I WILL NOT BE ATTACKED AND DOMINATED BY YOU ANY LONGER …

Tap tap tap …

Next the middle finger …

tap tap tap …

LEARN HOW TO SAY NO!

BE BOUNDARIED!

SAY NO TO THE INNER CRITIC.

SAY NO TO YOURSELF.

BE MENTALLY STRONG!

AND DON’T BE AFRAID TO SAY NO TO OTHER PEOPLE, EITHER! WITHOUT FLINCHING! BOLDLY. UNAPOLOGETICALLY. BETTER STILL, WITH A SMILE …

‘The cat’s fine,’ he mutters.

Wang Shu is talking on the phone in Chinese. As she talks, though (presumably in an unconscious attempt to distract herself from the broom/toe trauma), she is casually busying herself with other stuff. Initially she takes a couple of the herbal teas down from the top of the refrigerator and sniffs them, sceptically. The Fennel Tea disgusts her. The Turmeric and Ginger Tea succeeds in not entirely provoking her ire. Next Wang Shu opens the refrigerator and looks inside. There are three types of live probiotic yoghurt on the top shelf. All are out of date. Wang Shu picks one up and holds it, quizzically, to the light. She winces. She returns it from whence it came. Next Wang Shu smells the milk. She winces again and casually carries the milk over to the sink as she talks on the phone in Chinese.

‘Zonggong duoshao qian?’

…

‘Huh?’

…

‘Duoshao?!’

Charles says – almost to himself – ‘I actually just bought that milk this morning.’ Wang Shu pours the milk down the sink. She then returns the carton to the fridge and continues to inspect the fridge’s contents. She pulls out some broccoli and smells it.

She shakes her head. She places the broccoli down on the counter and then indicates over her shoulder (presumably to Ying Yue) that she needs some assistance.

Ying Yue bows slightly (it’s more a curtsey than a bow, really) first to Charles, then to Avigail. ‘Is this refrigerator to be included in sale?’ she tentatively asks.

‘I haven’t quite decided,’ Charles admits (the refrigerator is not included in the sale).

People who suffer from porous internal boundaries because of a history of abuse find it virtually impossible to say ‘no’.

It’s JUST TOO HARD!

I … I … I … I … can’t!

Tap tap tap …

LEARN HOW TO SAY NO!

BE BOUNDARIED!

SAY NO TO THE INNER CRITIC.

SAY NO TO YOURSELF.

BE MENTALLY STRONG!

AND DON’T BE AFRAID TO SAY NO TO OTHER PEOPLE, EITHER! WITHOUT FLINCHING! BOLDLY. UNAPOLOGETICALLY. WITH A SMILE …

Wang Shu indicates – more aggressively now – that she needs assistance (still talking in Chinese, still facing into the open fridge). Ying Yue shuffles over to her mother’s side. Wang Shu points to the broccoli. Ying Yue wants to stop her mother from behaving inappropriately but she CANNOT SAY NO to Wang Shu. She is Wang Shu’s echo, her mirror, after all. Ying Yue grabs a hold of the broccoli. She presses her lips together, agonised. She swallows, nervously. She inhales. She holds her breath. She turns around. She carries the broccoli over to the bin (where Charles still stands). Even though Ying Yue is holding her breath (so is now – to all intents and purposes – completely invisible), Charles finds himself …