smile.

Amber didn’t know what to say.

“Calvin has always thought that this was an embarrassing affair, but I thought that it wasn’t so bad. These past years of being married to him are some of the most peaceful days of my life.”

She brought Amber to a small living room on the side of the house, sat down in front of her, and started chatting. She had neither the gentleness and grief of her early years nor the snobbishness and affectation that Amber had seen in her recently.

Calvin’s mother was very calm today. “Do you know why I wanted to meet you here? It’s to show you that Calvin different from you, that the burdens he’s been carrying is different from the average person’s. Don’t even try to convince me to let Elly stay in Presbiterian Hospital. I don’t want her to become his burden.”

Amber tartly replied, “She won’t be his burden.”

“Really?” Calvin’s mother looked at her with a placid smile. “Just because you say so? What if she doesn’t improve for the rest of her life? As you’ve said before, her illness can’t be solved through money-she also needs familial care, ceaseless kindness ….”

Calvin’s mother had actually used the word ‘kindness.’ Amber’s heart stiffened, but she didn’t stop her from speaking and silently listened as Calvin’s mother continued. “Calvin not willing to follow the path that I chose for him. He wants to bear all these burdens alone, and I have no choice but to let him do so.

However, this shouldn’t be his responsibility, and I don’t want him to be forced to carry this burden. I don’t care about why you want him to care for Elly. Whether it’s because of your duty as a doctor or because of your selfishness as a woman, none of it matters to me.”

Amber glanced at Calvin’s mother, her eyes limpid and determined. “Mrs. Kenric, do you think that the reason why I want Calvin to take care of Elly is because I want to woo him?”

Calvin’s mother didn’t reply, but it was clear that she did indeed think so.

Amber’s face turned red. “I didn’t know that, in Mrs. Kenric’s eyes, that I’m an undignified girl who doesn’t have any self respect. What if I promised to never be romantically involved with him again? Would you-”

“No.” Calvin’s mother shook her head, cutting Amber off. “Amber, I don’t want to take any risks. Even though I do want him to choose a wife who can help him achieve his goals rather than choose one out of impulse, as his mother, I do want him to both have a successful career and marriage.

He likes you. I don’t want to deny this, and neither can I deny it. However, if he has to see you from time to time while still harboring feelings you, Amber … then do you think this would be good for him?”

“Also, I don’t understand why you wouldn’t agree to transfer Elly to another hospital. Professor Nancy was your professor and a national authority on psychology. Her laboratory is well-funded, and as long as Elly volunteers to be a test subject in her laboratory, then even if she can’t recover, she will still receive very good treatment and care. Isn’t this the best outcome for everyone involved?”

Amber’s voice was trembling as she replied, “But do you know what she’ll have to face as a test subject? Her mind’s already so fragile. If the methods that they use aren’t suitable ….”