Tangled Vines (24 page)

“Come on, Mari. Sky, we need to get back to the train station and on to Suzhou.”

Linnea nodded and continued moving. Sky picked up their bags and followed her to the door. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up, Linnea. Suzhou is what they call a big small city. How can we ever pick up her trail?”

Linnea had thought of that and she knew it was a long shot. “Trust me, Sky. I’m not ready to give up yet. Let’s go straight to the train station and get our tickets to Suzhou. Then I’ll call Nai Nai and tell her what we’ve found.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to camp out at my house tonight—get some sleep?” Mari asked, following them out the door. “You know that Mama will have my hide if I don’t at least feed you before you leave.”

“No, Mari. We need to move on. But thank you so much for coming with us. It’s been so good to see you today.” She stopped and hugged her sister. Linnea wished she lived closer.

Mari stood back and smiled. “Look at you, Linnea, acting all grown-up all of a sudden.”

Sky sighed and Linnea could tell by the slump of his shoulders that he was already tired.

“It’s not all of a sudden, Mari. I’ve been grown-up—you just aren’t around. But we can sleep on the train and won’t waste any time.” She reached out and touched Sky on the shoulder. “I really appreciate you being here with me, Sky. It means a lot.”

He gave her a quick smile and picked up the pace, leading them out of the woman’s neighborhood.

“Yes, Sky, thank you for looking out for my little sister. She needs someone to keep her out of trouble, that’s for sure.”

Linnea thought of Jet and then shook her head to clear the thoughts from her mind. She needed to get over him and move on. If he couldn’t be honest with her, then he wasn’t who she had thought he was. Even so, she still couldn’t shake the longing to hear his voice or feel his touch. But with time she knew he’d just be someone she used to know. She’d have a full life even without him, or at least that was what she’d continue to tell herself.

They finally got to the street and a taxi pulled to the curb. “You take this one, Linnea. And please give Mama and Baba a hug from me.”

Linnea hugged her one more time. She thought it was interesting that the difference in their ages had given them different names for the couple who’d acted as parents to both Linnea and Mari. But back then, when Mari was taken in, Nai Nai and Ye Ye were young enough to be called parents. Now, they were elderly. The years were moving too fast for them and that thought made Linnea want to try that much harder to find their biological daughter before it was too late.

As she walked away, Linnea looked over her shoulder one last time at Mari and thought her sister looked sad—a tiny colorful waif in the crowd waving at her.

C
alli unlocked the door to the store and herded the girls through. It had only been two days since the story in the newspaper, and already Linnea’s sales were through the roof and they needed to prepare for a busy Saturday. At the rate they were going, Linnea was going to need to get busy with more designs for her shirts.

She’d thought about hanging a poster outside that said
Designer Linnea will return next week.
She couldn’t count how many customers had asked to meet Linnea and you’d think her daughter was a celebrity! Calli felt just a little guilty that so far she’d kept the good news about the article from Linnea on their few phone calls, but she knew her daughter and how uptight she’d be about not being able to be there to supervise. Calli could handle it—she was sure of it. She hoped that when Linnea got home and saw how much profit she’d made, all the secrecy would be forgotten. She pushed away a nagging truth that just maybe she was afraid that Linnea would come back too early, before she’d found news of Dahlia.

“Ivy and Lily, you girls unpack and set up the new shipment of shirts. Peony, I need your little hands to be wrapped around the broom handle.” The girls immediately obeyed, and Calli said another thanks under her breath that the screen printer was able to finish and overnight the shirts to them.

Turning around and holding the door open with her backside, she pulled Maggi’s chair over the door frame and into the shop. “Maggi, I need you to get the register ready. Here’s the money bag.”

She pulled the bag out of her deep apron pocket and handed it to Maggi. Only the day before Benfu had come in and built a shorter counter to put the cash register on so that Maggi could reach it. At only nine years old, she’d proved to be very good with ringing out the customers and was perfect as a final friendly touch as they went out the door. All of them instantly fell for the girl’s sweet smile and charm, and her efficiency despite her disability. Calli could already foresee many returning customers due in a big part to their interaction with Maggi.

