Tangled Vines (5 page)

Li Jin jumped at the sound of the shrill bell. She started her bike and smiled when she saw Jojo run through the gates in the middle of a pack of excited children. At only ten years old he was the tallest in his group of friends and easy to pick out. She almost chuckled at the way he strutted through the gates. He was trying to act cool for his classmates, but so far he had maintained most of his little-boy innocence.

“Ma! Look what I made you!”

She shook her head and chuckled. Since he’d started school, he’d insisted on trading the endearment of mama for ma. He said he didn’t want to sound like a baby. He tried so hard to keep up with the big boys.

From his fingers dangled a string of beads. He handed it over to her, bouncing up and down with excitement as she studied it.

“Jojo, that’s so beautiful. You made it for me?” The string of beads was quite colorful with alternating reds and yellows and one pearly white one in the middle.

Jojo smiled and nodded his head. For a second he tried to maintain his macho bravado but then he couldn’t contain his excitement. “Yes, the white one is you and the colored ones are the other moms. You always stand out as the prettiest one in the crowd.”

Li Jin was relieved she was wearing sunglasses and Jojo couldn’t see the tears well up in her eyes. She was also glad that even though he hid it when he was around Erik, he could still show his affection for her when they were alone.

“Thank you, Jojo. I’ll wear it forever.” She tied the bracelet on her wrist and patted the seat in front of her. “Come on. We’re going to go find an afternoon treat. What do you think? Noodles or ice cream?”

Jojo jumped up on the moped, set his backpack on the platform near her feet, and settled himself on the seat in front of her, relaxing against her chest. Sometimes he asked to sit on the back of the scooter, but she was glad he was okay to be in front today. She wanted to hold on to feeling her arms around him for as long as possible. He was her only comfort in a world that so far had done nothing but kick her in the teeth.

“Noodles! Hurry!” He bounced up and down in the seat and made Li Jin laugh. She should’ve known her boy would want noodles. He was a big eater and was all about filling his ever-aching belly. And they knew if he really wanted it, he’d still get the ice cream later.

She maneuvered the bike carefully out of the school parking area and turned into the bike lane on the street. The other mopeds and bicycles skirted around to make room for one more traveler.

“Let me drive, Ma.” He pushed her hands back from the handlebars and Li Jin let them hover over his for a few minutes, then took the steering back.

She knew just where to go. They’d sit down at the corner shop for some of Mr. Wu’s best noodles and then she’d find somewhere else for them to spend the evening hours. She knew from experience that it was best she didn’t return home until Erik had sufficient time to cool down.

Li Jin leaned back against the tree and watched her son. Beside her, Jojo showed his enthusiasm each time the colors lit up the sky. There had been a wedding party at the park, and they’d watched them pose for photos for over an hour. Now that dusk had come; the people gathered around to cap off the day by watching a fancy show of fireworks.

Jojo was excited they’d found a perfect spot to stay out of the way and enjoy the noisy display. She was happy to have him all to herself where they could both relax and feel free from walking on eggshells as she had to do with Erik around.

“Ma, why do people set off fireworks when they get married?”

“Because, Jojo, the fireworks are supposed to scare off any evil spirits that may be attached to the couple, ensuring a happy marriage full of good luck.”

She wanted him to continue to believe that people could be content together. When she’d taken off her sunglasses earlier, he’d noticed the faint bruise around one of her eyes, but she’d told him she ran into the swinging door at the post office. By now he must think he had the most ungraceful mother in the world.

He rubbed at his eyes. With his belly full of noodles and red bean ice cream, he was getting sleepy. He’d already yawned at least a half-dozen times. Li Jin looked at her watch again. It was way past his bedtime, but one more hour and Erik would be out for the evening. Months ago it was her routine to get the
ayi
to stay with Jojo while she went with Erik to the famous Bar Street—a seedy area where the Chinese mingled with the foreigners looking for a good time—but now he went alone. He liked to say he was going to network, but what he meant was
jawl
—which she had learned was South African slang for party. And he was surfing for new customers, too; she was sure of that. But she didn’t care anymore. She actually preferred it that way, as she just wanted to be with Jojo. She pulled a few pieces of grass from the back of his shirt.

“Ma, why don’t I have a Ye Ye or Nai Nai?” he asked sleepily.

Oh no, not that again,
Li Jin thought. In the past year Jojo had started asking questions about why they didn’t have extended family, particularly grandparents. So far she had treaded carefully, but sooner or later she knew it was going to get harder to appease his curiosity, especially when it came to who his father was. So far she’d kept him at bay by telling him his father had died in the army, but she dreaded when her son would get old enough to ask for more details.

“Why are you asking me this again, Jojo?” He laid his head on her lap and she ran her fingers through his hair. He loved it when she did that.

