Chapter 4 — Forty-two Days of Confinement

"I told her not to force you to go to the hospital anymore. Continue to hire someone to take care of the patient. If you feel that person is not good, change someone else." I looked at him. "You agree?" "She cried for a while, but finally spoke." I didn't say anything. He raised his head to look at me. "But you have one condition." I waited for him to continue. "She said... take me to the hospital to visit your father once this weekend. Just once. You don't need to do anything, just take me to let dad see my grandson." I leaned back in the chair, thinking for a moment. "What else did you say?" "She said I've thought it through, you didn't do it right when you said it before." I stared into his eyes. "Did you say this yourself, or did I teach you to say it?" He did not avoid it. "It was I who told you: if mom continues to make a fuss like that, Van Van will really divorce." Those words fell into the quiet living room. The baby in the crib turned over, letting out a soft moan. "You asked me, will Van Van really divorce?" He stopped. "You said you didn't know. But he knew that she had a debt in her heart, that debt was his family's debt her, not that she owes her house." I looked at him. This was the first time in the past twelve days, he was on my side. "So what now?" I asked. He took out a piece of paper from his jacket pocket, folded it into thirds, placed it on the tea table and pushed it towards me. "Today I wrote right in front of my mother at the hospital. She signed her name." I raised my hand to pick up the paper. I opened it. Above was Tran Huc's crooked handwriting: "One, from now on, regarding Lam Van's confinement and child rearing, the Tran family will cooperate fully and will not shirk responsibility. Second, Lam Van has no obligation to take care of the elderly; If a caregiver is needed, the child and caregiver will be in charge. Dad, in the past, during Lam Van's stay, the Tran family did not fulfill their responsibilities, now we officially apologize to Lam Van and her mother." Below are signed three names. Tran Huc. Mother-in-law. Father-in-law - the handwriting is crooked, probably signed on the hospital bed. I held the paper and looked at it for a long time. Then, I heard movement outside the door. Someone was ringing the bell. Tran Huc frowned, stood up and opened it. door. The door opens. Standing outside the door was her mother-in-law. She wore an old cotton shirt and carried a thermos. Her hair was much grayer than the last time I had seen her. She looked at me. I looked at her. Her lips moved. "Van Van." This was the first time she called me that. "Mom..." Her eyes turned red. "I came to apologize to you." She raised the thermos in her hand. "I stewed pork leg soup all afternoon. I know when you were in quarantine, I never cooked you a meal." I stood in the middle of the living room, not moving. She didn't go in, just stood there The cotton shirt was still cold from the air outside. "Van Van, what happened before was something I didn't do right. At that time I only thought you were young and could handle it. Since your mother was here, someone would take care of you. I didn't think that much." Her voice trembled a bit. "After that you refused to go to the hospital, I was upset. I saw that you didn't understand, saw that you were strong. But today..." She took a look at Tran Huc. "Ah Huc told me a lot. He told me about the night I had a fever while I was in confinement. He said my mother was fifty-three years old, holding her child. The child waited four hours in the emergency room hallway." She used the back of her hand to wipe her eyes. "He never told me those things before. I don't know..." "I don't know because I never asked." I said. She nodded. "Yes. It's mom's fault." I looked at the thermos in her hand. "Put the soup on the tea table. It's very cold standing outside the door." She raised her head to look at me, as if wanting to confirm whether I really let her in or not. I leaned to the side. She changed her slippers and walked in, gently placing the thermos on the tea table. Then she standing next to the crib, looking at the sleeping baby, the corner of his mouth moved slightly. "Much older. Last time I only saw a full month photo of him." I didn't answer. She turned back to face me. "Van Van, the words on that paper that I signed were not just for show. I will be able to do it later. If you don't believe it..." "Mom." I interrupted her. This was the first time in twelve days that I called her "mother". She was stunned. "You accept that paper. Whether you can do it or not, you will know later. But today's step..." I stopped. "I noticed." She nodded head, nodding vigorously several times. Tran Huc stood next to him and breathed a long sigh. I went to open the thermos. Pork leg soup. The soup is stewed very thickly, with a layer of goji berries floating on top. I took three bowls, scooped three bowls. One bowl for grandma, one bowl for Tran Huc, one bowl for me. The three of us sat in the living room, no one said anything. Just drink soup. The baby in the crib turns over. The next day is Saturday. Early in the morning, Tran Huc finished getting ready and stood outside the door waiting for me. "Can you come to the hospital to visit your father today? Just take me. Just come and sit for a while." I prepared a bag to go out for the baby, formula, diapers, a change of clothes, a small blanket. Then I put on the bag and carried the baby out of the house. When we arrived at the hospital, my father-in-law was leaning on the bed watching TV. Seeing us enter, he took the remote to turn off the TV, his expression a bit complicated. "Already here."