Why was my timing so wrong? I walked around to the other side of the railing, leaving the sounds of the group being organized by Colette into the perfect shot. I took one tiny peek over my shoulder and saw that Eli was glancing my way.
Keep walking, Annalise!
Chapter Twenty-Four
“We lost you? Where did you go?” Auntie Lil caught up to me in the museum at the end of the excavation site visit.
“Oh, I guess I just got lost in the enormity of it all,” I said, trying to cover.
Actually, it wasn’t that far from the truth. I was amazed at the thousands of figures that were visible in the dig site.
“It is amazing,” she agreed. “Shall we go up to the second floor?”
“Where is Genio?”
“He’s already gone up with Georgiann and Tom. We’ll catch up to them. The rest of the group is scattered about. Yan Mei has given us all time on our own until we need to be back at the bus.”
“Back to the airport to fly to Beijing then?” I confirmed our schedule.
“Exactly.”
We walked on in silence, only stopping occasionally to comment on displays as we saw them on the ramp up to the second floor.
Eventually, Auntie Lil could not hold it in any longer and pulled me to the side.
“All right, that’s it. You need to explain yourself.”
“What! I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”
“Annalise, you haven’t mentioned one word, not one syllable about your encounter with Eli Chamberlain. I have eyes. I saw you scamper away from him after he took your photo. Now tell Auntie Lil everything.”
“What! There was no ‘encounter’ as you put it. He took my picture. That was it.”
“I saw him look at you when you walked away.”
“You need your glasses, lady,” I shook my head. But, I wondered, what did she see? I couldn’t ask her. That would just show that I was interested. Rats!
“Besides,” I continued, “there’s the little issue of Yan Mei. I’m pretty sure they’re together.”
“You don’t know that!”
“Pretty sure, Auntie Lil.”
She shook her head.
“You can shake your head all you want, but I’M not going to be swept away by some vacation fantasy.”
Oops. I hoped I didn’t insult her and her own vacation—what would you call it? It wasn’t a fling. Flirtation?
“Annalise. What have I always told you? Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.”
“Pretty sure you got that from watching Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame too often,” I pursed my lips.
“Whatever. I just think you are jumping to conclusions.”
“I’M jumping to conclusions! Who’s the one who is reading something from a random glance?” I really wanted to ask her what she saw, but darn it, if I asked, she would know that I was interested.
She put her hands on my shoulders and matched her hazel eyes to mine.
“Dear, please promise me that you won’t just write this encounter off? I really think you owe it to yourself to open yourself up a bit.”
I could have reminded her that not more than twenty-four hours ago, the shoe was on the other foot and that I was telling her she owed it to herself to talk with Genio. Not the time to get into that discussion, though, so I just nodded.
“Fine. I’ll ‘encounter’ more.”
“Good!” She nodded and pushed me ahead. “Now let’s move on, or we’ll be the last ones to the bus.”
Well, I promised to “encounter,” but I didn’t promise to “engage.”
However, I didn’t even have an opportunity to encounter because the museum was quite large and we were both very inquisitive, so it was nearly an hour before we returned to the bus in the parking lot. And, indeed, we were the last ones to board.
I instinctively looked toward the seat where I knew that Eli would be sitting. Darn it! He had his headphones on with his nose buried in that tattered notebook and did not look up when I boarded. It may have been a bit obvious to hang out at the door, so I moved back to my seat. I could see that the seat next to Genio was open for Auntie Lil, so I knew that my seatmate would be the kindly Father John.
“Ah, there she is,” smiled the priest as I approached, and he allowed me next to the window.
“Hi, Father. Did you enjoy the warriors and the museum?” I asked as I settled in for the hourlong ride to the airport.
“It was marvelous! And you?”
“I was amazed. I got some good shots to put in my blog.” I reached into my bag to pull out my iPad and was greeted with a whiff of Eli’s cologne when I opened it to show Father John my photos.
“These photos are really good,” he said as I scrolled through them. “This one of you is particularly nice. You look utterly charming. Who took it?”
I looked at the snap that Eli took. I was forever captured in that moment after he had swept my bangs from my forehead. My face certainly showed my vulnerability.
“Eli took it.”
“Ah. That explains it. A young woman always looks her best when she’s enchanted by her dashing young man.”
“Very poetic, Father, but I’m afraid it’s also not accurate.” I shook my head.
“No?”
“I’m afraid that if Eli is enchanting anyone, it would be Yan Mei.” I swiped to the next photo.
“Hmm.” He leaned up to get a better view of the front of the bus where the happy couple were seated and leaned back.
“Hmm what?”
“Nothing, child, just an old man’s privilege to say ‘hmm’ now and again. It makes us sound wise and inscrutable.”
I burst into laughter, and we resumed viewing the photos. Father John helped me choose a couple to post to the blog, and I finished typing my entry. I would be ready to upload it when we got to our hotel and had WiFi access.
When we reached the airport, we bustled around, going through the necessary preparations to check our baggage. It occurred to me that lunch had been a long time earlier in the day, when Yan Mei reminded us that we would be dining at a restaurant just before the security gate.