When Maggi began wheeling herself to go behind the counter, Calli shut the door and locked it. They had only an hour to get everything in tip-top shape. Thank goodness Benfu had offered to keep Poppy and Jasmine home with him today. He’d told her the night before they were going to spend the day putting in a tiny garden of vegetables. Calli knew Jasmine was excited about that, as she loved anything to do with nature and the dirt. Poppy was going to be more of a handful than Benfu realized, but she’d told him to set up the playpen in the courtyard and that should entertain her for a while until her afternoon nap.

Calli walked around the store, straightening everything and dusting where needed. She’d told Linnea that to stand out from the other shops on the street, hers needed to be super clean. A neat store with good merchandise would make customers want to return. In front of the window display she stopped to pick up one of Sky’s scarves that had fallen off the line. She looked out and saw Jet at the corner, then hurried to the door.

She opened it and poked her head out. “Jet!
Ni hao
.”

He turned and waved, then walked toward her.

“Hello, Lao Calli. How are you this morning?” He crossed the busy street and stood in front of the store, his hands in his pockets. Calli’s heart faltered at the look of rejection on his face.

“Come in, Jet, come in. Were you coming by here? What brings you to this side of town?” She held the door open wider for him. She also hadn’t told him of the article, since she and Benfu wanted to be the ones to deliver the news. And as far as she knew, Linnea hadn’t told him the real reason she was going out of town.

Jet stepped in and as soon as the girls saw him, all work stopped. Peony was on him and wrapped around his legs before a second had passed, her broom forgotten on the floor. More reserved but just as happy, Ivy and Maggi got to him next, with Lily close behind. They hadn’t seen him in over a week and, from what Calli could see, had missed him tremendously.

Jet laughed and patted the girls, greeting them and giving each one a small bit of attention. “I had some business to do. I didn’t know you all came in this early or I would have stopped by.”

Calli could tell he wanted to ask about Linnea but was hesitating, so she beat him to it. “Have you heard from Linnea?”

Jet shook his head, not meeting her eyes. “No, she must really be busy. She hasn’t called.”

“You should call her, Jet,” Peony offered up. “She’s stubborn like that.”

Jet laughed and Calli smothered a smile. She didn’t know what had happened between the two of them but she hoped it didn’t last long. They were a good match and she could tell Jet was suffering. The poor boy had probably come all the way across town and walked by, hoping she’d come back already.

“Well, I heard from her for just a minute last night. I think everything is going well and is right on schedule. She should be home in a few days.” In truth, Calli didn’t know when Linnea would be home. She’d been very stingy with updates and Calli expected her to call this morning.

“Jet, can I play with your cell phone?” Maggi asked.

Jet started to pull out his phone but Calli stopped him. “No, Maggi, you have work to do and I’m sure Jet has some place he needs to be.”

Jet slid his hand out of his pocket and held them up apologetically to Maggi.

“Your Nai Nai says no. But I’ll see you girls soon, okay? I need to get back across town.” He went to the door and opened it, then looked back. “Lao Calli, if you talk to Linnea today, can you please ask her to call me?”

Calli nodded. Young love—she’d been there herself and knew it was hard. She hoped whatever it was Linnea and Jet were going through, it would get settled when Linnea returned. She never liked to see broken hearts and Jet couldn’t hide his—it was written all over his face.

“Of course, Jet. I’m sure she’s probably been having a hard time getting a signal. You’ll probably hear from her today.”

Jet waved and was out the door.

Calli picked up the broom and held it toward Peony. “Back to work, girls.”

She smiled as they voiced their disappointment at such a short visit from Jet. Calli shook her head.
Linnea better make up her mind about that boy before one of her sisters lays claim to him,
she thought as she went back to dusting.

L
innea and Sky stepped over the doorway of the noodle shop and sat down at a table. After they’d arrived at the train station, they’d gotten a taxi into town and now had been walking the streets of Suzhou for hours. Thus far they’d learned nothing new to help them find Dahlia.

“Do your feet hurt as bad as mine?” she asked Sky as she propped them up in the empty chair opposite her.

