Chapter 249 - Christening (1)

7 April, outside Warrnambool, Australia

Matthew sat quietly in the corner of the shed watching Lexi speak to Anna Hou, and Dominic playing with Anna's nieces and nephews. Lexi seemed relaxed, despite the upcoming court date regarding Dominic. However, before he could think more about it, Matthew was interrupted by a call on his secure phone.

Quietly taking it out, he answered it and responded "Yes"

"Hello Boss," came the three voices on the other end of the line.

"You know Joseph, Ben and David, I am on leave for a few days…"

Joseph responded "We know boss, but we have some information about…"

"The bait appears to have been taken."

"Correct. We have seen movement with the Gong cartel and a couple of other groups on the south-west frontier. Who is giving out the information we do not know, but…"

"It confirms our suspicions. I think we all know who is responsible, but we need to have solid evidence so come up with the next step of the plan for us to run through when I get back. Now leave me be, I need to enjoy myself here and you all know Australians…"

Ben added "Any excuse for drinking alcohol, music and food, and the results can end up being hilarious…"

"Or disastrous, depending on the situation. Hopefully it will not be a bad rendition of Khe Sanh."

After a round of laughter Matthew added "Talk to you soon idiots," before hanging up the phone.

Across the shed, Lexi had entered discussions with Anna, and asked "Truthfully Anna, how are you?"

"Fine," was the immediate response.

"My friend do not lie to me. You might be able to fool other people, but I saw you in the hospital, and we have video conferenced over the last few weeks. You are not OK."

A voice from behind Lexi said, "She is right Anna, and do not think you can fool me."

Anna said under her breath "Phillipa," before turning around and dropping a curtsey and adding sarcastically "My Lady."

Lexi watched the woman Anna had spoken to shake her head before adding "You forget my occupation Anna…"

"A pain in the neck as well as an aristocrat?"

"An aristocrat by birth, not choice, but…"

"One of my husband's best friend. How many times have you said that," laughed Anna.

"Too many, but …"

"Apologise Phillipa. I thought you both paid attention during the christening to each other's names…"

"Baby brain?" laughed Phillipa, which Lexi realised she could only laugh at as well remembering what it was like after Dominic's birth, it was so easy to forget the obvious things.

"No, stressed out from that scene my mother created," came Anna's response. "Lexi Yao, please meet Lady Phillipa Chen."

"Anna, you know I hate that title…"

"Well countess get use to it, particularly as you will become a Marchioness in the future,"

Lexi looked at Anna, and Phillipa confused. It was clear from the accent that Phillipa was British but from what she knew those titles were inherited by males. "What?"

Anna laughed and said "Confused. I had some confusion myself. Phillipa's family title is one of the rare British aristocratic titles that, in the absence of a direct male heir can be inherited by the oldest female. Her grandfather died last year, and her mother who is a British politician inherited the main title. Phillipa has no brothers and as the oldest daughter she will eventually inherit the title from her mother."

"Forget that, I have one that I have earned myself by hard work…"

"Yes, Doctor Chen, I know," replied Anna, before saying "Phillipa also is a world-leading expert with respect to psychological issues surrounding Domestic Violence. That she is the proudest of…"

"Hence why I know you are lying. Yes, your mother stressed you out, but you are still not coping with Aaron's death. Both you and Yi are being idiots. Neither of you are dealing with that well but are trying to hide the fact that you are not coping too much."

"How…"

"Anna, I do not know your husband well, but even I can see that you are not coping with something. You lost a baby in the days after his birth. I know what it was like when my husband died three weeks after Dominic's birth. It took me years to deal to process that, so stop putting on a brave face. You have friends and talk to us."

"Anna, she is correct. We can help you by listening, and if needed I can help you professionally…"

"You have already done that so much Phillipa, why should I keep relying on you…"

Shaking her head Phillipa said "You idiot, you and Yi are friends. Without knowing you Lexi, I think I can confidently say as friends we want to help, so talk to us."

Lexi looked at Anna and observed that she started crying. Without thinking she moved over and gave Anna a hug before saying "We did not mean to upset you."

"True Anna, but you know bottling things up does not help," added Phillipa.

After a few minutes Anna, stopped crying before pulling out and saying "Thank you. I needed that, and with Yi and my family I have been reluctant to even talk…"

"Even with Amanda?" asked Phillipa.

"Even her, remember Phillipa, her stepdaughter is married to my brother, so…"

"She is family," added Lexi. "Why everyone is distracted, talk to us."

Looking around Anna realised everyone was deep in conversation, so she moved off to the side before sitting down, noticing that Lexi had sat on one side, and Phillipa on the other. Once they were comfortable Anna said "There are moments I just want to run and hide, times where I cannot even look at little Jang, and times where everything seems too hard…"

"Anna, speaking from experience, parenting is a problem. I was just lucky. My brother's never let me be sorry for myself after Dominic's birth and when my first husband died, they carefully watched me. When they realised that I was not coping they not only got me help but took over being the main caregiver for Dominic to allow me to work through everything from my marriage. They did not need to, but as my brother Chester told me recently sharing the burden to allow me to deal with that is what family was about. It let me process what I needed to, while growing to the person I have become. Yes, during that time establishing my business simply happened, and that delayed things when I was ready to return."

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