Tangled Vines (20 page)

“Girls, you know what this means?” she said. Already her brain was buzzing and lists were forming.

“What?” Lily asked. “That Linnea is going to have a big head when she finds out she was written up in the paper?”

She laughed. “Probably. But it also means we’re going to be very busy in your sister’s absence. We might have to call in the troops. Even Maggi and Peony are going to have to help out. And I’m going to have to place a duplicate order of what just came in and ask them to rush it.” She was glad Linnea had left her screen printer’s number just in case. So much for a nap—she had a lot of work to do now. If her gut instincts were right, she expected a surge of business in the next few days and she had to be prepared. She didn’t want to let Linnea down when she was out there doing something so important for her and Benfu.

“And when we leave tonight, we need to swing by the framer shop. That article is going on the wall before Linnea walks back through that door.” She also planned to stop by and spend some money on at least a couple dozen more papers. She would mail a copy to all of Linnea’s sisters. This was big news in the Zheng family—
really big news
. She couldn’t wait to show Benfu.

Ivy took the paper over to where Lily sat and described in detail the photo of Linnea taken outside her shop. Calli heard Lily ask which of the T-shirts Linnea wore in the picture. Of course, she should have known that design would be the biggest request. Calli smiled as she realized how the newspaper had gotten hold of it. Of course, it was Jet. He’d taken that photo right after the grand opening and he’d alerted the media to Linnea’s small success. All that told Calli was what she already knew; the boy was besotted to be sure.

“Girls, I’m going back here to see if Linnea has any hidden shirts. Let’s get this ball rolling.” With that she disappeared into the storeroom. She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed the number to Linnea’s screen printer in Beijing. She hoped he was ready for a huge order.

L
innea stuffed the dirty pair of socks into her bag and zipped it tight. Quickly she stowed her bag under the bunk and out of the way. The train cabin was nice but definitely tight.

She’d awoken feeling refreshed from the ten or so hours of sleep. At first she had struggled to stop thinking of Jet and what he might be doing and with whom, but soon the motion of the train had rocked her like a baby and the soft bunk underneath her felt like heaven. She’d thought Sky was still asleep in the bunk above her but had opened the door to the hallway to find him moving gracefully as he did his morning exercises.

“What are you doing up so early?” she asked.

“This is called the Buddha Showing a Thousand Hands. It is Bai Ling’s favorite pose to bring her internal peace,” he answered slowly as he stretched his arm all the way to the ceiling of the car.

Jet had warned her not to engage Sky in conversation about the Falun Gong or the supposed exercises that they must do to absorb energy from the so-called parallel universes, so Linnea squeezed past him to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, luckily beating the rest of the passengers in their car to be rewarded with a moderately clean experience. She’d changed her clothes and returned to find Sky back in their cabin.

And now with nothing left to do, she flopped down beside him and heaved an impatient sigh. Beside her, Sky smiled serenely, his bag also already packed and ready. Still he didn’t look in the least bit bored and sometimes Linnea hated how constantly calm he was when her own insides felt like they’d explode with anticipation.

Their cabin mates—the retired couple—sat directly opposite them on the other bottom bunk, watching them curiously. The crinkly faced old man used a soiled cup to spit his tobacco in and kept adjusting the lump it made behind his lip. Both of them were bundled up as if they were taking a trip to the famous icy Harbin and Linnea didn’t know how they weren’t uncomfortable in the stuffy cabin. As far as she’d seen, they had no plans of changing their clothes from the day before, but Linnea knew that wasn’t unusual in the older generation as they thought using too many clean clothes was wasteful.

With only about a half hour until their stop, Linnea was restless and couldn’t wait to get going on the search. Waiting in the cramped cabin with strangers had now turned awkward since they’d stopped their snoring and gotten up. After they’d both made trips to the bathroom in their car and the woman had made her husband some green tea, they’d settled down and the silence became heavy.

Linnea flinched as the old woman reached across the few feet between them and grabbed her hand. Her first instinct was to jerk it back, but she hesitated, thinking the woman probably meant no harm.

“So this is your betrothed?” the woman rasped at her, looking from Sky to Linnea as she turned over Linnea’s hand and began rubbing her palm with her shriveled finger.

Linnea nodded and tried to hide the smile such an old-fashioned
word brought to her lips. She’d never pretended to be engaged before, but Ye Ye had told her it would be best if people thought she and Sky were a couple, and she’d agreed. She didn’t want questions about why she was traveling with him or even have to ignore inquiring looks from other guys her age. Better to let strangers assume she was attached, and she was—sort of. Just not to Sky.

“Were you matched by a matchmaker?” the woman asked, her curious black eyes twinkling.

Sky shook his head at the woman and answered solemnly. “No, fate brought us together.”

Linnea felt like elbowing him in the side. He was so serious; you’d think they were really engaged. He seemed to like the charade too much for her taste and Linnea couldn’t wait until they could drop the act.

The woman flipped her hand over again, then looked at Linnea. “The skin on the back of your hand is firm and healthy.” She nodded her head up and down confidently. Beside her the old man removed a small pocketknife from the inside of his jacket and began to clean under his nails. By the bored expression on his face, Linnea thought he was obviously accustomed to his wife reading fortunes for strangers.

“What does that mean?” Linnea asked. Despite her promise to herself not to engage in conversation, she couldn’t help her curiosity. Nai Nai had told her long ago that many of the most famous palm readers in the world were in China. Linnea was skeptical because it was her nature, but she still respected their abilities.

