Part Nine
Sally set a plate of steaming pork buns on her small, round dinette table, and watched with polite puzzlement as the strange girl Wufei had entrusted her with wasted no time in making her selection. Mixed vegetables found a home on Wumei's plate as well, and in time good humor was restored to the underfed teenager. Sally hovered at the kitchen entrance to make sure that everything to the girl's liking- as it obviously was- and then turned off the stove. What luck that she had stocked up on frozen buns and dumplings the last time she was in the Asian market!
Wumei's chopsticks expertly grabbed and scooped as she wolfed down the meal. Sally had given her permission to start without her, and her plate was nearly empty again by the time Sally sat beside her. With only slight hesitation, she helped herself to a second portion of vegetables and another bun, slowing down at last to enjoy the flavors of home.
It dawned on her that she was being immensely rude, and she shamefacedly stole a glance at her hostess' face. To her surprise, Sally was smiling, if bemusedly.
"I was going to apologize that it's store-bought and frozen, but you seem to like it well enough," said the older woman in the Chinese of her childhood. It was a different dialect to the one Wumei knew, but she had spent enough time in the city to be able to piece it together.
"Yes. Thank you. I haven't had food this good since… Since forever." Yes, the crust on the buns was slightly dry, and the vegetables could have been fresher, but those were trivial details. It was real food, from real Chinese people. She opened her mouth to say that Genji Ma had always made dry pork buns, but quickly clamped down on the thought before it could get away from her. A swallow of soy milk, all that Sally had, washed Genji Ma's memory away, for the time being. "This milk tastes… different," she said hesitantly, not wanting to offend. Sally had already shown her more kindness in two hours than most people had shown her in her entire life.
Sally pursed her lips, thinking of the correct word. "It's soy. I have an allergy to milk. I'm sorry if it's not to your preference. I can get some normal milk tomorrow if Wufei asks you to stay on." The offer was out of her mouth before she considered the consequences. Thoughtfully, she realized that she had already taken a liking to this strange relative of Wufei's. The girl reminded her in some ways of Wufei in his youth: independent and vulnerable. They shared a dislike for showing weakness, that was clear. "How are you and Wufei related?"
Wumei hesitated, looking across the open area at the closet where Wufei's jacket hung, hoping it might offer her an answer. "Distantly," she replied at last. Sally nodded, seeming somewhat satisfied. "My- aunt. She knows him." How could she lie to someone as kind as Sally? Of course she couldn't. It wasn't a lie, in its most literal sense…
Sally was nodding. "Did she send you here to study? I'm afraid I don't know very much. Wufei asked me to take you tonight at the last minute."
Wumei shifted uncomfortably. "We didn't have a lot of money. Things are better here." She hoped it was better here. Even if it wasn't, she hoped that Wufei wouldn't send her back to China. She knew what was waiting for her there- poverty and a criminal record.
That seemed as likely as anything, thought Sally. The worn school uniform Wumei had arrived in and her gaunt figure fit. It surprised her that Wufei had been so short with her about the situation, but as she heaped more food on Wumei's plate with motherly affection, she set it in her mind that Wufei would give her an explanation on the morrow. Or risk Sally's wrath.
Wufei stopped at a surplus store on his way home, though he was, to put it plainly, dog-tired. It was clear that Wumei's clothes were unwearable, and although the colony was moving into spring, she would need a jacket of her own. He made a swift circuit of the store, selecting the most practical items he could find, and swore, as he drove himself home, squinting blearily from lack of sleep, that he had inherited some breed of madness.
What was he doing taking a teenager into personal custody, anyway?
He knew why, of course. It was because she reminded him so strongly of Meiran. Nonsense, of course. He would find a suitable situation for her shortly, and that would be that. Hopefully it wouldn't take more than a month to have a new home found and paperwork done up. In the meantime, she would stay with- well, with him. He couldn't ask Sally to take her for so long, it wouldn't be fair. Tomorrow he would bring Wumei to his apartment for the day and- leave her with the television. He cringed at the idea, but he couldn't very well bring her to Preventor HQ, could he? She was far too old for the building's daycare center, and surely she would inspire questions into her origin and why she wasn't- in school. Eureka.
