Chapter 8 — Realizing It's Too Late

"I've done my research. Divorce has a thirty-day conciliation period. During those thirty days, anything can change." He pulled out a chair and scooped up a bowl of soup: "I changed the door lock, and also told Man Thanh that you're not allowed to come in from now on. You don't want to see her, I'll make sure she won't appear in front of you again." I looked at the key he placed in front of me and hesitated for a moment. Ha Canh Chau is always arrogant. Telling him to leave the house he bought with his own hands is more difficult than asking him to apologize. If all of this had happened before the celebration of life, maybe I would have believed that we still had the ability to heal. The door lock rang with the sound of entering a code. Sam Man Thanh pushed the door open and walked in, holding a few of Ha Canh Chau's shirts in his hand. "Why did the password change? Canh Chau, I left your clothes at your place last night, I brought them back." Ha Canh Chau stood up: "Who sent you here?" "Auntie gave me a new password. She told me to advise my sister-in-law not to divorce, and also told me to tell you that the investigation team has asked you to temporarily stop welcoming foreign guests. Right now you can't just ignore the company." She placed the shirts on the sofa. A dark blue shirt slid down from the bottom. On the cuff of the shirt is embroidered with the letter Q. Not Ha Canh Chau's size. “Whose is this?” Sam Man Thanh bent down to pick it up: "It's Hua Nghien's. Maybe it was mixed in." Ha Canh Chau stared at the cuff: "Hua Nghien has never worn this brand." Her hand stopped. I pulled up my suitcase: "You two just talk slowly." Ha Canh Chau chased her to the door: "Thu Y, I don't know why these clothes are at her place. Sometimes when I receive guests late, I go to the guest room to change, but I never touch her." “I believe.” He was stunned. "You leave without me having to have an affair. The fact that I choose her over and over again is enough." The elevator door opened, I pulled my luggage in. He used his hand to block the door: "Where will you stay? At least let me know you're safe." “There are rotating dormitories in the unit.” “I'll take you away.” "No need." “So can you call me once a day?” "Cannot." The elevator door clamped onto the back of his hand, but he still refused to withdraw. I held the door open button, looking at the red mark on his hand. “Ha Canh Chau, let go.” He finally backed away. Before the door closed, I saw him still standing in place. Sam Man Thanh grabbed his arm from behind. He pushed her away, for the first time not turning back to catch her. At eleven o'clock that evening, Ha Canh Chau sat in the empty bedroom and opened the wardrobe. On my side there were only a few empty hooks left. He called my phone number, listened to the shutdown message, then called again. On the bedside table is a work schedule that he has never looked at. Almost every month there are a few days that I circle and write the words "work" next to it. He always thought I was going to the factory to sell goods. On the last page is a divorce registration appointment paper. The appointment date is three days before the celebration of life party. 7 “Why is the appointment date before the birthday party?” Three days later, Ha Canh Chau stopped me in front of the Civil Affairs Department and gave me that paper. I put the pen back in my pocket: "After the evening at the restaurant, I made an appointment for a consultation." “So that means no matter what happened at the party that day, you were prepared to leave?” “You gave me a chance.” “What time?” "I promised to get my watch back, promised to let you stand by my side, and promised to come home and talk. Every time I waited." He tightened his grip on the appointment paper: "But you also hid it from me. You know that Man Thanh understands Russian, know that she is lying, why didn't you tell me sooner?" “I told her to understand, do you believe it?” Ha Canh Chau did not answer.