he doesn’t want to see me again. It hurt me,” she whispered.
Aldous held her hand. “I am sure it was the hardest thing he’s ever done.” He remained silent for a moment, and asked, “Do you know Trey’s birth name was actually Theodore?”
“What? Um, no. Now I feel stupid.”
“Not at all. Almost no one knows that. His mother insisted on the name. I never liked it, but I’d already been such a dictator on everything else I thought I’d let her have that. After she left us, I couldn’t bear the name anymore.”
“So you changed it to Trey?”
“Yes. It means the number three.”
“Wait, after the ‘Rule of Three?’” Claudia asked, excited by the prospect.
“Very clever. Yes. What does it mean to you?”
“It’s a rule of thumb that states when the same computer code is used three times it should be extracted into a new procedure…replaced with something else,” she answered with the eager desire for approval of a star student.
“Correct. No wonder my son is so taken with you.”
Claudia’s cheeks warmed, but the bitter disappointment still ate at her throat.
“I’m not so sure of that,” she muttered.
“I am,” he countered. “The point is, I named him Trey because I wanted him always to remember, you don’t have to keep making the same mistake over and over.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Claudia asked quietly.
“Because I don’t want you to give up on him,” he answered, as Feng appeared and set out the teapot and three mugs.
“Thank you, Feng,” Claudia whispered, trying not to cry.
“He’s right you know,” Feng said. “I’ve watched you all these days, and I know you are blaming yourself.”
“How could I not? Trey and I were together and then he decided he doesn’t want me.”
“He thinks it’s for your own good,” Feng challenged.
Aldous interjected, “Correct. He blames himself for you being kidnapped and tortured, and doesn’t want to risk causing you harm again.”
“He isn’t the one who harmed me,” she lamented.
“I know that, and you know that, but he doesn’t see it that way. His actions, and inactions, ultimately led to you being taken, and that’s enough for him. It’s the same reason he’s dumb enough to feel bad I help him when he’s in trouble. But I will always do it. And I can’t help but guess so will you, whether he knows it or not…”
Claudia thought of how she was attempting to monitor Trey from afar, and blushed at Aldous’s strength of perception.
“Of course. I’d do anything for Trey. But I can’t make him take me back.”
“Can’t you?” Feng asked, leaning against an armchair. “Did you tell him to reconsider?”
“I did — at the hospital. I even threw a bottle at him,” she added sheepishly, which elicited a smile from Aldous.
“Good girl,” he said.
“It was all pretty humiliating. And now, well…even if I knew where he was, I don’t know if I could take him rejecting me again,” Claudia answered.
Feng released a throaty sound, subtly harrumphing her disapproval, before proceeding to open Claudia’s blinds, one after another, before turning to look at her with a sharp expression.
“You Americans. You’re so scared of seeming weak, you’re willing to risk losing the very thing, which makes you strong.”
Feng moved to pour three cups of tea with delicate precision, before distributing them and meeting Claudia’s eyes intently.
“You have to fight for what you want in this life. Don’t be afraid — or ashamed — to fight for your man. Colin was my first, and only, love. He broke every promise he made me, but I never gave up on him. Once he disappeared, I chased after him for years. I did many things I’m not really proud of, but it was all to protect Colin, and my love for him. It was all for the hope of a chance at a life with him. If that’s what it took to bring him back to me, I’d do every single part of it all over again…and then some. Sometimes you need to be the one who is brave enough to beg.”
“You should listen to her. Forget about the rules, Claudia. And please…enjoy your tea,” Aldous instructed, a conspiratorial half smile playing on his lips.
“Claudia, how are you feeling, sweetie? Come in,” Tea said, ushering her into Jenna and Wyatt’s home.
The sight of so many guests, along with the camera crew and lighting staff, made her feel suddenly shy, but Tea’s arm around her shoulders gave her comfort.
She searched her brain for a good answer. Perhaps she should say: Hanging