There are a few different things on my plate today. I waited around a little for our ayi to come in, but she wasn’t in by 9:00? Wednesdays she usually comes in around 8:00 am. Finally around 9:30, Lilly calls and says she had a fight with her husband, and her mother had to go to the police station this morning, and would come in when she finished.
When we first arrived in Beijing, Lilly was not married. As the year progressed, she mentioned she felt pressure to find a husband and start a family. Suddenly, in November 2013, she announced she was getting married to a guy here in Beijing who was from her hometown. She went home in January 2014, and married him, returning to work at the end of the Chinese New Year in February. Later in the spring she began to talk about issues she was having with her husband and his family (his mother, specifically). Next thing, in May, she announces she’s pregnant. In the fall, she continued to have issues with her mother-in-law.
Lilly left Beijing to return to her hometown and have the baby the 2nd week of December. The baby was born Dec. 18. Lilly’s mom became our ayi, and has done a great job. I would occasionally talk to Lilly or text her with instructions or information for her mother since she doesn’t speak English. In January and February, Lilly indicated she was again arguing with her husband. Lilly’s mom also indicated Lilly was having trouble. At some point, Lilly moved out, the husband took the baby away, then Lilly moved back after a few weeks – lots of drama. When Lilly moved back here a few weeks ago, she told me she wasn’t living with her husband, and he didn’t have a job.
As I could best piece together the events from Lilly and her mom, there was a fight between Lilly and her mom, against her husband’s family. I think her mom was telling me it 4 against 2. Lilly’s mom had a finger bandaged where she said she was bitten. She had scratches all along her neck and arms, and she said Lilly had the same. She even pointed at a knife in our kitchen, and indicated someone swinging a big stick. It must have been wild. I’m surprised Lilly’s mom is even here today. With some very emphatic hand motions, I got the picture that Lilly and her husband were done, and that Lilly had possession of the baby. We’ll see how that plays out over the next few weeks.
Back to more mundane activities, I went over and made the final payment on our electricity account. There should be enough in our account now to get us to the end of our stay in Beijing, and get the new tenants going for a few days. This task used to take me several hours to complete. Now, I was finished in 15 minutes. I made a run to the wet market from some fresh green beans and peppers for our daily soup, and then did a swim session. After swimming, I mixed up the soup, and cooked it. Lilly’s mom showed up around 3:00 pm and began working, after trying to give me some of the details of the big fight.
I left around 5:00, headed to the Rosewood Hotel, where I met our Wednesday foodie group at Bistro, a highly rated French restaurant. As always, it’s fun to catch up with all the activities at my school, even if I’m not there these days. I had a really good Chicken Cordon Bleu. We didn’t leave until after 9:00 pm.
L-R: Me, Josie, Dr. Prettyman, Jordan (Josie’s son), Rhena, and Steve.
Back home I caught up on Judy’s day at school, and the graduation activities for the grade 5 students. It sounded like it went really well. A teachers’ choir that Judy had been organizing sang, as well as the grade 5 students. She’s been enjoying working with the grade 5 students all year, and today’s program was a huge success. Lots of smiles and tears!