Bitter Winds (16 page)

Ivy narrowed her eyes at the nurse. “What do you mean you’re on our side?”

“Shh. Not so loud. I also follow Falun Gong. But you must keep this quiet or I could lose my job, or worse. I’d be jailed or sent to a labor camp. I took this job to help as much as I can.”

“But we’re not Falun Gong followers,” Ivy said.

“I tried to tell her that,” Lily whispered. “But she
has
been nice to me, Ivy.”

The wheels started turning in Ivy’s head and she got an idea. She crossed her arms and lifted her chin. She was glad she did know a bit about their practice; it just might work to their benefit.

“So, if you are Falun Gong, you are committed to living a life of compassion, right?”

The nurse nodded.

“Then you know, as you’ve already said, that my sister will have a rough time in the reeducation center because she is blind.”

Lily put her hand on Ivy’s arm. “Ivy, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“Yes, I’ve already said she’ll have a rough time. But I can at least tell her a bit about what to expect, if we hurry. I need to get back out there before they get suspicious.” She turned and peeked out the window.

Ivy decided it was her only chance just to lay it out there.

“Then you can help me trade places with Lily. I can go to the reeducation center and Lily can go home.”

Lily gasped and the nurse turned around to face them. Ivy steeled herself. She’d definitely gotten her attention. Now how she’d answer was a different story.

“No, Ivy! I won’t let you do that. And we’d never get away with it.”

The nurse nodded her agreement. “Right, how do you think they wouldn’t know? It’s fairly obvious your sister is blind and you aren’t.”

Ivy felt a rush of excitement. The nurse was asking questions, so it wasn’t a no just yet.

“I can pretend to be blind. See, I came in with sunglasses, too, so no one will suspect anything. And I’ve watched Lily so many times, I can act just like she does when she’s walking, talking, or doing anything. We can do this.”

Lily shook her head and Ivy felt a surge of irritation. “Dammit, Lily! You
are
going to do this!”

They’d argued before but Ivy had never cursed at her and she could see the surprise cross her sister’s face. She immediately felt guilty. Lily had been through enough. “I’m sorry, Lily. I just want to get you out of here
today
. But you’ve got to let me help you. It’s you and me. That’s all it’s ever been. Please.”

As Lily hesitated, the nurse clucked in sympathy, then put her finger to her mouth. “Enough talk. If we hurry before the morning staff change, we might really pull this off.”

Ivy turned to Lily and put her hands on both her shoulders. “Lily, you have to let me do this. Nai Nai is just sick over you being here. I can handle it better—because I can see what is coming at me. Please.”

Lily didn’t look completely convinced. Ivy knew what her sister was thinking; she wanted to go but didn’t want to leave Ivy in her place. Loyalty and responsibility went both ways in their sisterhood.

“Please, Lily. If you love me as your twin, you’ll let me do this.” She knew Lily wouldn’t like her saying that. Their twin ultimatum had only been used in dire circumstances before, but this
was
a dire circumstance! “And Ye Ye is already working on getting you out of here—so I won’t stay long. You’ll see. Okay?”

Before Lily could answer, Ivy was shocked to see Nurse Guo jump into action.

“Let’s do this. Your sister’s right, Lily. Your blindness puts you at a serious disadvantage. There are some scary things to watch out for here, but even more so over there.” She came closer. “Ivy, what’s your plan?”

Ivy quickly kicked off her shoes. “Lily, get undressed. We’ll trade clothes and then I’m going to tell you exactly how to get out of this hospital and to the taxi line. Remember how you taught yourself to count paces?”

Lily didn’t answer but she shrugged out of their Ye Ye’s jacket and let it pool around her feet on the floor.

“Well, I listened when you rattled on and on, and wouldn’t shut up. Guess what? I actually learned a lot.” Ivy pulled the sweater off and tossed it to Lily. She forgot to warn her and it settled over her head before Lily grabbed it off and pushed her arms through.

“Here’s some money for the taxi, and don’t let the driver know you’re blind or he’ll cheat you!” Ivy tucked it into Lily’s hand.

“Ivy, I’m blind, not stupid,” Lily mumbled as she reached up and smoothed her hair down.

Ivy was relieved to see her sister snap out of her quietness. She almost smiled at the sassy tone she’d used. It showed she wasn’t completely broken from the experience.

“I know that. Oh, and I have your cane. You’ll have to just carry it out until you get outside, but then you can use it to get the rest of the way home.”

“Hurry up, you two!” Nurse Guo said, peeking out the window again.

Lily paused at the door and took several deep breaths, blowing out her chest and dropping her shoulders. She could do this; she knew she could. She knew one other thing, too; other than the worry and guilt over leaving her sister behind, she felt a sense of relief to be dressed in familiar clothes and about to find her way home.

“That’s right, Lily. You have to look relaxed. Usually when you walk around, you’re stiffer because you are hyperaware. This time you can’t be that way.”

Lily shook her body and practiced a more relaxed stance. It was hard to relax when she was scared to death. She couldn’t believe she was actually doing this. She could only imagine how Ivy felt, dressed in the hideous hospital clothes and plastic slippers that Lily had quickly discarded. She felt torn—she wanted to go home but she didn’t want Ivy to have to take her place.

