A Bumbling Fool

Li Hua felt herself growing weary as she walked with her daughter through the opulent gardens. It was one of the side effects of the tumor, she would find herself exhausted with some of the simplest things. Walking had grown more difficult too, she had to really concentrate to move in her usual manners.

'I need to tell Chang as soon as possible.' Li Hua looked at her daughter out of the corner of her eye as she was laughing reminiscing about when her father had set the kitchen on fire trying to make a surprise mother's day breakfast.

It was also one of Li Hua's most treasured memories as well. Her husband, Hénri, large bumbling fool that he was, had destroyed their kitchen somehow just by making a simple breakfast. She had awoken to the sounds of alarm and the panicked voices of her husband and daughter.

Li Hua had flown down the stairs to find the kitchen stove had started a fire that had caught the corner of the cabinets. Her husband had grabbed the kitchen sink sprayer head and was directing it at the counters, ineffectively trying to put it out, cursing Mérde!1

Chang had been about ten at the time, and had grabbed the phone ready to call 911, but Hénri kept saying that he had it handled in between swearing in French.

Li Hua immediately went under the kitchen sink and grabbed their home fire extinguisher and turned it on everything that was burning, instantly filling the room with white foam and lingering tendrils of smoke. She had even gotten her husband a bit in her frantic actions. Li Hua stood there for a moment in shock at the sight of the ruined kitchen and looked at her husband incredulously. A mocking little voice then piped up from behind the two of them.

"I told you we should have just gone out and gotten take out and said we made it." Chang had folded her little arms across her chest pouting slightly as the surprise breakfast the two of them had been planning for her had been ruined.

"Li Hua, my beautiful darling wife, light of my life. Hénri called to her in a pleading tone. Blinking his beautiful dark blue eyes at her as if he was a young girl, puckering his lips slightly as he attempted to suck up to her after creating a disaster.

He had just looked so utterly ridiculous though Li Hua could not help cracking out a laugh even though she had worn her 'I'm really serious right now' face. She quickly had covered it with a cough a fist to her mouth, trying to compose herself. Hénri had then tried to seduce her with his kisses after seeing her cover her cracking. Her little Xiao Xi had clamped her eyes seeing that and screamed eww and run to her bedroom seeing that.

That was what broke her in the end and she began to laugh aloud. Hénri let her laugh knowing it would diffuse her temper before promising to fix it and make it up to her. After that he took a cooking class so as not to repeat the nightmare and was able to succeed the following year.

Li Hua's memories were filled with the bright moments he had brought. Even after he was gone, he could still make his loved ones smile.

"Xiao Xi will you accompany to my chambers, I have something I would like to give you."

"Of course, you'll need to lead the way, I don't know my way around yet."

"Follow me." Li Hua led her daughter to her chambers, which were an expansive guest quarter, near the water gardens and the medical wing for convenience. Inside she pulled out of her suitcase that she had brought, and pulled out her most prized possession.