“Airport food?” I whispered to Auntie Lil.
She winked, a veteran of many organized tours. This was evidently not an uncommon procedure.
Imagine my surprise when we entered a very charming restaurant. It was set up in a buffet style, obviously catering to a quick-moving crowd. We paid our fee, then each chose from a wide variety of tempting items including a sushi bar, a Mongolian grill, and a made-to-order noodle station.
“How great is this!” I commented as I sat down at a table already occupied by Auntie Lil, Genio, the Perinis, and the Willems. The Flynn sisters at a nearby table had swept up Father John. I must not have been too subtle in glancing around the restaurant because Auntie Lil reached over to say, “He’s not here.”
“Who?” Really smooth Annalise.
“The person you don’t want me to know you are looking for is not here. He didn’t enter the restaurant.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you are talking about. I was just admiring the decor,” I sniffed.
Rats. He wasn’t there. But Yan Mei was. Did that mean he wasn’t coming with us for the rest of the journey? Oh, what difference did it make anyway? Sadly, I dug into my chow fun.
“How long is this flight?” asked Bear Willems.
“Two hours, love,” his wife answered.
“Enough time to get in a nap,” he commented.
“A nap before we get to the hotel to go to bed?” she laughed.
“It was a lot of walking today.” He shook his head as he scooped more rice from a second plate onto his main plate. A very substantial man, he had a healthy appetite.
“I don’t blame you, Bear,” said Auntie Lil. “Tomorrow will be a long day as well. I think our lungs will be nearly worn out.”
We all nodded. The air quality in Beijing was something we all had been warned about. My mo
ther had packed a number of surgical masks for me to wear, of course.
“I guess we shouldn’t expect to see much sunshine,” Tom Perini shook his head.
His wife was unfamiliar with the pollution problem in Beijing, or most of China for that matter, so we passed the rest of our meal discussing that and other political topics in between replenishing our plates at the buffet.
Eventually, Yan Mei gathered us together for instructions on the next step of our journey.
“I can’t go through security with you since I won’t be accompanying you to Beijing, so I must say good-bye,” she smiled graciously.
Well, that probably explained why her friend Eli wasn’t there.
“When you land, you’ll look for my colleague Lee,” she continued. “He’ll have a large sign with the company logo and your group name. He will guide you to baggage claim, then to the bus, and whisk you to your hotel, which will be your home for the remainder of your journey. It has been a pleasure to accompany you on your visit through Xi’an.”
Her smile was bright and cheery, even though the next part of her task was to herd our group to the security entrance. I would imagine she breathed an inner sigh of relief once she saw the last of us go through. I pictured her and Eli sitting next to a cozy fire later, shoes kicked off with glasses of wine. My own feet dragged. I barely paid attention to Auntie Lil while we walked toward our gate.
“Come on, slowpoke. I wouldn’t think you would be the last one in this group.” Bear Willems encircled me with his comforting arm as his wife, Frida, looped her own arm through my other elbow.
“I ate too much, I guess,” I lied.
“You remind me of our oldest daughter,” said Frida. “She’s more of a morning person. Is that it?”
That was an easy cover.
“I guess so.” I hoped my smile was genuine. At that moment, my phone buzzed in my bag, and I realized I had an incoming text. I pulled it out and smiled. My brother. I waved the Willems on and stopped to read.
Ma wanted me to check with you “casually.”
My fingers flew on my keyboard.
What time is it there?
Let’s just say, Ma woke the birds and came over.
I laughed.
All fine here. It’s all in my blog ... read it!
We will ... you know Ma.
This last was punctuated with a goofy face.
No worries, Nick.
SERIOUSLY. Go back to sleep.
As if. At least Ma is making breakfast!
Yum! Enjoy! Love You!
Love You!
I slipped my phone back into my bag and, looking up, realized I had to dash to catch up to the group.
I was nearly breathless when I reached our gate and plopped down in a seat next to Auntie Lil.
“What was the holdup?” she asked.
“Ma—” I started.
Auntie Lil stopped me.
“Say no more,” she laughed and turned to Genio. “Annalise’s mother, my sister-in-law, is worried that we will succumb to some sort of tragedy on this journey. Tell about her potty preparations for you.”
I recounted the tales of my mother and her uncommon concern for our toilet arrangements, much to the entertainment of not only Genio but everyone around us. I admit, I exaggerated just a bit.
“You are a natural storyteller, Annalise. Are you putting that in your blog?” Tom Perini chuckled.
“I hadn’t thought about it.”
“You should!” Auntie Lil turned to me, her eyes dancing.
“Don’t you think it would hurt Ma’s feelings?”
“I’ve known your mother a long time,” she waved the thought off. “She’d love it and be proud of being mentioned.”
Hmm. I didn’t think about it before. The others moved on to tales of past travels while I pulled my iPad from my bag and started a file with the story. Come to think of it, there were other stories associated from before the trip that might be good as well.
I snapped my tablet shut long enough to board, ignoring everything but my thoughts, but the minute we were in our seats, I continued typing, pausing only when the flight attendants told us to turn off our technology. I returned to my task as soon as I could. Auntie Lil sensed my intensity and left me alone, concentrating on her reading material.
