And perhaps, most important of all, Frankie didn't have any of those dreadful family commitments that Hong had. He was an only child, so there would be no younger brothers or sisters to support through school or college. His parents were already well advenced in years and had some money of their own, so that they didn't have to depend on their son. She had been in their house just once or twice; the father she had never seen, for he was ill, said Frankie, and was often confined to his room, and the mother she had seen once only for a few moments. She was always so busy attending to the sick old man that she hardly had time for anything else.