by Diana Ma
Alyssa’s eyes go round with surprise, and she has to get a nudge in the side from Mimi before she says, “Apology accepted.”
“Good,” Mimi says. “Glad that’s settled.”
Eric clears his throat. “Uh, I hate to be a downer, but we need to think about our families. Mom has never been a part of this feud between our families, and she’ll get Dad to accept Alyssa. But there’s nothing Mom or anyone else can say to convince Nai Nai to accept Alyssa.”
“I won’t tell Nai Nai if you won’t,” Mimi mutters.
“The point is that it’s not our family I’m worried about.” Eric turns to Alyssa. “It’s your family. Your grandfather.”
“That’s not your problem,” Alyssa says icily, but there’s fear in her eyes, and Mimi pulls away from Eric to take her hand.
My throat goes dry as I remember what Eric had said on the pedal boat—the time of the Cultural Revolution when being gay was criminalized and brutally punished. Our grandfather already proved his loyalty to the ideas of the Cultural Revolution when he betrayed Eric’s grandfather fifty years ago. And he kicked my mother out of the family thirty years ago. Would he now cut Alyssa off for loving Mimi? I can only imagine how terrible it would be for Alyssa to lose her family like my mother did.
“Alyssa,” I say, “even if your grandfather doesn’t approve, your parents and grandmother will stand by you, won’t they?”
Alyssa swallows visibly. “I don’t think my mother and Po Po stood up for your mother.”
A coldness spreads through my heart. Thirty years ago, my mother was banished from her family. And now Alyssa is afraid the same thing will happen to her.
“Gemma, you deserve to know more about why your mother was kicked out of the family.” Determination sparks in Alyssa’s eyes. “With everything going on, I haven’t talked to my mother yet, and I’m sorry about that. Tomorrow, at our Mid-Autumn Festival dinner, I’ll talk to her. You’ll get an answer.”
“Thank you,” I breathe. My heart beats fast at the thought of finally finding out about my mother’s past.
“Don’t thank me,” she says. “What happened to your mother was wrong, and I’m sorry I didn’t see that before.”
“Speaking of that,” Mimi says, and my stomach tightens, “I owe you an apology too.”
My eyes widen. “Me?” I’d thought Mimi was going to ream me up one side and down the other for butting in on her private affairs.
“Yes, I’m sorry about how rude I was to you when we met, Gemma.”
Frankly, it’s yet another surprise that Mimi even remembered my name. “It’s OK.”
“It’s no excuse,” Mimi continues, “but that night at the club was the last straw for me. I mean, my brother shows up with a woman who looks like Alyssa—my girlfriend—who happened to be draped all over some guy at the time. I guess I was jealous that you two could be so openly together when Alyssa and I couldn’t.”
“Ah, your brother and I aren’t actually . . .” I glance at Eric in mute appeal.
Gallant as ever, he leaps into the breach. “We’re not together.”
Mimi narrows her eyes at us both. “Why not?”
That’s our cue to leave. “Now that you and Eric have made up,” I say quickly, “and Alyssa has promised to talk to her mother tomorrow, Eric and I should get going.”
“Yes,” Eric says. “We’ll just . . . ah . . . get out of your way then. Can your driver give us a ride back?”
“He’s not my driver!” Alyssa throws her hands up. “Wang works for my po po!”
“What?” Confusion makes my head spin. “Didn’t you want to keep me away from your grandmother? So, why would you send her driver for me?”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you!” Alyssa’s voice thins. “I didn’t send anyone for you!”
Footsteps echo along the hall again, and in a minute, Wang appears in the foyer. “Ms. Chua,” he says, “your grandmother asked me to give you this after you saw Ms. Huang.” He hands Alyssa an envelope and then retreats back down the hallway.
I’d completely forgotten about the existence of the mysterious grandmother, but now I remember what Alyssa told me at our first meeting. She follows me on Weibo. . . . She might get suspicious if someone who looked like me were spotted where I wasn’t supposed to be. Shock cascades over me in sheets of ice. No. It couldn’t possibly have been the elusive grandmother who sent the car for us. How could she have known where Alyssa would be? And why would she send me to Alyssa anyway? The impossibilities multiply dizzily in my head.