Upon arriving home, he dumped the plastic bag with her clothes beside the door and went straight to the phone book. He left a message on the answering machine of the colony's lone language school, requesting a recommendation for local schooling of a somewhat bilingual teenager, and a quote for lessons to sweeten the deal. Besides, Wumei's accent was atrocious. Damn those schools, they never did anything properly.
Feeling, at last, that he had made some progress in this Week From Hell, Wufei collapsed into bed, and slept.
Beautiful Army. That is what Genji Ma named me. The way she wrote it inspires visions of a divine legion come to rectify the wrongs of the world- sent by providence to restore the Ron and Chang clans to glory. She didn't care that 'wu' is a boys' name. When I came home in tears one day, she told me I was named for my parents, prince and princess of our dying family.
That's total bullshit. If I were really descended from royalty, I wouldn't have spent all night tossing and turning because the bed in Po Sally's spare room was too soft.
I finally gave up at dawn, or something like it. Huddled in a nest of blankets, I watched the colony's lights come on, trying to simulate a natural sunrise. I was sorely disappointed. Sally's old pajamas hung off me like a European clown's; she was far taller and more robust than I. I shuffled in them to the kitchen for a glass of milk- I rather like its strange taste- and was, consequently, in front of the videophone when it rang.
My benefactor's default image appeared on the screen as the answering service automatically picked up, the volume turned down low so as not to wake the apartment's occupant. I leaned in to listen, clutching my glass between both hands. So, he couldn't sleep, either.
"Sally, this is Wufei. Give me a call when you wake up. I have new clothes for- 'Mei. I'll bring them around. And. Don't eat breakfast. We can go to Ourbucks. My treat." A fat red LED light began to blink, and the line went silent. I puzzled over the English words that I had not understood, sipping at the soymilk. Don't eat? What did that mean?
A radio came on in Sally's room, and was violently smacked back off. I had to smile. Ten minutes later, it went off again, and I heard her shuffle to the shower. With a pang of sadness, I realized that I probably would not be staying with Sally much longer, and found that I wanted to repay some of her kindness.
Rummaging through her cupboards, I found tea and tried to brew it the old-fashioned way. I had never done it alone before. I didn't like traditional teas very much.
Sally emerged from her bedroom some fifteen minutes later, fully dressed, but her hair still damp. She peered into the spare bedroom before seeing me in the kitchen, and came to see what had me glaring spitefully into the depth of two teacups.
Realizing her presence, I spun around to face her and bowed low. "Thank you for hosting me. You have been most kind," I said humbly. I had also never been meek before.
With all solemnity, Sally bowed in return. "You are welcome to stay in my home at any time. Thank you for making..." She rose, trailing off.
I swallowed behind my burning cheeks. "Tea. I- tried." In the sink, a slotted spoon, a fork, and a large sieve all waited, clogged with tea leaves.
She surveyed my efforts, and peered into the teacups. I cringed at the grimace she could not hide.
To my surprise, a kind hand rested on my shoulder. "Wumei, thank you," Sally said in slow, deliberate English, making sure I would be able to understand. "No one has been so thoughtful toward me in a long time. It was very sweet of you."
My face burning with a different embarrassment, I turned back to the sink. After making such a mess in this generous woman's kitchen, the least I could do was clean it up! "…Wufei called. He said not to eat. I decided to ignore him," I said lightly, taking a risk. I didn't want to earn Sally's hatred- really, I didn't! I just…
But she burst out laughing, and went to check her phone. The message played while my cheeks stung steadily. "Nice of him- he wants to take us to breakfast. But I can never wait that long for a dose of caffeine." Without the slightest hesitation, she picked up one of my disasterous cups of tea and took a sip. Her eyes closed with joy and her lips turned up in a smile.
