Betty was too nervous to laugh, but she was relieved to know he would continue teaching her. She vowed to be more aware of her limits, and promised Mimi to be more careful in the future. Mimi could tell Betty felt guilty, so she decided to change the subject.
"I was wondering, Pandora, what does your name mean?"
Betty answered.
"It comes from a Greek myth called Pandora’s Box, although, it was actually a pot in the original story. I’m not sure where the box came from?"
"Men were making a mockery of Zeus’ law. So he created Pandora the first woman to punish them. He sent her to earth with a pot containing all the miseries of humanity, but she didn't know it. Zeus simply gave her the gift and ordered her not open it. As you can imagine, curiosity overwhelmed her and she decided to take a quick peak in the pot. With the lid lifted, all the miseries escaped and she unleashed chaos into the world of men. "
"She noticed that hope was still inside and put the lid back on before it could escape. She kept hope for herself. "
Betty continued. "Unfortunately Zeus’ punishment plan backfired. The miseries spread throughout the land and stung and bit the men. The men were infected and became worse. They began to lie, and cheat, and steal, and murder one another. They became too evil to be left alive, so Zeus drowned all the bad ones in flood that covered the Earth. I assumed that Pandora was drowned too, but I always imagined her escaping the flood by clinging to her floating pot of hope, like a life saver.”
Pandora took another sip from her soup as she finished the tale.
"That is a very interesting story. Do you think the name fits you?" Mimi asked.
With a smirk Betty replied, "I think I’m growing into it."
"What does Mimi mean?" Asked Betty.
Sheepishly Mimi replied. "Ear."
Her face became red. Betty tried to stave off her host’s embarrassment. "Actually, I think it suits you?"
Mimi looking confused and insulted shot back a skeptical, "Why?"
Betty responded. "Because you listen. You hear things your father won’t hear. You can hear Japanese and turn it to English. You can hear English and change it to Japanese. You are the one who heard me and convinced your father to help me. You have a magic ear."
Mimi never thought of her name in such a poetic manner. She always thought earwax.
Betty continued. "You have a beautiful name it sounds like a song."
She made her voice deep and belted out a set of scales like a tenor.
"Me me me me me me meeeee."
Mimi laughed. "You sound like a big fat man!"
"It's a gift from Zeus.” Betty retorted.
Excited Mimi asked. "We friends now, right?"
Between soup sips Betty cautiously said, "Yes. We are friends."
Mimi took Betty's hand in hers. "Then I can ask you, how do you make so much money? Maybe you could show me, how?"
Betty stopped sipping her soup and put it down. Mimi had a hard life but somehow she retained her innocence. She would find out about the cold hard realities in the world at some point. But there was no way Betty was going to participate in the first line of corruption. She wasn’t sure how to get out of answering. She couldn't say she stole the money. If she said she earned it, it would only lead to more questions. If she said she borrowed it, they might want her to take it back. Of all the choices, she knew she could not tell her the truth. No one asked her that question so directly before. She didn’t have a lie prepared. She didn’t know where to go with the answer
Mimi could see her friends face had changed. Betty was uncomfortable. She apologized for putting her on the spot, "I’m sorry. That was very rude of me."
"No, it's fine. I had a little money put away. My nursing job doesn’t pay well, but I’ve been there for a long time. And I live cheap and don’t eat much." Said Betty.
Mimi seemed to accept the answer. "Oh, oh I see. You are a very strong person. Father knows it too. You work so hard, you are always on time. You listen and learn. Father acts like he's angry when he teaches, but he is very proud of you."
"How do you know that?" Asked Betty.
"I hear him with my magic ear. He said you are like extra daughter to him."
The phrase clutched at Betty's heart. Normally she could have kept her feelings under-wraps. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but the conversation had triggered too many emotions. Her eyes began to water. Betty excused herself and headed off to her job.
It was a cold crisp night. Betty meandered along the streets trying to control her tears. Spending so much time with the Katana's stirred up memories of her own family that she hadn't expected. It was a reminder of what she had lost. It took her awhile to sort out her feelings.
Betty could tell that Mimi was becoming attached to her. Mimi enjoyed her company and was trying to bond as a sister. Her entire family was practically making room to adopt her into their clan. In a way, Betty wanted that, but to her, accepting the Katana’s affection would be like replacing or abandoning her real family.