“Because Pang’s grandfather came to class today and showed us how to do tricks with his yo-yo. Pang asked me what tricks my Ye Ye knew. I told him I didn’t have a Ye Ye and he said everybody has grandparents. But you said I don’t, Ma.”

Li Jin sighed.
How much of your own sad story do you allow yourself to pass along to your child?
The only thing she knew to do was to spin it into some semblance of a fairy tale—even though her childhood had been anything but story-like, and Jojo was getting too old for such babyish tales. Even so, he wasn’t old enough for the truth and might never be. She’d told him the story before, but this time she’d add more and hope it would appease his curiosity for a while longer.

“Okay, Jojo. You’re big enough now and I can tell you a secret.”

Jojo sat up and his eyes widened as he waited. He loved anything considered a secret.

“You
might
have grandparents, but we don’t know who they are or where they live. Many years ago when I was but a baby, a dragon snuck into my room and carried me away. Because I cried so long and so hard for my mother, the dragon took me to Beijing and left me in front of a big school that children lived in.”

Jojo’s forehead wrinkled in confusion as he had another revelation. He was old enough to know that dragons weren’t real but he usually played along. Sometimes when it was only them alone together, he just wanted to act like a little boy and that was fine with her. She wanted to keep him that way as long as possible before the harsh ways of the world spoiled his innocence.

“Ma, children don’t live in schools. It was an orphanage,” Jojo said, his tone stern.

Li Jin was taken aback. They’d never used that word before or even discussed what an orphanage was. So this was part of the whole school experience her son was getting? She wondered what else he had learned.

“But why didn’t the dragon just give you back to your
mother if he didn’t want you?”

Li Jin shook her head. “I don’t know, Jojo. Maybe we traveled so far he couldn’t find his way back. But anyway, the only thing they knew about me was from a note pinned to my shirt giving them my name.” As usual, she allowed him to think that her name was Li Jin. One day she’d tell him the truth, but not today.

“And the tattoo of the flower on your foot!” Jojo said.

“Yes, and someone had drawn the character for flower on my heel. Anyway, the orphanage took me in and I lived in the big school with a lot of other babies until I could walk. I didn’t like it there, so I was happy that when I got older they let me stay in a real house with a man and woman.”

“Your foster family!” Jojo answered loud enough to turn a few heads.

Li Jin held her fingers to her lips and looked around quickly. “Shh. Yes, my
fuyang jiating
. My foster father was big and round, and laughed like this!” She held her arms out in a big circle and touched her fingers, then let out a jolly laugh. Jojo giggled at her impression.

“And my foster mother was a teeny tiny lady who talked like this.” She brought her hands up in front of her to look like little paws, shrunk her head down into her shoulders, and whispered a few unintelligible words through a pretend overbite.

“She was like a little mouse,” Jojo added, nodding his head as if he knew every word of the story. And he probably did, Li Jin thought. She’d told him about her foster families before. He always remembered the first one. They were the good family. Some of the ones she’d been in after those she would never tell her son about. Some things a son should never know. She’d also never tell him of the hardship of her times at the orphanage—the dark and cold rooms, and the feeling of isolation even though she was surrounded by at least a hundred others. Sadly she kept a lot of secrets—and they were real ones, not made-up fairy tales.

“Yes, she was like a little mouse. But she took good care of me for a few years. Then she and her husband moved to another place in China far away to help take care of their grandson. I had to go back to the school until they could find me another family.”

Jojo reached over and nudged her playfully.

“I don’t like the way that story ends. I want you to stay with the fat man and the mousy woman.”

Li Jin smiled and rubbed the top of his fingers.

“I know, Jojo. I wish I could’ve stayed, too. Come on. We need to go; I’ll tell you more of the story another time.” She picked up their things and led Jojo to the walking path. She figured they were safe to head home. Jojo would be happy there’d be no time for a bath. She grabbed his hand as he used the other one to point up at the final burst of fireworks.

“Dude! Look at that one! It’s the biggest one yet!”

“
Dui,
it sure is, Jojo. But please don’t say dude.” Erik’s slang was really rubbing off on him and Li Jin didn’t like it.

“Let me see your tattoo again.” He pointed at her foot.

“Not tonight. I’m not taking my shoes off. And we need to go. Come on.” He’d seen her flower many times. It was so captivating to him for some reason, but to Li Jin all she could think was how cruel to tattoo a baby’s foot. She didn’t remember it but she was sure at one time it must have caused her pain. What sort of parents had she been born to? It made her angry to think about.

“Can I get a yo-yo, Ma?” He shuffled his feet, suddenly looking about five years old as the fatigue really set in. She ruffled the top of his hair. If all it took was a yo-yo for him to forget about his lack of a family history, that was a welcome request.

“Jojo with a yo-yo? I guess we can think about that.”

