As he saw the brief pain that flashed across his uncle"s eyes, Henry wondered what story laid there. He wanted to know, but knew it was something that could not be asked directly. Nadius surprised Henry as he answered the question. "Why would Sheng Mei? I don"t know what she would want in other men. I don"t know, but I do believe her when she says there is no one else for her. She swears it all the time when I tease her about it. I"ve never questioned her because honestly she"s never questioned me. I just love her and I trust that she"d leave me if she stopped loving me.""But doesn"t that frighten you? Doesn"t it cast a shadow upon your happiness?" Henry asked intently. "I"ve always wondered why every couple I know is unhappy who has as much money as we do. Maybe it"s due to our professions being driven by profit."
"What psychological journal have you been reading? You should throw it out because all of that is junk. Science is true only to an extent. Open your eyes more to the people around you." Nadius shook his head with disdain. "That"s not true at all. Maybe it is for some other families but definitely not ours. Of course, myself and Sheng Mei consider ourselves happily married people. But it"s not always a cloudless sky with the beautiful sun. We have our rain. It happens when it"s supposed to so we won"t speak for a little bit. But that time apart is what makes us reflect on how strong of a relationship we have and how lucky we are that after all this time we still have each other. I"ll always have her. You know she is the only reason I believe in a higher power."
Henry sulked and immediately changed the subject. "Do you think I really had parents who loved me? I still feel like I was a p.a.w.n on a chessboard that was sacrifices to protect the bigger more important pieces. I feel my mother was just a bad player of her game."
"You should think of it in another way. Life isn"t all winning and losing as your father lead you to believe. I think your mother put up a fair fight and the most important thing to her was you. And I can prove that. I have a note from her that she wrote just as Art, her partner, was dying in the hospital. You remember I told you his family was not very accepting of her so she wasn"t allowed in while he was pa.s.sing. She was very depressed and in a way she wanted to apologize as she felt her life was nearing its end." Nadius looked to the door with a strange sort of restlessness as if he was about to make a decision. Henry could see the waver in his eyes. "In the letter, she recalled that she felt the sadness she felt was due to that she was just watching grow up from a distance and not being allowed to be a very present mother. She said she dreamed of making your lunches and taking you to the cinema. Sometimes she would go to clothing stores to look at children"s tuxedos and think about buying you one. But you know, those things weren"t allowed. In that letter, she did tell me she wanted to leave you something, but I knew I would be compromised if I gave it to you. Due to your reluctance with the matters pertaining to that person, it didn"t feel the best idea to spring it upon you as you were still quite a child. I thought you would stop confiding in me if you knew those things were forwarded to her. But, I should have just done it so you would have something." He finally stood up and pulled Henry up so they were level. Nadius patted Henry"s back. "It"s not too late to apologize for mistakes. You should have it. Let"s go. It"s about b.l.o.o.d.y time too say goodbye to these bad memories."
Engaging in quiet contemplation the whole while, Henry was out of words as he felt as if he were on a spiritual journey. This was a part of the house he had never really ventured it. It had been strictly off limits to him to ensure the privacy of whoever was staying here. These apartments were specifically set aside for the Primes when they were in New York City. There"s was a smaller apartment rather than a suite with multiple bedrooms as the Primes liked to share a single bedroom. They had their children stay on the pull out mattress in the living room as well. It was a homey middle cla.s.s place where Henry himself had often bunked when he had fights with his father. The couch bed had always been his own little oasis away from real life. Maybe it was this way for the Primes. A small s.p.a.ce they would fill with people they loved.
Nadius immediately walked over to the large framed photo which was one of his old black and white engagement photos. It opened like a cupboard door after he flipped a hidden latch to reveal a small safe. Nadius typed in his code while Henry averted his eyes.
His uncle laughed as he paused in his ministrations. "There"s no state secrets in here boy. It is good of you to know the combination in case anything happens to me. These are just wills and you know travel doc.u.ments. They"re all replaceable. All the value things are only in the heart."
The pin was rejected so Nadius did it again. This time the light showed green and Nadius opened the door with reverence. Inside it was exactly as he had said, just files stacked on top of each other at odd angles. Obviously this spot was raided often by the notoriously messy Sheng Mei. Henry couldn"t help holding his breath when Nadius finally found what he was looking for.