Something Beautiful

Chapter - 7

"Uncle Monty," called Lisa in a slightly discouraged tone of voice to her father's uncle, who came to live with them two years ago when none of her relatives were willing to accept her.

The potbellied man sat in front of the small fireplace, his arthritic sick legs piled on a small stool, his facial expression sad. "I think you came to scold me about the girl" he muttered, glancing cynically at Lisa with eyes surrounded by red circles.

The man looked so similar to the naughty old boy that Lisa was unable to maintain her firm demeanor. "Yes," he admitted, smiling, "and I also know where you hid the bottle of illegal beer your friend brought in yesterday."

Uncle Monty responded by pretending to look innocent. "And who, if I may ask, would dare to assume the bottle was in this room?"

He watched suspiciously when he saw Lisa ignoring his question and began to search carefully for Uncle Monty's favorite hiding places, under the couch cushions, under the bed, under the bed, and over the chimney. After trying to search in six different places, Lisa walked up to Uncle Monty's chair and extended her hand in a friendly manner. "Give it to me, Uncle Monty."

"What?" asked the man, pretending not to know, while moving uncomfortably and then he chuckled. "That beer bottle you're sitting on."

"You mean my medicine," the man corrected. "If that's the case, Doctor Jeon said I could use it for medicinal purposes, if the old wounds from the war were again painful."

Lisa notices Uncle Monty's red eyes and his cheeks are met with dice. He skillfully assesses Uncle Monty's level of drunkenness, a skill he gained after two years of dealing with his careless, irresponsible, yet very dear uncle. Stretching his hand closer to the man, he insisted, "Give it to me, Uncle. Mama invited the landlord and his wife over for dinner, and she also wanted you to attend. You should be conscious like, "

"I had to be tricked first in order to be able to stand up to the haughty couple. Let me tell you, Lisa my son, they both give me goosebumps. That pious attitude is only for saints and saints is not the right companion for real humans like me." As Lisa continued to hold out her hand, the man sighed and gave in, raised his thigh and took the half-empty beer bottle from underneath.

"well, so much the better," praised Lisa, patting her uncle's back in a friendly manner. "If you're sleeping when I get home, we can play cards and, uh,"

"When you get home?" uncle Monty was surprised. "You intend to go and leave me with your mama and her annoying guests!"

"I do want to go" Lisa lightly said, walking out. He blew a kiss and closed the door while his uncle grumbled about "dying from boredom" and "cursed in a world of gloom forever."

Lisa was passing through her mother's bedroom when she called out to her in a weak but demanding voice,

"Lisa! Lisa, is that you?"

An angry tone that was clearly heard in her mother's voice made Lisa stop her steps and ventured to face another unpleasant debate about the landlord's son. While upholding her skinny shoulders, Lisa stepped into her mother's bedroom. Mrs Bruschweiler was sitting in front of the dressing table, wearing a worn-out kimono patched here and there, and frowning towards her reflection in the mirror. Mama's beauty has declined dramatically since Papa died three years ago, Lisa thought sadly. The sparkle that used to appear in his mother's eyes and make his voice sound full of enthusiasm has now dimmed, following the reddish-brown color in his dense hair. Now the hair was a gloomy brown, with gray hair here and there. Lisa knew, it wasn't just grief that had obliterated her mother's beauty. But also anger.

Three weeks after Mr. Bruschweiler died, a luxurious horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of their house. The train carries the family of his father 'the other one', his wife and daughter who lived with him in London for twelve more years. The man hides his legal family in a remote hamlet in Morsham living in poverty, while he lives with his illegitimate family in luxury. Even today, Lisa frowned bitterly when she remembered the terrible times when she unexpectedly faced her stepbrother in this house. The girl's name is Rose, and she's very pretty. But that didn't make Lisa hurt. What made her very sick was when she saw the beautiful gold pendant that Rose wore on her white neck and level. Mr. Bruschweiler gave the pendant to her, as to Lisa. But Lisa's got a lead.

The tin pendant, and the fact that her father prefers to live with a pretty blonde girl, opened Lisa and her mother's eyes regarding her father's attitude all along.

Only at one point was his father being fair to his family, and it was related to possessions. The man died without bequeathing a penny, leaving both families with no money at all.

For her mother's sake, Lisa buried the betrayal deep in her heart and tried to behave as usual, but her mother's grief had turned to anger. Mrs Bruschweiler kept herself locked up in the room letting herself be burned with anger, and gave up all things for Lisa to take care of. For two and a half years, Mrs Bruschweiler paid no attention to the state of the household or the grief of her daughter. When she speaks, at best she complains that fate has been unjust to her and her husband has betrayed her.

But six months ago Mrs Bruschweiler realized things might not be as bad as she thought. He had found a way to escape from this misery. And Lalisa is the means to achieve that. Lisa, she decides, will lure the husband who can save them both from poverty. To achieve that, Mrs Bruschweiler turned her attention to several families around her. Among them there was only one suitable, namely the Yu family, which he thought was quite rich, so he decided he would match Lisa with their son, Christian, even though the young man was boring, chatty, and he would not, very influenced by his parents, who were almost very puritanical.

