I did some spring cleaning...
(But it's not spring anymore...summer is here...)
Yeah, whatever. It's just an expression. It means I totally obssessed about cleaning the whole condo because well...I want to...
Qing: Or your OCD is acting up again.
Me: Can you blame me?
Qing: No. I'm not blaming you. It's just, what you want to do sounds tiring. Like its a lot of work.
Me: Well, that is why I have the three of you to help me.
Qing, Jin and LiPin looked at each other in strickened panic.
LiPin: Oh, I'm just here in the capital to do some research.
Me: You are here to date Jin and sleep with him.
LiPin: (adamant) No! I'm here to hit some extensive libraries and do research that doesn't involve the internet and actually holding some books written by dead people about the power of the mind.
Me: (snorting) Bull. You already spilled the beans yesterday when we had our double date and you got a tad tipsy.
(You went to a double date?)
The other night. LiPin will be staying for a week here in the capital to do her research and of course I cannot let her go without treating her to dinner. Qing and Jin threw some epic tantrums to be included in our date.
Oh, you think Qing and I went to a double date with Jin and Lipin? No. My date was Lipin. Qing and Jin dated each other or whatever. They want to feel included that night, they were so needy. So in punishment for tagging along with us, I was the one who paid for dinner. I watched them squirmed and hold on to their golden wallets and black cards as I paid for the food and drinks we consumed that night. They think they could show off their money, well I showed them! I have money too!
Ha!
(Good for you, Dayu ah!)
Yes. But I will be privately crying as I pay for that dinner date in months on my card since we did drank a lot that got LiPin a bit tipsy.
Jin: (sighing) Drunk. She was drunk two nights ago and very strong. She is....(sighing again) I'm not complaining but she truly didn't have to tackle me on the bed...
LiPin: (flushing) Stop telling them private things about us!
Jin: I don't want to but they saw the bruises, babe. I had to explain those.
Qing: (sighing) I cannot believe you already have an endearment term for each other.
Me: Me too. I mean, as long as I don't hear the "babe" and "baby" I can pretend that you two are not together.
Jin and LiPin were ignoring us. They are so into each other.
LiPin: You could have lied and told them that you bumped on something...no, wait. That's how abuser teach their victims to tell. No, you are right. You have to be honest on how and when you got your injuries...
Jin: (pointing at his collarbone) This one I got when you bit me while I have my fingers in your...
LiPin and I: (scandalized) Oh my God! Stop!
Me: Say more and your mouth is the first one I will soap up!
Jin: (grinning at Qing) Dating someone from Heilongjiang is so much fun. Why didn't you say so earlier?
Qing: (bland tone) I thought that was a given when I literally snatched Dayu from there to shack up with me here. In case you missed it, I don't really do that before with my exes.
Jin: (nodding) You have a point. We were also so surprised when you suddenly announced that you will start living with Dayu.
Me: (clapping) Okay, enough with the chitchat and lets clean up. I mean, I lost Mrs.Tiu to her son last week. Curse that man!
Qing: (wincing) She promised to visit us when she is in the area. Let her enjoy her retirement.
LiPin: Mrs.Tiu is finally retired? Are you sure?
Qing: (sighing) No. I mean, this is the second time Mrs.Tiu tried retirement since we met her. The first one was an unmitigated disaster as the next month, she came back here crying to Dayu to take her back. They were both crying actually. She doesn't want to retire yet. But her son is now back here in China from living in the States with his husband and their children. They will be living here for at least three years. So Mrs.Tiu will have plenty of things to distract her while she is in her "retirement" this time.
Me: (lonely) I miss her already.
I teared up as I remembered my last phone call with Mrs.Tiu where she told me that she finalized her decision to no longer be under my employ. We already discussed her retirememt in person but that phone call made it all official. She told me she loves me so much and will come by once she is in the area. But she is so excited to be with her grandchildren and I wished her luck. But still, the Goddess and I now have a problem. We will need to look for a new housekeeper as Mrs.Tiu was also hers.
It will be hard as we trust Mrs.Tiu completely. For years, Mrs.Tiu treated us like her extended children. She tolerated all my quirks so well and her only request to me was not to write about her that much here in my diary. I even joked once that the reason why she asked me that was because she was a government secret spy. She blinked at me and asked how I know about it and that she has to kill me now that I am unto her.
She is one riot lady. Funny, witty, meticulous like me and very efficient as a housekeeper.
Me: (sniffing) I will die without her! Qing, lets convince her to come back to us! Please.
I grabbed Qing's sleeve so I can shake him a little as I cry in despair of losing my OCD's trusted ally when it comes to cleaning my home.
Qing: (tired tone) Let her go, for fucking fuck's sake, Dayu ah. You already lost. The other side is formidable. Blood and grandchildren. You cannot win against that. Believe me. You saw it on my parents. When JR is around, JiJi and I could disappear and they won't miss us. It'll also happen to you. Once we give my parents grandchildren, you won't be their favourite anymore.
Me: That's a lie! Mama loves me!
Qing: (nodding) Okay, true. You have a point. Mama will always favor you the best. But still...
Me: We just need to eliminate the competition.
All of them: Feng Jian Yu!
Me: (stomping my feet) Fine! But if I won't have my cleaning buddy, someone has to replace her. And for now, that's the three of you!
And now we are back to square one. Where the three of them look at me with already exhausted expression on their faces. So I made a concession. Just the living room and kitchen. We just need to spring clean the living room and kitchen.