He sat up straight. “I’m okay. Just disappointed that we’ve spent all day here and haven’t found out anything. I think it’s time you called your Nai Nai.”

Linnea sighed. She wanted to wait until she had good news. But the truth was that looking for a girl in a city the size of Suzhou was next to impossible. No one would talk to them. They’d spent four hours at the government building, only to be asked to leave. They’d been treated as if they were nobodies and it stung. Next they’d tried the silk market, asking the old shopkeepers questions, but they’d hit nothing but dead ends.

She took her phone out of her bag and flipped it open. Three missed calls from Jet. In the noise and chaos of the city, she hadn’t heard it ring.

“What is it, Linnea?” Sky asked. “You sure are frowning at that phone.”

“Nothing.” She shut it quickly.

A waiter in a soiled white apron came and took their order and brought them water. Linnea sipped at hers and stared out the window at the people hurrying by. She wondered what Jet had to say. This was the first that he’d even tried to call her. What had he been up to that he was so busy?

“Linnea.” Sky got her attention and she retreated from her daydreams.

He reached across and took her hand. “I can see that your heart is still very troubled. Why don’t you just call him? It would help to bring you some peace.”

Linnea shook her head stubbornly. She wished Sky would stop with his peace talks. “He needs to call
me
. I did nothing wrong.”

“But he did call you, right? Isn’t that what you were looking at?”

He had a point there. Linnea realized that maybe she was acting immature. She never even gave him a chance to defend himself. He didn’t even know what she was mad about! She needed to call him.

“Do you mind if I step out for a minute?” She looked at Sky, smiling at him to show her appreciation. He really was a good friend, even if he was a little weird with all his talk about life and peace.

Sky stood. “No, you sit right there. It’s too noisy outside for you to talk. I’ll go to the table over there. You join me when you are ready.”

He patted her shoulder as he picked up his backpack and walked away. Linnea opened her phone again and dialed Jet.

He picked up before the first ring stopped. “Lin? Where are you? Why haven’t you called? I miss you.”

Linnea melted.

Then she pulled herself together. “I’m in Suzhou. And it’s a long story, but if you want to hear it, I’ve got time to tell it.”

She heard dead silence on the other end for a moment. Then he returned.

“Okay. I’ve just shut my office door and I’m all yours as long as you need me. Can I just say one more time, I’ve missed you so much, Lin. When are you coming back?”

Linnea smiled. For some reason her anger at him was buried by the complete comfort his voice gave her. They may still never have their relationship back but in this moment, she needed his confident composure. And his advice. She leaned back in her chair and started talking. Across the room Sky got her attention and gave her a thumbs-up. She winked at him and kept up the chatter.

An hour later Linnea and Sky sat at the entrance to the Humble Administrator’s Garden. Jet was due any moment. During their phone conversation, he had convinced Linnea that she didn’t need to take a bus or the train home; he wanted to come get her immediately. Linnea had to admit that riding home in Jet’s car would be much preferable to another trip on public transportation.

It hadn’t been easy but Linnea had spilled everything on the phone to Jet. He’d been shocked to hear all about Dahlia and even more surprised that Linnea had kept it from him. She could tell he was hurt, and they still hadn’t discussed why Sky had taken his place on the trip, but Linnea decided she wasn’t going to let her pride get in the way of finding Dahlia. And if anyone had the connections to make it happen, it was more likely to be Jet and his father than her, just a girl from the wrong side of town.

Beside her Sky picked at his nails. He had smiled his approval at her when she told him Jet was coming. “Now maybe you two can put the negative feelings aside and go back to the peaceful and loving relationship you had before.”

Linnea knew Sky was disappointed that they hadn’t been able to find Dahlia but they both agreed that using Jet’s family’s influence might make more headway. Still, she hoped she hadn’t hurt his feelings.

“Sky, are you okay?”

He looked up and smiled. “I’m fine, Linnea. And it’ll be nice to sleep in my own bed tonight. I know my mother has missed me—though I doubt my grandfather even realized I was gone.”

