Martoons

Cast of characters

Fred

Cleaning Lady

Donna

*

Pears           

“No, no, no!” Cleaning Lady waved Fred off vigorously.

“It was all Rose’s fault. That man was a client and they were both drinking.”

“Rose is not supposed to drink – her personality changes.”

“She becomes – how you say – sentimental and teary, and she won’t shut up. She was probably annoying him.”

* Do you think that was the case? *

It was early Monday morning and Cleaning Lady was over to clean Mrs Won’s place.

“But,” Fred pleaded, “that guy was pushing and shoving her.”

The crusty yet caring custodian’s tone changed from disagreeable to sympathetic. She apologized to Fred, saying her daughter was truly embarrassed.

“Really, it’s no problem. Sorry you are troubled by this.”

Fred waved her off. “I’m not troubled by it, Cleaning Lady. Your daughter was swinging her purse at that jerk, that’s what she was doing.”

“It was in self-defence. She should go to the police and press charges. I witnessed it and will testify.”

Cleaning Lady waved him off again but more lamely this time and turned to resume her household duties.

“Everything is okay. She was with her client and many are like that – or worse.”

“All is fair in love and war … and the escort business. Her boss will deal with that man if he sees fit.”

“That man is her new client. He just arrived in Chinju some weeks ago and that was their first meeting.”

“Her boss told her to treat him kindly because he spends a lot of money. Did you know he is Canadian?”

The remark went right past Fred, who was both upset and somewhat amazed at Cleaning Lady’s willingness to dismiss the whole thing.

“I don’t think escorting is a very good job for someone like Rose. She’s bound to get a bad client sooner or later.

“She could be hurt or … worse. Why on earth do you let your daughter do a job like that?”

Cleaning Lady breathed a sigh of exasperation.

“Aigo! I’m sure I’ll be punished for it in the next life. But you see I don’t have much money.”

“I saved money for years for my son’s education. He’s in the army now and after he’ll go to technical college to be an engineer.”

“After all that, I just don’t have enough cash to also send Rose to college. It’s too bad, because she is smarter than my son!”

“Why can’t you send her then, instead of him?”

Fred chuckled but Cleaning Lady remained stone-faced. “It’s the Korean way. The son must come first. Just a moment.”

She rushed into the kitchen and brought back a plastic bag full of something. “Here, Mr Fred. Thank you for your concern. You are a good man.”

She handed the bag to him. He bowed as he received it and then inspected the contents. It was full of huge, fresh, juicy…

“Korean pears,” said Cleaning Lady.

*

“Don’t get upset about it,” Donna said when Fred ran into her later that day at work.

“Unfortunately it seems to be common here – maybe not actual pushing matches but certainly men dominating and undermining women in pretty much every other way.”

She shrugged. “Apparently feminism hasn’t arrived yet.”

Fred shrugged. “I couldn’t believe Rose. She was almost offended that I was trying to help her.”

“I saw some crazy stuff when I first got here but give it a few months and you won’t notice it anymore. You’ll sink into the system.”

“You mean I’ll become jaded?”

Donna didn’t respond.

“I sure got Rose wrong,” Fred added, exasperated.

“Completely underestimated her willingness to submit to that kind of treatment. It’s like a slave mentality.”

“It’s not just Rose,” Donna said. “All the women are like that here, even modern, sophisticated ones like your very own Mrs Won.

“Culture here is like a giant rice cooker, and the women are all grains of rice sealed inside it. How can they escape being cooked?”

Fred snickered at the image and his anger was starting to lift.

“You’re right about Mrs Won.”

“As educated and progressive as she is, she spends most of her time after work overprotecting her daughter and waiting for her husband to come home so she can dote over him.”

He pulled one of Cleaning Lady’s giant pears out of his backpack. It was the shape of a large apple, but with a dull, golden-brown skin.

Fred held it as if it was a sculpture and rotated it to check out various perspectives.

“Amazing.”

*

Tomorrow: Donna and Fred continue to chat.