Me: Oh, also the balcony and our second bathroom. I mean, they are small spaces, they will be easy to clean.
They served me groans but no more complaints. I promised them sherbet and siumai for snacks plus regular meals. I mean, what more could they ask for?
Jin: A payment. I mean, I earn money just for breathing, Dayu ah. Now you want me to slave away for you?
Me: I let you date my friend in peace. You should be kissing my feet, jackass!
Jin looked at Qing who turned away from his friend.
Qing: Don't involve me in that. You are talking to Dayu's OCD, that one is unreasonable and arguing with it is just a waste of time. You won't win even if you think you are winning.
Me: Listen to him, he knows me best.
LiPin: Okay! Where will I be assign?
Me: (smiling at Jin) See? They know me. Just surrender.
Jin rolled his eyes and just stuck himself with Qing. They got the living room. LiPin and I went to the kitchen and gloved up.
Me: I just cleaned my fridge. About the last thing I did with Mrs.Tiu before she left me for some jerk...
LiPin: Her son.
Me: Yes. For some jerk who enticed her with grandchildren...
LiPin: (laughing) You are impossible.
Me: (as I got the scrubbing pad) I just miss her, that's all. She taught me a lot about housekeeping and treated me preciously. She took time to know all my kinks about cleaning and respected my OCD. I don't think someone will accommodate me that well again. I don't think I can trust someone like that again.
Mrs.Tiu invested time and emotions on me. Like Qing, she decided that it's worthwhile to get to know me and love all the flaws she saw in me. She never judged me. She tried to understand everything. We did argue every once in a while but we always made up. I treated her like she is my favorite aunt and in turn, she treated me like a nephew she needed to guide and indulge from time to time.
I love her so.
LiPin: (while busy cleaning the dining table) It's not like you won't see her again.
Me: But it won't be the same. She is retired now. I'm happy for her, really. I just feel anxious about replacing her. I don't think I can but I have to because I can't do everything in this house and Qing will not permit me to overtax myself. You know that I almost had a breakdown from exhaustion before Mrs.Tiu came into our lives. I told you that story, remember.
LiPin: (nodding) Yes. And I agree. You have to look for a reliable housekeeper and do this trust building thing all over again because you cannot be like this all the time. Anxious and your OCD panicking.
Me: My OCD is fine.
LiPin: Your home is clean, Dayu ah. You need to move and do something more than your home needs cleaning. That's why we are cleaning today.
Me: If I need to move, we could go outside and play.
LiPin: No. If we go outside and play, you will give us hell. It'll just frustrates us all. Cleaning is what your OCD craves. The sweeping and wiping. It wants to see gleaming surfaces. Then it will calm down.
Me: (suspicious) Are you psychoanalyzing me right now?
LiPin is studying to be a psychologist. She actually wants to be a child psychologist to help young trauma victims. She will change the world, I believe in her.
LiPin: Maybe. I am still no expert in OCD but we do tackled it in classes.
Me: Being with me must be a field trip to you. I have lots of head issues you could tinker with.
LiPin: I won't try. Well, I am trying to understand more about your panic attacks and OCD but I don't look at you as my patient, Dayu ah. Or a study material. You are my friend and I care about you. I think cleaning stuffs quieted your mind and I don't see anything wrong with that. It's a method for you to calm down when you are anxious, who are we to judge you on how you calm yourself? When I feel anxious, I go to work and serve drink. It calms me to be behind the bar and just look at people partying. See, I have my weirdness too.
Me: That's your part time job, you get paid for doing it.
LiPin: True. But there are other part time job I can do out there. But bartending calms me down. Mixing drinks reminded me that I could do something well. Saying hi to familiar people or listen to their worries also gives me a sense of purpose.
Me: It's the psychologist in you. You want people to unburden themselves by talking to you.
It seems to me that LiPin has been practicing her future profession a long time now. They say bartenders could be therapists too. But much cooler because they will serve you drink while listening to your woes.
LiPin: (nodding) And that calms me. That gave me peace. I'm happy.
Me: That's great.
LiPin: (smiling) So don't apologize for doing what you can to make yourself feel less anxious and better. If it's cleaning then heck yeah, clean it all up! Fuck those who will judge you.
Me: Okay.
We had fun cleaning. Well, I at least had fun. I won't hijack what the others were thinking while I ordered them to clean around. And LiPin was right, my home is clean because we didn't have to work hard to get every surface in the kitchen and living room gleaming. By noontime, we were done with the kitchen and living room. By mid afternoon, the balcony and second bathroom were also cleaned up. We had a nice take out dinner with Jin and LiPin but we avoided drinking this time.
I was happy afterwards and Qing was happy too. He hugged me while we were in bed.
Qing: We will get you a new housekeeper whom will make you happy like Mrs.Tiu. We will ask her to recommend some people to us. Don't worry, I won't let anyone come here and hurt you.
If you all remember, Qing only agreed that we hire Mrs.Tiu once he deemed that she won't be uncomfortable being employed by a same sex couple.
Me: Thank you.
Qing: No, thank you for taking it easy on Jin. He is happy with LiPin. I know if you will seriously protest their relationship, you can give him hell.
Me: I am not that formidable. Or powerful.
Qing: (yawning) Oh Love...you are. Goodnight.
I don't know what he means by that but I had no time to ask because Qing fell asleep already.
Should I ask all of you? Am I that formidable and powerful that I can make someone's life hellish?
Huh?