Second Chance (15 page)

“Suzy, this is
Father Matthew. Father, this is my Sue,” Jae said. She thought Jae was going to
speak Korean but to her surprise, he spoke English.

“Very nice to
meet you at last, Sue,” Father Mathew said in a thick British accent, smiling
and taking Sue’s hand into his.

“Nice to meet
you, too,” Sue replied, puzzled.

“I understand you
have agreed to marry Jun Jae, is that correct?”

“I have.”

“Well, shall we
get on with it then?” Father Mathew said, releasing her hands and gesturing to
the door.

“Excuse me?” she
asked.

“Father Matthew
has agreed to marry us tonight,” Jae explained to her, grinning.

“Jae…”

“I believe Sister
Jamie and Sister Mary would be honor to act as witnesses at this hour,” she
heard Father Mathew say. He was already walking down the corridor as he continued
to talk. “Jun Jae, you and Sue wait in the service room while I gather the two
women.”

“Jae…”

“Do you love me,
Suzy?” Jae gently asked.

“Yes.”

He kissed her.
“Then marry me tonight. We’ll take care of the legalities later.” Jae was
already leading her back towards the service room.

She halted their
progress at the door and took his face in her hands. She stared into his brown
eyes. “Are you sure? Jae, this is a very serious commitment.”

He smiled and
leaned to kiss her again. “I’ve never been so sure. Come on.” And with that
they were out through the door into the service room. Shortly after they
entered the service room, two nuns entered. The nuns were petite; one was
shorter than Sue and one was about her height.

“Child, oh my,
you have changed,” the shortest nun said, taking Jae’s hands and kissing them.
“Handsome angel you are, love,” she said looking up at him. She released Jae’s
hand after placing kisses on his cheeks, then turned to Sue. “Oh dear, where
are my manners. I am Sister Jamie and the grouch behind me is Sister Mary.”

Sue heard Jae
snicker. Sister Jamie was speaking Korean, interjecting some words in English.
Sue’s Korean had improved dramatically with Jae’s assistance and she could
understand Sister Jamie perfectly. “You are a lucky girl, young lady. Our Jun
Jae here is… Oh, you know,” Sister Jamie said followed by a loud laugh.

“Is this love or
lust?” Sister Mary asked. Sue wasn’t sure who Sister Mary was directing the
question to but she found herself blushing at the nun’s bluntness. “Do you know
the difference?” Sister Mary took Jae’s hands. He leaned down and Sister Mary
placed an affectionate kiss on his cheek.

“Of course,
Sister Mary,” Jae answered, returning the greeting.

“You better, son.
Taking vows shan’t be taken while one’s in lust. Vows shall be taken when one’s
in love,” Sister Mary said sharply.

Sue blushed even
more when she noticed Jae’s broad grin.

“Of course,
Sister Mary,” Jae replied, still grinning. He didn’t seem affected by the
comments. Sister Jamie made a grunting noise at Sister Mary.

“Oooh, Lord,
bless both of you,” Sister Jamie said, bringing her hands into prayer, her
aging face glowed with delight. “I never thought I would live to see this day…
You have grown much, Jun Jae.”

Just then, Father
Matthew entered. He had changed into a cassock, an ankle-length clerical robe
with what seemed like an endless number of buttons in the front of the robe. It
was the kind she often saw Monsignor wear during Mass at St. Agnes. He ushered
them to the altar and Sister Jamie shoved a bouquet of flowers into Sue’s
hands. She didn’t know where the flowers came from or how Sister Jamie got them
for she hadn’t seen any flowers earlier. She was too stunned to care. She was
getting married.

Sensing what Sue
was thinking, Jae took hold of her elbow and gave her a gentle squeeze. She
laced her fingers with his as they walked down the aisle. There was no music in
the background or her family present. This was not what she imagined. Then
again, she never, in her wildest imagination, thought she would be marrying so
young or marrying someone like Jae.

In many ways, she
had not wanted to marry until she was done with school. She didn’t want to be a
young bride. She had seen the struggles of cousins who married when they were
teenagers. A cousin married when she was fourteen, had two kids by sixteen and
had divorced by twenty. Sue had heard the story of a bride so young, when the
grandmother asked the grandchildren who wanted instant noodles, the young bride
raised her hand.