Eyebrows knitted together, Alyssa takes out a thick sheet of cream-colored paper from the envelope.
The silence stretches out as she reads it. No one even exchanges glances—we’re all breathlessly watching Alyssa read the letter from her grandmother.
At last, Alyssa looks up from the letter, her face troubled as she stares at me. “I was wrong about Po Po. She says that you . . .” Alyssa trails off and starts over again. “She wants you to be welcomed into the family. She wants you at the family’s Mid-Autumn dinner that my mother is hosting tomorrow. Po Po promises to be there. With my gong gong.” She swallows hard.
I stare at her, my pulse racing. “Do you mean it really was your grandmother who brought me here—to you?”
“Yes. Po Po says she knew who you were as soon as she saw your picture at Songbird. She knew it wasn’t me because she could tell I had been reposting old Weibo pictures. She knows I’ve been gone for the past week and she hoped I’d be at this house. It was always my favorite.” Alyssa’s eyes fill with tears. “Po Po sent you here so her wai sun nu can be together. So we can both bring each other back. That’s what she said in her letter.”
Wai sun nu. Granddaughters. Jagged pain fills my lungs, and it’s suddenly hard to breathe. “Back?” I ask through a throat thickened with emotion. “She wants us to go to her?”
Alyssa shakes her head. “Po Po is requesting that I take you to see my mother.”
“Why your mother?” I ask. “Why not your grandmother?”
“Because my mother has the answers you want.” She slides the letter back into the envelope. “Gemma, it’s time we find out the truth.” She glances at Mimi, and her chin lifts. “Maybe it’s time for all the secrets to come out. Let’s not wait until tomorrow. Let’s all go see my mother now.”
I guess Alyssa and I are more alike than I thought. “You know, I was thinking the same thing.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Alyssa and Mimi eventually return, looking like they stepped out of a fashion shoot. Alyssa is wearing a gray skirt with a fringed black overlay and a fitted crop top. Mimi is wearing a belted white jumpsuit.
“You both look gorgeous,” I say. If I wasn’t wearing the borrowed cocktail dress, I’d feel frumpy in their presence.
“Thanks!” Alyssa says breezily. “You look gorgeous too, if I do say so myself.” She looks me over. “I like that dress on you. I think it’s the one I was supposed to be fitted for today.”
Mimi squeals, “It is! That’s the dress I designed! You look great in it, Gemma!”
I blush and glance down at the dress, remembering the ridiculous lengths I went to in order to impersonate Alyssa. Apparently, I’ve not only stolen Alyssa’s identity, but her dress as well. “Sorry.” It comes out as an embarrassed whisper. “I’ll get it dry-cleaned and return it as soon as I can.”
Alyssa waves this aside. “I’ve already said it looks smashing on you. Go ahead and keep it!”
I gape at her. “I can’t possibly keep the dress! It was commissioned for you!”
“Look,” Alyssa says, her face grave in a way I’ve never seen in the many images of her on social media. “I’ve never had a sister I could give presents to or share clothes with. Let me get a tiny taste of what I never had.” She ends her little speech with a pout, which, on the other hand, could’ve been lifted from any number of social media images. “Please?” she wheedles.
“You might as well just give in gracefully, G
emma,” Mimi says. “Alyssa is very persuasive.”
“Remember how you wouldn’t sell me your clothes at that fashion show because of the feud between our families?” A reminiscent glint comes into Alyssa’s eyes. “I had to wine and dine you to change your mind.”
“Oh, was that what you were after?” Mimi says teasingly. “My clothes?”
Alyssa casts her a sultry look. “Well—”
“OK, that’s enough,” Eric says hastily. “I don’t need to hear about my sister’s love life.” Then he smiles at me. “I think you look great in everything you wear, Gemma, but that dress does look amazing on you.”
Alyssa smirks at Eric. “You and your sister have good taste in women.”
Eric just gapes at her, speechless. It’s clear that Mimi had told Alyssa to make up with him. I just wish that Alyssa didn’t have to do it by teasing Eric about me.
