Chapter 1 Part II
“What I meant was…I would raise the other child myself.”
Her tone was steady, but Sakunthara was unable to hide the emotion in her eyes. A wave of extreme pity overcame Madam Warakun. It had slipped her mind completely. No matter how much she loved and adored Sakunthara, no matter how ready she was to accept her as her actual daughter-in-law, she could hardly overlook the cruelty her son had inflicted upon the young woman.
Having another heir was neither a bad nor an odd thing. Sakunthara would be the one carrying the children and she would be experiencing the hardship herself. Adding another of Pongket’s sperm would hardly be a difficult matter when compared to Sakunthara’s sacrifice.
Madam Warakun smiled and nodded her acceptance. She raised a hand to stroke the young woman’s head reassuringly. “But the two children must be raised together, all right?”
Although she knew Madam Warakun’s desires, Sakunthara was absolutely aware that that situation would not occur. Under the circumstances, however, she had to give her agreement.
“All right.”
“Relax, child. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be concerned. Don’t be worried. The doctor is the top doctor at this hospital.”
Sakunthara pressed her palms together to give a wai [1] of thanks. “Thank you, Mother, for being so generous to me.”
Madam Warakun hugged Sakunthara gently, raising a hand to stroke her head in a comforting manner. A knock sounded on the door, signaling something from outside.
“Pardon me. If family members could wait in the waiting room, please.” A young female nurse raised her hand to gesture for the patient’s family members to wait outside. A young male doctor came in after her into the examination room. He raised his hands to show respect and gave a polite greeting.
“Sawasdee krup2, Mother.”
“I leave her in your hands, Dr. Nont. The poor thing still looks scared,” Madam Warakun said to her son’s friend.
“I will take good care of Thara. You don’t have to worry, Mother.”
“I’d like twin grandchildren.”
“I’ll have to ask Pong first.”
“Why do you have to ask? Just handle it.”
“Um…” The young doctor showed signs of hesitation because he knew there had been a contract drawn up between Pongket and Sakunthara, but he did not know the details in the contract.
“I’ll take responsibility myself,” the older person stated firmly.
“All right.”
After the elder woman followed the nurse out of the room, the young man turned to smile at the occupant of the bed. He greeted her and spoke to her in a friendly manner. Usually, there would be a husband present to give moral support, but in the case of this young lady, the doctor had decided not to allow any relatives to stay with her because he could see she would be embarrassed. At every doctor’s appointment, he would often see how her face turned slightly red and how she was unable to make eye contact.
“Are you still feeling pain? Are you ready?” The doctor inquired about the young woman’s condition because normally, egg retrieval for IVF was rather painful.
“I’m still feeling pain, but I can take it,” answered the young woman in a firm tone that showed her strength. The doctor had informed her of all the details from the very beginning, about how eggs that had been fertilized and had developed into embryos had to be transferred to the uterine cavity in three to five days. If the patient was not ready, that would mean waiting for ovulation to occur in the following month, which was the exact opposite of what she wanted.
The young male doctor gave the woman a gentle look. He turned his attention to the instruments before him. Another young female nurse was preparing his instruments for him.
“Doctor…” Sakunthara’s voice trailed off as she addressed him.
“Yes? Is there anything you would like to ask me?”
“Could you hold off on telling Mr. Pongket about the twin children?”
“For what reason?”
“You know very well that there is a contract between he and I that Mother doesn’t know about. The issue of the children…I’d like to inform him about it and ask him myself.”
“All right. Please don’t worry yourself,” he said in a gentle voice. From then, he turned his attention back to his instruments while the nurse came over to the bed and helped the patient prepare to have the embryos implanted into her uterine cavity.
Nearly thirty minutes passed in which the young lady kept her eyes tightly shut. Throughout that time, she heard the doctor and the nurse talk to each other occasionally. Then, she heard the doctor’s final words.
“All done. I’d like you to stay and recover in the hospital at least for one more night, because Mother would like to be fully confident regarding this matter.”
“Thank you,” she said to the doctor. She had known Madam Warakun’s wishes from the start. Ever since she had undergone the egg retrieval process three days prior, she had remained at the hospital up until this very moment.
