by Lori Saltis
“Yeah, they do it up big,” says Lennon.
I join them. Lennon opens the door a little wider so I can see out as well. The warehouse lights have been lowered and candlelight glows off the faces of the seated Beggars. The servers seem cheerful as they greet their comrades while setting down white porcelain platters piled with beef and shrimp skewers.
Kai smacks his lips.
Lennon grins. “Don’t worry. The chief is setting aside plenty of food for you.”
He looks different when he smiles: warmer, kinder, as if he hasn’t always been so quiet and solemn. My heart beats a little faster. I try to think of something to say that isn’t stupid. “Um, so is there always live entertainment like us?”
“Someone told me they usually invite street musicians to perform.”
“They?” My brow wrinkles. “Aren’t you with the Beggar Clan?”
He shakes his head and looks away. More questions compete in my mind, but I bite back on them. He has no reason to confide in me. Jeremiah, who sits beside his father at the main table, stands and turns toward us. As he makes a beckoning gesture, a spotlight shines down on the boxing ring.
“Time for you to go on,” says Lennon.
Something mischievous wiggles up in me. I look him in the eye, or as best I can with those glasses. “Are you going to watch our show or stay in here?”
His faced reddens. “I’ll watch the show.”
“You better. We’re pretty good.”
He ducks his head. “Okay.”
Feeling oddly pleased with myself, I turn to Bridie. “Mum, it’s time to go on.”
Bridie stares with narrow eyes at her vibrating phone. “Oh, bother, it’s Bill. What does he want?” She gnaws her lip. “Just for once, I’d like an evening without him checking up on me.” She hesitates a moment longer. Then she powers it off and drops it in her purse. “Whatever he wants can wait until later. I’ll say I forgot to turn my phone on.”
I knew coming here would do her good. About time she stood up for herself and not come to heel every time he snaps his fingers.
Bridie and Kai pick up their cases, while I gather my penny whistles and the bodhrán. Then we follow Lennon out the door. As we reach the stairs, the Beggars start clapping. Bridie goes up first, followed by Kai.
Lennon speaks above the noise. “Good luck.”
I tilt my head. “You’re supposed to tell me to break a leg.”
Lennon’s almost smile returns with a vengeance. Does he have dimples? My heart starts hammering. I turn away and hurry up the stairs.
Chapter 19
Lennon
I’m a moron. The prettiest girl I’ve ever seen and she’s actually talking to me, and I can’t think of one intelligent thing to say.
What can I say? I can’t even tell her my real name. I’ve already said too much by admitting I’m not a Beggar. She has to be wondering what I’m doing here. I know I should avoid her for the rest of the banquet, but I don’t want to. I like listening to her. That Irish accent is kind of hot and she gets this sparkle in her green eyes when she says something funny. Man, green eyes. How hot is that?
I hurry around the ring to the tables set aside for the Beggar Clan kids. Everyone assumes I’m some runaway the Chief is grooming for membership. I wonder if they’re right. Most single people live in dorms, but I’ve been given my own room on the excuse I’m too young to be with the adults. I’ve also been assigned daily duties, workout regimens and been attending the three hours of schooling for kids my age. John Walks Long has told me I can stay here as long as I want. He wants me to think he’s kind, that he’s following the Beggar creed of caring for widows and orphans. I cry bullshit. Gaining my trust is part of his power play. If he can convince me to join the Beggar Clan, it would be a killing blow to the Two Dragon Clan.
To be honest, it’s tempting to go that route. I’d have the full muscle of the Beggar Clan backing me up when I accuse Head Elder of murder. Shit would get done and the damage would be permanent. I could never go back to the kongsi, or live with Auntie Cat, or call Tony my brother. I’m okay with that. Really. I don’t have ice in my veins and I’m not numb to what it means to lose what’s left of my family. If I let myself think about it, it feels like I’m being stabbed in the gut, but I’d do it. I’ll do almost anything for revenge, except for one thing. I’m done being a puppet. Head Elder can’t pull my strings and neither can John Walks Long.
