Maid In Singapore Read Free Page B

had caught him, but it had been too
sudden for me to note any rational details. Forgive me, I was already
too distracted.
    ‘Her next medical
exam is only a few weeks down the road. Please be careful till then,’
she added.
    Carefu l .
. . did she mean me and David? The question did not arise since we
were sleeping apart.
    ‘I think she will
come to see me this Sunday when she gets her weekly day off. I will
not speak of our conversation. I will call you and let you know what
she has to say.’ Ms Goh wanted to defuse the situation and to
move on with what she did, supplying girls.
    I stood up, mumbling thank s , crying as I left.
    At home, Mary was doing
household work while Jay and David were away. Now that we were alone,
she came to me.
    ‘Mum, please
don’t send me away to Manila, my family needs the money, please
mum, let me be here in Singapore. I will swear upon Jesus that I will
not tell anyone, mum?’ She broached the topic, not me.
    T el l anyon e . . . did the cluster of maids at the kid’s
play area already know? Was there a maid’s fraternity, keepers
of sexual secrets, to be discussed and detailed while they were away
from their homes and husbands?
    I tried to be calm,
mostly failing.
    ‘You should have
thought of the consequences earlier, now be ready to face what comes
your way,’ I delivered my threat.
    ‘But, mum, it was
not my fault alone, sir was also to blame, what could I have done, he
is my owner.’ She knew, in this situation she had the upper
hand, legally at least. ‘Please, mu m , just
transfer me to another house, I will forget the whole thing, please
mum,’ she added.
    ‘Let us see, I
will speak to Ms Goh,’ I dismissed her.
    That Sunday while Mary
was away, Ms Goh called around noon. Hearing me speak to the agent,
David entered the second bedroom, which I had occupied these past few
days. He shut the door gently, so that Jay could not hear our
conversation, or so we thought.
    ‘It is exactly as
I had thought. Mary came and asked for a change of employer,’
Ms Goh seemed relieved.
    ‘Did you ask her
why?’
    ‘Yes, of course.
She said she was not happy with you and that the housework was far
too much for her to mange, she did not directly mention what had
happened, she just hinted that she felt uncomfortable in the presence
of sir,’ Ms Goh clarified.
    ‘I see.’
    ‘I am going to
start hunting for a replacement for you and send this one away to
another house, okay?’ she asked, hoping to resolve this issue.
    David was listening to
our conversation, watching me like a hawk. How could I agree to a
compromise when I was the affected party? If I did agree, it meant
that I accepted David’s behaviour and was ready to move on. It
would be a defeat.
    David grabbed the phone
from my hand. ‘Ms Goh, please get rid of her without creating
any further problems. Just get her transferred and that will be the
end of this,’ he said. ‘I will speak to my wife and
tackle her. Thanks.’ He cut the line.
    A defea t is when you lose, but what was I fighting for, or fighting against? I
was fighting for my dignity and I was fighting against being treated
as a problem that could be tackle d .
    ‘ T ackle ,
what do you mean tackle?’ I looked up at him; we were by
ourselves with the door still shut.
    ‘Not a single
minute passes when I wish I had not done what I did. I know I cannot
undo the past, but in the present, I live each moment in repentance,’
his head was in his hands, would he cry?
    ‘Please have me
back, I cannot have you away from me,’ he was crying. ‘I
am ready to go to the church or the temple with you right now and ask
for forgiveness, please let us be happy again.’ He came up to
me, sitting alongside, almost touching me.
    ‘The only reason
why I am still in this house is our son. I cannot ruin his childhood,
seeing him grow in the shadow of a broken family, scarred for the
rest of his adult life.’ This was a lie from my side. Deep
inside, I knew—children are