Fate by Ian Hamilton

Author:Ian Hamilton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: House of Anansi Press Inc
Published: 2018-12-13T21:03:29+00:00

( 15 )

Attendance at the wake began to thin by late afternoon, and the people who came to pay their respects seemed to be mainly friends of Mrs. Gao and Chi, so there was less of a need to keep order. Chow knew he could have left Hop Sing at four and not been missed, but a combination of wanting to fulfill his commitment and not knowing what he would do until six o’clock kept him on duty.

A few minutes after five, he re-entered the Iris Room. Chi was standing at the foot of the coffin with his arms wrapped around his mother. Chow hadn’t looked closely at the dead man when he’d been there earlier. Now he did and saw Gao dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and black tie. His face was pale and waxy, except for his lips, which were an unnatural bright red. Chow didn’t understand why morticians thought red lips were necessary. Gao’s body was covered with photos, flowers, money, and a few personal items.

“We’re about to close the coffin,” Chi said.

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No.”

Mrs. Hop was in the room and approached the coffin with an assistant. “Is it time?” she asked.

Chi nodded.

Mrs. Gao pried herself free from her son, went to the coffin, and gripped the side with both hands. She bent over and kissed her husband on the lips, then ran her hand over his forehead and hair. Her body convulsed as she began to sob. Chi put his arms around her again and gently pulled her back. The coffin was closed.

“Thanks for everything you did today,” Chi said to Chow.

“It was my honour.”

“Will you join us for the wake dinner? We’ve been eating nothing but jai, rice, and fruit for the past three days. Tonight we’re having roast pig, chicken, and duck.”

“I appreciate the invitation, but I have a business dinner to attend.”

“But we will see you tomorrow?”

“I’ll be here by eleven,” Chow said, and then turned to go.

Chi stopped him. “You haven’t received your envelope,” he said, pressing it into Chow’s hand.

Chow waited until he had left the room to open it. It contained a white handkerchief to wipe his tears, a piece of candy to remove the bitter taste of death, a Hong Kong ten-dollar note to bring him luck, and a string of red thread that symbolized good fortune. He put the candy in his mouth and the handkerchief and money in his pocket, then tied the string around his wrist. He stood quietly for a moment, taking deep breaths as he tried to gather himself. When he felt under control, he went outside.

Fong and Xu were waiting for him in the courtyard.

“Want to grab some dinner?” Xu asked.

“I’ve love to, but I promised Tian I’d see him at six.”

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. All he said was that he needs to talk to me.”

“If you finish early, call me.”

“I will,” Chow said, and then looked at his two friends. “I owe both of you an apology for dragging you into this Ren election business.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.