Rose's mother used to carry a Bible. When she lost her faith, she used the Bible to steady the short leg of the kitchen table. The Bible has remained under the table leg for twenty years.
Tonight, Rose has come to tell her mother that she and her husband, Ted, are getting a divorce. She dreads telling her mother. Rose met Ted Jordan seventeen years ago at the University of California at Berkeley. Initially, she was drawn to his brash, self-assured nature; he was very different from the Chinese boys whom she dated. Rose's mother, Mrs. Hsu, was displeased about the budding relationship because Ted was not Chinese, and Ted's mother, Mrs. Jordan, was displeased because Rose was not American — she was Chinese. At a family picnic, Mrs. Jordan took Rose aside and confided that Ted's future did not include a wife who was a member of a minority race.
Hurt and infuriated by Mrs. Jordan's racism, Rose broke up with Ted that evening. Later, they reconciled and were married a month before Ted started medical school. After his graduation, they bought a home, and Rose set up a freelance graphic arts business. Ted made all the decisions in their lives — from what to eat to where to vacation. The marriage was steady until Ted lost a malpractice suit; afterward, he began to press Rose to make some of her own decisions. The marital break came while he was attending a medical convention in Los Angeles. He called late at night and demanded a divorce. Rose lost all faith in Ted's love for her.
