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Lost in Translation

Athene sighed, looking out the window with a solemn look on her face. She had never gone to Thailand before. Hell, she had never met the person she was about to marry when she got there before. An arranged marriage between their rich ass families seemed like a great idea to her when she was a lazy ass teenager, but now that she was actually having to go through with it, she was not happy.


No one even bothered to come with her. Her family was busy with their nicotine and lung specialty hospital business, and her friends weren't quite rich enough to pull a ticket to Asia out of no where. It was just going to be her and her fiance at the airport, apparently.


Sighing, she grabbed her carry ons, and walked towards the terminal.
 
Standing near the exit of the international terminal was short man with sunglasses. He nervously looked at a small photograph cut out from a magazine, scanning th area as international arrivals began flooding out. It would have probably been better to have a sign, but Lin had opted against it. It seemed like a bad idea with someone like Athene.


As he saw what he thought was her, he quickly tucked the photo into the pants pocket of the pinstrip suit. Something of a 'uniform' for the Nguyen family, though he tugged on the lapel of the bright or orange undershirt. Something to stand out on the crowd of faceless fliers.


Approaching Athene, he put on a smile somewhere between nervous and brave. "Ahh, curvy Anerican girl. You Athene Rockings?" He asked her. His smile only widened.
 
Athene jumped as he approached her, a little taken back by the fact that he was actually there, and she was going through this whole thing. He wasn't too shabby at all, but she wasn't quite sure what he meant by curvy. There was the good, pretty, full figured one, and there was one that people tried to use as a replacement for fat. There was no denying that she stood out here, though.


"Uh, yeah, that would be me," she said, sighing and nodding a bit to him. What was she supposed to say? Was it a little too early to be singing, "Honey, I'm home"? This wasn't exactly the type of situation she ever thought she'd be in or would have to prepare for.


She sighed again, sticking her hands in her pockets, "So, uh, you're the lucky man?"
 
"Oh, no no no no," he said and waved his hands, motioning for her to head towards the exit, walking just a little bit ahead of her. "I work for Nguyen family. I have car waiting to take you to Mr. Van. He really excited to meet you."


Lin almost skipped as he walked through the airport, careful to make sure that Athene was right behind him as he walked. As they became closer to he door, he stopped and walked backwards. "So you know Thai, right? They say you learned?"
 
Oh, well, no one actually bothered to tell me what my fiance looked like, she thought, grabbing her other couple of bags from the baggage claim and following him out. Apparently she was wrong to assume he would bother to pick his future wife up at the library. I guess I'm getting married to a pompous ass, then.





The question about the language should've been obvious, but it took her back a bit. Great, so someone else lied about that and she had to deal with it. "Um...a little bit, yeah," she continued to lie. She figured she could download some app or something before she was actually going to be tested on it. "How far away does he live?"
 
"Oh not far, not far," said Lin, and he waved his hands a little bit. There city of Bangkok was not far from them, the skyline protruding over and water not far in their distance. At the entrance, there was a sleek black car waiting not too far away from the entrance. But it was in a mess with many other cars and people that were moving in and out of the international airport with little care to those around them.


"Oh, well, sawatdee kaa," Lin said, and he put his hands together in front of his chest, bow his body forward in a wai. "(Welcome to Thailand)." And he gave a grin, just like many of the people that were around, talking loudly, meeting with friends and family. A smile always on their faces, a bit of laughter in the air. "(Here we are. This will take you to him in a matter of moments)." Lin said, not bothering to know just how much Thai she actually knew and just rattle away.
 
Shit. At least she had been told about greeting people with the wai, and she made sure to return it when he had done it. She remembered how important smiling was, and the intense traffic didn't surprise her much. Still, she wasn't sure how she was going to make it past the language barrier.


She smiled and nodded to him, slipping into the back seat of the car and setting her bags beside her. If she just agreed with everyone, she figured she'd be alright until she could do some studying.
 
Lin had gotten into the passenger seat, and spoke quietly to the man that was in the driver's seat, gesturing out to the road with his hand. As they were able, the car maneuvered around the mess of traffic and honked slightly as they tried to get out to the main roadway and into the city. Lin occasionally looked back to Athene through the duration of the drive, smiling any time that she might have looked up.


The drive was fairly short, cutting across town and making it into a neighborhood that was clean and ritzy compared to some of the dilapidated downtown alleys filled with merchants. "(Almost there, curvy Athene)." Said Lin, and they pulled up into a short driveway toward a wrought iron gate. Lin got out of the idling car and went over, unlocking the gate, and pushing it open. The car slipped through, Lin closing the gate behind them.


