Читать книгу Not Out of Hate - Ma Ma Lay - Страница 17

4

The morning light was shining bright and clear, and Way Way looked outside as she opened the windows. Growing in the fork of the mango tree at the front of the house, a wax orchid plant fell in a trail of flowers, its blossoms swaying like a line of dancers. It was a beautiful morning. There were pigeons in the mango tree, too, jostling and pecking each other. The mangoes, already close to full size, grew profusely in clusters. Way Way turned back to the room and saw the sunlight streaming in from the windows onto the polished wood of the new furniture and her heart filled with pleasure at the sight.

Before leaving for Rangoon, her brother had asked what he could bring. She had said she wanted some new furniture like the set of low tables and chairs she had seen at the township officer’s house. Way Way and the servant girl Meh Aye had stayed up until midnight the night before, polishing the floors so the place would be ready when her brother arrived early the next morning. Using a mixture of kerosene and paraffin, they had polished and polished until their arms nearly dropped off.

The marble-topped table and accompanying chairs, to be used now as a dining set, were taken into the middle room behind the screen. Way Way had decided to have their meals at a table sitting on chairs because they could be seen from the upstairs of the house next door when they sat eating around the low table on mats on the kitchen floor. She had been very uneasy at mealtimes ever since U Saw Han had moved in. Only now did she feel that she could relax and eat without fear of being observed.

For two full days Daw Thet had sat at the sewing machine to finish the set of poplin curtains exactly like those hanging in the windows of U Saw Han’s house. When Way Way finished polishing the floor, she hung the curtains. She set her alarm clock before turning in for the night, but rose before it went off. Both she and Meh Aye came downstairs. She switched on the light, anxious to see if the floor had been done well enough, and then the two of them lifted the large cane armchair that U Po Thein usually sat in and moved it to the front end of the room. Since it did not look right there, they moved it to a corner. Not satisfied with that either, they moved it back to its original place in front of the screen that separated the middle room from the sitting room. Then, after being moved here and there, the desk and its chair were settled in a corner at the rear of the room. She decided to get rid of the old wooden settle, which she could no longer stand the sight of, and put it outside as soon as it was light enough to open the doors. Way Way then went into the middle room and took a new white table cloth and spread it on the marble-topped table. From now on this is where they would have breakfast. She placed cups and saucers around the table and stood back to look at the effect.

Then suddenly she heard the boat whistle and ran off to finish making herself presentable. She kept busy with things upstairs and downstairs while the boat docked. When she finally saw the furniture appearing, the tight feeling in her chest disappeared. Her brother had sent the furniture on ahead with coolies and had gone to his own house first. Way Way quickly unwrapped the packing and arranged the furniture around the room exactly as she had planned the night before. In the clear morning light the room appeared quite elegant. She thought, Now it looks sophisticated and Westernized. If only there were a carpet to put under the furniture, it would really have class.

She then asked Meh Aye to go outside and pick the wax orchids from the mango tree, as she wished to place them in a bowl on the coffee table. Way Way looked at the transformed sitting room and thought of U Saw Han. She was satisfied and pleased to think that the next time he came, they could receive him properly with up-to-date furnishings.

U Po Thein came downstairs. Seeing the sitting room changed around, he thought, Young people nowadays want to be so modern and fashionable. After looking around at the freshly cleaned and orderly sitting room, he added to himself, I rather like it this way; I like it very much indeed.

“Daddy, Ko Nay U says he’ll come over later. I’ve made some coffee for you. We’ve turned the marble table into the dining table.” Way Way appeared cheerful and bright. She saw that her father looked rested, and this observation of a change for the better made her happy.

U Po Thein sat at the marble-topped table and was surprised to see there the china that was usually stored away in the cupboard, and a new table cloth, starched and gleaming white. The table was laid with the new tea set as though company were expected. He observed bread, butter, ripe papaya, and bananas, and was a little taken aback at the kinds of food selected. U Po Thein was used to having his breakfast in his armchair, his legs tucked under him and his coffee-cup and plate of food perched on the long wooden arms. He was unaccustomed to sitting formally at a table and felt rather intimidated by the white table cloth and new cups. He never ate papayas or bananas so early in the day, only after a meal of rice and curry. All this was new to him. My daughter is acting strangely, he thought. “Daughter, if we use the new plates every day, won’t they get old-looking soon?”