There are three empty spaces at the end of a table. I sit next to Tyler and his twin brother, Cody, who are a year older than me. Their parents have been members of the Beggar Clan since before they were born. At the age of eighteen, kids are given the choice to become members of the clan or live in the mundane world. Even John Walks Long had to respect Jeremiah’s decision when he decided to leave the clan to join the military. The other two seats must be for the Sparrow kids. Maybe Penny will sit next to me. My heart beats a little faster. I grab a skewer from a serving tray and cram some shrimp in my mouth. I barely taste it because Penny has stepped into the spotlight. Her green dress sparkles and she looks like a shimmering fairy.
Bridie Sparrow adjusts the strap on her guitar as she steps up to the center microphone. I can see where Penny got her green eyes, but that red hair – wow. It’s like a flame under the bright light. She seems so young for a mom. She even dresses young, in a miniskirt and fringe leather boots. I can’t remember Mom ever wearing a miniskirt. A lump forms in my throat. I grab a glass of water and take a deep gulp to wash away the pain.
As the applause dies down, Bridie speaks. “Thank you for inviting my family to share this special occasion with you. It’s a great honor. Strowlers and Beggars aren’t so different and we share with you some songs.” She strums a few chords on her guitar before leaning into the microphone to sing.
“Of all the trades in England, a-beggin’ is the best
For when a beggar’s tired, you can lay him down to rest.
I got patches on me cloak, and black patch on me knee.
When you come to take me home, I’ll drink as well as thee.”
The Beggars clap their hands to the beat of Kai’s drum as they join in with the chorus, “And a-begging I will go, a-begging I will go.”
At the feast after the Summoning Ceremony, Brother Ash, red-faced from too much beer, stood and sang a song not so different than this one. Mom and Dad had laughed along with me at the sly lyrics about a beggar wooing and winning a landowner’s daughter. The lump returns to my throat. Being Lennon, a homeless street kid, has kept me on edge, but also dulled some of the pain. The more I’m Lennon, the less I’m Paul and the harder it is for the Two Dragon Family to find me. I have to ignore the part of me that’s still Paul, grieving for his parents and crying for justice.
The Sparrows sing two more songs before Bridie announces that Penny will dance a slip jig. The servers start setting down the plates for the main course, but I keep my eyes fixed on the girl in the green dress as she steps forward and bows.
Penny dances like a fairy, moving in light-footed, intricate patterns to the music made by the fiddle and drum, kicking up her legs and leaping, light and strong, one leg thrust outward and the other tucked beneath her.
“She’s hot,” Tyler says in a loud whisper.
“Hell, yeah, she is,” replies his brother.
Heat spreads across my neck. I want to tell them to shut the hell up, but why? I barely know Penny and it’s not like they were insulting her.
“You can look, but don’t touch,” says Tyler. “Remember, she’s a Strowler.”
The music ends and Penny bows to the applause. As she lifts her head, she peers out at the crowd as if searching for someone. Me? Yeah, right.
I turn to Tyler. “What’s a Strowler?”
Cody leans forward to stare at me. “You don’t know what a Strowler is, dude?”
Tyler nudges him back. He picks at a zit on his chin as he answers. “Strowlers are, like, the Gypsies of the Crossroads. They’re all over the pla
ce, even here in San Francisco. Thing is, Strowlers stick with their own kind. Don’t even think about hitting on their women.”
Penny plays her pipe while her mother and brother strum their guitars and sing a lively song about whiskey in a jar. I’m a Hakka, a Gypsy, sort of. For more than a thousand years, the Hakka migrated across China before settling in the southern region. The name, Hakka, means ‘guest people.’ I was thinking Kai looks kind of Asian, so maybe “their own kind” means other Gypsies, too… I shake my head. What am I doing? I can’t be thinking about a girl, any girl, whether she’s a Hakka, a Gypsy or whatever.
After about another half hour of song and dance, the Sparrows leave the stage to roaring applause.
I turn to Tyler. “What now?”
He rolls his eyes. “Cloudy.”
“Cloudy?”
“Yeah, he’s, like, the oldest member of the clan. He’ll sing the Beggar’s Anthem, and then there’ll be a speech by the Chief. Then there’ll be the Beggar Oath…”
“And then we can have dessert,” Cody finishes cheerfully.