Though the house seemed small on the outside, it was still classy compared to some of the buildings. Sitting on the outskirts of the city, it had deep green grass, with nice trimmed hedges, well-kept flowers. There was someone that was waiting at the front door as Lin came around and opened the door. "(Welcome to your new home for now)." He said, and he stepped out of the way to let her out of the car. The door had opened to a tall, square man in a collared shirt and slacks.
 
Athene knew she must've looked like a bobblehead, she was nodding so much. She guessed he was greeting her in some way, but she really had no way to tell. At least she didn't know he was calling her curvy again.


And she still wasn't quite sure if the man at the door was her fiance or not- no one ever bothered to show her a picture and she was too busy getting ready to look him up herself. She grabbed her bags and stepped out of the car, taking a deep breath and walking up to him silently. She'd let him say something first.
 
Nervously, Van stepped down from the doorway and towards Athene. He was as in the dark as she was about all of this, though he kept himself calm about it all. The truth of the matter was there was an ashtray in the living room that showed where he was so nervous. But he hoped that she couldn't smell it. He had put on cologne and breath spray. It seemed almost ironic, really, considering the business her family dealt in.


"Sawatdee kaa, Athene," Van said, and he gave a short wai. "(I've heard quite a lot about you)." Or rather, he'd ended up looking up all the information he could about her in the meanwhile. There wasn't much to go off of other than little news articles and whatever their men could dig up on her. She was just as secluded as he was in all of this. "(It's good to finally be seeing you)."
 
Oh, shit, again. Her plan wasn't working as well as she thought it would. She had enough time on the drive over to look up sawatdee kaa, but that was about all she managed to get and remember. One of the things she did manage to look at when she was getting ready to move here was an article on culture shock; She hadn't thought it was a big deal, but damn, she felt shocked. Her stomach felt like it was trying to do backflips.


"Uh..." she stammered, rubbing the back of her head and looking away from him. This was embarrassing, but they weren't going to get anywhere if she just kept nodding to everything they said, "Uh, I can't...I don't know...I don't know..." She was still trying not to admit it, but, she wasn't answering him other than stammering and stuttering.
 
Immediately, Van frowned when seeing her stammer. He understood her just fine, it just came as a surprise to him hay she knew nothing. It wasn't as though he expected her to be fluent at all. Just that she could carry a conversation.


Looking to his feet, composing himself as best he could, and he took one of Athene's hands to lead her into the house. Nudging her ahead, Van motioned for Lin and the driver to leave off, wondering what he was going to do for now. At least he was alone in the house. That would cover it up for a while.


"So you don't know any Thai at all, I take it?" Van asked. There was a slight lilt in his voice where the accent was apparent, but only just.
 
Athene was a little hesitant as he took her hand, but she let him. She didn't exactly know how to do this whole fiancé thing when they hadn't had any relationship beforehand. It was like they had to build something from nothing. She just didn't know how much he wanted to build and how fast he wanted to do it.


"Uh...I can say hi, I think?" she said, following him inside and taking her first glance. It was definitely nice, probably pretty damn expensive, it just didn't seem like...a home. She felt like it was a hotel she was going to stay at for a while and then leave. But she wasn't.


"Yeah, uh, sorry about that..." she finally apologised, letting go of his hand and letting hers hang awkwardly at her side. Really, she had no clue what she was doing, "Where should I put my bags?"
 
There was some dismay on Van's face, but really he was more concerned about what he was going to do at all, because she had time to prepare for this and didn't. Getting mad, as he felt he was going to do, wasn't going to solve any of the situation.


"Let me show you to the guest bedroom, for now. My parents will prefer us apart until then." Van said, and he took one of her bags and began to lead her through the hall and to the back of the house where there were several closed doors. Opening one of them, he walked through and set her bag on he bed. "This will be your room until the wedding. After that, you'll move into mine." Though he never made any mention of them moving to their own house. He hopes, however, she didn't pick up on it. "In the meanwhile...we'll have to teach you Thai. "
 
The idea of moving into his room once they were morning sounded a bit weird at this point, but she had to shake that off as she set all her bags down. She tried not to make eye contact with him- she felt bad already. She only met him a minute ago, and he didn't seem to like her all too much.


"Alright, um...yeah, I'll do that. Could you help me?" she asked, turning to him, "I'm really sorry I didn't get much of it before, I just...I was really overwhelmed beforehand and...I just couldn't. I'm sorry."
 
"It's because your mother is a shrew, just like mine," said Van. He knew that everything was advancing the family, what connections could be made, how much money those connections were worth. "I wasn't too pleased to learn about this either--but we'll make due with it."


Maybe had had been pressing too hard on her, for the moment. It wasn't her fault she was forced into this. This wasn't her want or desire---it wasn't his either.


"I suppose we could....start from the beginning. Go through old grammar books for you. You don't have to speak around mother, if you don't want. It may be safer that way."
 
