3: 3
I led Lola inside.
Picking up the teacup, I went first to my mother-in-law.
"Mom, please have some tea."
She took the cup at her leisure, sipped once, then fished a red envelope from her pocket and tossed it at me.
An aunt beside her laughed at once. "Go on, open it! It's got to be a big one!"
I opened it in front of everyone. Inside lay a single crumpled five-dollar bill.
The room went dead silent, then broke into laughter.
She lifted her chin and cleared her throat. "The title-change gift is just a formality. What does a man need all that money for? I'm giving you five dollars so you'll remember, every cent you earn goes to my Lola!"
A relative chimed in. "That's right! Landing a wife as good as Lola, you came out ahead! And you're haggling over a title-change gift?"
I closed my hand around the five dollars and said nothing.
Then Lola went to serve tea to my parents.
She had just lifted the cup when the mother-in-law spoke up. "In-law, where we come from, the title-change gift from the mother-in-law to the daughter-in-law is a matter of face! I won't ask for much. Just eighty-eight thousand!"
My mother's hand stopped short. "Eighty-eight thousand? When we talked it over before, nobody said anything about a number that big..."
"Before is before!" She rolled her eyes. "What, you can't even part with eighty-eight thousand? My girl marries into your family and you can't even come up with the title-change gift?"
"Exactly. Is eighty-eight thousand really so much? Nobody takes a wife for under a hundred grand these days!"
"If you can't afford to pay, don't take a wife!"
The words landed like slaps. My father's face flushed dark red, and my mother's lips were trembling.
Anger shot up in my chest, and I was about to speak.
Lola quickly caught my wrist.
She lowered her eyes and whispered, in a voice only the two of us could hear,
"Leon, just pay it for now. I'll make it up to you later, in private. I'd never let you suffer for it!"
The pleading in her eyes was the same as every time before.
I used to ache for how thoughtful she was. But now...
The moment I thought of those so-called "designer" gift boxes, my heart turned cold.
"All right."
I took out my phone on the spot and transferred eighty-eight thousand over.
The mother-in-law's face bloomed into a smile. "There! Now that's more like it!"
The whole room filled with laughter. My mother turned her face away and quietly wiped a tear with the back of her hand.
It's fine. Just endure a little longer.
My eyes had gone cold and dark.
The tea ceremony done, the motorcade rolled out to the hotel in a long line.
The moment I stepped into the lobby, Mason grabbed hold of me.
His knee was still bleeding, but the sweat on his forehead was from panic. "Leon! Snap out of it!"
"This family is a pack of bloodsuckers! They fleeced you for over a hundred grand just getting the bride, and who knows how much they'll squeeze out of you later! You can't go through with this wedding!"
I was about to answer when sound carried over from the corridor next door.
The mother-in-law was laughing, pleased with herself. "What did I tell you! My Lola's got real talent, she's got that boy wrapped around her finger! Over six hundred thousand all told, and he handed it over without blinking!"
"You're something, sis! Your family really knows how to work it!"
"You bet! Once the ceremony's over, we'll sweet-talk him into signing the house over too. Every last thing he's got will be ours! Landing my girl is the luckiest thing that'll ever happen to him. So he spends a little money, so what?"
Mason went white with rage, fists clenched, ready to charge over there again.
I caught him by the arm.
He stared at me in disbelief. "You heard all that! What are you still putting up with?"
I leaned against the wall, my fingertips brushing lightly over my phone.
I looked up and gave him a small smile, my voice calm. "I heard. I love her."
"Love?" Mason jabbed a finger at me. "You threw your parents' entire life savings away for a woman like that! Leon, I was really wrong about you!"
He clenched his jaw and walked off, disappointed.
I didn't explain.
I only kept my eyes fixed on the wedding countdown on the electronic screen in the lobby.
Soon.
Seven minutes left until it began.
