Fox Spirit 55 – The Call from Home
Bright Liu suddenly materialized at her side, offering her a plate of dim sum from the buffet table.
“Ah, Sara, I can see a battle going on behind your face.” His voice was low and comforting. “Just for this National Day you must let us be political. Tomorrow these fireworks will be only ashes and we’ll get back to the wheel of daily life.”
“You heard?” Sara had thought her exchange with Storm had been quiet, especially with the fireworks going on above.
“Only your words with Zhang,” Bright answered. “But I also saw that you wanted Cheng to stay by you and he didn’t. Don’t be upset. Tonight he and Zhang are remembering old dreams. Tomorrow he will stay.”
Sara smiled. Even if Bright had heard her words to Storm, he was too kind to let her know, or to repeat her words. Together they joined the others at the parapet.
After the fireworks had ended, after the thank-you’s and good-bye’s had been said to the Wangs, Sara and Storm made their way through the crowded streets to the bus stop. The bus, of course, was jammed with parade-goers and the normal fifteen minute trip to Bei Hua took an hour. Finally the two of them arrived at Sara’s courtyard.
“Finally, some quiet and space.” Sara turned to Storm, smiling with relief and welcome. “Come and relax, I’ll make some tea and then….” She paused, smiling with an unspoken invitation. But Cheng held back, shifting from one foot to the other, not meeting her eyes.
“But I can’t stay, Sara. It’s Golden Week, you know. Tomorrow morning I’ll be leaving early with my parents and grandparents. We have to catch an early train to get to Suzhou and my grandparents’ family home. My grandparents are already at my parents’ apartment. I’ll sleep on a pallet tonight. Then we will be off.”
Sara looked at him blankly. Somehow she hadn’t imagined that Storm, with his uneasy family relationships, would be part of the national family visiting.
“Will you really be gone a whole week?” She could hear the dismay in her voice.
“Eight days, actually.” His tone was light, as if one day more or less didn’t matter. “We’ll be back a week from Sunday. My great-uncle still lives in Suzhou and I have some cousins, so we’ll be well received. And my grandfather has some property in Suzhou. Even though it’s a national vacation week he hopes to talk with the manager. And perhaps I can visit a customer or two.”
Eight days. The Rainbow Software office would be closed, along with the Children’s Palace. Silver Wing and Jerry Wang would be visiting Silver Wing’s parents outside of Beijing. Sara fought off her feeling of being abandoned and tried to match Storm’s light tone.
“In eight days I ‘ll have time to explore a lot more of Beijing. We can exchange adventure stories when you return.”
His shoulders relaxed as he smiled. Had he thought she was about to make a scene? “When I return, we’ll have a lot to exchange, I hope.” He touched her shoulder gently. “Thank you, Sara.” Then he turned on his heel and was gone, leaving Sara to let herself into her silent apartment.
The next morning Sara lay in bed, wide awake, watching the sun glaring around the edges of the room-darkening curtain and tracking a path along the floor, trying to think of a reason to get up. She could make breakfast, but she didn’t feel hungry. She had cleaned the apartment before going to the Wang’s, expecting that Storm would come in, so there was nothing more to do there. She could call Mark. No, it would be Friday afternoon in California – he would be at work. She had told Storm she would explore Beijing while he was gone, but a solo trip to the Ming Tombs held no appeal. Finally she pulled herself out from the blankets and padded into the kitchen to make coffee. She scolded herself: how had she become so focused on work and Storm? Surely there must be some festivity she could join? Maybe the American Embassy was having an expatriate party. She resolved to find out and was pulling on her jeans when her phone rang.
She picked it up. “Wei?”
“Ah, Sai le, I have found you at home. This is Scarlet Li. I hope you are feeling well after last night’s party?”
“Yes, thank you, Scarlet, and you?”
“Yes, very well. Saile, I meant to speak to you last night but had no chance. I was remembering that you have no family to visit for this Golden Week holiday. Would you honor us by coming to share some of the time with my family? “
Sara’s voice trembled as she began the ritual response to an invitation. “You are too kind, it is embarrassing. It would be too much trouble for you.” Inside she was shaking with relief.
“It’s no trouble,” Scarlet relied “Snow Plum will be so excited to have her teacher visit. And you can teach us all some of the songs in English that Snow Plum is learning. It will be a kindness also to our parents who aren’t able to travel this holiday. They will enjoy seeing a new face.”
“I thank you so much for your kindness,” Sara said, with gratitude putting real warmth in the polite formula. “When shall I come to your house?”
“I think I‘ll come for you, so you aren’t lost finding our house. This afternoon at two, all right? You can help prepare the food for the holiday. My mother will like to show you how to make dumplings. We won’t treat you like a guest.”
Sara agreed, hung up the phone and quickly finished dressing. She would need to bring a gift to the household and she had only a short time to shop. And she should shower and shampoo her hair and make sure her good dress was clean. She wondered if Storm was dressing formally for the holiday with his family. Bright Liu and Jade Wang were probably not celebrating the holiday together either. At least she had a place to go. She should bring a toy for Snow Plum. The hollowness she had felt on waking began to fill.
Mark’s call on Sunday filled another gap. “So, Mom, I tried to call you yesterday but no answer. I saw on TV that twenty-eight million Chinese were on the move this weekend because of some national holiday. Does that include you? Do you have plans? Maybe you could zip over to California just for grins?”
Mark’s light words sent a shock of longing through Sara’s mind. She could see Mark. She could hold Richie on her lap and teach him songs, as she had held Snow Plum the evening before. She could shop for clothes in her size and not be gawked at by salesfolk who thought five foot nine was grotesquely tall. She could get a decent chocolate milkshake. She shook herself. Not reasonable.
“Don’t tempt me, Mark!”
“I wish I could tempt you.” His voice was suddenly serious. “I’d just like to be able to go on a long walk, the two of us, and have you give me advice like you used to. I might even take it, now. Rennie’s got her family right near by and you’re such a long way away.”
“What do you need advice on, sweet? I’m right here at the other end of the line.”
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry.” She heard the dismissal in his voice like a door closing. “But I could use a long walk the next time you’re home.”
They went on to talk of Richie’s latest words, latest tooth, latest accomplishments. Rennie was still working at the dental clinic; Sara would go with Scarlet Li’s family to the Ming Tombs during the second half of Golden Week. After Mark hung up, though, Sara couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling. Was that loneliness in Mark’s voice, or was she only imagining it as an echo of her own?
Chinese Puzzle Box 