“What about you, Miss Tina? What about those men who stopped by your office last week? I couldn’t help but hear,” she said quickly, “but it seems you were in a romantic relationship with them?”
I paused for a moment.
“Yes, I was. In fact, they’re the fathers of my baby,” I said softly, wistfully.
“Fathers!” exclaimed Annelise. “All three?”
I nodded, not saying any more. The situation was too complicated, and I was still heartsore after the encounter, staying up nights, unable to sleep, replaying the conversation again and again in my head. Had I done the right thing? Had driving Karl, Kristian and Kato away been the right thing to do? Maybe I’d been overly harsh. Maybe I was too much the alpha female and should have taken a gentler approach. Maybe I should have waited until the babies were born before turning them away at least. Then again, maybe I’d done everything right.
But Annelise was impressed.
“You were wonderful,” she said with a big smile. “I couldn’t help but overhear, but you were the boss!”
I smiled sadly then.
“Yeah, I was, wasn’t I?” I said softly. “I wore the pants that day, didn’t I? Maybe I should have been nicer. I don’t know,” I said, sighing. “It’s too late now.”
Annelise was silent for a moment.
“I know what you mean,” she said slowly. “I know what you mean about being the boss because like we talked about, I’m running the family business now, I’m not letting my husband hold the reins anymore. I’m the daughter of a rice farmer, the granddaughter, the great-granddaughter of rice farmers. Rice is in my blood, and I know how to plow, how to harvest, how to market rice better than anybody else, including my husband.”
“But Miss Tina, it’s more complicated than that. Because I’m in charge now, but my husband and I, we’re still a partnership, don’t you see? For our family to succeed, personally and professionally, I need him. I can’t just send Mr. Peuh away. My husband is still my everything, even if I’m CEO. So be kind to your men, let them into your heart,” she said.
I smiled wryly.
“Oh Kristian, Karl and Kato are in my heart, there’s no doubt about that,” I said. “If you knew how many sleepless nights I’ve had since they showed up, how much I’ve thought about what happened.”
“But that’s it,” Annelise replied slowly. “You didn’t do anything wrong, it’s just what they asked for wasn’t totally wrong either. They asked for time, and that’s not so crazy. You think my husband was okay with me being the boss immediately? Heck no! Mr. Peuh, he sulked and skulked around the house for weeks, even months, after I told him I was taking over the business. It was a change, and I had to give him time to come around. Isn’t it the same for your men?”
I thought for a moment.
“But I was pregnant and alone,” I said softly. “That’s no way to leave your woman.”
“Did they know you were pregnant when they left?” asked Annelise.
“Well no,” I frowned. “But they should have known because, we were, ah… how do you say it?” I blushed.
“You were making love every day,” finished Annelise, smiling mischievously. “Twice a day. Trust me, Mr. Peuh and I have seven children, Cambodians believe a big family is a prosperous one.”
And I gasped again. Annelise was so small, so thin, not to mention young, and she was the mother of seven children? Again, the Cambodian woman was full of surprises, and I looked at her with renewed respect.
“Well, what would you do in my case then?” I asked. “I was so harsh with them when they came by last time, telling them to scram, how I never wanted to see them again. What should I do? Beg for their forgiveness? Crawl on my hands and knees?”
And here Annelise laughed.
“I don’t think you need to be so dramatic,” she said mirthfully. “I was outside waiting when they came out, remember? And the men, when they came out … those aren’t men who hate you, Miss Tina, those are men who love you. They looked terrible, sad and upset, but you can’t beat down a good man who has his heart set on something.”
And I perked up, feeling hope blossom in my chest.
“Do you think so? Do you really think so?” I asked tentatively. “After seeing me scream at them, do you think I still have a chance?”
“I know so,” replied Annelise firmly. “And I have one other piece of advice. Mr. Peuh and I, after we fight, after we struggle over something, we always get into the bed and make love. It works like magic, the anger dissipates, and oh! He feels so good in me. How else do you think we have seven children?” she said mischievously.
I blushed then, my core growing warm as I rubbed my stomach gently, a little kick fluttering against my palm.
“Well, we’ll see,” I said, blushing. “They haven’t seen my new body yet.”
“Why not try it?” asked Annelise, “Go to them, you have nothing to lose.”