“If people saw us use the old plates and cups from the kitchen on this table, it would never do,” she replied as she fixed his coffee. U Po Thein mused over the words “if people saw us” and “it would never do” as he ate his meal.

Way Way sat down at the table facing her father. Turning her cup right side up, she poured herself some coffee and looking up at him said, “How did you sleep last night, Daddy?” Her father regarded her steadily, and she began to feel a little uncomfortable about putting on these airs about sitting at a table.

“I slept quite well, didn’t cough once all night. I coughed once or twice when I woke up in the morning, but there wasn’t any blood.”

“Then you are going to be all right!” she cried with relief. “I asked Aunt Thet to buy some cucumber melons from the bazaar. They say that eating cucumber melon with sugar cures you, so you’ll be sure to have some, won’t you, Dad?”

U Po Thein nodded in agreement. “I really don’t think it is tuberculosis,” he said as he smiled and shook his head.

“It’s just something caused by fear. If you worry about having a certain disease, you get the symptoms. What you had is just a little excess blood, like a nose bleed. They say that something like this happened to Uncle Po Myaing and he’s all right now. Never had it again. Don’t think about it or dwell on it, Daddy.” Way Way talked a lot to cover up her uneasiness. She felt awkward in front of her father because of all the changes she had made, and could not relax and eat normally.

Her face fell as she heard her name called out—“Way Way!”—from the front of the house. There was a sound of footsteps striding in and then her brother appeared, exclaiming loudly, “My, my, aren’t we stylish!” Wide-eyed, he took in the dining table and continued, “It’s a white man’s house!” and began laughing. His laughter sounded strained, as if he did not really find it funny but was ridiculing her.

Way Way was hurt and her face looked pained. Glancing sideways at him, she said with a pout, “Oh you would say something like that!”

In appearance Ko Nay U was light-skinned and built quite short and stout. He had large, prominent eyes which were always ready to smile or laugh, giving him a pleasant-looking face. Because he loved to chew betel, his teeth were stained red and one of his cheeks was always puffed out with a wad of it. His hair was cropped very short, European style. He wore a short-sleeved shirt, a cotton longyi with large checks, and a big belt around his waist.

“You said ten days, but you were gone much longer,” U Po Thein said. He had to turn his body sideways towards his son because he was sitting up so close against the table.

“Have some coffee,” said Way Way to Ko Nay U as she poured him the cup meant for Daw Thet when she returned from her morning trip to the market.

“I had to have injections for my eyes. Seems I’m supposed to wear glasses, but I don’t want to, so I just brought medicine for them. What’s this I hear about your not feeling well, Dad?”

“Who told you that?” Way Way asked across the table.

“Aunt Thet, of course. She stepped in at our place on her way to the market this morning and told us.” Then to his father he said, “How are you now? It’s really got me worried,” said Ko Nay U as he slid into a chair and sat at the table.

U Po Thein straightened himself around and replied, “We were just talking about it. I’m much better. My pulse is normal. The blood was just something like a nose bleed.”

“If that’s the case, it is really good news. Tuberculosis is a serious illness and even got my in-laws worried. My father-in-law asked me to persuade you to go to Rangoon for treatment.”

“Drink your coffee.” Way Way poured coffee into a cup and pushed it towards him.

Ko Nay U looked under the table and said, “Where’s the spittoon?” Wanting to spit out the betel juice in his mouth, he looked all around but Way Way had banished the unsightly spittoons to the back room and had to run out to get one for her brother.

“Did you write your mother a letter when you sent her the bag of rice?” U Po Thein asked Ko Nay U.

“I sent it registered freight on the train, with a letter attached. She should have received it by now.”

U Po Thein had never ceased to care deeply for his wife but did not want his children to have an inkling of the strong feelings he still held for her. He had developed the habit of talking about her with a guarded self-composure and dignity.

“What else did you buy in Rangoon?” asked Way Way. “The furniture is great.”

Her brother poured his coffee into a saucer to drink, and to prevent the tablecloth from getting stained Way Way quickly placed another saucer in front of him on which to set down his cup. “I like my coffee cooled before I drink it,” he said as he slurped it in one gulp. “I bought the furniture at the Bombay Burma Company because U Haji Ahmed’s furniture was priced too high. Do you like the colors? I don’t care for light-colored wood, so I chose the dark reddish brown, like ripe thabyei. I didn’t buy anything else because I was on the lookout for second-hand books for the library I’m opening. That takes a lot of time.”