"I've invited the landlord and his wife to come for dinner" Mrs Bruwchweiler told the reflection of Lisa's reflection in the mirror. "And Boo promised to prepare a special meal."

"Boo's the butler, Mama, he can't cook for guests."

"I know exactly Boo's previous job at this house, Lalisa, but, the cooking is better than his wife's or yours, so tonight we're forced to use his skills. To cook the fish, of course," he said, then his thin shoulders shuddered slightly. "I really wish we didn't have to eat fish constantly. I don't really like fish."

"Last night?" mother terakenak. "But you have to be here tonight, and you know the landlord and his wife really appreciate a woman who knows manners and etiquette, although my heart still hurts when I think of how that man left us living in poverty so we should be content with just a landlord."

Lisa didn't need to ask who 'that man' her mother meant. His mother always mentioned Lisa's father as 'that man' or 'your father', as if Lisalah was wrong for choosing the man, whereas she, Mrs Bruschweiler herself, was just a victim of that wrong choice.

"Then you don't have to entertain the landlord" Lisa said gently, but firmly, "Because I won't marry Christian Yu so as not to starve, and that's not going to happen at all."

"Oh yes, you will marry her" said her mother in a low, angry tone that arose from despair and fear. "And you have to behave like a respectable girl. You can no longer wander the village. The Yu family will not tolerate scandals relating to their future son-in-law."

"I'm not their candidate!" lisa, try hard not to tremble. "And just so you know, I don't like Christian" he concluded, trying to ignore his mother's fragile mental state, "Said Rose, Christian prefers boys over girls!"

The terrible impact of that statement that Lisa herself did not understand, did not go into the head of Mrs Bruschweiler who began to gray. "Well, of course, most young men prefer the company of boys. Even so," continued Bruschweiler, standing up and starting to stumble back and forth like a man who had been paralyzed for years, "maybe that's the real reason why he didn't refuse to marry you, Lisa." His gaze moved to Lisa's thin body wearing worn brown tights, a long-sleeved white shirt that was exposed at the neck, as well as brown boots that he seemed to have painstakingly polished. The girl looked more like a young man whose parents were once rich but later fell into poverty and was forced to wear clothes she had worn for years. "You should start wearing a dress that's not above your knees."

"And I told you to just fix my clothes so you can wear them."

"But I'm not skilled at using needles, and," Mrs Bruschweiler stopped walking back and forth and glared at Lisa. "You don't want me to feel like you're using every excuse to derail this match, but I'm determined to end the poverty we're living in, and the landlord's son is our only hope." He frowned furiously at the stubborn young girl standing in the doorway, a hint of guilt flashing across his pale face. "I realize we were never really close, Lisa, but it's one of those guys, she's the one who caused you to grow up to be the wild girl you are today, wandering the countryside, wearing trousers, and all of them, shoot with a shotgun, and do everything you shouldn't do."

Helplessly hiding the angry tone in her voice, Lisa stiffly said, "If I were to become a dull, pitiful, powerless being like your expectations, this family would starve long ago."

Mrs Bruschweiler still has the pride to look embarrassed. "What you're saying is true, but we can't keep going like this. Even though you've put in a lot of effort, we owe it to everyone. I knew for three years I wasn't a good mother, but didn't I finally realize, and I had to take steps to get you married successfully."

"But I don't love Christian" Lisa said in despair.

"And it's good" said Mrs Bruschweiler hurriedly, "Thus she can't hurt you like your father hurt my heart. Christian comes from a well-rounded family. You won't find him having another wife in London and spending all his money at the gambling table. "Lisa frowned at the bad memories regarding her father, while her mother continued, "Actually, we are very lucky because the landlord is a very insistent person, otherwise, we are very lucky, I dare say he won't make you his daughter-in-law."

"What exactly makes me interesting to be a daughter-in-law?"

Mrs Bruschweiler looked surprised. "We still have a relationship with a noble" his mother replied as if it could answer Lisa's question.

As Mrs Bruschweiler was silently pensive, Lisa shrugged her shoulders and said, "I want to go to Rose's house. Today is his brother's birthday."

"It may be a good idea that you are not present at dinner" said Mrs Bruschweiler, unknowingly taking a hairbrush and combing her hair hard. "I feel like the Yu family will be talking about the wedding tonight, and it's not good that you're here sitting frowning and putting on a hostile look."

"Mama," called Lisa with a mixture of pity and caution, "I'd rather starve than marry Christian."

From Mrs Bruschweiler's expression it was clear that she, personally, preferred her daughter to marry rather than starve. "A business like this is better decided by parents. Go to Roseanne's house, but try wearing a dress."

"can't. In order to celebrate his sister's birthday, we held a spearmanship tournament while riding a horse, which was held by his family every time a member of the family had a birthday."

"You're too old to travel in that rusty armor, Lisa. Leave that shirt in the hallway, where it's supposed to be."

"I'm not going to ruin it" Lisa promised. "I'll just carry a shield, a helmet, a spear and chest armor."

"Oh well then," said his mother shrugging with fatigue.