Chapter 4 Part II

Sakunthara sat looking at herself in the mirror. She used a brush to carefully comb her hair from the roots to the ends in a gentle manner. The face of that young man was still impressed on her mind, along with the question of how exactly he was related to Madam Warakun.

After she finished preparing everything for making desserts the next day, she went upstairs and prepared to go to bed. This was the extent of her daily routine. Her home and the Thai dessert shop were in the same building. On the days that she did not have to set up booths at events or do catering, she barely took a step out of the shop to go anywhere.

Throughout her twenty-seven years, she had lived only within these narrow, familiar confines. It was only during her university studies and training that she had to live briefly away from home. Mrs. Tipsakun had never seen her daughter have a boyfriend or show special interest in anyone, even though there were many men of varying professions who came and went, seemingly expressing their interest in her.

Usually, Sakunthara was a person who spoke little and was good at concealing her emotions. Others would see her speaking sometimes when customers came to the shop and she wanted to explain things to make a sale. As for idle chatter or discussions about other people’s private matters, she would merely listen and smile slightly to show her acknowledgment.

After losing her father, the young woman had never made any vulnerability evident to her mother. She tried to make herself strong to be a pillar of strength for her mother to hold on to, and she had succeeded. That was despite the fact that when her father had fallen ill and passed away, she had still been at university, the family finances were rather unstable, and her mother had extensive debts from borrowing money to care for the head of the family.

Mrs. Tipsakun stood watching her daughter in a sympathetic manner. She thought back to when many years ago, out of the blue, Sakunthara’s father, the main breadwinner of the family, had fallen ill, even though he had always been in good health. She had had to use all of her savings to take her husband for thorough treatment. Eventually, the savings had decreased. They had started to miss payments on their home and this building, which were their only possessions. After a year, the interest on the payments had increased, surpassing the principal. A summons arrived informing them that the bank would be foreclosing on the building.

She had been at a complete loss, with no way out. She hadn’t known whom to turn to. Her husband had been very ill and had required funds for treatment. Her only daughter had been of university age and also in need of funds. At the same time, the place where they lived and the business, their only source of income, were about to be seized.

Yet, it seemed her family still had some good karma. Madam Warakun had stepped in and helped them out on that dark day. The madam had paid off all their debts, including those on their home, which was this four-story building that consisted of a two-room shophouse. She had also advanced payment on a portion of the hospital expenses. Overall, the sum was about ten million. Shortly after that, however, Mrs. Tipsakun’s husband, her companion through numerous hardships, passed away, leaving all the burdens on their only daughter, who had just graduated.

Sakunthara returned to start improving and reviving the shop. The profits from the dessert shop and its popularity steadily increased. She gradually paid off the money owed to Madam Warakun. Even though the madam did not charge any interest, ten million was too large of an amount to pay off in only a few years.

The debt of gratitude she owed to Madam Warakun in her time of need and her being a kind-hearted creditor made it so Mrs. Tipsakun could not refuse her request once it was uttered. It was why it was such a dilemma. Her love for her child was great, but their debt of gratitude was also great. It was the reason she had agreed to cooperate with Madam Warakun.

Madam Warakun wanted Sakunthara to have a wedding ceremony with her son. Her reason was that she wanted to pay Sakunthara the highest respect and protect her reputation as much as possible. In this neighborhood in Nonthaburi, where everyone knew everyone else, becoming pregnant without first holding a wedding ceremony would give rise to various rumors. It made it impossible for Mrs. Tipsakun to contest the plan.

All of these reasons were why she had to stand there with a heavy heart. After all, it was her daughter who had shouldered all of the burdens after her father passed away, and now, she would have to sacrifice her happiness and the freedom that was due to her in order to repay this debt of gratitude once more.

Mrs. Tipsakun lowered herself down to sit on her daughter’s bed. Her eyes looked at the person sitting at the dressing table with care and concern, with a mother’s love… There wasn’t any mother who wanted to force her daughter to drown in a pit of despair. Madam Warakun had firmly promised, however, that she adored Sakunthara as if she were her own daughter, and she genuinely wanted her to be her daughter-in-law. That made Mrs. Tipsakun’s anxiety dissipate and reduced some of her worries.

“Thara,” Mrs. Tipsakun said her daughter’s name softly.

Sakunthara turned back to look at her mother. “Yes, Mom?”

Mrs. Tipsakun patted the bed to indicate to her daughter that she should come over and sit next to her. Sakunthara gave her mother a smile, stood up from the dressing table, and walked over to her. She lowered herself into a sitting position and leaned over to hug her mother. Then, she lay down and placed her head on her mother’s lap as she stretched her legs out on the bed.