Yet, as she
walked down that aisle with Jae, holding his hand, she felt safe and secure.
She wasn’t fourteen. She knew how to make instant noodles. Jae didn’t live with
his parents so there was no mother-in-law to worry about.

They would build
their life together. She wasn’t so romantic to imagine life with Jae as
constant paradise. But she was smart enough to know that life with Jae would be
exciting and filled with happiness. He was hard-working and ambitious. His
callous hands and working hours contested to that.

They faced each
other as Father Mathew announced their wedding. Sue quickly scanned the pews,
seeing that the elderly couple was still in their pew and a younger couple
occupied the middle pew on the left. The two nuns sat in the first pew on the
right.

They didn’t have
rings to exchange. Jae was about to tell Father Mathew he would be getting the
ring the next day, but Sister Jamie told them to wait while she darted off
through the door into the corridor. A moment later, she burst through the door,
panting, holding a piece of string and scissor. Sister Jamie gave them two
pieces of yellow, cotton string that they tied onto each other’s left ring
finger. Jae tied hers into a bow and winked at her when she looked up at him.

Sue looked up at
the man she loved and couldn’t help smiling. Their clothes were still damp from
the rain and she was pretty sure her hair was as tousled as his was, but she
had never been so happy. She was getting married.

After their vows
were said, their ring strings tied and Father Mathew announced “Mr. and Mrs.
Park,” Jae kissed her. Sue heard Sister Mary mumbling something about lust and
felt Jae’s lips curving into a smile. She smiled, too. The couples present bid
them congratulations and good luck in their marriage. They said their thank
yous to Father Mathew and the two nuns. Sister Jamie cried while Sister Mary
gave them advice about marriage and keeping vows. When they left the church,
the rain was still drizzling. Sister Jamie gave them an umbrella and they
walked back to Jae’s apartment.

CHAPTER
19

They remained
silent while they walked, hand in hand. The only communication they had was Jae
squeezing Sue’s hand and her squeezing back, silently reassuring each other.

“I’ll buy you a
ring tomorrow,” Jae told her when they reached his apartment.

Sue looked at the
string on her finger and smiled. “I rather like this one.”

“I’ll buy you a
better one,” he said opening the door.

She smiled and
Jae kissed her. With their lips still connected, Jae lifted her off the ground
into his arms and carried her inside while he closed the door with his foot.
Sue pulled away, breathless, she asked, “Jae… What now?”

“I make love to
my wife.”

“Jae, I…” She
hadn’t thought that far. This evening had been so overwhelming, she hadn’t
thought about the wedding night. She wasn’t naïve about the birds and the bees.
She just wasn’t expecting this tonight. She could feel her face getting hot,
and for the first time since meeting Jae, she couldn’t look him in the eyes.

Jae kissed her
again before he lowered her to her feet. He locked the door then took her chin
in his hand and lifted her face to him. “I love you,” he said.

“I love you,
too,” she said. This was the first time he had said the three little words and
she felt her heart beating faster. She never thought hearing those words would
feel so good and she wanted to hear him say them again.

“What’s wrong?”

She hesitated,
unsure of what to say or what to do. She was conscious of their bodies. How
were they…she was petite; he was tall …how could…would they…?

“I…well…I haven’t
shaved my legs,” Sue answered. She grimaced at herself.
Oh, why did you have
to say that!

“Is that all
you’re worried about?”

“No.”

“You’re
shivering. How about we take a warm shower and get something to eat,” he told
her tenderly, holding onto her.

She nodded. The
“we” in the shower was not missed by her.

If kissing Jae
made her feel like a wanton, taking a shower with Jae made her feel even more
like a wanton. But she rather enjoyed it. She had always wanted to feel his
tight abs and his broad, muscular shoulders. Bare skin to bare skin. She got
her chance. He was hers, and she was his.

She was nervous,
but she loved him and soon all she wanted was to hold him and have him hold her
in return.

