by Liu, Cynthea
“Mom?” Cece said.
“Sweetie, is that you? Are you safe in Xi’an now?”
Hearing her mother’s voice brought Cece the comfort she longed for. Immediately, her body began to relax. “Yeah, I am.”
“Is everything okay?” her mom said.
“I just wanted to tell you I miss you.”
“I miss you, too, honey.”
Then neither of them said anything.
Finally, her mom spoke. “Cece, you know I love you, right? More than anything.”
“I know, Mom.” Cece wiped a tear away. “That’s why I called.”
Chapter Twelve
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To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Update...
Hey Al,
I went to the orphanage, and it didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. I mean, it did in some ways, and then it really didn’t. Don’t really want to talk about it. But I will say, why was I in denial for so long?
Cece
------------------------------ To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Update...
Oh, C! Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay. I know you don’t want to discuss it now, but I’m here. ((((((Hugs)))))
I can’t wait until you come back home!
Love,
A
Monday, Cece’s day crawled. She was so tired from the weekend, all she wanted to do was sleep, even though everyone else was worried about midterms that week. She sat through classes in a daze, and, despite herself, her mind constantly drifted back to the weekend. After classes, Cece returned to her dorm. When she walked in, she set her things down and noticed a note on the floor near the door. She picked it up and opened it.
How did everything go?—Will
Cece sighed. Though she would have liked to have seen Will, she wasn’t in any shape to relive Beijing. She slipped the note in her desk drawer and was about to take a nap, when Jess strolled in and laid a bunch of bags on her bed.
“What are you doing here?” Cece said.
“Uh, it’s my room, too, remember?” Jessica replied. “Spread out your arms.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I’m working on our costumes. I’ve got to measure you.”
“Wait a second...” Cece blinked. “You’re making our costumes? Why not just get some things from the theater?”
“What would be the point of that when I can design something more beautiful on my own? Now spread ’em.”
Cece put her arms out.
Jessica pulled a measuring tape from her handbag and got to work. She wrote down the figures in a little notepad.
Then she emptied a few of her bags and held up some large swatches of fabric. “What color do you want? Keep in mind you’re playing a guy. No girly colors.”
“Um ... blue?”
“Got it. Hey, I already finished the outfit for the concubine. Check it out.” She reached into a dress bag and pulled out an elaborate traditional-style gown in gold. She hung it up in her closet. “Lisa’s room is packed, so I’m going to keep this here, okay? Don’t let anyone touch it.”
Cece examined the dress. The details were amazing. “All right, Jess. I didn’t say anything before, but now I have to know. Where did you learn how to do this?”
“Oh, I’ve been sewing since I was twelve. My parents think it’s just a hobby. But I wouldn’t call this a hobby, would you?” She pointed to the silk embroidery on the bodice of the dress.
“Definitely not.”
“Anyway, I told you our costumes would rock.” She whipped out a sketch pad from another bag. “See?”
Cece studied Jessica’s drawings. One of the sketches was the concubine’s outfit. Sure enough the real product looked exactly like the sketch. Jessica had designed a costume for all of the characters in their script.
“The outfits look so authentic,” Cece said.
“That’s because they are,” Jess said. “I went to the Shaanxi Museum and got pictures of what people wore during Qin Shi Huang’s time. Once I had that, all I needed to do was sketch them and make up a bunch of patterns. I even borrowed a sewing machine from the school.”
“When did you have time to do all this?” Cece said.
“I don’t spend every night partying, you know.” Jessica put away the fabrics. “Now I just need to get some measurements from Will and Alex.” She carried her supplies out the door. “See ya!”
After her roommate left, Cece studied the dress.
Jessica really was a hard person to figure out.
The next couple of days, almost everyone in the program kept it low key, hunkering down to prepare for midterm exams. Cece was glad for the distraction. Maybe it would help her forget about her awful weekend. She met with Peter and Kallyn a couple of times to study, but on one condition—nobody could mention Beijing. Yet by Friday, midterms had come and gone, and Cece still hadn’t gotten over what had happened. The prospect of seeing Will that afternoon during her team meeting didn’t help either. Surely he would try to bring it up.
Cece went to the theater, and as her team discussed the project, she did her best to avoid looking directly at Will. Alex asked everyone for their progress. Cece reported she was halfway done translating the script. Will gave his ideas about the set, and Alex and Chris discussed the shots they’d be taking. The only question mark was the status on the costumes. Jessica had missed the meeting for some reason, but Chris assured everyone she was making good progress. They’d regroup again next week to begin filming.
After the meeting, Alex started talking to Will about something, and Cece booked it out of the theater. But she hadn’t gotten more than ten feet outside of the building when she heard Will calling after her.
“Hey, Cece!”
She turned around and tried to look cheerful. Will caught up with her.
“You seemed so quiet in there, and I haven’t seen you around all week. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Fine?” Will stared at her. “You don’t sound fine to me. It’s about Beijing, isn’t it?”