Ko Nay U was planning to open a library in the town. Ever since his school days he had been unable to live without reading, and always had his nose in a book. He bought and read every newspaper, magazine, and new novel that came off the press. Since his marriage he had had to give the rice business priority, but his heart was not in it. He had always wanted to go to Rangoon and set up a bookshop for magazines and works of fiction.

Suddenly Way Way heard the sound of U Saw Han’s footsteps and her heart turned over. The newly acquired sitting room furniture was out there to greet him first. Way Way was trying to show him that although they lived in a country town they were not bumpkins and had some taste. Of course, we do not come up to the standards of his house, with its stuffed sofas and wool carpet, but this much in a country place isn’t so bad, she reassured herself. “I think that’s U Saw Han,” she said.

U Po Thein got up from his seat and, taking off the scarf that was wrapped around his neck and leaving it on his chair, went out to the front.

Ko Nay U leaned forward in his seat and said laughingly in a low voice just loud enough for Way Way’s ears, “Master Chicken Shit.”¹⁷ Way Way was worried that her brother might be heard out in front and punched him on the shoulder, telling him silently not to clown. Ko Nay U grinned widely, showing all his teeth, and was soon convulsed in soundless laughter.

“I heard you were not well, Uncle.¹⁸ How are you now?” U Saw Han’s voice was heard to say.

“Oh, I’m much better. I was frightened because of the blood, but was only something like a nose bleed the doctor says, so that must be it.” He then called out to his son, “Maung Ne U …”

Way Way tapped her brother on the shoulder and said, “Go on. Father’s calling you.” Ko Nay U straightened his face and went out front. Way Way followed.

“This is my son. He’s the manager of the Thukadama Rice Mill.”

U Saw Han, dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt and long white pants, put his white pith helmet under the arm of the hand that held a tin of cigarettes, and extended his free hand to shake Ko Nay U’s.

Ko Nay U shook hands pleasantly and said, “Good to meet you,” and pointing to a chair said, “Please sit down.” With a smile, U Saw Han nodded and sat down on one of the brand-new chairs that no one had sat on until then. Ko Nay U then introduced Way Way to him saying, “This is my younger sister.”

U Saw Han stood up from his chair and said, “Yes. I had the pleasure of meeting your sister yesterday. Come, Way Way, do sit down.” Smiling, he sat down again. “Way Way is a real asset to you in your work, isn’t she?” U Saw Han said to U Po Thein. “Yesterday, she let me know that the cargo boats were going to be too slow in arriving, so I telegraphed Rangoon a second time.”

U Po Thein smiled and said, “I’m fortunate indeed to have her. I can take it easy and leave everything to her.” Way Way was a little embarrassed to have them talk about her right in front of her like that, and stared uncomfortably at the vase of flowers.

“What year were you in college?” U Saw Han asked Ko Nay U, who sat slouched in the chair with his legs crossed.

“1935,” he replied.

“I left after my B.A. in ‘33. Which hostel did you live in?” U Saw Han asked again, his face quite relaxed and at ease.

“Tagaung Hall,” answered Ko Nay U.

“You weren’t there for the student strikes, then.”

“I didn’t go back to college when the strikes were over. I got married and left school.”

U Saw Han looked across at Way Way and said, “Don’t you want to go to college, Way Way?”

Since U Saw Han’s manner when he talked to Way Way was as to a child, she shook her head like a child and said, “No, I don’t want to anymore,” and smiled.

U Saw Han looked down at his wrist watch and said, “I must be getting along to the office. I have an eight o’clock meeting with some brokers who must now be waiting for me.” As he stood up he began to speak. “Well …” U Saw Han seemed to be considering something, then said to Ko Nay U, “Why don’t you come to my place for dinner this evening. You too, Uncle, and Way Way. I invite you all. Please come.”

Ko Nay U smilingly replied, “Oh no, let it not be said that we have eaten a meal offered by the guest before we have invited him.”

“‘Guest,’ ‘host’—let us not think in such terms. I invited you first. You don’t have any previous engagements, do you?”