Nurse Guo came to stand beside her. “I’ll get you to the elevator. You just walk next to me and I won’t let you collide with anything. We’ll pretend I’m scolding you and making sure you leave. Ivy—put those sunglasses on before someone comes in here and notices you aren’t blind.”

Lily heard Ivy fumble with the glasses and felt butterflies in her stomach. Could her sister really make people think she was blind? “Ivy, are you sure about this?”

Suddenly Ivy was beside her and her arms were wrapped tightly around her. Lily could feel the soft texture of their Ye Ye’s jacket and was glad that Ivy at least had that for comfort. Having it the night before had made all the difference and she’d gone to sleep clutching the lapels over her nose, inhaling her Ye Ye’s familiar scent.

“I’m sure. Now get going before the other nurses get suspicious. Don’t worry—Ye Ye will get me out of here before you know it. And Lily, thank you for letting me do this.”

Lily felt Ivy’s arms fall away and her sister stepped back. This was it.

Nurse Guo opened the door and Lily stepped out. The nurse nudged her gently in the right direction and Lily began walking. Ivy had said it was thirty-seven paces to the nurses’ station, then twenty-three to the elevator. With more confidence than she felt, she counted silently in her head as she walked briskly.

“Now I told you only a few minutes! Next time—if there is a next time—you and your sister will have to keep it shorter,” Nurse Guo chattered in her ear as she walked beside her, supposedly to make sure she got on the elevator. “And who wears sunglasses inside? You kids all think you’re so cool. It’s
ridiculous
.”

As they approached the nurses’ station, a familiar voice called out. Lily stiffened. It was surly and rough. She’d never forget it.

“Where’s she going? Her time up already?” he asked, his voice just as bitter as the night before. “We were just getting to know each other.”

Lily stopped when the hair on her arm stood up. It was the orderly. She’d forgotten to warn Ivy about the orderly!

“This isn’t our patient—this is her sister,” the nurse answered, then nudged Lily to start walking again.

Behind them the orderly whistled. “Well, I’ll be damned if she ain’t the spitting image of that little mouse you got back there in that room. Except it looks like she can see by the way she’s swaggering around. And she isn’t a mouse like her sister—I think this might be a little firecracker.”

“Nurse Guo, I must go back. I need to tell Ivy something,” Lily whispered, hoping no one else was near enough to hear.

“No, you’re getting on the elevator and don’t come back until this time tomorrow,” Nurse Guo said, raising her voice, obviously so everyone could hear.

“But—” In the confusion, Lily lost count and was unsure how close she was to the elevator. Without her cane, or any reference or guidance, she felt a wave of panic and her steps faltered. Where was the wall? The elevator? How far behind did she leave the nurses’ station?

Nurse Guo grabbed her upper arm. “I’m going to make sure you leave right now. We have work to get done around here and don’t have time to babysit you two.”

Lily tried again to stop but the nurse was surprisingly strong. She let herself be guided toward the elevator and then they stopped. The nurse pushed the button.

“Is anyone else around us?” Lily whispered.

“No, but they’re watching. Keep your mouth shut.”

“That orderly harassed me last night. Please keep him away from my sister.”

“Shh. Your sister will probably be transferred out of here before nightfall. Don’t worry about her. She’s a tough one. And old Cho won’t hurt anyone—he’s all talk.”

Lily was silent. She wasn’t so sure about the orderly being harmless but it was true; Ivy was a tough one. She prayed that this time her sister’s forceful personality would be a benefit in keeping her safe.

The doors opened and Lily felt the nurse give her a soft push.

The nurse threw one last hint her way. “Lookie there, you got the entire elevator to yourself. See you later. We’ll take care of your sister!”

Lily stepped in and turned to face the door. The button panel was supposed to be right there. She reached out and found the bottom row of buttons and pushed what she thought was the one for the first floor. The doors closed and the elevator moved with a sharp jolt.

Now all she had to do was find her way out of the hospital, into a taxi, and to their home. If she pulled that off without breaking her neck, it would be no less than a miracle. Then she needed to round up the troops to help her get her sister out of there.

“Kuai yi dian.”
Benfu tapped his fingers on the door rest and urged the driver to go faster. As much as he hated the usual kamikaze recklessness of the city taxi drivers, this time he appreciated it. He didn’t know what Ivy was up to, but knowing his daughter, it couldn’t be good.

As the driver stomped on his brake, rammed the gas, then pounded out a vicious litany of horn blasts, Benfu once again wondered how they’d stumbled into such bad luck. Everything had been going well, and now this. He couldn’t deny that finding Li Jin and opening Rose Haven were still a blessing, but why did such a blessing have to mean his other daughters must suffer? Couldn’t the gods let all his children be happy at once?

The driver finally pulled up to the curb in front of the hospital.

“Eighteen reminbi,” he said, without turning his head. He held his hand up to receive the money and Benfu put a twenty on his palm. He opened the door and scooted out.

The area around the hospital was already starting to get busy. Beggars, vendors, and people seeking medical intervention clogged up the walkway and hurried around him. Benfu paused to put his money clip back in his pocket—he didn’t want to fall victim to a pickpocket. When he looked up again, his jaw dropped.