“It means you are artistic and energetic. You make the most out of every day, and at the same time you are resourceful and rarely make mistakes. You tend to put the physical before the emotional.”

Linnea looked at Sky, her eyebrows up. “And what am I supposed to make of that?”

Sky smiled. “She’s right about everything, Linnea. I also see you pushing your emotional needs out of reach in your quest for success.”

Linnea shook her head. She didn’t believe that and as a matter of fact, she thought her emotional needs were directly linked to her physical needs. Until she was comfortable in the physical sense—especially in regards to her livelihood—she would never relax emotionally.

The woman turned her hand over once again and traced a line across her palm. “You are strong-willed and you don’t let anyone stand in your way. But don’t let yourself be spoiled by your newfound authority and power. You are about to have a burst of sudden success. Try your best to live with and respect others, because you may be hit by an unexpected downfall.”

Linnea gently pulled her hand away and put it behind her. “I respect your predictions, Laoren, but I’ve already been hit quite enough by downfalls in my life. I’m on the upside now and have no intention of turning the other direction.” Linnea did like the prediction of a sudden success and hoped desperately it meant her store would do well.

The old woman nodded. “I understand. Too much knowledge of the future can be a frightening thing.” She looked over at Sky, then back at Linnea.

“And he isn’t your life partner. I want to tell you that now to save you the waste of many years before you realize it.” She smiled apologetically at Sky, then looked at Linnea again. “Some women are saddled with men who have interrupted their true fate and their hearts suffer before they have realized it. But if you would like to tell me your birth date, I could tell you which animal of the moon you should be with.”

Linnea shook her head. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t give the woman a completely accurate birth date. So why bother? “Thank you, but I’ll pass.”

Luckily Linnea was spared any further explanations or discussions as the train pulled into the Beijing station. She and Sky stood and gathered their bags, then made their way into the outside hall and into line with the other passengers hoping to be first off. Linnea looked at her watch and saw it was a few minutes past noon. With any luck they’d find Mari quickly and then get to the orphanage and start their search immediately.

As the taxi weaved through the busy streets, they spent the half hour catching up about Mari’s adventures at the Great Wall, and Linnea’s new store. It had been over a year since Mari had come to Wuxi and Linnea thought she looked tired, but otherwise the same. She still wore her hair in the unusual long, curly style that went well with her colorful gypsy-looking clothes. And like always, Linnea still thought of her older sister and her husband as somewhat daring for selling their farm to make a career out of dealing with tourists. They’d traded a cow for a camel and set up a photography business at the Great Wall. It was still hard to believe and Linnea respected their courage. Still, though her Nai Nai had asked Mari to take them around town, Linnea didn’t need her sister to take charge. This was her moment, not Mari’s. But she was still thrilled to see her, and Ivy and Lily had pouted for an hour when they’d heard Linnea would get to visit Mari.

“And little Maggi? Is she still getting around well in her wheelchair?” Mari asked.

Linnea laughed. “Oh yes. She’s become an independent little thing. Now that she doesn’t have to be carried everywhere, she wants to help Nai Nai in the kitchen, or work in the store—it’s just amazing how that chair has changed her life. I just wish the local transportation would catch up with the rest of the world and offer wider doors and lifts for the chair. Getting her to my shop is not an easy thing.”

Sky chuckled. “You can’t tell that to Lao Calli. She still manages to bring Maggi to Linnea’s store at least once a week. That woman is amazing.”

Mari nodded. “That’s for sure. But what about Peony, is she still getting postcards?”

“It’s been a while but it’s so sad, Mari. She’s constantly looking at or reading the ones she’s collected. I think if that really is her mother sending those, it’s a cruel way to show her love—staying out of reach and giving Peony false hope.”

The taxi screeched to a stop in front of a tall concrete wall, and the driver turned to them and demanded seventy-five reminbi.

Linnea looked at Mari and her sister shook her head.
“Tai gui
le
.
”
She whispered it was too much and they both turned to Sky.

He sighed and leaned toward the front seat. It wasn’t unexpected; trying to cheat out-of-towners picked up from the train station was a given. Luckily Mari knew the usual Beijing rates.

“Sir, I do apologize for being so forward, but you said the fare would be no more than fifty. So here is your fifty.” His voice was so calm and friendly as he held out the money and Linnea had to hide her smile at the puzzled look that came over Mari’s face. From what she’d heard, Mari’s husband was a tough guy and would’ve taken a completely different approach.

The driver looked like he didn’t know what had hit him. Sky’s temperament was so far from the norm for a man his age. The driver had obviously expected a long and loud argument. He reached over the seat and took the bill from Sky’s outreached hand, then faced the front again.

Linnea climbed out with Mari and Sky right behind her. She held on to the open door while Sky walked to the back and waited for the driver to pop the trunk. When the lid slowly opened, he pulled both their bags out and set them on the curb. Only then did Linnea let go of the car door and let it shut behind her. Sky came to the front window and bent down and wished the driver a good day. Linnea could only imagine the expression the man wore as he drove away, wondering what kind of weird fellow Sky was since he was being so polite to him.

Linnea turned and looked at the group of buildings over the tall wall. It didn’t look inviting in any way, but she wasn’t surprised. She’d heard a lot about the various orphanages and knew none of them were any place she’d want to grow up.