U Po Thein was reluctant to accept, but found it even more indelicate to argue about an invitation. Way Way, looking bashful with downcast eyes murmured, “Oh, please don’t trouble …”

“No need to feel shy. Please come. I’ll have everything arranged.” U Saw Han looked into each of their faces in turn while he spoke and then said to U Po Thein, “Well, I’ll be on my way.” Turning toward Ko Nay U and Way Way, he tossed out a “Cheerio!” in English and left.

Way Way spent the rest of the day feeling very uneasy about the fact that it would not appear proper for a young girl to eat a meal in an unmarried man’s house. She was afraid of what people would say.

“Oh for crying out loud, girl, your father and brother will be with you, and you cannot refuse an invitation to a meal by a respected person like that! It would be very rude,” said Daw Thet.

Even though Daw Thet was persuasive, Way Way was fearful and undecided all day long. As evening approached she became quite agitated. She could see the large dining table next door from her upstairs window, and became worried all over again as to how to use the knives and forks set near each plate. She was thoroughly intimidated by the sight of things she had never seen before. She had occasionally eaten a chicken pilaf with a spoon and fork at a danbauk shop in Rangoon, but never had she seen such an array of cutlery as on U Saw Han’s table. She was so frightened that she could hardly look it. She wondered what the two spoons lying alongside each other at the head of each plate were used for. She also noticed freshly-cut tiger lilies arranged at the center of the table.

Since she began her bath only at sundown, she had to finish getting ready by lamplight. She wore a thin muslin blouse and yellow Mandalay silk tamein¹⁹ in a traditional royal pattern. At Daw Thet’s insistence she took off the plain gold chain and put on a diamond necklace, but she adamantly refused to wear the diamond solitaire earrings because she thought they made her look too old. She moved the diamond bracelet from her left hand to her right and wore a wristwatch in its place. When she was completely dressed, Way Way looked at herself in the full-length mirror on the wardrobe door and began to wind a string of fresh jasmine around the chignon at the back of her head. Daw Thet hovered about, lovingly and proudly commenting, “Rub off the sandalwood paste above your ears,” and “There’s no powder on the nape of your neck.” It took a long time for Way Way to finish dressing, due to the fussy ministrations of her aunt.

U Po Thein wore a pink gaung-baung, the end of which hung down to touch his shoulder. He wore a Mandalay silk jacket that buttoned across his chest, and a brand new reddish copper-colored Bangkok silk longyi. While waiting downstairs for Ko Nay U to arrive, he called up, “Way Way, aren’t you ready yet?”

Way Way put some cologne in her handkerchief, clenched it in her hand, looked one last time in the mirror, and said, “Coming, Daddy,” and then came running down the stairs.

Although she had told her brother that morning to come suitably dressed, she worried that he would not. He turned up only at seven o’clock. He was dressed in a jacket made of pinni, a kind of homespun, a black Bangkok-style silk longyi, and leather thonged sandals.²⁰ Way Way wondered critically why he had not worn Western shoes.

“Well, let’s go,” U Po Thein said as he led the way. Way Way and Ko Nay U followed him side by side. When they got to the front of the house next door, Way Way saw a heavy curtain hanging over the doorway to assure privacy from the main street. In front of it stood an Indian watchman, resplendent in a white turban and a long white knee-length coat with brass buttons all the way down. He looked very impressive. When U Po Thein’s party entered the compound, the doorman stood up straight, his feet together, gave them a salaam, and drew the curtain aside.

The room inside was lit with a diffused greenish blue glow. U Saw Han, dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt and long black serge pants, arose from the sofa and came forward to greet them. “Please,” he said, turning first to U Po Thein, “Don’t take off your shoes, keep them on. Don’t take yours off, Way Way.”²¹ U Po Thein had taken off his velvet sandals, but out of deference to U Saw Han’s requests he put them on again even though he felt uncomfortable doing so. U Saw Han wouldn’t let the others take off their sandals either.

Way Way and Ko Nay U sat down on the sofa. Since the sofa and the two matching stuffed chairs were placed around the edges of the large carpet, the people sat quite apart from each other. Way Way was gazing at the porcelain vase that held an arrangement of New Zealand Creeper. Ko Nay U started the conversation by asking U Saw Han, “Well, what do you think of my house?”

“Oh I like it, but since the roof is made of zinc it gets very hot upstairs in the afternoons, so I usually have to rest downstairs at that time.”