The rattle paused. Mei’s face was smeared. I came to realize how weak and how sentimental I was.
“Of course, she is. She helped the family with our father’s gambling debts. Now she needs our help for another gambler. What does she own? Who? We all own her. She’s got to be fi ne.”
“Yes, just give her what she asks, I think she’ll be fi ne.” Long remarked, airily with scarce warmth.
“Hmm...” I hung up the phone, feeling that even breathing was diffi cult for me.
When the night was sharpening, during a group dinner with some old friends of mine, an unexpected call from father rang like a fi re alarm. Once I picked it up, interminably, he just shouted down the phone at me.