She chuckled as she hurried him toward the row of mopeds and bikes. She loved how he bounced from serious subjects to his random little-boy thoughts. He’d get his yo-yo and maybe she’d find someone to teach him how to use it, too.

L
innea opened the door to her shop and led the way inside with Lily and Ivy behind her. Once again, as soon as she stepped inside she swelled with pride. The store had been open only a month and so far its small success had taken her by surprise. She’d thought it would be much harder to start building clientele but each day had brought in even more people—with many actually parting with their hard-earned money. Just yesterday she was forced to spend the afternoon combing the back streets to find more treasures to stock her shelves. Luckily Nai Nai and Ye Ye had manned the store for her, with the help of Ivy and Lily. Without them she wouldn’t be able to keep up with everything.

She hoped she could keep up the momentum and that it wasn’t just the curiosity of a new business that was bringing them in. If things kept up the way they were going, she’d soon make enough to rent the second-floor apartment from the building owner. By then she should be able to talk her Ye Ye into letting her move out alone.

“Okay, now how am I going to keep you two busy? And Ivy, you’ve got some making up to do with Nai Nai when you get home tonight. I bet I can guess who’s getting kitchen duty.…”

Ivy hung her head only for an instant. Then she looked up and Linnea could see the familiar fire spark in her eyes. “I don’t care. If they won’t let us go to school together, I just won’t go!”

Beside her, Lily grinned in her usual silent way. Linnea knew she wasn’t totally innocent in the conspiracy. The girls had staged a revolt against being separated, and once they banded together it was impossible to make them budge. Linnea rolled her eyes at them and answered as she moved toward the back of the store.

“You know they won’t let Lily go to your school. But that’s fine. Now Lily’s tutor will have to give a lesson to both of you, won’t she? What do you want to learn today, Ivy? How to button your shirt?”

She didn’t wait on a reply as she headed to the back. The girls
knew she was just teasing, and Lily could already do most things a sighted person could. And she was getting so good at playing the violin that now it was all she wanted to do. When she brought out her violin in the evenings, it wasn’t unusual to see the neighbors gravitate toward her and hang over the concrete gate to listen. Because of the music, their courtyard had become the local hangout.

The violin had obviously changed Lily’s outlook on life, but Ivy thought she needed to focus on other things, too, and the tutor was supposed to be teaching her sister new tasks. Since the county had begun to help her family they’d also started sending a tutor once a week to help Lily learn how to function as a blind person. This offer came only after they practically had to restrain her Ye Ye when the county worker suggested massage school. Her Ye Ye made it clear they would have no part of the usual stereotype that all blind people were destined to earn a living by being a masseuse. Even Ivy had almost shown the woman the door at that proposal. None of them ever wanted Lily to spend her life in one room rubbing the hind end of every lazy businessman and perverted foreigner in town. The lady had tried to tell them there were legitimate medical massage clinics, but they weren’t going to take the chance that Lily might end up in the wrong place. They’d have to figure out a way for both girls to get an education without separating them.

Linnea stood in the storeroom, surveying her stock, hands on her hips. She had an entire box of wrapped hand-painted vases to go through. She’d found them in various back-alley shops. She needed to find someone with an eye for antiques to help her decide which were truly valuable and which were made only recently to look antique. She’d wait to put them out as she didn’t need to get off on the wrong foot with her customers. She wanted to be known as one of the few shop owners who could be trusted. As her Ye Ye had drilled into her, her reputation was everything. Ruin it and she was done. Hopefully a year from now she’d be the antique expert herself.

Moving on, she saw that she had a few more boxes of T-shirts but she was going to have to ask for a rush on her next shipment. She took out her phone and began texting her supplier. She really needed a computer to be able to give a more accurate count but she’d have to make do with a quick appraisal. Hopefully in a few months she’d be profitable enough to afford a laptop. She ought to be happy to finally have a cell phone, as she was probably the only one in China who’d waited until she was eighteen to get one. But still she really needed more office equipment. As it was, she had to make constant trips to the local print shop to scan and e-mail her sketches to the supplier for new designs.

“Ivy, how many of the T-shirts with vintage street signs are stacked up there?” she yelled as she rummaged through one of the boxes at her feet.

She sensed rather than heard someone behind her and startled when she felt a light caress on her hip.

“I think probably not enough.”

Linnea jumped up and turned around. Jet stood there, his arms open wide. She eagerly accepted the invitation and stepped into his embrace, breathing in the clean, soapy smell of his neck. An instant feeling of comfort enveloped her. Even after a year of dating, she was always so glad to see him.

“Jet! What are you doing here?” She stepped back and looked up at him, admiring the way his eyes twinkled when he smiled. Sometimes she thought he was just too cute for his own good.

“My father finally gave me some time off. I’m here to see how I can help.”

