Sunshine didn’t know which they were most reluctant to face first: their families who they’ve eluded for the past three days, Yoon having to return to his company responsibilities or the persistent tabloid hogs that didn’t get the hint that the Dupree Heiress didn’t consider her life any more newsworthy now that she was married than she did before she got married.
She and Yoon had discussed a lot about their childhoods and minor things about the future or at least what they would like to accomplish in the next year of their lives. Neither one wanted to really discuss the contract of their marriage that always seemed to be there at the surface reminding them that the current arrangement, regardless of how happy and satisfactory it was, wasn’t a guaranteed permanent situation.
At the end of the year, either one of them could force the other to keep to the original contract terms. If it was left up to her, she would tear it up and begin to think of her marriage as being as real as any with people who had known each other much longer. But for some reason she felt Yoon needed the “out” and although it hurt her with him being the one that had a disappointing marriage before, she could understand his hesitation to make any promises to her about extending their agreement to forever.
She was glad to have traded in her couture fashion for the jeans and t-shirts she’d been wearing lately. Even with the new wardrobe of expensive clothing Yoon deemed necessary due to his impressive whose who list of multi-millionaires—he claimed was growing because of her—that he represented, she was expected to be his new hostess, taking over the role from whoever his latest mistress had been.
Reluctantly she agreed in spite of her dislike for the public flaunting of who she was. If anyone else had asked her to be hostess at their dinner parties, she would have felt like she was being used. But she never felt that way with Yoon. He brought so much more into her life than he ever expected her to give back in return.
Sunshine noticed the changes in herself since Yoon had come into her life and all of them have been for the better. Never had she felt so self-assured or complete as a woman. She could see why her mother was constantly chasing one domestic bliss after another. This was a feeling that once you had it, you could find yourself always trying to recapture it if you ever lost it.
She felt like through her own experiences she now understood her mother much better. It may have not been her father, but at some point maybe with her mother’s first love, she had experienced this feeling of utter completeness with a man like Sunshine was feeling now. Her mother must have lost it for one reason or another and with each man she dates or marries, it’s with the hope that she can find this feeling again.
Releasing a sigh at the thought, she wondered if this was a sign of her future. She couldn’t imagine loving anyone else but Yoon, but she wouldn’t want to not ever feel this happiness again if he chose not to spend his life with her.
Padding bare feet into the laundry room, she took the freshly washed sheets out of the washer and shoved them in the dryer before turning the knobs to the appropriate heat factor and time. She pressed start and loaded up the washer with another set of sheets.
They both agreed that due to her new, but happily achievable ability to femininely ejaculate, they were going to have to order a waterproof mattress cover or they were going to go through his entire savings replacing mattresses and paying the expensive utility bill for cleaning the sheets; not to mention adding more of those to the linen closet.
He had been teasing of course but as she looked at the last set of sheets waiting to be washed, it attested to the fact that if they were going to keep fucking like teenage bunnies on Viagra, they will have to adjust the non-romantic side of a good healthy sexual relationship.
On the up side, in three weeks her new prescriptions of birth control pills will save them the cost of the condom supply that was nearly tapped from being resupplied.
That reminds me. She tapped her temple with her finger. I need to go online and order some of my favorite Strawberry flavored condoms. Those damned chocolate mint flavored ones left an awful aftertaste in my mouth. She made a face and clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth after the erotic personal “have a nice day” she gave Yoon at the front door this morning.
A condom was necessary to keep from messing up his expensive suit and she made him late for a meeting, but damn her husband sure did look good in a well tailored suit of clothing. They were just going to have to get use to the boss being late more often.
With a smile still on her lips, she walked out of the washroom off the half-bath into the hall and turned left to put the freshly folded sheets she held in her arms on the bed when the ringing doorbell brought her up short.
She rushed to the door not fearful it was the reporters because they weren’t allowed beyond the community security gate and so far they were being respectful. It must be Yoon’s suits from the dry cleaners.
“Hey,” she opened the door and turned to go to the kitchen and get money out of the house fund jar. “My hands are full. Just lay the suits across the chair in the corner next to the door and wait while I get you a tip,” she chatted.
“Excuse me,” a softly spoken voice called from the door. “I am your employer’s mother and I am here to finally meet the woman he married. Is she here?”
Sunshine stopped. Her face scrunched up and she mouthed a silent curse word that was appropriate for times such as this before turning and peeking over the sheets in her arms to see a supremely refined dressed woman that believe it or not stood about a head shorter than her own petite stature.
Her facial bones were delicately carved. Her cheekbones were high and her mouth full; similar features Sunshine saw in her husband’s devilishly attractive face.
“Mrs. Young, please...please...come in. Yoon didn’t tell me you were coming. She slid the stack of sheets onto the corner of the foyer table. “I apologize for my appearance. I was cleaning and I thought you were the cleaners, they were...” She was talking too much.
“So you are she? Just what I expected. Unfortunately.”
Ouch. Oh, it was going to be like that. Sunshine thought. Well as long as they weren’t in the bedroom, she could pretend to be a good little daughter-in-law.
