The Dim Sum Drama (Flash Fiction Part 10)

This is the 10th part of the story. The previous parts are here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

That night, Lau and Chrysanthemum have their biggest fight over it.

“He gave the money to me, for the sole purpose of fighting bad wives like you. He deliberately said that it was for me and he supported me. He wanted to see me standing up for myself and for all the men who suffer from their wives.” Lau yells.

“He bought the one-sided story you fed him and considered that it was all my fault. He didn’t know the time when you ran away with a lady gambler to Atlantic City, and came back without a penny. He didn’t know your selfishness of only spending money on yourself while stingy on everybody else.” Chrysanthemum yells back.

“Lady gambler? That was just a regular trip to Tropicana and I let you know where I was all the time. I didn’t run away. Unlike you who disappeared with your lover into the thin air without a trace…” Lau says.

Chrysanthemum insists that Lau hands over the money, but Lau refuses. After they both get exhausted–they both worked for a 12-hour day–they go to bed. Chrysanthemum occupies the master bedroom; Lau has been sleeping in the guest bedroom ever since Chrysanthemum comes back.

Lau is tired and he sleeps very well. When he gets up at 10AM the next money, and get ready to go to the restaurant to serve lunch, he realizes that the $600, which he stores in the fake flower pot by the bed, is gone. The night before, he left $200 in the restaurant to pay for the dinner of the Korean businessmen and the waiters’ tip. For the rest, he took back home. Now it is all gone.

He is so enraged that he rushes to the master bedroom–his wife is still sleeping. He opens all the drawers, flips the nightstand, and lifts the mattress as his wife is still lying on it to check the space underneath. His wife sits up and stares at him with a smile of irony on her face.

“Where is the money?” He yells.

“I stored it in a safe place. You don’t need to worry.” She answers nonchalantly and gets up to go to the bathroom.

He wants to hit her, but thinks better of it.

“If you come near me, I am going to call the police.” She bluffs. She still believes in family more than anything else even if she has had a dysfunctional family for years. She will never call the police, but knowing that she can if she wants to gives her a lot of confidence.

“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe this.” He says in a trembling voice. “America supports women like you. You can run away, sleep with another man, steal your husband money, and then call the police to report domestic violence. You are the perfect scoundrel this society produces. No wonder men are in crisis right now. Men are in crisis because there are too many women like you.”

He says. Suddenly he grabs his chest and falls down.

(To Be Continued)