'Well, sorry about that.' Theo Pinson hiccuped, his speech slightly loose from all the alcohol him and Ian Lautner had drunk earlier. Both Theo and Ian were coming from the other side of the country, former Chicoutimi and latter California City, and the ride to the airport was certainly hectic to say the least. Having only arrived at the funeral home about an hour ago, they decided to get drunk early and it showed with the way they started slurring and saying uncontrollable words. 'I don't know about him, but we shouldn't have behaved like that when the Sangju himself is silent.'
‘It’s fine, Theo.’ said Asher as he slowly poured the 30’c Makgeolli, from the halfway-full pot to a Notgeureut. ‘It must not have been easy making the trip so late in advance. Not easy to do that even when your mum’s been such a close friend of late Mrs. Turner. Same goes for Ian as well.’
‘Certainly. What a way to start the March break. Not in the warm, backyard beaches, but in Kingston.’ Ian nodded, as he gulped down another load of Makgeolri. ‘But we’re all here for Myeong-Shin. He must be really hurting now, but that’s expected of anybody who lost his mum.’
‘Yeah. And he’s a senior too,’ nodded Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya, who remains amazed at this. ‘Thank god he came back just in time for her last words….we were all worried about the whole match, against Westlake of all schools too.’
‘Yeah, the QBC guys were talking about it on broadcast,’ Theo nodded, as he looked at Ian. ‘I’m sure nobody thought this year would go anything like what we expected from 2038, you know? Myeong-Shin and I were supposed to play for Queen’s together, win a few and then be rivals once in pros. Instead, he bolted to Saguenay while I’m still heading to Cornwall.’ Theo lifted his head up and pensively into the ceiling. Theo and Ian, while still young, looked a lot more aged than what their written age suggested once in this room.
Of course, there’s a bit of a complicated reason behind why things were slightly complicated, and we all knew that was because Myeong-Shin, for whatever the reason only few (including themselves) knew, decided to break upon a promise of them all ending up in Cornwall. Being an Erskinian whose parents both went like the Lautners did (but not the Pinsons - Theo’s father Nathan was a community college grad back in the Pinsons’ hometown of Beolgyo, Ontario), it had previously made sense for him to go to Queen's College. That's what everybody thought. 99% of the crystal balls said so too!
But that didn't happen and now everything's changed. That may have been why the college junior was hesitant on making a college commitment at this point in time. Everybody knew Ian Lautner had reduced the list to three: Queen’s College, Saguenay and Southern Manitoba (most commonly referred to as USM). St. Croix was out early, so was Farrer and a bunch of major ones. UPRI made a valiant pitch, but they did not promise him that the Thunderbirds were not going to recruit a quarterback for the very next class after. Queen’s was where his parents, a history student and an art history student, met; USM was his hometown school where at least four football players from Pater Dei went every year; and of course, Saguenay. They became a huge riser after Myeong-Shin, the sangju himself whom he spent many cottage summers, committed to Saguenay.
‘And that’s why you never go back on your own words.’ said Ian, as he tried to find the right ways to describe it. ‘The old man, of course, never held back on his words nor did he stop loving her. Something my papa never came to understand, but it’s at least a good love story that ties all of us here.’
Of course, the final sentence was playing somewhat of a heightened tension in the room. Sure, it’s partly to do with Myeong-Shin’s commitment, but more it’s over the divide between the two. As described earlier, people on both sides of the polemics still argued whether it was the gorgeous redhead in Maureen Turner that seduced him the first time and then played a cruel game until it was too much, or that Heo Dong-Soo himself played a long game of life and death that he seemingly bet on for too long.
‘If such happened, then love must be a powerful creature,’ said Bradley Coughlan-Chen, trying not to say too much.
‘It certainly is, because nobody believed them when it was late Mme. Turner who was the one that saved him when he had to retire.’ responded Theo. ‘One of the greatest mysteries in this universe.’