Linnea laughed. “I’ll bet he did. He cares about you more than he shows, Sky. I’ve seen the way he looks at you with pride. He just doesn’t want you to know it.”

“Yeah, he’s still punishing me for refusing a college education
and the pursuit of the Chinese dream of becoming a businessman.”

“I don’t think so. He’s probably glad you are your own man. At least you got a chance to take the entrance exams and pass them, even if you did turn down their acceptance letter.”

Sky didn’t get to answer as they were interrupted by Jet as he swerved his black sedan to the edge of the sidewalk. He turned off the car and hopped out. Linnea’s heart did a little flip-flop at seeing his face.

She composed herself and bent to get her backpack. She lifted it and was almost barreled over when Jet enveloped her in a huge hug.

“Oh man, I’ve missed you,” he whispered in her ear, and she heard him inhale the scent of her hair. She knew it couldn’t smell very good after all the time she’d spent traveling but the groan he gave begged to differ.

“Break it up, you two,” Sky said. He knocked on the trunk of the car to get Jet’s attention. Jet hit his key fob and the lid
slowly opened. Sky threw his bag in, then came and took Linnea’s and added hers. He shut the trunk.

“Ready?” Jet asked, standing back to look at Linnea as if he hadn’t seen her in years.

Linnea was glad for the warm welcome but she could feel her cheeks burning. She wasn’t used to such displays in front of everyone else. She looked at Sky, and he rolled his eyes and smiled slightly, then climbed into the car.

“I suppose I’ve got the backseat to myself,” he muttered as Jet opened the door to the front passenger seat for Linnea.

Jet crossed in front of the car and got in. He smiled at Linnea as he clicked his seat belt across his lap. “I stopped by the store and told Lao Calli I was coming after you. She can’t wait to see you and wants me to bring you straight there.”

“Jet! I’m so tired and dirty. I wanted to go home first,” she whined.

He winked at her. “Believe me; you’ll want to see what she’s been up to. It’ll only take a few minutes and then I’ll take you home.”

He put the car in drive and took off, leaving black marks behind him.

Calli finished washing Poppy off in the sink, then handed her off to Ivy. “Get her dressed and then rock her to sleep. Ye Ye and I are going to take a walk.”

“Okay, Nai Nai.” Ivy snuggled the little wet bundle all the way to the bed where her clothes were laid out.

Benfu stood up and put on his sweater, then joined Calli at the door. “You girls be good and settle down. When we get back, it’s time to go to sleep.”

Calli nodded in agreement. It had been a huge day. With only two hours’ notice from Jet, they’d pulled together a party to welcome Linnea back as a celebrity. Now she was with Jet but Calli could still remember her expression when she’d gotten out of the car in front of the store. There Linnea had found a line of people waiting for her to autograph shirts they’d just bought. Calli and Benfu had presented the framed article to her and told her how proud they were. Linnea looked like she was in shock the entire time—though it was a happy shock when she found out how much business Calli had done in her absence.

Jet had finally taken Calli aside and told her his ideas on how to find Dahlia in Suzhou. Now was the hard part; confessing to Benfu that she’d been harboring a secret from him. But now she needed him. She needed his strength.

“Benfu, I wanted to talk to you alone.” She grabbed his hand as they strolled down the alley of the
hutong
. She looked around one last time but knew Ivy and Lily would watch over the others. Linnea was still with Jet. He had told Calli before they left that he had a surprise for Linnea and wouldn’t have her home for a few hours.

“What do you want to talk about?” He turned to her, sensing she was upset.

“I’ve kept a secret from you. The first one ever.” Now that she’d said it, she realized she was wrong to have done it and wished she could take it back. She reached in and felt the security of the envelope of photos.

Benfu chuckled. “What secret, Calla Lily? Have you been skirting around with another gent in the neighborhood? Tell me, is it Lao Yang who has caught your eye? You know, don’t you, that he keeps a ready handful of concubines in his cellar?”

Calli led him to the bench at the end of the lane. They sat down.

“Benfu, I’m serious. I can only tell you I regret it and I thought it was for your own good, but I’ve news of Dahlia.”