“Would you like some ice tea? It’s my southern family recipe. Or I can get you something else if--”
“It’s my son’s home. I can well get what I want if I’m so inclined. Step aside or do you want me to sit in the chair by the door?”
You might better in case you need to make a quick run for it once I start kicking your smart mouth ass.
This is what she wanted to say, but instead she smiled and rubbed her moist palms against her jeans. Instead of stepping aside, she walked ahead of Yoon’s mother into the living room. She may clean her own home, but she wasn’t a servant in it.
As they stepped into the living room, Sunshine allowed her to choose a seat first and followed choosing to sit across from her instead of next to her on the sofa.
“Mind you, if you do choose to go to the kitchen and help yourself, I have started to rearranged things to my liking. If there is something you can’t find, I will be happy to help,” Sunshine gave her new mother-in-law a serene smile.
Quietly they sat as Yoon’s mother rudely eyed her from head to toe and it took everything in her not to shift in her seat like some kid in the principal’s office for some wrongdoing.
Sunshine lifted her chin another notch. She was use to dealing with Nana Sophia in Grand Madam mode, and if that wasn’t enough, she was not some “gold digging whore from around the block.” She was a Dupree woman!
Any in-law you find yourself contending with should be so fortunate as to have a Dupree woman in their future bloodline. Hold your head up at all times Sunshine Sophia Dupree. You are my namesake and your grandmother cowers to no one! Ever.
She could hear her grandmother’s voice so clearly in her mind; it was as if she was sitting in the room next to her.
“Do you love my son?”
/>
“I do,” Sunshine answered with a regal nod.
“Does he love you?”
Not missing a beat, Sunshine simply replied, “You have to ask him. However, he did marry me.”
“I do disapprove,” Hye Da Young said bluntly. “Did my son not tell you he was betrothed to another woman?”
“Yoon introduced me to Miss Lee,” Sunshine admitted. “He also made it clear to Miss Lee that I was his future, not her. I would think that you too would respect your son’s choice.”
“Are you pregnant?”
“I am not.”
Sunshine heard a light popping sound and looked down at Mrs. Young hands. The older woman, noticing where her eyes traveled, too folded her hands and clenched them tightly to still the nervous habit.
“Yoon does that too,” Sunshine gave her a genuine smile for the first time since her arrival. She relaxed.
“Does he?” Her Asian eyes widened in surprise. “I had no idea...”
“Look, Mrs. Young, I don’t wish for us to get off to a bad start that will have Yoon torn between us.” Sunshine leaned forward with her palms open over her crossed knees. “As you well know, your son has a stressful lifestyle with thousands of people all over the world depending on him for their livelihood. I don’t want to add to that stress. I want to help ease it when he comes through that door every day.”
“Still...”
“Tell me, exactly, what your concerns about our marriage are,” Sunshine encouraged. Diplomacy was always the best tactic.
“I believe Yoon Min would benefit most from a wife with a similar background,” Hye Da said. “A Korean wife understands the rich history to which we are born to.”
“I understand,” Sunshine acknowledged her concerns.
“A Korean wife understands our language and customs so that any children born of the marriage will inherit all the knowledge and qualities without the confusion of any other cultures tainting their blood and minds.”
Well that was about as blunt as you could get. Sunshine drew in a deep breath. “Mrs. Young, I am a college educated woman with the most prestigious education my lifestyle can afford me and you know who I am, so that tells you I have had the best education offered.”
“Even with that said, Miss Dupree--”
“I will be taking my husband’s name,” Sunshine interrupted. “I am proud to be a part of the Young family and I am proud of my husband.”
“I see,” the older woman murmured. “Do you speak Korean?”
“I speak several languages. I’m sure learning one more will only enrich my education.”
“What about our culture, traditions and history?”
Sunshine mulled over her answer before speaking, “I’m not above learning about the culture into which I am married in.”
“Aren’t you being too simplistic about all of this?” Yoon’s mother asked.
“Isn’t it truly that simple? Isn’t everything learned and not inherited when it comes to traditions and history?” She answered with questions of her own.
“What about our bloodline? That cannot be learned.” The other woman countered.
“No, but if pride in one’s history is the point to the bloodline being of one culture, then by adding the diversity of my bloodline into an already proud bloodline can only enrich our children more.”
“I see,” Hye Da murmured.
“However, Mrs. Young, having my hands full seeing to Yoon’s needs once I have children, I would find it very helpful if the children could spend lots of time visiting you and Mr. Young to learn firsthand about their Korean heritage.
“You would do that?” The older woman asked. The surprise was evident on her attractive round face.
“I would be so honored.” Sunshine’s smile widened. “You did so well in raising Yoon. Our children could only benefit from having you in their lives.” She knew she was putting it on thick, but she was sincere.
Yoon was a wonderful man and he had to be so well rounded for a reason. When he spoke of his family, he spoke fondly about his upbringing.
“I thought you wouldn’t be interested in your children being a part of the Korean culture,” she frowned.