‘Maybe miracles do happen out there.’ said Asher, just adding a minor thought to the discussion that was getting too blamatory towards this Dr. Heo and that Mme. Turner. Frankly, Asher didn’t care too much about it. Sure he was very much concerned with the deceased, being Myeong-Shin’s friend and long familiar to the family, but he had little concerns with whatever Ian and Theo were talking about. If anything, he was rather wondering who had the audacity to send a text message exactly five minutes ago. A text message so urgent that it got sent through and made emergency notification even though he had his phone turned off.
Now the conversation went onto something else about memories of Mme. Turner whenever the crew reached over the cottage summers or all star games, Asher found this a right time to move away. He turned on his phone, waited ten seconds and swiped right to unlock the phone.
‘Who is it...who is it...who is it…’ Asher repeated as he pressed the text button, trying to see if he could find out. It was an unfamiliar, out of town phone number for one. But for another it must have been a non-Montreal or Quebec City phone number, since it didn’t start with 0. Those two cities were the only ones that had their phone numbers start with 0 or 1. ‘Oh no….’ he dropped the phone, having seen the text and realised what had happened.
Hey Ash, this is Eileen. Is everything okay back there? I received your mail and tried to call you few nights back but you weren’t responding.
IS THIS EILEEN? IS THIS REALLY EILEEN?
SHOULD BE. WHO ELSE WOULD IT BE? YOU DON’T HAVE A COUSIN NAMED EILEEN.
...THAT I KNOW OF.
NOT THE POINT. STOP BEING SILLY RIGHT THERE.
IS THIS REALLY REALLY EILEEN THE GIRL WHO CAUGHT ME SKYDIVING INSIDE MY HEART?
YES, WHO ELSE DO YOU HAVE AS EILEEN AROUND YOUR LIFE SILLY? JUST GET BACK TO IT. STOP BEING SO HESITANT.
ALRIGHT ALRIGHT. LET’S GET BACK TO IT. GO TEXT HER.
WHAT?????
JUST DO IT. GODDAMNIT.
ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT.
He looked down to his cellphone, looked at the message again and typed a message. Phew. That was the only word that seeped into his mind, as he decided to browse an article or two to read while the boys were talking about something. Unfortunately, he got his response right away….
Eek, he thought to himself as he wondered what to do next. For one this was a good sign- maybe she wasn’t going to just ghost him. If anything, this was the very opposite situation. Still, Asher wasn’t sure on how to answer the situation that he’s currently in right now and barring some miracle, he would not be able to see her unless he ask his mum and dad to just go to a rural town in Southwestern Acadie…..which, while sounding like a solid idea, he wasn’t sure on how sellable it may be.
Anyhow, Asher decided to wait a day or two before even deciding on what to do with this number. Having turned off his phone, Asher went back to the conversation table, only to hear Theo talking about something. ‘Honestly though, Dr. Heo was a scary man. Never seen anybody who can get so furious for breaking the rules or streaking or shit. Don’t you think?’ Asher was listening to this, but could still care less about the situation. Now they were talking about something that he knew, but not in the right timing nor context.
‘No denial on that. It’s not so common to see a professor that is renowned and beloved by the Royal court, to send a letter of condemnation so that he could deny a certain professor, a vegan, from tenure at a major school!’ Ian added, smirking at how everybody seemed to underestimate the old man.
‘Is the one you talking about….THAT VEGAN PROF whom your brother Connor mentioned a while back on twitter, Ian?’ Theo asked, kind of getting the gist of what his West Coast friend was talking about.