Heat flares into my face. “Thank you, Alyssa. And you too, Mimi. It’s a beautiful dress, and I accept.” My hand goes to the jade pendant nestled between my collarbones. “But you’ve already given me so much. How can I thank you?”
Alyssa waves off my thanks. “It’s my pleasure.” Then her eyes go to the pendant. “Is that the one I gave you?”
Blushing, I turn the pendant around. “Yes. I don’t know what the character means, and I didn’t want to have it showing in case it actually said something inappropriate.”
She laughs. “Oh, I wish!” Then her face grows serious. “No, the character is ‘mei.’ It means younger sister. Like I said, it was your mother’s, and she is my mother’s younger sister by just a few minutes.” Alyssa pulls a similar jade pendant from under her crop top. “I inherited this from my mother.” She shows me the character, which is different from mine. “This is ‘jie.’ It means older sister.”
I try to smile, but it’s hard to do when my throat is blocked with tears. “It’s like those Chinese dramas when two girls discover they each have a half of the same pendant—”
Alyssa interrupts. “Because they’re sisters separated at birth!” She must have watched the same dramas. She walks over to me and holds up her jade pendant next to mine. “Together, the two characters form another word. ‘Jiemei.’”
Together, we look at the glowing green jade ovals, side by side. And the new word formed by the joining of the two characters. Jiemei. Sisters.
Outside the mansion, the black car’s engine is purring gently, and Wang, the driver, holds open the back door for us. He doesn’t seem nearly as imposing as he did earlier. In fact, when he sees us all approach, his face cracks into a smile.
Alyssa returns the smile and asks Wang to take us all to downtown Beijing. To her parents’ place.
My heart thuds in excitement threaded with nervousness. I’m about to find out about my mother’s past.
Mimi clambers in first, followed by Alyssa, then me, and finally, Eric. The luxurious back seat is so long that we all fit comfortably.
The driver gets into the front seat, and the car noses back into the night. Eric’s hand briefly closes on mine. No matter what I discover, Eric will be by my side to help me deal with it.
“So, Gemma,” Alyssa says cheerfully, “how were you able to impersonate me so well? Wang, Po Po’s driver, said you sounded so much like me when he picked you up that he started to doubt his sanity!”
The actress in me can’t help but feel flattered. “I watched the videos you posted on Weibo. It helped that you speak in English. By the way, your English is excellent.” In fact, I’m relieved that Alyssa, Mimi, and Eric have all been speaking English the whole time because I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the intricacies of the conversation if it had been in Chinese.
“Oh that.” Alyssa makes a small moue of distaste. “My father thought it would be good to speak only in English. I’m supposed to do more Instagramming. He’d love for my social media presence to expand to the West. It’s good for business. He’s a . . . What do you call it in English? He invests in things?”
“Venture capitalist?” I guess, not having much notion of what a venture capitalist actually does.
“Yes, that’s it.” Her expression smooths over. “I actually don’t mind. It’s a way to be part of my family’s business.”
Eric gives a tiny exhale of surprise. It seems he wasn’t expecting yet another connection in their shared sense of duty toward family.
“But enough of that!” Alyssa exclaims. “I want to see your impression of me!”
Strangely reluctant, I wave off her request. “Oh, it’s nothing! I was only able to convince people because we look so much alike.”
Mistaking my refusal for false modesty, Alyssa insists, “Wang doesn’t exaggerate. If he said he almost believed that you were me, then you must be good!”
“Gemma is an excellent actress,” Eric says.
Mimi shakes her head with a small smile and teasingly murmurs something about how she thought her brother would’ve gone for an environmental activist. Or at least that’s what I think she said because she spoke in Chinese, and “environmental activist” is beyond the bounds of my vocabulary.
Although there’s nothing mean-spirited in Mimi’s whispered aside, Eric glances at me and says to his sister, “Let’s speak in English.”
“Mei guang xi. No problem,” I reply. If Alyssa is practicing her English, then I can practice my Chinese, although they all speak much better English than I speak Chinese.
“Enough stalling!” Alyssa says with a toss of her hair. “Please do your impersonation of me.”
