Chapter Twelve

It was not an auspicious start for our long-awaited vacation. Suet-foong suddenly got an attack of migraine, compelling us to stay at the house for the first couple of days. But being a happy-go-lucky couple, we took her ailment in our stride and could even afford to make a joke out of it.

"Hey, Suet-foong, I thought your headaches only occur during the warm season."

"They went rogue."

"You should see a doctor."

"Aw, give me a break! It'll make my migraine worse when I get the bill."

Every cloud has a silver lining and we found one in Ah Lan. Twenty-nine years old, soft-spoken, and illiterate, she was Ducky's sister-in-law. After her husband died of illness, Ducky came to her aid, providing her with board and lodging. In return, she had to stay beholden to him, becoming his unpaid servant, so to speak. Life was not a bed of roses for our housekeeper who was orphaned since childhood, but she remained optimistic, treating everyone she met with care and kindness, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for her. Thus, when she saw that Suet-foong was unwell, she went out of her way to look for herbs in the woods. Then, from the selected herbs, she brewed a concoction for my wife to drink to ease the pain. Always cheerful and energetic, she was genuinely happy to wait on us; perhaps our leniency toward her had something to do with her chirpy demeanor. We felt so blessed to having her around.

By the third day, Suet-foong was up and about again. The herbs seemed to have nursed her back to health. Or was it the beauty and magic of the snowfall which began this morning that swept away her illness? Maybe I was wrong, but I always felt there was an affinity between her and the snow; she was named Snow Phoenix for a reason, you know.

After donning our jackets and gloves, we came out of the house and watched the little, soft flakes floating down like feathers from the sky, enwrapping the woods in white; it was a picturesque vista of a winter wonderland. Our emotions of joy and awe ran high the next moment. Snow Phoenix ran to the middle of the white field and got me in the face with a snowball.

"Why, you little bitch!" I screamed in mock anger. "This is war!"

"You're bound to lose!" she retorted with a giggle, playfully bombarding me with more snowballs. This time I got hit in the ears, eyes, mouth, and even my groin. Oh my God, her attack was like greased lightning; I was splattered with a mass of cold, powdery snow even before I could make my first snowball. I may be a terrific liquidator, but when it comes to a snowball fight I am a sure goner.

At this juncture the wise man always says, "When defeat is imminent, there is only one thing to do: run like hell!" Okay, okay, I made that up. Even a dumdum has wisdom, agree? And so there I was, scurrying for cover with her chasing after me like a bloodhound. The snow was now knee-deep and it crunched under our feet as we raced across the field. Our breaths were hanging in the air. Our noses tingled from the cold. We laughed. We yelled. We went wild. You can bet your last dollar we were delighted beyond measure. It is moments like this that we forget we are adults and let the kid inside us rule our lives once more!

Fifteen minutes later, the assault from my soul mate stopped. No, she did not run out of ammunition. It was more like she had run out of gas! Her timing was perfect; I was exhausted too. We slumped to the snowy ground, closed our eyes, and felt ourselves being hit with ice crystals.

After a short rest, I sat up and looked at Suet-foong who was still on all fours. "Hey, Sugarplum, what can possibly top the good time we've had today?" I asked her.

"Explore the Forbidden City and climb the Great Wall," she enthused.

"Yes, yes, yes!" I agreed whole-heartedly. "They will be in our itinerary tomorrow!"

"And what are we going to do in the meantime? We still have half a day left."

When I did not reply, she finally opened her eyes and was shocked to see me standing on top of her. I was grinning like the devil. In my hands were snowballs, lots of snowballs. From where she was lying, she knew she could not escape me. As my snowballs rained on her, she shrieked like a wrung hen.

"Vengeance is mine!" I cried, looking at the sky in triumph.

My momentary lapse of concentration on her was going to cost me dearly.

Seeing her chance, she tripped me. Like a thunderbolt I fell. Quickly she got up and recommenced her assault; we were back to square one.

"You were saying?" she scoffed.

Damn! I should have quit while I was ahead!

By the time we were done with the snowball fight, it had stopped snowing. The sky was the bluest of blue and the frosty land glistened under the sun. We next challenged each other to make the biggest snowman in the shortest time. Needless to say, I won this game hands down. However, I did not flatter myself, for I suspected she lost on purpose so that I had one saving grace. Yeah, my brown-eyed lady was absolutely a good sport!

Then disaster struck.

Suet-foong yelped in pain, clutching the back of her legs, and collapsed in a heap. I nearly jumped out of my skin. Rushing over to her side and wiping the snow from her pale face, I frantically called out her name. Panic-stricken, I did not know what else to do. To my big relief, she woke up before letting out a muffled groan.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" I asked, my body quivering like a tuning fork.

"I ... I don't know," she replied slowly, obviously still in a disorientated state. "All of a sudden I felt a sharp pain on my legs. Everything went blank following that." 

"Are you all right now?"

"Yeah, yeah, the pain's gone, but my legs feel like jelly at the moment," she replied, looking annoyed. "I can't understand it. I'd never felt this way before."

"I think it is just a bad case of leg cramps," I comforted her, and the same time comforted myself too. I refused to believe that it could be anything worse than that. "We've been out in the cold the whole morning."

"Yeah, yeah, that must be it," she nodded.

"Let's get back to the house," I said as I helped her to her feet. She appeared to have pulled herself together. "I'll carry you."

"I can walk," she objected, limping away.

"No, you can't," I protested, scooping her in my arms.

"My, my, a knight in shining armor!" she smiled. "Think you can take the weight? You might be carrying two persons, you know."

"Huh?" I blinked. "What do you mean 'two persons'?"

"Did it ever occur to you that I might be having a baby?"

I nearly dropped her.

"Aha! Shocked you, didn't I?" she said.

"Yeah, but don't get me wrong. My shock is not of horror; it's more like profound happiness," I clarified.

"I know," she chuckled.

"So, are you really having a baby?"

"No, but we can make one tonight if you like."

She was back to her mischievous self as usual.