‘Who else would it be?’ Ian shot back with no surprise. ‘You know Dr. Heo, like a good Que-be-cois, views veganism with disdain.’ The old man Heo may not use his legs effectively enough, especially after the car crash that ended his budding fencing career but also brought Maureen back to him, but everybody knew that did not deter him from words of fire and fury when asked. ‘Of course, the only sin committed by that very prof of concern was kicking Dr. Heo off the graduate journal board for ripping onto half the submissions for how they were juvenile and fucking unacceptable. They were Masters’ students back then, but who would have thought that’d lead into a condemnation letter using the Royal Society of Quebec seal…’
Asher was watching the very cynicism and the fire that coexisted in Ian Lautner, as he kept his mind occupied. He had known about this part for a while because Myeong-Yoon once jokingly mentioned this when they were chatting on a lunch table as freshmen, but since it came off so...casually from Myeong-Yoon, he kinda shrugged it off. To those outside of the circles, that’s one of the scariest things about the Quebecois- they never forget when they get insulted for no proper reason- but Asher simply gave no fucks about this.
Anyhow, Asher went back to drinking. All the six on the table (himself included) were now well drunk, and their mouths were quenched from the everlasting thirst. The grief was at least going to be temporary, but the memories derived from it were at least going to be permanent. That’s what they were looking for.
‘What a cruel man, who knew whom to love and hate...the strongest feelings he held…’ said Sarah Saint-Amant, her nose now as red as a Rudolph. ‘What did Mme. Turner do to deserve unconditional love from him…’
‘And he never regretted it all this time.’ Asher said, feeling like saying his final words into the topic. ‘Said he’d do this over and over again. To give everything up only to be with someone who left him hanging the first time. Only except that it worked the second time.’ He hoped this, now that he’s well drunk and distracted, would be enough for him to exit the conversation. He really did not want to keep falling into the loop no more- whether Dr. Heo, the loving father of two and faithful husband of Mme. Turner was cruel or fiery or whatever mattered little to him now. He just wished he would be in that country town outside the Saint John-Habpo Twin Cities right now.
PART 4/8 - Love In The Ice
What a shitshow of hundreds it was.
Asher Lundrigan isn't really a man of funerals. He’s never been, never intends to, nor hopes to become one in future. His life, since returning to the Quebecois soil, certainly gave him the comfortable cushion but also the lack of such experiences. Aside from not always seeing his father due to Mr. Lundrigan’s duties as a MP for six years, he had a fairly standard childhood growing up before going to Erskine. Given how some of his teammates and friends, especially those who were scouted way back in grade eight, did not necessarily have the common lifestyle or cultural code within their experience, he knew he was very lucky not to go through particular traumas.
Well, at least it’s over now.
At the funeral, it went as expected. There was a sea of people who wished to pay last respects to the deceased as the coffin was being placed underground. If anything, everybody was paying some kind of tribute forth to that summer of 2013 when, out of unexpectedness, it was Maureen Turner who, upon hearing the news, came to him as he was recovering. The story, long famous in both the husband and the wife’s circles but not so much to the public, was a classic Quebecois love story. It was the one that was seemingly going to end in tragedy but did not. Since then, they had spent the next quarter-century together, from Kingston to Quebec City and then back to where they had first met in Cornwall, before ending up in Kingston. Like that, the trail brought people and they were there, all solemn and mourning.
Now, Asher Lundrigan stared at the tombstone that marked Mme. Turner’s name, her favourite quote and how she was parent of two and wife of one. He was feeling particularly solemn and quiet throughout the funeral, but his feet weren’t so fast in telling him to leave just yet. If anything, he was amazed with how massive the funeral crowd was for the interring of the late choreographer. Family friends, extended family members, fellow professors and dancers, fencing national team members. The list itself was quite endless and that’s something he partly longed for. He longed for the days when he, like with the Heo family’s case, would write enough of his own stories, of his life that’d be more than whatever the fuck that was right now. He dreamed of eventually getting out of here, moving to somewhere bigger, and maybe hope for the best.
‘Well at least we’re through.’ As the low, deep voice brought him out of the daze, Asher turned around only to see Myeong-Shin, the other half of the Battery of Love, standing before him. ‘Though it’s not over yet.’