“Fine.” I sigh and then toss my hair exactly as she just did. “If I must be Alyssa Chua, then I’ll do it with my signature style!” It’s not easy to do an impersonation with the original sitting right there, but I muster up an insouciant grin. “After all, there’s no one quite like me. I’m unique. Original. And unforgettable.” A strange uneasiness snakes through me as I finish—I’m not feeling the sense of satisfaction I usually get when I nail a performance.
Alyssa claps her hands in delight. “Oh, well done!”
Mimi makes a noise of protest. “Except it wasn’t really you.”
My throat constricts because Mimi is giving voice to my disquiet.
“What are you talking about?” Alyssa demands. “Gemma did an amazing job!”
“I’m sure Gemma’s a good actress,” Mimi says, but her eyes turn steely as she looks at me. “I just don’t think that was anything like the real Alyssa.”
Under Mimi’s gimlet gaze, I squirm, stomach churning with discomfort. And I begin to understand how I’d failed. “Mimi’s right. I played the woman I saw on social media, but that’s only part of you, Alyssa. Yes, you’re as much of a confident fashionista as your online persona. But the real Alyssa is also fiercely loyal, savvy, and generous.”
“Yes.” Mimi grips Alyssa’s hand in hers. “That’s my Alyssa.” The two of them gaze into each other’s eyes and seem to forget our presence.
Uncomfortable to be intruding yet again, I look away and find myself staring into Eric’s dark eyes. I might be getting my own tender moment.
Wang, the driver, lowers the glass partition and announces, “We’re here!”
I jump, having lost track of time and where we were. It’s dark outside, but there are enough streetlights to see that we’ve arrived at a tall modern building. A garage door opens noiselessly, and Wang pulls into a garage with a dark, shiny, mirror-smooth floor. He parks in a spot right next to an elegant chrome-and-glass elevator.
We all spill out of the back seat, but my steps falter as I take in the grandeur of the garage. I mean, it’s just a frigging parking garage, and it’s still more posh than most places I’ve ever been. The people who live in this building are so filthy rich that in spite of my borrowed dress and glamorous makeup, I feel positively provincial.
Alyssa detaches from Mimi to thread her arm through mine. “I grew up here, but I moved into my own apartment in Beijing as soon as I could,” she confesses. “There were n
ever other kids my age here. I wish I’d known I had a cousin. I would have liked growing up together.”
Alyssa’s kindness is just what I needed. “Me too,” I say, letting her guide me into the elevator. Inside, there are only three buttons, even though there must be at least twenty floors in a building this tall. Don’t tell me that they have a dedicated elevator. Of course they do. Just look at Alyssa, swathed in wealth and privilege. But I can’t manage any heartfelt scorn. She’s just too—nice. It’s not the first quality one would associate with Alyssa. But when I really think about all I’ve learned about her tonight—willing to give up everything for Mimi, forgive Eric for his interference, and make me feel like I belong—I have to conclude that Alyssa Chua is a decent, good person.
The elevator glides up and up, giving me plenty of time to get all sweaty with nerves. Alyssa, with her surprising generosity of spirit, may have embraced me with open arms, but the rest of the family might not. Especially Alyssa’s mother, who never talks about her sister. It’s easy to guess what her reaction will be when she finds out that the prodigal child has returned to threaten her inheritance. She won’t want to share all this luxurious expanse of glass and metal with me or my mother. Trying desperately to delay the inevitable, I ask, “Isn’t it a little late to visit your parents? Maybe we should wait until tomorrow.”
“My mother stays up late,” Alyssa replies, “and my father’s away on a business trip.”
I nod and wipe my damp palms on my dress. The doors of the elevator swoosh open—not into a hallway but into the actual foyer of the penthouse suite. Yup. Dedicated elevator.
Unlike the formal opulence of the foyer in the suburban mansion, this foyer is all modern, sleek glass and white and black contrasts. Impractical sheets of framed, clear glass are actually hanging from the ceiling and serve no purpose that I can tell. Except perhaps to strike terror into the heart of a parent of a small child. But it’s impossible to imagine a child growing up in this coldly beautiful place. No wonder Alyssa never liked it here.
Alyssa sashays into the foyer and beams with delight when an older woman pads into view.