Tangled Vines (34 page)

“Oh, Jojo. I’m so sorry. It was my fault. I never should have taken my eyes from you. Did they hurt you?” She prayed they hadn’t laid a hand on his little head and if they had, God help them.

“No, but Erik only cooked that weird foreign stuff. I was starving.”

Li Jin laughed through her tears, then guided him to lie down beside her. She pulled him closer and spooned his body against hers. “I’ll fix you up, Son. First let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow I’m going to cook you all of your favorite things. Anything you want, and Auntie Wan is going to have to just move over and let me have her kitchen.”

“Who is Auntie Wan?” Jojo murmured, already falling back asleep. Li Jin stroked his hair, her eyes wide open in the dark room. Now that her son was back in her arms, she couldn’t stop thinking about the couple.
My parents? A real mother and a real father?
She could hardly believe it was true. But if it was—
aiya
—parents? She stared at the window and watched the clouds moving in front of the moon, wishing morning would come early. She had a lot of questions.

F
eeling a bit sluggish but relieved, Li Jin stood at the kitchen stove with one of Auntie Wan’s colorful patchwork aprons tied to her waist. As she waited for the batter to bubble in her pan, the old woman bustled around her. With the help of one of the other girls, Auntie Wan worked on the other dishes for their celebratory breakfast while Li Jin made Jojo’s favorite
jian bing
crepes for everyone. Every few minutes she glanced behind her to see if Jojo was still okay. She knew she shouldn’t worry; all the girls had taken to him immediately and he was putting on all his charm to keep them won over. As a matter of fact, the young man who’d driven him there, Jet, sat on one side of him and Sami on the other. The girls giggled and stammered in the fellow’s company while it was apparent Sami had already charmed Jojo by the way he kept looking shyly at her. Of course her son would choose the prettiest girl in the room to sit beside.

“Here’re the green onions.” Auntie Wan passed a small bowl to Li Jin. She pointed to a cupboard over the stove. “Chili sauce is in there. Don’t drown the crepes with it or we’ll have to put out some belly fires.”

“
Xie xie,
Auntie Wan.” Li Jin didn’t tell her she’d been making the special crepes since Jojo was about three and didn’t need any guidance. She quietly poured her beaten egg over the batter and added the green onions. She poured a dab of chili sauce, flipped the crepe over into a quarter size, and then added it to the platter. She immediately poured more batter for the next one.

This morning no one would allow Shuwen to do a thing except sit at the table with her sister, Jing. The girls were all captivated by how alike the two were, even though one was older and they wouldn’t say who. It was amusing to watch them interacting, catching up on the family gossip and telling tales of when they were younger.

The room suddenly silenced around her and Li Jin turned to see what was happening. The couple she’d met the night before—who’d brought her Jojo back to her—had entered the kitchen. Shuwen jumped up from the table and beckoned to Li Jin. “Li Jin, Auntie Wan has set up a private space for you and the Zhengs. You can all talk over breakfast. Jojo can stay with us or go with you, whichever you prefer.”

Zhengs?
So that was supposed to be her name? She’d always wondered every time she’d had to write down the name
Dang
the institute had given her. It might not be true but she had to admit that
Zheng Li Jin
sounded much better than
Dang Li Jin
. She put the spatula down and untied the apron. The couple waited in the doorway for Li Jin to answer. They looked so earnest and Li Jin did owe them everything for bringing Jojo to her. She looked over at Sami and despite her expression of doubt, she still nodded her approval to Li Jin.

“Okay. Which room?” She picked up a towel and wiped her hands. “Jojo, you stay here with Sami.”

Shuwen sat back down as if she’d won a battle. “The Weeping
Willow Room. You can eat outside in the courtyard. Auntie Wan will get one of the girls to bring your food on a tray.”

Li Jin sighed and moved past the couple and down the hall. She opened the door to the Weeping Willow Room and thought it fitting as she held it for them to enter. If she had to guess, she’d say neither of them had slept at all through the night.

The woman—Lao Zheng—looked anxious as she clutched a small red silk bag to her chest. Her husband kept a steady hand on her as if to comfort her. They walked through the sleeping area of the room and right to the patio, opened the door, and went outside. Li Jin followed.

In contrast to the rolling waves her nerves were causing in her stomach, Li Jin thought the courtyard looked serene and beautiful. Though only a small area, a huge weeping willow brought a magical feeling to the surroundings. She hid a smile when she saw that Auntie Wan had set the table prettily with a cloth and some of her finest dishes and chopsticks. In the center she had placed a vase with one simple white flower in it. Wan obviously wanted the talk to go well and Li Jin felt a rush of affection for her efforts to minimize the awkward situation.

“So, what would you like me to call you?” she asked, looking at the woman.

She’d caught her off guard and the woman looked at her husband for help. He cleared his throat.

“You can call us whatever you’d like. I’m Zheng Benfu and your
muqin
is Zheng Calli.”