Before long, we landed in Beijing ready for the next phase of our journey. My heart raced a bit thinking of the sights we would see. Out of the plane, our group assembled to walk together to the exit. I glanced around at the familiar faces and gasped when I saw one I wasn’t expecting.
Eli? Shouldn’t he be back in Xi’an? How did I not see him board? Talk about a racing heart!
Chapter Twenty-Five
His eye turned and caught mine at the same time. Was I mistaken, or did he wait for me to catch up?
“Miss Fontana,” he gave a cursory bow of his head.
“Mr. Chamberlain,” I mimicked. Pretty smooth, I thought.
Maybe not.
Eek. The scrutinizing eyes of our entire tour group surrounded us, waiting to see what would happen next between us.
I turned to glare at Auntie Lil, but she shrugged, and I could read her thoughts. She hadn’t shared my secret thoughts about Eli. So how did the others ...?
Father John.
I know that he was only bound by the seal of the confessional for things discussed within it, but I thought that he would be respectful outside it for random embarrassing stories as well! I shot him a look but could tell that he too was not the culprit.
That could only mean ... Oh no. Could EVERYONE read my emotions that easily? Was I no better than a teenager swooning over the lead singer of a boy band? Did that mean that Yan Mei could read me as well? Did she and her boyfriend Eli get a good chuckle over the silly girl with a crush?
I bowed my head, excused myself, and ducked into the nearby ladies room.
I was dabbing my face with a refreshing wipe (from one of several packages carefully packed by my mother) when Auntie Lil appeared beside me in the mirror.
“What’s up, chickadee?”
As if she didn’t know.
“Does everyone know?” I caught her eye in the mirror, afraid to look at her directly.
“These people have taken a liking to you, Annalise. They are interested in your well-being.”
“They’ve known me for a day!”
“Well, at our age, we’ve learned not to hesitate.”
I swung around to her, ready with a cutting remark, but she was calmly arranging her hair, preparing to freshen her lipstick.
Great. In planning this trip, I was worried about this elderly group moving too slowly. Now I can see that I should have worried about the opposite—at least in the emotions department.
“Do they just miss their soap operas from back home?” I mused.
Auntie Lil laughed.
“Oh, Annalise, trust me. Nothing is ever as bad as it seems. Now come on. The one thing we can’t do is delay the group, for whatever reason.”
She was right.
When we left the ladies room, the others were gone, obviously having traveled to baggage claim. We were the last to arrive, and our new tour guide was waiting patiently near our bags for the two of us. He had sent the others to the bus that was parked at the curb directly outside the doors. I felt a small pang of guilt for the delay.
We climbed into the bus after the driver loaded our luggage, and Auntie Lil hopped into a seat next to Genio, naturally. Expecting to join Father John, I hurried down the aisle to the only empty seat.
“Hello again.”
Eli.
Of course.
I leaned my head out in the aisle, willing Auntie Lil to turn around. Somehow she did. My eyes were slits as I shook my head slowly from side to side. She smiled innocently. I turned back to my seatmate. Knowing that the entire bus was keyed in to my next move, I smiled and said hello.
“Father John asked me to sit with him, then decided he wanted to move for some reason,”
Eli said.
“Mm-hmm. For some reason.” I chuckled inwardly.
We didn’t have the opportunity to speak further because the bus pulled out and our tour guide began speaking. He was a slender young man with a serious face and dark, hipster-framed glasses. His personality belied his looks, however, and he warmly explained our next several days in China’s capital city. He seemed younger than our last tour guide, and I mentioned that to Eli after the speech. I needed to talk about any random topic to remind myself that this handsome man beside me was off the market.
“Lee? I suspect he must be at least 21, 22 years old. Tour guides must have a college degree to work for this company,” said Eli.
“I see.”
He certainly knew a lot about this tour company. Well, I guess if you dated a tour guide, you’d learn these things.
“Ah.” We returned to silence.
“Say, Eli, about Singapore ...” I began tentatively.
“You don’t have to say anything. I owe you an apology.”
“No, no! I owe YOU an apology because I was being bratty!”
“I was tense about some business matters. I’m sorry.”
Our eyes met, and we laughed.
“Shall we just agree on a mutual apology?” he asked.
“Of course.”
Whew. I was glad to get that out of the way!
Eli pulled his headphones from his bag, and I expected him to tune me out while tuning in to whatever he was listening to. I caught a snippet of the music and was surprised to hear that it wasn’t rock, top 40, jazz, or even heavy metal. I caught a bit of a mournful female voice with a definite Asian influence.
“What are you listening to?” I asked, pointing to his ears in case he couldn’t hear my question.
He removed his headphones and handed them to me. The music was haunting, and the voice was clear and bell-like. I listened for a moment.
“That’s lovely,” I said. “Who is it?”
“Her name is Tong Li. She’s singing my mother’s favorite song, ‘Ode to the Red Plum Blossom.’”
How interesting! I didn’t know very many young men who would listen to their parents’ music unless the parents were in the room.
Passports and Plum Blossoms Page 16