Cece let out a long breath. “Well...”
“Never mind,” Will said quickly. “You don’t have to talk about it now if you don’t want to.”
Cece glanced at him. “I don’t?”
“No, I can wait. It’s all right.”
Cece felt relieved. “Thanks, Will,” She looked in the direction of her dorm. “So I’ll see you later then?”
“Yeah.” He slowed down. “Later. But not too much later, okay?” He came to a stop.
Cece nodded. “Okay.”
Saturday evening, Cece sat in her room in front of her notebook. It was time to choose a topic for her final paper for Professor Hu’s culture class. Cece didn’t spend much time debating it. After her recent experience, she had plenty to draw from. She picked up her pen and wrote down her idea: How Backward Thinking Leaves Baby Girls on the Street.
She stared at her words, then crossed them out. Professor Hu probably wouldn’t go for that. No instead she’d try ... Government Policy and Family Ideals: How the One-Child Policy Orphan’s China’s Girls.
Good. Cece set down her pen. Doable.
Someone knocked. “Cece, it’s me,” Kallyn said.
Cece got up and opened the door.
“Hey, Kallyn.”
She stepped in and sat on Cece’s bed. “You know, Cece, you can’t spend the rest of the program in your room.”
“I wasn’t planning to,” Cece said. Well, not exactly.
“Yeah, right. Come on. Let’s do something fun tonight.”
“Like what?”
“Peter mentioned there’s a water-fountain show by some pagoda in the city tonight. He says we can’t miss it. It’s supposed to be absolutely amazing.”
“Peter?” Cece said. “Is he here?”
“He might be around,” Kallyn replied
.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
When Cece opened it, she saw Peter standing there. “Are you ready to go, Cece?”
But before she could answer, he took one look at her, from her socked feet to her ratty tank top, and said, “Oh, maybe not.” He shut the door.
Cece frowned. “What was that all about?”
“We’re trying to get you out. Isn’t it obvious?” Kallyn stood up and went to Cece’s dresser. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a red top. “Put this on.” She tossed the clothes at Cece. “Oh, and do something about your hair. Will’s waiting in the lobby.”
“Will?” Cece stared at her friend. “You invited Will?”
“Sorta. He found me and asked if I was hanging with you tonight.”
“But Kallyn, I’m hardly in the mood for a night out, especially with Will.”
“So?” Kallyn said. “It’s not like I’m asking you to take off for Italy or anything. Let’s all just hang out a little.”
“But—”
“No buts, Cece. You’re going out, and we’re waiting. Now hurry.” She left the room.
Cece stood there for a moment with the top and jeans in her hands. Then she pulled off her clothes and put the outfit on.
Will, Cece, Kallyn, and Peter piled into a cab and headed to Da Yen Ta, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. On the way, Peter briefly explained what the pagoda was used for. “It was built long ago to hold ancient Buddhist scripts. But now most of us go there for fun. You will see why when we get there.”
Half an hour later, the taxi arrived and Cece stepped out of the car. Instantly, she knew she wouldn’t regret the evening. A seven-story pagoda stood in the distance, beautifully lit up against the night. A wide, terraced plaza stretched before it, and everywhere, people relaxed, took pictures, and enjoyed the scenery.
“Pretty cool, isn’t it?” Will said, standing beside her.
“Yeah,” Cece agreed.
Peter glanced at his watch. “We still have twenty minutes before the show starts. I want to show you the pagoda’s gardens.” He led the way, and Kallyn walked beside him.
“Well, shall we?” Will crooked his arm.
“Um, sure.” Cece slipped her arm through his, and they followed Peter and Kallyn along the edge of the plaza. They entered a landscaped area with winding paths and small hills covered with rocks and greenery.
Cece looked up at the manicured trees. Many of them were lit by spotlights from below, and it was so quiet, she felt like she and her friends were the only ones around. Eventually, Kallyn and Peter pulled farther ahead, or perhaps Will was making them lag behind.
Then suddenly both of them spoke at once.
“Cece ...”
“Will ...”
“Why don’t you start?” Will said.
“Okay.” Cece took a deep breath. “I wanted to say I was sorry I couldn’t talk to you yesterday.”
“That’s all right—”
“No, it’s not. I know you were only trying to be helpful. It’s just... things have been so weird lately.”
“So are you ready to talk about it?” Will asked.
“I think so, but what did you want to say?” They crossed over a wooden bridge. “I want to hear that first.”
“All right. I’ve finally got some news.”
Cece looked up at him. “About your parents?”
“Yeah. Dad dropped the bomb on my mom last weekend.”
Cece cringed. “He did?”
“Yeah, and Mom called me at the hotel in Beijing. The conversation did not go well.” He stopped to peer at a gazebo set on a rocky hill among the trees. “She wanted me to come home and talk to my father.”
“Oh, Will ...”
“But I know Dad’s not going to change his mind. Of course, Mom didn’t want to hear that coming from me. She totally broke down on the phone.”
“That’s awful.”