Muqin. Mother.
There was that word again. It sounded so foreign to Li Jin. How could it be true? If she were to admit it, she’d have to say the couple looked like a storybook picture of what she would have imagined her parents to look like. But that still didn’t make it true.

“Okay, Lao Calli and Lao Benfu. So you think I am your daughter. Can you give me more details as to why?” She felt foolish. She’d never thought she’d find herself asking someone to prove she was their daughter. It felt like an interview. It was just way too strange.

“Did you hear what I said last night about your name? And the tattoo?” the old woman asked, then began digging around in the bag she’d brought.

Li Jin nodded. “I heard you.”

“Perhaps you were never told your real name, but do you have the flower on your heel?” the man asked. “Can you let us see?”

Li Jin ignored their question as Auntie Wan came through the door carrying a tray of tea and a few crepes. She also brought a dish of sliced watermelon. No one spoke as she laid it out on the table, then went back into the room, sliding the door shut as she left.

Li Jin watched the man pick up the teapot and turn over the three cups. He poured and set one in front of Li Jin, then another for him and his wife. Beside him the woman finally found what she was looking for and pulled out something wrapped in tissue paper and set it on the table.

“What is this?” Li Jin asked.

“Open it, please,” the woman kindly requested as she sipped her cup of tea.

Li Jin reached over and pulled the package closer, then unfolded the sheet of tissue paper. It was an infant’s outfit. She picked up the tiny red shirt and matching pants, then looked at the flowers intricately embroidered across the chest. The tiny frog ties were pink and still looked new.

“Who is this for?” she asked, looking at the couple.

The woman dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. Her husband reached over and put his arm around her. She took a deep breath before answering. “It was yours, Dahlia. It was to be the outfit you wore at your one-month party. But I never saw you in it because you were stolen as I slept. Someone snatched you out of your cradle and we searched and searched, but we couldn’t find you. I can still see your tiny face in my mind. You were such a beautiful child.”

Li Jin reached up and touched the scar on her face as she listened to the old woman’s voice break. The man pulled a leather pouch from his inside pocket and opened it. There were photos inside, and he picked them out and set them on the table, fanning them out for her to see. They were old snapshots; she could see that by the tattered edges.

“We just got these recently and were told you were still alive. As soon as we had a strong lead, we came to find you. We speak the truth.”

As a mother, Li Jin couldn’t imagine what the woman had gone through. Her son had only been gone a few short weeks and she’d almost lost her mind over it. She felt the first stirrings of pity—or maybe forgiveness? The pain in the woman’s eyes was so raw, she had to look away. She reached over and picked up the photos.

She sorted through them, remembering each and every day that they were taken. How could she forget the photographer telling her to smile so that someone would pick her to be their daughter? At first she had believed him and been hopeful. But later she knew no one would ever truly want her. In the last photo she remembered the indifferent expression she had perfected to hide the loneliness she held in her heart.

From the empty room beside the Weeping Willow Room, Sami quietly slid the window open and leaned in to listen. With her eyes trained on the patio, she could feel her heart racing as she watched the scene unfold before her. She was a bit stung that Li Jin hadn’t asked her to be with her for this important meeting, so she decided to listen from the shadows. Only a second ago Li Jin looked strong and stubborn, but now something had changed in her demeanor. Sami could feel it even from so far away.
Was she so easily going to forgive them for the years of neglect?

“So tell me how you got your first clue to how to find me.” She heard Li Jin say this as she laid down a stack of photos, then calmly took a sip of tea.

“Way to go—stay strong, Li Jin, don’t fall for their story of undying love”, Sami whispered under her breath. She couldn’t believe how composed Li Jin was after how upset she’d looked only the night before. Unable to go back to sleep, Sami had crept down the stairs a few hours after Li Jin had lain down with Jojo. She’d opened their door only a crack to see them sleeping wrapped in each other’s arms. It was sweet but Sami couldn’t help feeling a pang of jealousy. She was glad Li Jin had found her son—she really was—but it put a wrench in the new relationship they were building.

Now Sami would have to share Li Jin and she admittedly didn’t like it. And what about the trip they were planning? Would Li Jin really go with her now that she had a
family
? Only yesterday they were just alike because they had no one else in the world, but now everything had changed.

She listened as the sad old woman told Li Jin more about how she’d always suspected her mother-in-law of stealing her baby, but finally got proof only a week or so ago.
Was Li Jin really going to believe that story?
Sami wanted to shake the common sense back into her.

Sami could see the anguish mixed with relief on the man’s face as he waited for Li Jin to open up and accept their explanation. Beside him, the old woman dabbed at her cheeks with a piece of wadded handkerchief.

Enough with the tears already,
Sami wanted to say. But under the bitterness at the happy scene before her, Sami found herself wishing she’d had a father who loved her like this one must love Li Jin. She reached up and plucked first one hair, then a few more as she watched and waited to see if Li Jin would allow the people into her life.
Whatever happens,
she silently promised herself,
I will be glad for Li Jin, and I will not resent her newfound happiness.

But Sami would make sure their paths remained linked together as she knew fate intended.