The Beggars start pounding on their tables. An old man stands. I’ve noticed him around the Abode. His long white hair and beard, along with his potbelly and ragged clothes, makes me think of Santa on the skids. Tonight, Cloudy wears a light blue suit with wide lapels and matching vest that makes him look like a refugee from the seventies. He clears his throat loudly before singing in a surprisingly strong voice.
“A Beggar I was, and a Beggar I am,
A Beggar I’ll be, from a Beggar I came;
If, as it begins, our trading do fall,
We, in the conclusion, shall Beggars be all.”
The rest of the Beggars join in, including some of the kids at our table, though Tyler and Cody and most of the other teens bend over their phones and start texting or playing games. I continue eating slowly.
“Hello,” Penny whispers as she slips into the seat beside me.
I freeze. I even stop chewing. I need to say something, but not with a wad of food in my mouth. As I swallow, Kai sits beside Penny and they turn eagerly to the servers who are bringing their food.
“I thought I was gonna die up there,” complains Kai as he digs in. “Next time, we eat before we go on.”
“You eat. I can’t dance after eating a bunch of heavy food.”
“Delicious food.” Kai isn’t shy about talking with his mouth full.
Cloudy finishes his song and bows to applause that grows louder rather than dying down. Across the room, Jeremiah escorts Bridie through the crowd to the center table. The Beggar Chief stands and bows as he offers her the seat beside him.
I take a gulp of water and hope there isn’t any food in my teeth as I turn to Penny. “Your mom is really being honored.”
“I know. It’s wonderful.” Her head tilts and her green eyes sparkle as she asks, “So, how did you like our show?”
“Wonderful.” Wait. She just said that. My cheeks heat and I give a fake cough to buy time. “It was really great. Your mom’s voice is amazing. And your dancing was pretty amazing, too.”
She shrugs. “Thank you, but really, I’m just okay. I’m an amateur. I’ve never competed.”
There’s a competition for that? I’m about to ask, when Jeremiah speaks. “The Beggar Clan offers poor thanks to Bridie Sparrow and her children for the rich entertainment they provided.”
Bridie smiles brightly as she acknowledges the applause. Penny ducks her head while Kai keeps eating. Then their mother sits and Jeremiah continues talking. “We’re plain people. We don’t need fancy introductions. You know who to thank for all that we have. He’s my father, but he’s the father of us all, our chief, John Walks Long.”
Applause thunders through the warehouse, accompanied by stamping feet and roars of approval. Jeremiah sits as his father stands.
John Walks Long waits for the ovation to die down. When he speaks, his majestic tone echoes off the metal walls. “We may be beggars, but poverty is our strength and our shield, and with it we shall always prevail.”
He keeps talking like that; using grand phrases that bring on bursts of applause. He sounds like a politician, but maybe he has to. Beggar Chiefs are elected, not born into their position. The Two Dragon Clan can’t replace me, no matter how long I’m gone.
After the Chief finishes his speech, Jeremiah stands. “Brethren, all rise and give voice to our oath.”
All the adults in the clan stand. Everyone at the kids’ table stays seated, though the twins and the rest of the teens put down their phones. The tables thud as huge black books with gold-edged pages are placed on their surfaces. The Beggars scoot around so each can lay their hand on a portion of the book.
“What are they doing?” I ask Tyler.
“Swearing on the Bible, dude, what do you think?”
I think the Beggar Clan in China does something different, but I don’t bother saying.
Jeremiah speaks loud and strong, pausing frequently so the Beggars can repeat his words. “I do swear to be a true Beggar and that I will in all things obey the commands of my great tawny prince, John Walks Long, and keep his counsel and not divulge the secrets of my brethren. I will never leave nor forsake our company, but will observe and keep all the times of appointment, either by day or by night, in every place whatever. I will take my prince’s part against all that shall oppose him or any of us, according to the utmost of my ability. Nor will I suffer him or anyone belonging to us to be abused by our enemies, but will defend him, or them, as much as I can, against all other outliers. A bloody end to me should I break this oath, God strike me blind.”
May Heaven, the all-ruling, and Earth, the all-producing, read our hearts. If we turn aside from righteousness or forget kindliness, may Heaven and Earth destroy us.
