Once the process was set in motion, she had little to do but submit to it. Without any discussion, it was decided that the Lows would pay for the wedding, and that therefore it would take place in their church, though Jason would go through a tea ceremony with Siew Li’s mother if it made her happy. There were meetings with the priest to be endured. They’d never discussed Jason’s religion—it was just something he did on Sundays—but now she understood that as the wife, she would be expected to attend services with him, and that this child would be baptised. When she mentioned this to her mother, the only response was a shrug. “You marry a rooster, live like a rooster; marry a dog, live like a dog. That’s how it is.”
They talked about both English and Chinese names, but it was clear the Chinese would be just a formality, something for forms and official documents, while the English was for daily use—Henry if a boy, Janet if a girl, even if Siew Li couldn’t quite get her tongue around those sounds. She’d known Jason for months before learning his Chinese name, which he seemed faintly embarrassed by, while she’d steadfastly refused the Lows’ attempts to re-christen her.
Her mother insisted on delivering pig trotters to Jason’s parents—it was traditional. A whole jar of the stuff, reeking porkily of soy sauce and star anise. Auntie Mabel’s face as she received this, equal parts amusement and distaste, ought to have angered Siew Li, but instead it was her mother she felt annoyed with. So many ways to be human, and most people were certain their way was best.
Meanwhile, her colleagues at SATU were giving her a hard time. It was one thing to go on dates with a class enemy, but to marry and have his child? Was she turning bourgeois? They were going at her quite hard, past the point of friendly teasing. When an anonymous note appeared on the notice board calling for her to be purged, Lay Kuan had to step in to stop the bullying. “The English-educated are not our enemies,” she told the sullen office. “We’ll need to build this country together, all of us. These people aren’t going to leave with the British. We’re stuck with them. Anyway, Siew Li can marry whoever she likes.”
After work, Siew Li sought out Lina and asked what the hell her problem was. There’d been a strange tension between them for some time now. Yet Lina insisted everything was fine, it was just in her imagination. Why did it matter so much to her, anyway?
“You know I only became active in the movement because of you,” said Siew Li. Something like a smile passed across Lina’s face. “I just want to know if I said something wrong.”