As it was only the two of them left, their bond had strengthened and become even closer. Sakunthara liked to lay down with her head in her mother’s lap to seek comfort when she was tired and in low spirits. Her mother’s gaze and her gentle touch on her hair gave her immense moral support; it was like a divine tonic. They helped to motivate her to stand up and fight against all the different obstacles once more.

Mrs. Tipsakun gazed down on her daughter without moving. She lifted her hand and gently stroked her daughter’s hair, as she had done every other time. No words passed her lips, but her eyes held clear signs of worry.

Sakunthara allowed some time to pass. Seeing as how her mother still remained quiet, she decided to say something. She could make a guess at what her mother’s behavior meant, and she could also guess that whatever was weighing on her mother’s mind was very likely to involve her.

“Is there something you needed from me, Mom?”

“I apologize for putting you through hardship, child,” Mrs. Tipsakun said quietly. Her voice quivered to the point where the person listening could detect it.

“What are you talking about, Mom? Just be direct with me,” the young woman said, surprised. She herself had forgotten what Madam Warakun had said. A month had passed in which no one had brought up the issue again.

“Do you remember what you promised Aunt Warakun, dear?” Mrs. Tipsakun asked her daughter softly.

“Yes,” the young woman answered, her voice low. This time, her eyes held clear signs of anxiety and tension. However, that look in her eyes disappeared after only a few seconds. She didn’t want to make her mother feel even more worried than she already was.

She let out a laugh to cover up her feelings. “I thought Aunt had already given up.”

“At the end of this month, we’re going to hold a wedding,” Mrs. Tipsakun blurted out.

Just that short sentence told the whole story. The young woman’s jaw dropped. She quickly sat up and put forth her question immediately.

“Why do I have to get married?”

Hearing this made her even more surprised. Before this, there had not been a single instance where marriage was mentioned. In addition, her mother’s mention of ‘the end of the month’ meant there were only a few days left. The realization that there was only a week left led to a great heaviness forming in the young woman’s heart.

“Aunt Warakun has repeatedly said she wants to show respect to you, Thara, because if you suddenly fall pregnant without being married, it will be a scandal that people around here could gossip about. But don’t worry. There won’t be any legal commitment if we don’t want one. To put it another way…Aunt is willing to fully accept you as her daughter-in-law if you want to sign a marriage certificate.”

The young woman turned to meet her mother’s gaze and asked her again, “Do you agree with this, Mom?”

“I think that the reasons Aunt told me are good. They want to protect your reputation, and a wedding ceremony would be the best shield for that,” her mother replied slowly.

“If you think it’s a good idea, I don’t have any objections.”

“I apologize to you again for putting you through hardship, Thara. I really can’t deny Aunt’s request. When we were at our worst, if Aunt Warakun hadn’t stepped in, we would certainly not be sitting here. I have no idea where the two of us would have had to flee to.”

Sakunthara nodded gently. “I understand, Mom.”

Mrs. Tipsakun gave a soft smile. She raised her hand to stroke her daughter’s head. “Thank you, child. No mother wants to force her child into this sort of situation.”

“Don’t worry, Mom. I’m still okay.” The young woman faked a smile to alleviate some of her mother’s anxiety, even though it felt like her heart was being burnt. She had no idea what she would be facing because she still hadn’t even had a chance to get to know the person she was meant to marry and have a child with.

“This was the only thing I wanted to tell you. I’m going to bed, dear.”

“About the wedding, do I have to do anything? Um…I mean, are there any preparations?”

“Aunt and I will handle everything ourselves. You just have to prepare yourself.”

“Yes, Mom,” the young woman replied. Yet, her eyes still held hesitation over asking about him, the person to whom she would be married, and with whom she would create a new life.

If one thought of it optimistically, a man of thirty-nine years would probably be a refined person, competent enough and old enough to have a family. Many young ladies likely had their eye on him. On the other hand, did the fact that he had maintained his single status up to this point meant he was a rotund man with a protruding belly or a receding hairline?

At last, the sentence that had been on her lips slipped out.

“And he…” she asked softly as her mother was about to step out of the room. Mrs. Tipsakun turned to look at her daughter again and satisfied her curiosity. She thought that her daughter knew him just like she did.

“I almost forgot to tell you. Tomorrow, Aunt has invited us to their house to get to know the young man before the wedding.”

“All right,” Sakunthara accepted. She probably couldn’t do anything more than this, as both filial piety and gratitude continually penned her in. She could only hope that that man was polite and showed her enough respect.

A marriage, though not begun with love, could nevertheless result in a happy life if both partners were aware of their duties and mutually respected and valued each other.