‘Myeong-Shin, my apologies once again.’ said Asher, trying to remind himself of his part in the situation. It may have been unnecessary but he at least wanted to be clear on it. ‘Should’ve known my place better and told you.
‘Asher, I’m not concerned one bit about it. If anything, I have a matter that concerns you, not me, as of right now.’ Myeong-Shin said, with a particular eloquence of his father, the professor. The comment caught Asher right on the spot. Even though they had been playing together for long enough, they rarely pushed one another into a decision that likely involves personal sentiments. Sure, Myeong-Shin did give Asher tips on picking up girls from time to time, but he trusted Asher enough to not really create artificial situations out of blue, while Asher was never concerned with how ‘stable’ and ‘perfect’ Myeong Shin-Naomi relationship was. Still, their door to intervene and help was always open and this just had to happen now.
‘Alright, le capitaine,’ Asher nodded, seeing the level of trust between the two. ‘So...what is it?’
‘I know you wanted to send her your love, memories remain.’ Myeong-Shin said, trying to stay somewhat oblivious. ‘And I know you wanted to send it to her, but didn’t get to do so.’
But...the letter was still in my bag in the morning. He questioned on the inside, as he felt both scared and exhilarated at the same time. Does this mean that he had known all along?
‘Yes….but why this now? This is not the right time for this.’ Asher questioned, still bewildered at what’s going on.
‘Because I have a present for you,’ Myeong-Shin smiled, as he brought out a small card which Asher assumed had something to do with Quebecois National Railways given their respective shape. ‘QNR year pass, effective today.’ Myeong-Shin handed Asher the rail pass, which he reluctantly opened. ‘You have to go now. I have let your parents know that you have an important...mission to attend at Saint-John-Upon-Battersea.’
He then continued with simple instructions that would be best described as the proper application of the imperative case, though not in his ideal language of choice. Since the English imperatives, for one, lacked such distinctions and pronunciations for that, he instructed Asher in Korean. ‘Make sure to catch the 6pm MACH at Songjeong station, not Union. Then, once you get off, you’ll probably have about an hour between Windsor and King’s Cross. Make sure to catch the right train that should wake you up for 5am arrival, or else you’ll be arriving at Saint John Central around 1am.’ He commented.
‘But why...why are you doing this for me?’ Asher asked, as he still found himself in bewilderment over all this. There were many questions that emerged as he unsuccessfully tried to organise the latest bits of information. Was he the one who sent a copy of it, and somehow found where Eileen was staying? Heck, who is Eileen even? Why is she…why is he... ‘Just why? The mail...’ he blurted out.
Myeong-Shin briefly sighed, before giving him a particular look on the eye that suggested this was a serious business. ‘Yes. It took me several phone calls and dozens of texts in the middle of the night, but eventually I did find the right address to send the mail. Myeong-Yoon being her fan clearly….helped. So to speak.’
‘That explains everything.’ Asher replied, having realised everything. ‘So you think that I need to take the plunge, and risk it all.’
‘Yes, because this is your turn, and I owe you enough already,’ he said. ‘Father always told me how mother, with her smile, the cheeriness and ability to understand his tongue, was the true life-changer for him. Everything made sense when he was with her and when they took late strolls over snowy Cornwall streets after Dr. Schvabrin’s class. There is a reason why Dr. Schvabrin still remembers me fondly.’
‘So you think that I need to take the plunge, and risk it all.’
‘Of course, always, toujours, eonjena.’ said Myeong-Shin with the finest of his certainties. ‘I know it could take a ton away from you. It took him two near-deaths, an ended career and friends who remain confused to this day, but never did he regret once.’
‘So you think I have a chance to be with her?’
‘Yes, but it’s going to be up to you,’ He continued, trying to get the right essence out of the situation that the man who he looked very much alike once committed. ‘If you love her and see any hopes, now is going to be the time. Happy March break.’