My shoulders stiffen. I didn’t break my oath to Tony. I would have turned aside from righteousness if I had played along with Head Elder and pretended my parents hadn’t been murdered.
“Dessert,” Cody announces. He and Tyler join the growing line at a buffet table set up during the feast.
A couple of middle school kids come up to Kai. One asks, “Can we see your guitar and your drum?”
“I guess.” Kai stares longingly at the buffet. “Can I get dessert first?”
Penny waits until her brother and the kids take off, then says, “That was pretty cool, us being allowed to witness the Beggar Oath.”
“Um, yeah.” I stare at my plate, trying to think of something to say. “Um, do Strowlers have an oath?”
“No. You’re born a Strowler. You can’t become one, so there’s no reason for an oath of allegiance, especially one you repeat every year, you know what I mean?”
I know exactly what she means. It’d be nice to talk to someone who understands, but that isn’t an option, so I shrug.
“We do have other kinds of oaths, though: brotherhood, sisterhood, repayment of debts, vengeance, that sort of thing.”
We will rescue each other in difficulty; we will aid each other in danger.
My fingers dig into my knees.
Penny leans closer to me. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”
I have to be Lennon, not Paul. Lennon doesn’t care about some stupid, bullshit oath. “I’m good. I think I ate too much.”
“Oh. I was going to ask if you wanted to get dessert, but…”
“No - I mean, yeah. Always room for dessert. Let’s go.” Yeesh. Even Lennon isn’t good with girls.
While we wait in the buffet line, four Beggars carrying violins and a cello climb into the ring. Tables are hauled aside to form an open space. As the musicians begin playing a waltz, John Walks Long leads Bridie onto the makeshift dance floor. I expect the Beggar Chief to lumber like a trained bear, but he dances almost as gracefully as his partner. More couples join them, until the space is almost full.
“Can you waltz?” asks Penny.
“What?”
Her eyes roll. “I’m not asking if you want to. I
’m asking if you can, if you know how.”
“Oh.” Heat spreads across my neck again. I have to stop acting like such a moron. “Um, not really. I guess you can, though, huh?”
“Uh-huh.” She sounds bored.
We reach the front of the line. Penny’s small white hand plucks a chocolate cupcake off a tower of silver platters. Her pink tongue darts out to lick the frosting before she sets it on her plate.
I don’t how to describe what’s going through me. I mean, I’ve been turned on before, but damn. I feel like I’d been hit by lightning, but it’s not just lust, it’s something else that makes me feel… damn. I barely notice what I grab as we move along the buffet line. Penny will probably ditch me and go find someone who can talk. And dance. Maybe Tyler or Cody.
At the end of the buffet, she balances her plate in one hand as she pours herself a cup of tea with the other. “Would you like some?”
My heartbeat quickens. “Yeah, thanks.”
“Milk and sugar?”
“I like it plain.”
“Plain?” Her nose wrinkles. Then she shakes her head. “Americans.”
“Chinese American.”
Her whole face crinkles in the cutest grin ever. I try thinking of something else clever to say, but my tongue ties into a tight knot. All I can do is nod as she hands me a cup of plain tea.
She glances around. “It’s so noisy here. Is there someplace more quiet?”
Would it be weird if I asked her to my room so I can draw her? Yeah, really weird. She’ll probably think I want something else. I turn away so she won’t see me blush. “Yeah, over here.”
I lead her to a set of stairs behind the boxing ring. We sit halfway up, still in the light, but out of view of the party.
Penny picks off the cupcake wrapper. “Can I ask you a question?
I stick a forkful of chocolate cake in my mouth before nodding.
“Are you called Lennon because of those glasses?”
I nod, barely tasting the cake.
“Can you tell me your real name?”
I shake my head.
Penny takes a bite of the cupcake. I shovel in another forkful. We chew in silence. Then she licks a dab of frosting off her thumb and another tremor powers through me. She is so… hot, cool, pretty, sweet, smart – none of the words seem right. Maybe all of them are right. I’ve never met a girl like her before. I could sit here and listen to her talk all night. If only I didn’t have to talk back.