8
Repatriation
Seoul
Renee made calls, and soon both DH and Mido found themselves in Seoul. Of course, Peter came, too.
In March, the law firm Kim in the open cupboard, he spotted his favorite cereal, crackers, tinned fish, and jars of crunchy peanut butter and grape jelly; and in the refrigerator, Mido had stocked regular and chocolate milk, eggs, tofu, bacon, and Pyrex containers of side dishes.
The bathroom was cleaner than in its move-in condition.
“Mommy would want it this way,” he said, smiling.
“You’re kind of a beast.”
“Not true,” DH said. “Almost every day, a stranger tells me that I am exceptionally nice-looking. I had no idea how appealing I was until I moved to Seoul. Just last week, I was on the train, and a woman who works for an ad agency scouted me to model.”
Mido’s two thumbs touched and her index fingers pointed upward to make the letter W. “Whatever.” Her hagwon students made this sign to dismiss people who annoyed them.
“I threw away your shower curtain liner. I tried using the disinfectant spray in your bathroom cabinet, but it did nothing.” Mido made a face of disgust. “Have you always lived like this? I guess at Andover and Yale, someone else probably cleaned the dorm bathrooms, but when you went to law school in New York, I hope you weren’t this gross. ”
He smiled sweetly, and Mido imagined even their normally serious mother unable to keep from smiling back at him. Seeing his face made her miss their mother.
“I’m sorry, Mido. Your brother has filthy habits. I apologize,” he said, hanging his head repentantly. “I work even harder here than I did in LA.”
“So no sign of a girlfriend yet?”
“Nope.” DH put down his chopsticks. “Hey, are you and Peter going to get married?” DH asked. Ever since he learned that she was dating Peter, he had been expecting an announcement.
With a new sponge, Mido swept up the toast crumbs from the counter. DH could tell that she was deliberately not answering him.
“Is he at least being nice?”
“Of course he is.”
“He’d better be,” DH said, playfully making a fist.
“What are you looking for in a girlfriend or wife?” It had never occurred to her before to ask. “Every woman you’ve ever dated has been good-looking.” Mido had only met two briefly in Los Angeles and seen photographs of some of the others. “I noticed that all of them have long hair and are curvy.”
DH grinned. “Guilty.”
Mido waited for him to continue. He was thinking, having learned even more about women from living in Seoul.
“But I also need good conversation. I want to be with a woman who is smart. And ambitious. She also has to be nice.”