Some unidentified feeling grew in her heart when she realized she was pregnant and there were two other hearts beating inside her body. At this moment, she could only hope and pray that those two hearts would remain with her without any problems until her due date.
At the residence of the Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Frankfurt, Germany
The balcony of the house stretched out from the residence. The night was lit by a crescent moon. The air was cold and a thick fog was settling. Freezing cold enveloped the skin. The young man lifted up an old handkerchief and looked at it with a small smile.
Pongket was remembering a sweet smile, remembering a pair of clear, beautiful eyes that brightened the world. It was the first time he had been able to sense a smile through someone’s eyes. More so than that, he remembered, despite the passage of many months, the shop heavy with the scent of pandan leaves and jasmine.
The handkerchief in his hands was a sort of token of affection. Pongket did not even know the name of the owner of this handkerchief. There were only the feelings of that day that were imprinted on his heart so deeply, he could not shake them off. He idly mused about how if she had been the woman he had had to marry, he would not have hesitated for a moment to take a woman of her character as his wife.
The ideal woman, the only kind who could be Pongket’s partner, would have to be talented, and she would have to be able to be a credit to her husband. Once he had met her, however, his conception of an “ideal woman” had melted completely away. She had just been a regular, everyday woman holding a piping bag in her hands. On her body, she had not sported elegant, eye-catching clothes, only a neatly-colored apron over normal clothing. Yet, he had not felt bored looking at her and he had been completely unable to expel her from his memories, though many months had passed since he had met her.
Her smile that time had tumbled the thick walls surrounding his heart, allowing it to be filled with joy and life once more. It was like dry grass flowers in the middle of a rough patch of earth receiving a sprinkling of rain, giving them the ability to flower beautifully once more.
Over the many years, he had had to work abroad, he had held fast to the duty, persistence, and dedication to his tasks. He had never thought of having a family. Sometimes, he almost completely forgot to think about Thailand. Back in Thailand, there was only his mother. She had someone to take care of her in his place, so he had no worries. And anytime she missed her son, she would fly over to see him herself.
A message notification sounded from his telephone. Pongket looked at it and saw a message from his close friend on the screen. Today was the day that had been scheduled for the implantation of the embryos, and so the young doctor was probably just sending him a message to report on the progress of the procedure as usual.
Yet, he felt guilty over his own actions, because after flying over to work in Germany on the same day as that planned wedding, his mother had practically severed communications with him.
The delicate young woman in the long pastel-colored dress stepped into the obstetrics and gynecology department of a renowned hospital. Her face was noticeably paler after receiving the good news and beginning her pregnancy. Today, Sakunthara had brought her incredibly fatigued body to the hospital because she had her first prenatal appointment with Dr. Thananont Bowornkit. Although the young doctor had given her strict orders to undergo bed rest and had told her that he would drive over and pick her up for today’s appointment himself, Sakunthara had stubbornly insisted on coming by herself because she did not want to be too much of a burden on anyone else.
Sakunthara suffered such severe morning sickness, she was unable to eat anything. At present, her weight had gone down many kilograms. Despite that, being the hardworking person she was, Sakunthara still stubbornly got up in secret to help the staff in her shop sometimes. If the young doctor found out about that, she would likely be scolded.
Today, the babies in her womb were fully fourteen weeks old. Although Sakunthara was about to enter motherhood, she still felt embarrassed every time she had to visit the doctor.
After waiting briefly for them, the examination results that arrived were good news for any mother. The children she was carrying were strong and healthy.
Madam Warakun could only foster a small hope that the two children would be, as the Thai saying went, a gold chain that would bind Sakunthara and Pongket to each other. Even if that did not come to pass, at least one child would remain with the young woman. Madam Warakun understood a mother’s feelings. The young woman would experience considerable pain from having to sever all ties with her child, from having it wrenched from her bosom, even though she had gone through the pain and suffering of pregnancy, nurturing and nourishing that life for close to a year.
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[1] A wai is a traditional Thai gesture where the palms of the hands are pressed together as if in prayer. It is often used in greetings, but can be used for other purposes as well, such as to apologize.
[2] A polite Thai greeting phrase for males; the equivalent for females would be sawasdee ka.