Linnea squinted at him and practiced her most intimidating expression. “Well, you missed my grand opening. Most of the hard work is done.”

Jet grimaced. “I know, Lin. I’m sorry about that but Baba wouldn’t let me go. He’s says I’m earning my stripes. But since all the hard work is done, maybe you and I can sneak away to my apartment and…” His roving hands finished the sentence for him.

“No, Jet. I can’t leave the store. And stop it
—the girls are right in there,” Linnea whispered as she slapped his hands away, even though a part of her wished they’d continue their exploration. “Be serious. I need to order some more shirts and get them here fast. You wouldn’t believe it but I’ve almost sold out again. People love my shirts!”

“I do believe it, Linnea. I told you they’d be a big hit. Face it—you have talent as a designer. Aren’t you glad now that your old boss fired you from fixing bicycle tires?” He laughed, then sobered quickly at her scolding look. “What can I do? Help you count?”

Linnea pointed toward the front of the store.

“Go keep the girls out of trouble, and tell Ivy to write down exactly how many I have of each style of shirt. I’ll get the counts done in here and be up there in a minute to tell you what to do next. While you’re here we can do a full inventory.”

Jet stood up straight and saluted Linnea.

“
Aiya,
Captain Lin. I’m on it. But I’m taking you to lunch and not taking no for an answer, so you’d better get your work done. And if you’re really lucky, I’ll let you take me to my place Friday night when my parents are away, and I’ll even allow you full rights to do whatever you want to me.”

With that he clicked his heels and pivoted around. He marched out of the room to the sound of Linnea’s muffled laughter.

Five hours later Linnea closed the door and used her keys to lock it. Jet waited patiently beside her as behind them a woman rattled a can at her, asking for money. The woman had shown up a few days before and, thanks to a few handouts, she’d become a permanent fixture in front of the shop. She was so old that Linnea hadn’t had the heart to run her off.

“Ni hao,”
Linnea greeted the woman kindly, but pushed the can gently away from her face. “I’ll bring you back some lunch but no more money.”

The woman smiled, showing the gaps in her teeth, and then settled herself down on the curb to wait.

Linnea looked through the door and gave a parting wave to Ivy and Lily, then joined Jet on the sidewalk.

“You sure you want to leave them here?” Jet asked, looking over her shoulder through the glass.

“They don’t want to come. They’ll be fine. I turned the sign to
Closed
and they’ll entertain themselves going through my new stuff in the back. It’s just easier for Lily not to have to navigate these uneven sidewalks. We’ll bring them back something.”

Jet looked down at the rough path in front of them. The sidewalk was made up of small squares of concrete laid six across. The squares bumped up against one another with many meeting to jut upward instead of lying flat like they were intended. “I can understand that. It’s even hard for me to walk without tripping. It’s a shame that the city can’t take better care of this part of town. This is where all the history is.”

“History! You want to hear history?” Sky, their neighboring shopkeeper, said as he came up behind them, making quite an impression with his outfit. Today his fashion choice was tie-dyed and in his bright orange and pink shirt he stood out in the crowd of pedestrians mostly dressed in a sea of dark blues and grays. He still wore his huge white sunglasses but today he also wore a funky Mao hat pulled low over his face.

“I can tell you the history of Wuxi from going back three thousand years ago when it was founded by two princes. Ever heard of Taibo and Zhongyong?”

“Oh,
ni hao,
Sky.” Linnea waved at him, then gestured. “This is Jet.”

Jet gave a slight wave but didn’t smile. He didn’t look impressed. “Hi.”

“Oh, hi! I’ll bet you’re Linnea’s boyfriend. Peony told me all about you.”

Linnea blushed and wished her little sister were within choking reach. She wondered exactly what Peony had told him. Sky smiled at her discomfort and fortunately changed the subject.

“Where are we going? Lunch? Great, my grandfather is watching my store,” Sky said, not waiting for any answers before moving up next to them and linking his arm through Linnea’s.

Linnea had to laugh. Sky was such a character. Quiet, but
friendly. Colorful, she’d describe him. She just hoped that Jet didn’t mind too much. She looked at him and her laugh faded at the sight of his thunderous expression. He was jealous! But then he showed he could handle it like a gentleman and took her other arm.

“Okay, lunch with Sky it is. But I’m picking the spot,” Jet said.

They headed toward the street of small shops and larger restaurants. Linnea didn’t care where they ate; she was just glad to have time with Jet and was even looking forward to more conversation with Sky. He was turning out to be the most fascinating person on her new street.

On the way they chatted and all of them stopped when they passed the rock park. In the center of the open area a slight woman had taken over the small pagoda. She was older, that was obvious, but she was still beautiful in her billowing white shirt and loose, colorful pants. The ballet slippers on her feet moved lithely among the scattered flowers on the floor of the pagoda. She was quite a sight and they stopped to watch.