I had never felt so grateful in all my life.
Wufei arrived in time to read their tealeaves. He handed Wumei the shopping bag of clothes and she ran to the bathroom to change. Tiredly, he sank into a chair at Sally's small table. "This ordeal is killing me. Po, do you have any aspirin?"
Sally took the bottle from its shelf and shook it aggressively, taking pride in the way he winced. "Speaking 'this ordeal,' I believe I'm owed an explanation."
He scowled up at her, nonplussed. "Pills first, then stories."
"Promise?" she asked, shaking the bottle again.
Wufei clenched a fist at her. "Now."
"You're the junior partner," she said affably, knowing she had made her point. She handed him a glass of water and shook out two pills, trying to be quiet about it.
"She's from mainland China," Wufei stated baldly, tossing the aspirin back. Perhaps his headache would begin to abate before they had to leave. In the bathroom, they could hear Wumei thumping around, pulling on clothes and brushing her rats nest of hair. "I got a call forwarded by the warden-"
"Warden? Where was she?"
"In jail. For soliciting."
Sally gasped. "That little wraith?"
He glared. "Don't interrupt. The database linked our names- probably because they look similar. Chang Wumei."
"So? Why on Earth would you-?"
"Because she doesn't have anyone else to turn to at the moment," Wufei snapped. "Her aunt has turned her out of the house, she quit school, and she was living on the street. That's why."
"Wufei," Sally broke in sadly, "When are you going to learn that the world isn't yours to fix?"
"When it stops throwing problems at my doorstep! Will you stop berating me, woman? The decision is made!" Eyes spitting defiance, he continued, lowering his voice. "I know it's a foolish thing to do, but she's in my custody now. If I hadn't intervened, she'd be in Beijing's Juvenile Prison for Wayward Girls by now."
"But what are you going to do with her?" Sally pleaded in the same tone. "She's a teenager, not a puppy! You have no idea what you're letting yourself in for-"
All Wufei could do was glower at her. He had no good answer to that question. Luckily, reprieve came with Wumei sauntering out of the bathroom in a grubby sweater and jeans, her hair much neater, if not healthier, than before.
"These clothes are for chih kai," she declared snidely, dumping the bag at his feet. "I am no beggar. You insult me with them. They smell like old people and cheap soap!"
It was then that Wufei found his second instinctive parental trait: Righteous anger.
"Chih kai?" He demanded, swinging to his feet and launching into the dialect he had grown up with- greatly enhanced by his scholarly interests. "You should be grateful you have clothes at all! They are bought and paid for- they are YOURS. Your alternative was to wear old clothes of Sally's- or mine! Do not speak of insult when you so boldly disgrace your ancestry, and me!"
"You never asked me if I wanted any clothes!" spat back the teenager, an unkempt kitten swiping soft claws at a raging tomcat. "These are not clothes! These are rags!"
"They are better than you deserve! I should take you back to China and throw you back into the gutter you came from!"
"You can't- I'm on probation, remember?" kicking the shopping bag for emphasis, she flounced back into her room. The door's slam made both adults flinch.
A vein throbbed over Wufei's eye.
Timidly, Sally reached out to him. "What are your plans for the day?"
Through grit teeth, he growled, "Enroll that little she-demon in the most punishing school on L5, catch up with work, and find a way to get her the hell off my hands."
At the bottom of Wumei's cup, an axe, a basket, and two straight lines went unnoticed.
Authors Notes:
Aah, discord... so lovely...
ahem If you'd like to figure out for yourself what the symbols in the tea mean, go here: http:entertaining. here's a bit of glossary:
chih kai - beggar
genji - gold
wu - beautiful
mei - plum, army
If you're curious about something, ask! And if I've gotten something wrong- PLEASE tell me. .