Early morning in Philadelphia in early June could be pretty cold. Siri informed Renata that the temperature was 6 degrees Celsius and would spike to 24 degrees in the afternoon. Like any other Saturday, she was going to visit her parents' grave before doing any activities for the day. She was dressed in her new black short peplum and wore a little black hat with a veil just enough to cover her eyes.
After parking her old car, a deep-sea blue BMW 5 series, she passed through the cemetery's gate. Not like any other graveyard, this particular garden-designed cemetery was decorated with thousands of trees and flowers, with strings of terraces that descended to the Schuylkill River. Maybe this was what people called a haven.
She kept walking upward through tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and lily bulbs until she found two graves side-by-side with Chinese characters on them. The name written on the grave was Patrick Tan, and another was Brigitte Wong. Different from other tombstones, their upright granite headstones were shaped like a flat house. There were glass urns filled with their ashes instead of coffins. After Renata put two flower bouquets on each headstone, she kneeled and touched her forehead to the ground three times. Then, with her palms flat and clasped as in prayer, she waved toward the tomb. A Chinese custom she would keep practicing, even though her family was Catholic.
"Mom, Dad, I'm here again. I miss you so much. Thank you for always watching me. I'm alright and the store is running …. well, I guess. At an event in two weeks, I will launch new items in it. I hope I can do my best. I will be one step closer to buying our house then. You guys were so great at running the store. I wish I wasn't too spoiled back then and just learned the business as much as I could.....Tina is helping...--" Renata continued to tell them all the things she had planned so far for the store.
Sometimes, she had her days in which she would like to complain to her parents. How unfair they were, leaving her struggling alone. Keeping the store running and staying afloat in the harsh marketplace was not easy, especially when she had nobody to count on. Unlike her parents, they had each other's backs. They complemented each other perfectly. But Renata tackled both her dad's and mom's jobs, which could be quite overwhelming sometimes(most of the time).
Renata's mother, Brigitte Wong, was the designer behind the successful Rosaline Perlée handbag. Her design was known for its ageless chic but still retained a feminine style in all her masterpieces. Her father, Patrick Tan, was the business magnet behind their flourishing business. They were probably the role models of a successful Hong Kong immigrant who lived the American dream.
They built the empire from nothing, and they eventually lived in a prestigious neighborhood in Philadelphia. Renata remembered the house they used to live in. In one of her tantrums as a spoiled child, she broke one of the imported Ming dynasty china vases. How many times did she throw TungTung, their family's old Cocker Spaniel, in their swimming pool in the backyard? The poor old thing rested in peace when she was away at her boarding school.
Good things never last, that's what people say. The dreams started to crumble when a heart attack took away her beloved father forever. Both she and her mother slumped into a neverending nightmare. Brigitte couldn't handle how complicated running a business was. Their stores had to start downsizing. Many shop branches closed because no one was trustworthy enough in Brigitte's eyes.
The teenager Renata was no help at all; she was in a period when the world revolved around her. This caused further tension in their brittle relationship. Brigitte had had enough of Renata's "Everything should be put aside before Renata" attitude. It was also the reason why they placed Renata in a strict private school since she was a 5th grader. In their super hectic life, building their empire, a little Renata was too much to handle.
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Renata stood up and patted her knees as she said her goodbyes to her parents. She placed her bag on her shoulder and sauntered downward through many stairs and asphalted paths. Just another stair away, she would have reached the main path that ended with the cemetery gate.
From behind a tree, a balding old man with a beer gut belly called her. "Renata?"
"Yes?"
Like being douched by a river of ice water, Renata recognized the man's grin, which made her blood boil. This man was the reason her family business was in ruin. He was the reason her mother and she were kicked out of their old house. Morano Grippaldi.
"How are you, Renata? You seem quite rather well..." The audacity of this damned man who put her family through misery.
"The nerve you have to show up here, Morano? Your filthy presence is dirtying my family's grave. Get Lost, you scumbag!!!!!" She clenched her knuckles on her hips. She wanted to hit this POS with her shoulder bag, but she didn't want to get sued, yet. Not at this crucial time. If only he came in a few months later, she wouldn't mind clawing at his raisin skin.
"That's not the way you talk to your father, is it? Come on, it's already passed. Brigitte has also died for years now. Couldn't we be a good family again? "
She was stumped. Renata would rather commit a crime against this fụcked-in-the-head Oompa Loompa than become his family. "In this life, I have only one father. His name is Patrick Tan. You are not my family, ever. Maybe you were when my mom was still alive, but after what you've done, you are just a piece of shit. Do you have no shame in calling me your family?" Thank God she didn't have his blood run through her body; how disgusting it would be.
10-12 years ago, a middle-aged Italian man, Morano, came into Brigitte and Renata's lives when her father had just died. Both Renata and her mom, with each of their own problems, were dealing with grief, and they became the worst enemies of each other. Morano was like an oasis between Renata and her mom's tumultuous relationship. He swept Brigitte's deserted heart away. His sweet way of talking could convince both Renata and her mother. Persuasion was his main forte, so he crept little by little into Brigitte's heart, and just a year later, they got married. Perhaps deep down, they missed a man in their home, a man as a husband to lead, a father to protect their little family.
Renata was initially disappointed by how fast her mother forgot her father, but she couldn't be happier when she saw her mother thriving once again. Or, that's what she thought.
Morano had taken over her family business right after they signed the papers and put the wedding ring on. At first, all seemed normal, until one day, some men came to the house and put many red stickers on the house and on each of the furniture. On one fine day, the bank seized the home where she grew up and where the last memory of her father resided. They were forced to leave the premise within three days. There was nothing that could be done but move to a tiny apartment the day afterward. Luckily, her parents set up the first store in Renata's name, so it didn't get confiscated.
"Now now..... don't be like that. You break my heart, little doll...."
Ewww, that was how he called her a long time ago; what sickening memories. "Don't call me that; it's nauseating. What do you want? " Renata was suspicious.
He had never shown himself all this time; he didn't even visit when her mother died. And then he suddenly appears? There had to be a reason behind it.
"I call myself a good father figure for you. I see that I raised you really well back then. You are now quite a famous handbag designer with good business intuition. Your reputation has reached far and beyond. Soon you will surpass what your mother couldn't do in the past. You should thank me properly, shouldn't you? "
"What?? Am I hearing things now, cause my ears sure ringing pretty crazy now!!!! You abandoned us and made us pay for the huge loan you took from the bank. And you want me to thank you? Did you hit your head on your way here or what?"
He came closer until he was in front of her. "I'm just saying that I helped you grow faster. You reaped the seed that I sowed back then; those learning experiences I left behind were the best teachers. You won't be you as you are today if it wasn't because of what I did. "
If Renata's lips could open a little wider, a baseball surely could get into her mouth. How her mother could fall in love and marry this toad was one of the tales in a bizarre world. "You should go to the doctor to check your head, Morano. You need a specialist's help. " Renata walked past this crazy bum, through the last stairs. She didn't want to get infected by his incurable brain disease.
"Renata, I don't need anyone's help but yours." Morano's words made her stop walking away.
"What do you mean? What did you do this time? " Renata turned to face him. She was this close to planting her fist on his bald head.
"As a loving father who cares so much for his only daughter, I couldn't sleep, eat, or do anything well because I worried about you so much. You have no one to take care of you when you are sick or in need. Therefore, I took the liberty of finding you a good spouse. You see that tall guy? Don't judge his scarred face; he's actually a nice guy. "
What!!!?????