Though she
blushed and kept her eyes above his waist in the shower, her curiosity soon
overpowered her shyness and she found herself studying his perfect male form.
The shower stall was small and their naked bodies pressed intimately against
each other. She could feel his hardness pressing against her and she drew a
sharp breath to steady herself. Water bounced off their bodies as he washed
her, taking his time to lather soap on her breasts, her back, her buttocks, her
legs. His hands lingered at her thighs as his lips lingered on hers.

He encouraged her
to wash him and she did. She was clumsy at first, unsure where to start or
where to place her hands. She noticed his muscles twitched when her hands
brushed against his hardness. Utilizing the power she had over him, she teased
him, stroking him.

When he could
take it no more, he turned off the shower. They stepped out of the stall and
they dried each other before he swept her off her feet. The bathroom was small
and he was careful not to hurt her. He carried her to the living room and
lowered her to her feet. He took out a clean towel from the dresser and
unfolded it on top of the mat on the floor.

“I’m sorry, love.
As soon as I can, I’ll get you a bed. The biggest one I can afford,” he said,
standing in front of her.

“I love you and
that’s all that matters,” she said, hugging him.

He groaned and
kissed her hungrily. He gently lowered her to the floor as he continued to kiss
her. He braced his weight with his arms and looked into her captivating dark
eyes.

She raised her
hand to trace the bump on his nose before she raised her head to him, kissing
his chin, then his lips. She felt his weight on top of her, his skin against
her skin, his hardness pressing at the threshold of her virginity. She felt his
rapidly beating heart against her own and she surrendered her body to him.

She grasped onto
him from the pain of their initial union. “I love you, Mrs. Park,” he whispered
to her as he waited for her body to relax before he moved again.

His movements
were slow at first, allowing her body to adjust to his invasion. His thrusts
were controlled and restrained. She felt his tension, felt his restraint and
she loved him all the more, realizing that he was controlling himself from
hurting her. She began to move her body with his and he gave a throaty groan.
“Sweetheart, don’t…” he said hoarsely, breathlessly, his body shuddering with
release. His tremors triggered her own release and she felt the spread of
tingling sensations throughout her body. She grabbed onto him for anchor.

When they were
able to catch their breaths, he pulled out of her and she felt a warm oozing
between her legs. Embarrassed, she quickly sat up and discovered semen tinted
with blood. She used the towel to wipe herself as she turned away from him.

“Are you all
right?” Jae asked, placing a kiss on her shoulder.

“I’m fine. I just
didn’t realize love making could be so…messy.”

He gave a soft
laughter, tickling her neck with his breath. “What did you expect?”

She looked at the
towel in her hands. “Well, I didn’t know what to expect really. I…well, just
didn’t realize there could be so much bodily fluids involved… I’m just a little
embarrassed.” She could feel her whole body blushing.

Jae kissed her
neck and rested his chin on her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. She
let go of the towel and placed

her hands over
his and she leaned back into him. He also saw the blood and smiled. “What is
there to be embarrassed about?”

“It’s not that I
was naïve about sex or what was involved, it’s just my imagination of sex was
less messy. Couples usually rested in each other’s arms after love making, so I
never really thought of the aftermath of what our bodies could be like.” She
turned in his arms to face him. “I suppose being naked in front of you is what
I’m most embarrassed about,” she confessed, blushing even more.

Jae leaned to
kiss her. “Don’t be embarrassed. You are very beautiful, my Shorty Suzy Sue.”
He took his time kissing her and she savored it. He laid her down on the mat as
he continued to kiss her. He reluctantly broke the kiss before he went any
further and rolled to his back, bringing her with him. He kissed her cheek.
“Did I hurt you?”

Understanding
what he was asking, she murmured against his chest, “No.”

They remained
that way for a while, her body pressing against his. He wrapped his arm around
her waist and she placed her hand atop his chest, feeling his heart beating
beneath her palm.

In the silence
she drew little circles on his chest. He chuckled every time she went close to
his ribs and several times she teased him by moving her hands lower to his
hips.

“How did you
convince Father Matthew to marry us?” Sue asked, breaking the silence. Her head
was resting on his shoulder, and as she asked her question, she continued to
draw little circles on his chest.