After the meeting was adjourned for the day, Dr. Liu walked up to Olivia and commented, "Not that I like acknowledging it, but your point was well-received."
Olivia raised an eyebrow and questioned, while she was gathering her documents, "Oh really? Why? You think that after women get married, they suddenly don't have a voice anymore?"
Dr. Liu responded, "Well, most Asian women."
Olivia countered as she slammed her folder, "Wow! You couldn't be more wrong. Women can stand up for themselves. They are stronger. You know why? Because they have to deal with pieces of shit like you for the rest of their lives!" She immeditately fell silent and covered her mouth as she said those words. She looked away and turned around to leave the room.
Dr. Liu called out, "Hey Madhavan! You know the Danang Ba Na? There is a meteor shower tonight at nine. I'll be there waiting for you to explain what can we men do to make our wives to love us instead of dealing or putting up with us. And I will tell you that for us men, it's not all sunshine and rainbows either!"
Olivia stopped walking as she heard his words. She whirled around with her eyes widened. She stared at him, wondering why was he going through the trouble of asking such a question. She could only surmise that he must be having familial problems as well. Without uttering a single word, she merely left the conference room, leaving him without an answer.
Nevertheless, Dr. Liu showed up at the top of the designated spot, waiting for the meteor shower to start and for Olivia to turn up. He sat on the wet grass with her knees tucked in close to his body and looked up at the night sky, lost in his thoughts.
Olivia did arrive at the spot earlier than him, but she remained hidden behind a tree and chose to watch him instead. Not once did he scan through his phone to text her. Not once did he give off any anxious aura. Not once did his facial expression change. He was just sitting quietly and gazing at the night sky, as if they were silently conversing with one another. Olivia pondered that if Samar were waiting for her there, he would have spammed her notification box on her phone. Seeing this man in front of her, it reminded her about a certain someone she used to know back then. She wouldn't share the details of that man with me, so I wouldn't know. Although, someday, whenever she is ready, I'd like to know who he is. She closed her eyes and felt all the scenes rushing back to her in her mind. She was there. That guy was there. But that guy's face was filled with a white blank spot. No matter how hard she tried, she could never picturize his face.
She finally stepped forward and walked towards him. Dr. Liu shifted aside as he heard the steps on the dewy grass. He didn't even turn back. It was as if he somehow knew that she was going to show up. Olivia was surprised by that. To be honest, even I was. When I heard this story, I can't help but feel as if this guy was trying to hint something and Olivia was just too oblivious to see it.
"You get angry when your wives are more successful than you are. You don't find it in your heart to be genuinely happy for them." Olivia spoke, thus initiating the conversation they decided to have during this meeting.
Dr. Liu's eyes widened and he cracked into a smile. He then rubbed his hands together for a brief moment and then interlocked them at his knees and said, "Okay... you women sometimes make us feel that you don't need us. If we can't protect you, then what is our role in a marriage?"
Olivia nodded and responded after a few seconds, "You guys break your wedding vows to love and protect us. When your wife gets a promotion as the head surgeon, you guys celebrate by getting drunk and engaging in domestic violence?" Olivia replied with a stern face as she tried to hold back her overflowing emotions.
The conversation wasn't about generalized stereotypical Asian marriages anymore. It took an unexpected turn for the both of them. Olivia wasn't planning on telling him. Dr. Liu wasn't planning on hearing it. He gently placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered, "Samar actually did that to you?"
Olivia concluded, "Vincent told you, huh?"
Dr. Liu responded, "I actually met the guy myself. Well-known Professor. Wow. I never imagined that a guy like him would raise his hand on you. You know what? I noticed you when you first came to work at Kindred. He came to drop you there. You guys looked so lovey-dovey that I always used to get angry because I lost that. I seriously didn't expect something like this from him."
Olivia raised an eyebrow and questioned as she turned towards him, "Wait, what do you mean by you lost that?"
Dr. Liu answered, "I was a married man too you know? You weren't the only one. The only difference between you and me is that I kept my married life personal and you chose to express it to the world." Olivia obviously knew this as she heard everything in the flight but she didn't wish for him to know that so she wanted to make him say it.
However, for a man who she barely knew, she felt horrible for him. She did notice that they shared a similarity. They both were broken. Recollection what Vincent said the other day, Olivia realized that Dr. Liu May have the same issue as her. She believed that he has trouble getting close to people since his wife died. She knew that he had friends but there was no saying if his friends completely understood how he felt as there was no guarantee that they went through something similar. Nevertheless, Olivia took a deep breath, and made an offer.
She said, "My marriage is falling apart, Dr. Liu. I know that we have just met and I know that I'm going to freak you out by saying this but I feel like I already know you for all these years I have been alone. I don't know if this is going to help you or no, but I need a friend who can help me. I'm probably just being selfish but I want you to know that if you're ever stuck in a problem, I'm here for you. That's why I'm extending my hand. Will you support me?"
Dr. Liu grabbed her hand and gave it a firm shake. At that moment, the meteor shower started. They looked up to see the beautiful view of the night sky and gasped in awe. They both joined their hands and made a wish as the old saying goes. Till this day, I don't know what they were wishing for.