arm through hers. Linnea almost pulled away but had to admit the sound of his voice was like a salve, soothing the ragged edges of her bruised dignity. She resisted her instincts, at least for a minute, to see what he wanted.
“Well, how about we
just go
together? I’ll buy you some breakfast to make up for throwing you into the fire, so to speak. You can show me moreof your work. I saw that picture you were drawing and you’ve got some real talent. Oh—my name’s Sur Li Jet. Call me Jet, okay?”
Linnea hesitated. The guy was not much older than she, but he looked like he was from another world with his smartly cut black jacket and polished shoes. Usually she was invisible to people like him. So why was he interested in her? She knew it was obvious that she was from the poor side of town, so his attention didn’t make sense. But before she could say no, he had guided her to the doorway of a local noodle shop.
He grimaced. “I know what you’re thinking—and yes, my parents are fans of Jet Li.”
Linnea shook her head. He was definitely sure of himself.
Maybe too much so
. “No, that’s not what I was thinking, actually. I was thinking I need to get moving and find a new job.”
“Please, Xiao Linnea. I swear I’m harmless. I just want to treat a pretty girl to a nice breakfast. And I might have an idea for how you can get a new job immediately. Spare just a half hour for me.
Hao de?
”
Linnea took a deep breath. No one except for her Ye Ye and Nai Nai had ever called her pretty before. And what could a simple breakfast hurt, after all? Or maybe just a cup of tea and then she’d leave. But would this be called a date? She’d never been on a
real
date before. Suddenly she realized she was overthinking everything and he was looking at her as if she were acting strange.
She exhaled slowly. “Okay.
Jet
. I’ve already eaten, but tea would be nice.”
Jet held his hand up high in the air. “Great. High five! Starbucks or Mr. Li’s Corner?”
Linnea tentatively reached up and tapped his hand weakly. Starbucks wasn’t on her usual list of shops, as it was reserved for the rich Chinese who could afford to pay ten times the usual price for tea or coffee—definitely not an option for her small pocketbook.
“Mr. Li’s Corner, if you don’t mind. They know me there.” She thought it couldn’t hurt to have just a measure of safety and to let the guy know it in case he tried to pull anything creepy. That was all she needed after the dayshe’d had—and if he did feel brave enough to try something, he’d better be ready for a fat lip. She was tired of the meek act to let the men in her life get away with their macho ways. Her Ye Ye had raised her to be stronger than that.
“The Corner Shop it is then, pretty girl.”
B enfu walked slowly back to the house from his long trek to the post office. He didn’t want to get home too quickly before deciding how to present what he held in his pocket. They’d received another postcard from the woman claiming to be Peony’s mother. His first instinct was to throw it away or hide it, but he couldn’t do that. It was a part of his daughter’s life—her history. It simply wasn’t his to throw away.
Yes, he and Calli had decided long ago to give Peony the postcards and let her make her own mind up about her so-called mother, but still he knew each word brought the child a certain level of grief that her mother had not come forward to claim her. This time, even without his glasses, Benfu could see the scratchy, barely legible characters that the woman had used to say she was going to be away for a while and unable to communicate.
With it still in his hand, he turned the corner and before he could even make up his mind what to do, there was Peony at the gate. She leaned over the metal rungs, her pigtails almost touching the dirt below as she swung herself back and forth. Benfu could still see the scar left behind from her hemangioma, as the doctor had called
“Well, how about we
just go
together? I’ll buy you some breakfast to make up for throwing you into the fire, so to speak. You can show me moreof your work. I saw that picture you were drawing and you’ve got some real talent. Oh—my name’s Sur Li Jet. Call me Jet, okay?”
Linnea hesitated. The guy was not much older than she, but he looked like he was from another world with his smartly cut black jacket and polished shoes. Usually she was invisible to people like him. So why was he interested in her? She knew it was obvious that she was from the poor side of town, so his attention didn’t make sense. But before she could say no, he had guided her to the doorway of a local noodle shop.
He grimaced. “I know what you’re thinking—and yes, my parents are fans of Jet Li.”
Linnea shook her head. He was definitely sure of himself.
Maybe too much so
. “No, that’s not what I was thinking, actually. I was thinking I need to get moving and find a new job.”
“Please, Xiao Linnea. I swear I’m harmless. I just want to treat a pretty girl to a nice breakfast. And I might have an idea for how you can get a new job immediately. Spare just a half hour for me.
Hao de?
”
Linnea took a deep breath. No one except for her Ye Ye and Nai Nai had ever called her pretty before. And what could a simple breakfast hurt, after all? Or maybe just a cup of tea and then she’d leave. But would this be called a date? She’d never been on a
real
date before. Suddenly she realized she was overthinking everything and he was looking at her as if she were acting strange.
She exhaled slowly. “Okay.
Jet
. I’ve already eaten, but tea would be nice.”
Jet held his hand up high in the air. “Great. High five! Starbucks or Mr. Li’s Corner?”
Linnea tentatively reached up and tapped his hand weakly. Starbucks wasn’t on her usual list of shops, as it was reserved for the rich Chinese who could afford to pay ten times the usual price for tea or coffee—definitely not an option for her small pocketbook.
“Mr. Li’s Corner, if you don’t mind. They know me there.” She thought it couldn’t hurt to have just a measure of safety and to let the guy know it in case he tried to pull anything creepy. That was all she needed after the dayshe’d had—and if he did feel brave enough to try something, he’d better be ready for a fat lip. She was tired of the meek act to let the men in her life get away with their macho ways. Her Ye Ye had raised her to be stronger than that.
“The Corner Shop it is then, pretty girl.”
B enfu walked slowly back to the house from his long trek to the post office. He didn’t want to get home too quickly before deciding how to present what he held in his pocket. They’d received another postcard from the woman claiming to be Peony’s mother. His first instinct was to throw it away or hide it, but he couldn’t do that. It was a part of his daughter’s life—her history. It simply wasn’t his to throw away.
Yes, he and Calli had decided long ago to give Peony the postcards and let her make her own mind up about her so-called mother, but still he knew each word brought the child a certain level of grief that her mother had not come forward to claim her. This time, even without his glasses, Benfu could see the scratchy, barely legible characters that the woman had used to say she was going to be away for a while and unable to communicate.
With it still in his hand, he turned the corner and before he could even make up his mind what to do, there was Peony at the gate. She leaned over the metal rungs, her pigtails almost touching the dirt below as she swung herself back and forth. Benfu could still see the scar left behind from her hemangioma, as the doctor had called
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