“Not only do I want them to be a part of it, I was wondering if you could teach me how to prepare some of Yoon’s favorite dishes. I love to cook and I have been going through Korean recipes online, but I swear there has to be a thousand recipes for kimchi.” Sunshine chuckled.
“Well yes, I do have a recipe passed on from my mother that was given to her by her mother...” Her words dwindled as she caught herself.
Secretly feeling satisfied, Sunshine pressed on. “You see, Mrs. Young, I too come from a family enriched with a history that I’m very proud of,” Sunshine answered pointedly. “I want our Yoon and my children to know all of what will make them who they are.”
“Which makes me ask, Sunshine,” she said her name for the first time and it gave Sunshine hope. “What does your family think about this marriage between you and my son? They must have had some objections when my son asked them for your hand in marriage.”
Sunshine wasn’t sure how to answer that. She decided the closer she stuck to the truth the better. “As you have been obviously shocked by this marriage...my family, I’m sure, will have the same mental reservations, once we speak to them.”
“What?” Hye Da went off in a tirade of Korean. She put the back of her hand to her forehead and swayed on the sofa until she was leaning to the side in a faint.
The actions of the woman were so dramatic in nature Sunshine started to look around to see if Yoon would jump out and yell, “gotcha!”
Maybe her husband had hired an actress to pretend to be his mother so he could test how well she will handle the meeting with his real mother.
Well he could call the Academy Awards because this woman was a winner!
She giggled inwardly from her foolish meanderings. Growing concerned when Yoon’s mother’s face became extremely flushed, Sunshine uncrossed her legs and sat on the edge of her seat, “Are you okay, Mrs. Young?” She interrupted the scene unfolding before her.
“I...think I’m going to be sick.” Hye Da fanned her face with her clutched purse. “Yoon Min is killing his mother. Oh...bah...oh! I’m going to die. I’m going to die...” she fretted.
Sunshine’s eyes grew round. “Let me get you some water,” Sunshine bound from the chair. Racing to the kitchen, she quickly put together a tray with bottled water, a crystal goblet of ice—not because she was trying to impress but because it was all Yoon had in his kitchen cabinets, a clean folded dish towel and as an afterthought a saucer of her chocolate chip cookies and hurried them back into the living room.
Easing down on the sofa next to Yoon’s mother, she placed the tray on the coffee table and poured the bottled water over the glass of ice. She used some of the ice water to dampen the folded towel before forcing the goblet in the other Mrs. Young’s small delicate hand and wrapped her fingers around the stem to hold it.
“Drink,” she ordered. “I’m sure you will feel better in a minute.”
Yoon’s mother moaned. “Or not.”
She wasn’t sure of anything but she was doing what she did for her mother when she was in the midst of her hysterics and prayed that it would work for Yoon’s mother also.
Taking the dampened folded towel, she placed it on Mrs. Young’s brow. When she brushed her hand away to sit up and sip from the glass of water, Sunshine placed the damp cloth behind her neck.
After about five minutes, Mrs. Young seemed to return to herself again. She straightened out her still impeccable designer dress and placed a hand on her cheeks. “I...I apologize. I just can’t believe the son I raised with such fortitude and care would marry a girl who he had not formally sought her family’s permission for her hand.”
Sunshine’s eyes grew wide and she was prepared to catch her if she should swoon again for her cheeks were looking puckish again.
“This is why you’re so upse
t?’ She asked with surprise. That was an unexpected turn.
She waved Sunshine off. “You wouldn’t understand. You’re not a parent, but your mother will.” She took another sip of water. “What your mother must think of me as a mother.”
She’s thinking thank God you are wealthy and so is your son. Can you spot me a loan until my daughter comes into her inheritance or I marry again? Whichever. Sunshine bit the inside of her bottom lip to keep from laughing at her thoughts.
“Hey, sweetheart!” Sunshine looked towards the foyer expectantly. “I have two hours in between clients and I hope you’re already naked,” Yoon called out, racing pass the living room, undoing his tie and shrugging off his suit jacket.
There was a pregnant pause.
As quickly as Yoon had passed by, he was back standing in the doorway of the living room. The look on his face was priceless.
“Uhm-ma, Mother.” He sounded as if he was two years old again. His clothing was askew and his expression looked as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing.
She heard double light popping sounds in the deafening silence of the room. Mother and son were more alike than not.
Sunshine lost it. She threw back her head and let out a great peel of laughter.
Both looked at her as if she had lost her mind, but it was Yoon’s face that was the first to soften into a smile. His laughter floated up from his throat, deep, warm, rich and marvelously infectious.
God I do love this man. Sunshine thought. He takes my breath away and I will do whatever it takes to convince him and his mother that I am right where I belong.
She was too busy admiring her husband’s laughing face to see the change that had come over her mother-in-law’s expression as she looked from one to the other.
The corners of Hye Da’s mouth slowly turned up in a genuine smile. The affectionate look her son was giving Sunshine wasn’t lost on her. Nor was the fact she didn’t remember the last time she heard her son laugh or had seen him look so happy. Her eyes watered.
The Contract: Sunshine Page 15