“Yeah, well, what else could I do? I think all of us need to face reality, you know?”
“I do,” Cece said, thinking of her own circumstances. “But it’s not so much fun, is it?”
“Hardly,” Will said. “Anyway ...” He looked at the gazebo again. “You want to go up there?”
“Sure.”
Will stepped onto a boulder and put out his hand. “Come on.”
Cece let him steady her as he pulled her up. They picked their way through the rocks until they reached the gazebo. Under the canopy, it was almost completely dark, save for the nearby lights that shined upon the trees. Will leaned over the railing. “So now it’s your turn.”
Cece placed her hands on the railing. “All right ...”
She recounted the entire trip to Beijing, from discovering her orphanage had been torn down to seeing the fancy house with the Mercedes. When she was done, she expected Will to say exactly what Kallyn and Peter had, but he didn’t. Instead, he said only, “I’m sorry, Cece. I wish there was something I could do.”
“Thanks,” Cece said.
“Are you going to go back to the house to find out for sure?”
“No way.” The very idea made her sick all over again. “I just wish I could understand it. It’s so frustrating to me. How could a mother and father ever think that boys were more valuable than girls?”
“It’s a different culture, Cece. I mean, my mom has told me things about China that all sound strange to me. Women binding feet. Men with first, second, and third wives. Of course that’s all in the past, but it’s part of this country’s history. It’s almost like asking, Why do Chinese people drink tea?”
Cece thought it over. “True. But it’s strange to think that people believe in it so much that they could let their own daughters go.”
“I know. It sounds harsh, doesn’t it?”
“Completely.”
“I guess I don’t understand it, either,” Will said.
Cece took in a deep breath. “Let’s stop talking about this now. It just gets me angry.” She straightened. “I want to move on.”
“I hear ya,” Will said, looking out at the garden below. “Sometimes that’s easier.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, if you change your mind about going back—”
“I don’t think I will.”
“Hey, guys!” Kallyn called.
Cece peered down and saw her friend waving.
“Peter said the show is about to start,” Kallyn said.
“Anyway ...” Will said as he helped Cece get down from the gazebo. “I’m glad you came out tonight.”
Cece smiled. “I’m glad you asked Kallyn to get me out.”
Will hopped down to the path. “You are?” He held out a hand for Cece.
“Yeah.” She grabbed his hand and jumped down.
He grinned. “Now let’s see what this show is all about.”
They caught up to Peter and Kallyn, and Peter led them back to the plaza. “To view the show from the right place, we will need to stand in the middle.”
Cece looked at the plaza, a long series of wide steps that led to the pagoda. Each step was lit up in a different color by lights that were set flush into the concrete. “I don’t get it. Shouldn’t we be near a fountain of some kind?”
“Come on, Cece,” Will said. “I think I know what’s going on.”
He pulled her toward the center, following Peter and Kallyn.
When they got to the middle, Will let Cece go and gestured toward the ground. “Look at the steps, Cece. You see all the lights?”
“Yeah.”
“I bet the water shoots up from all of those.”
Cece glanced behind her, then to the sides. The lights were everywhere. “Oh, no way.”
A lady’s voice rang out over the loudspeakers. Several people, some with umbrellas, ran out to the plaza and stood on the steps, while spectators gathered around the sides.
“Ready?” Peter said, glancing back at Cece and Will.
Will grabbed Cece’s hand. “Don’t move.”
; Cece stiffened. “I can’t do this.”
Just then, classical Chinese music came on, and water shot up from the steps all around them. Cece squeezed her eyes shut, certain she’d get soaked, but all she could feel was a light mist cooling her face.
“Cece, look,” Will said.
She opened her eyes. Streams of water swayed all around her, creating beautiful colored arches. The colors and the patterns of the water changed according to the music. Her breath left her.
“So, what do you think?” Will said.
“I think it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Will looked down at Cece and smiled. “I think it is, too.”
Chapter Thirteen
Over the next several days, Cece began putting Beijing behind her, and she was finally able to focus on having a little more fun. Wednesday offered the perfect opportunity when midterm grades came back. Cece, Kallyn, Will, and Peter had all done well, and they were eager to celebrate with a night out. Peter suggested they go to a popular cultural theater show near the city center.
As Cece headed back to her dorm to get ready, she felt better than she had in days, but when she got to her floor, the sight of Jessica bickering on the phone threatened to ruin her mood.
“It was your idea to send me here in the first place.”
Cece walked toward her room, knowing it had to be Jess’s father on the line. Cece got out her key and took her time opening the door.
“No, I’m not going to do that. ... I said, ‘I’m done.’” Jess sighed loudly. “Fine. See if I care.” She hung up.
“What was that all about?” Cece said.
Jessica turned and rolled her eyes. “It’s just my parents again.” She joined Cece at the door.
“What’s going on?”
“I didn’t do so hot on my midterms, and Dad’s totally flipping out. That’s all.”
“What do you mean by ‘not so hot’?”