The stoic me

While I was at work, two persons from Teachers Co-op knocked at my door yesterday. And they unintelligently showed a document indicating how much William owed, although they covered it up immediately.

Coco and my father were home - something I dread to happen.

My father was shocked over and over again at the amount he owes.

I was stoic when Coco told me she saw the document that stated how much he owed: $60, 000.

My father kept asking me why he is in such a huge debt.

I told him I am not surprised, while lapping up my mother's cooking.

I just hate it for my father and Coco to be in the know of his ugly debts.

But it's just as well. My father had believed every word he said. When he told my father I went out with other men, he made it sound like he's victimised and I had been unfaithful. My father often went into a blank when I was alone with him. Very usual. But I didn't want to probe because he being a typical Asian-Chinese, conservative man would certainly not know how to bring such topics up with his daughter. I'd hoped to clarify with him, but the most I could do was to ask a weak,"What is it, Pa?" that met with a slow shaking of head which means,"Nothing." I couldn't start to tell him about my meetup with chatfriends because it would come across as trying to defend my act when he hasn't even started to accuse me. I couldn't tell him if I'm ever unfaithful, William well deserves it because he's been unfaithful to me over and over again over money matters. William just has a way of making himself look totally victimised and winning sympathy from the unaware. Only my skeptical sisters are able to see through his inconsistencies despite his Oscar-winning acts and lines.

He told my father he has settled most of his debts. My father wouldn't expect anyone to make that claim if it isn't true, so he gets the opportunities to be surprised over and over again just by coming over to help me look after Coco till I reach home. Sometimes I'm surprised at my father's naivety. Perhaps I got the naive gene from him.

In reply to his repeated "Why does he run into such huge debts?", I told him I no longer bother or think about his debts, because if I did, I would have jumped long ago. And that he's a man of lies whenever it comes to money. Not a word that comes out of his mouth can be trusted whenever it concerns money.

A chatfriend had warned me three years ago, that a man tends to under-claim the amount he owes. When he said he owed $30k, it was likely that it was double the amount. I wasn't sure if he was right. He didn't know William after all, but he was 55. A man at that age would have amassed quite an amount of secular wisdom, and he was right, just that William's debt is not 'double' what he claims. It's probably triple, or more than that.

Coco asked if he could be put to jail. I said I hope so, because I'm not sure how long more I can put up with his debtors' knocks at the door.