While Léon was nothing if not a confident man, he had his weak moments just like any other human being and there had been times – after he had left rehab, before he moved to China - when even his solid self-assurance was threatened by pinpricks of fear. He had made many terrible decisions in his lifetime, and although he had indeed worked hard to overcome the obstacles of his own making and better himself, there was a small part of his consciousness that lacked in self-belief, firmly convinced that one small mistake would spell his undoing once again. Relocating to China two months ago in order to serve as what he jokingly liked to refer to as a human laboratory rat had, it seemed, removed this particular lack of confidence from his being. Working with the public had allowed him to garner the confidences and anecdotes of the people he came across on a daily basis, and he had learned that the general mind-set of anyone who had just been paired remained consistent: fear, anxiety and trepidation.
There was no denying the fact that there was something deeply wrong with forcing people to marry partners whom they had not chosen, and then to procreate with said partners, and perhaps it was because it was lazy, or because it offered him a certain amount of security, but the knowledge that he wasn't living a life of his own making any longer was oddly soothing for Leo. He felt as if a weight of responsibility had been lifted from his shoulders and the fear of self-destruction that he had once carried had evaporated like mist. It may have been a sign of a weakness of character, but there was no denying that he was happier and far more adjusted in China than he ever had been in Venice. Perhaps it was for that reason that Leo did not feel the same stirrings of apprehension that ran rampant amongst the other inhabitants of the community.
All of this notwithstanding, there still remained the pressure to present himself admirably to his bride. She was going to have to live with him – he knew from hard experience that he wasn't the easiest person to live with – and whatever their relationship might become Leo had already made the decision that he wasn't going to make her life any more difficult than It already was and would therefore agree to whatever terms she may have had to suggest to him. If she wanted to decorate the house in her own style, it wasn't going to impact his life. If she wanted him to wash dishes and mop floors, it wouldn't kill him to obey her. If she wanted to name the baby, what difference did it make? He was far too laid back to care for such trifles. Anything for an easy life – that was his newfound mantra for living.
Besides, there was the child to think of. This was the reason he had come to Hòu Rén, to give purpose to his life, to know what it felt like to care about another more than he cared about himself. His own selfishness disgusted him at times. He didn't want to become the kind of father that his child would despise and resent, because he knew what that kind of resentment could do to a person – what it had done to him. If he would have to concede a few things in order to keep his wife happy then, for the child's sake, it was worth it.
He arrived in the courtyard precisely on time, unusual for him, considering his penchant for laziness, but favourable impressions needed to be made. He'd worn one of his finer suits for the occasion – ironically, it was a gift from his ex-wife, sent to him shortly before he departed for China, timeless and tailored to perfection. It took not a moment to spot Rosemary, who sat waiting for him on a bench beneath a tree; she was the only person present, and was sitting and waiting with such rigidity and purpose that it seemed ridiculous to suppose that she was there for any other reason but to meet him. He approached her with ease, hands in his pockets, and she seemed so engrossed in her Helper that she did not notice him until he was standing directly in front of her.
"You know," he said, by way of greeting, once she had looked up to regard his presence. She was startlingly beautiful, of course, was there any person in this community who was not? "I do believe that I offered you a free dessert some weeks ago, and you never took me up on the offer."