Sighing, Athene nodded and looked back down again. She wasn't doing too great at remembering to smile, either. Everything just felt like it had been dumped on her at once, and...she needed a nap, damn it.


"Yeah, uh...yeah. That sounds good," she said, tossing a couple of her bags on the ground, "Mind if I just...stay in here for a while? Jet lag, and...stuff."
 
Looking at her bags and around and the neatly decorated room, he wondered if she was ever going to be comfortable. Her whole body was strained, and he had yet to see anything resembling a good smile on her. Forced ones at best. Weak and sad. But then again, so was he. She wasn't really who he wanted to marry. This was all strategic though; for money's sake.


"Yes, sure." Van nodded, and he folded his hands behind his back. "Just...come out when you're ready. I'll be here all day."
 
"Alright, yeah. I'll be out there pretty soon," she said, but she wasn't sure she would be. She really just wanted to hide and sleep and wake back up in her house across the ocean and go to some bar to flirt with some idiots. Something like that.


When he left, she pulled up the blanket from where it was and threw it over herself, burying herself under it enough so it was covering her head. She was gonna take that nap, damn it. She needed it.
 
Van let himself stand in the doorway of her room, the door left crack where the hot summer air was still abundant in the house. It didn't matter what he said to his mother, she was more content with a hand fan and hot tea than she would ever be with an air conditioner. Some luxuries didn't surpass experience. He just hoped that Athene could put up with it.


She hid underneath the blankets, probably hiding away from the rest of the world, or at least this unfamiliar world. He didn't know if he could get used to her if she continued to be the way she was. And he didn't know if she could make it under the microscopic eye of his mother, either. At least she would be gone for a few more days. "Sleep well, dear..."he murmured, and then turned away. She would have to leave the room soon enough.
 
Surprising even herself, Athene fell asleep quite easily once her head hit the pillow and her brain thought it was nighttime. On top of everything else, having to get her body adjusted to the different time zone was going to be Hell. Maybe she wouldn't have to sleep in his room later if she couldn't sleep at all.


There were plenty of things to worry about, like when exactly was their wedding, when would she have to meet his mother for the first time, how hard would it be to learn a whole new language, but she got a break from all that for just a little while. She didn't set any alarm on her phone, or worried about when she had to wake up, she just got the sleep she needed.


At some time around dinnertime, Athene finally woke up, pulling herself out of bed and going to look for Van. Maybe she could have a second chance to make a first impression, or do something to make up for not learning the language yet. And she really just needed someone to talk to after locking herself up in her room for some time.
 
For a short while, maybe after Van became comfortable with the idea that she might be sleeping the whole day, Van went out. He had no clear destination in mind. Maybe just downtown, pick up any little things that he may have needed for her. Without his asking, Lin dragged himself along. It felt strange buying children's grammar books, dictionaries, and (at Lin's incessant suggestion), something maybe a tad bit more romantic.


Setting something up in the empty dining room, he stacked the few books up, as if they were ready for a lesson. Pens and paper, a teapot between them and a small plate of vanilla cookies. He didn't even know if she liked tea--or cared to try it. But centered were flowers, a bouquet of orchids neatly arranged. They would probably die in the next two or three days, because he was never a good hand at them. But it was better than nothing.


And then he could hear her padding around the house.


Quickly, he stubbed out the cigarette that had been hanging between his lips. He didn't know why it bothered him at the idea of her seeing it--something irrational with her family, perhaps. "You finally wake up?" Van called, mostly to give her an idea of where he was.
 
Athene could've followed the trail of that smoke smell to find him- her nose was good at picking out that scent. She didn't care, but she was never gonna try it herself. There had been too many protesters pelting her family with those graphic pictures of dried up, cancerous lungs for her to ever want to try. Hearing his voice, though, made her come right to him.


"O-Oh, yeah. Hey," she said as she walked out, the blanket from bed wrapped around her shoulders. She looked over the table, at the books and cookies and tea and such. So it was time for her to learn the language. It seemed obvious, but the thought of learning a whole new language as fast as she could felt a little overwhelming.


"I can have a cookie, right?" she asked, looking up at him. She was starving, but a cookie could hold her over until dinner.
 
"Yes, of course," Van said, and he pulled out a chair for her to sit at. Dinner would come in a little bit; someone was already working on it. In the meanwhile, he could get her started on the basics of the language. The 'hellos' and the 'how are yous' that everyone needed to know. If nothing else, that could get her through the most basic of conversations.


"Did you sleep well?" he asked, and he sat down himself. This wasn't just about her learning their culture, he had to be okay with hers as well, though, in his mind, it wasn't too hard to be American. There wasn't as much traditional and small intricacies involved. Not from what he heard from his siblings or the way that they talked and acted. But he could be wrong. "This tea should make you feel better; I know it's a difficult flight."
 
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