“I don’t know. My cousin doesn’t even know. Some limited liability company in China, obviously as a cover.”
“Mainlanders. Of course,” Astrid said softly.
“Kan ni na bu chao chee bye!”*6 Michael shouted, kicking the wooden banister in frustration.
“Michael!” Astrid exclaimed in shock.
“What?” Michael looked at her defiantly. “This is all your damn fault! I can’t believe you would waste my time like this!”
Carmen huffed. “Why are you blaming your wife? If there’s anyone you should be blaming, it’s me.”
“You’re both to blame. Astrid, do you have any idea how busy I was today? You shouldn’t have demanded I drop everything to come see this godforsaken house if it wasn’t really available. Carmen, how the hell did you ever get your real estate license when you can’t even do a simple deal like this? Fucking unbelievable!” Michael swore, before storming out of the house.
Astrid sank down onto the top step of the staircase and buried her head in her hands for a moment. “I am so, so sorry.”
“Astrid, please, you have nothing to apologize for. I’m sorry.”
“Is the banister okay?” Astrid asked, gently patting the scuff mark that Michael’s foot had left.
“The banister will be fine. I’m a little more worried about you, to tell the truth.”
“I’m perfectly fine. I think this is a beautiful house, but to be honest, I couldn’t have cared less if we lived here or not.”
“I’m not talking about that. I’m just…” Carmen paused for a moment, pondering whether to open a Pandora’s box. “I’m just wondering what happened to you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Okay, I’m going to be very frank with you because we’re such old friends: I can’t believe the way Michael talks to you, and how you let him get away with it.”
“Tsk, that was nothing. Michael just got angry for a moment because he got outbid. He’s used to getting what he wants.”
“You don’t say. But I’m not referring to the fit he threw before he stormed out. I didn’t like the way he was talking to you from the moment he arrived.”
“How do you mean?”
“You really don’t see it, do you? You don’t see how much he’s changed?” Carmen sighed in frustration. “When I first met Michael six years ago, he seemed like such a gentle soul. Okay, he didn’t say very much, but I saw the way he looked at you, and I thought, ‘Wow, this guy truly worships her. This is the kind of guy I want.’ I was so used to all these spoiled mama’s boys who expected to be waited on hand and foot, like my ex, but here was this man. This strong, reserved man who was always doing thoughtful little things for you. Do you remember the day we were shopping at Patric’s atelier, and Michael ran all around Chinatown for an hour trying to hunt down kueh tutu*7 just because you mentioned that your nanny used to take you there to buy it from the kueh tutu man who sold it out of those old metal carts?”
“He still does nice little things for me—” Astrid began.
“That’s not the point. The man who came to look at this house today was a completely different person than the one I first met.”
“Well, he’s gained much more confidence. I mean, he’s made such a huge success of his business. It’s bound to change anyone.”
“Clearly. But has he changed for better or worse? When Michael first got here, he gave me
a kiss on the cheek. That was the first thing that surprised me—it was so Continental, so unlike the chin chye*8 guy I know. And then to top it off he pays me a compliment. But then you’re standing there right next to me in the prettiest Dries Van Noten floral dress I’ve ever seen and he doesn’t even say a thing to you.”
“Come on, I don’t expect him to gush over me every time we see each other. We’ve been married for so many years now.”
“My father gives a million compliments to my mother all day long, and they’ve been married over forty years. But aside from that, it was his whole manner to you the entire time he was here that got to me. His body language. His little asides. There was this undercurrent of…of…contempt to everything.”
Astrid tried to laugh off her comment.
“This is no joke. The fact that you don’t even see it is what’s alarming. It’s like you’ve got Stockholm syndrome or something. What happened to “The Goddess”? The Astrid I know would never have put up with this.”
Astrid remained silent for a few moments, and then she looked up at her friend. “I do see it, Carmen. I see it all.”
“Then why are you letting it happen? Because take it from me, this is a slippery slope you’re on. First it’s just a few digs here and there, but then one morning you wake up and realize that every conversation you have with your husband is a shouting match.”