by Scott Blade
Cameron nodded and stayed quiet.
They went to the register, and he watched in horror as the numbers rang up on the rectangle-shaped digital screen above a tiny computer.
The whole outfit was over a hundred bucks—well over. His instincts were telling him to run, but he took out his debit card and paid for it. He was so astonished at the price that he couldn’t even recalculate the amount of his bank account. Of course, it had been taking hits for the last year, but he still had plenty of money left. If he kept buying clothes like this on a regular basis, however, he’d be broke in six months. Less even.
Cameron paid and turned while Li tore off all the tags and pulled a long sticker off of the right pant leg. She handed them to the girl behind the counter, and they walked out of the store.
Cameron smiled, and he knew immediately that the clothes were well worth the price because as soon as they started toward the exit, Li put her arm through his and leaned on his shoulder like they were a couple. The crown of her head was just below the top of his shoulder.
She said, “Now people will think we’re on a date.”
Cameron stayed quiet, more out of fear of saying the wrong thing and not out of the habit of saying nothing.
She said, “I bet you’re a dive-bar kind of guy. So let’s walk to the next street over. There’re some hole-in-the-wall bars there I’ve never been to. This side of town is sort of like where all the college kids like to come to drink. Or at least it was when I was in college. The bars are all dives, and they have live music. Plus, the food is probably good. Well, it’s the kinda food that you like, I’m sure.”
“These college kids. Are they the poor kind or the rich parents kind?”
“Rich parents kind, of course. This is DC. Just about everyone who goes to school here has rich parents.”
Cameron stayed quiet.
“Why? You have a problem with that?”
“No problem. Just curious. Dives that cater to rich kids who’re pretending to be middle class generally aren’t real dives.”
“Do you want to try someplace else?”
Cameron said, “I’m game for wherever you want to go.”
Chapter 17
LI PICKED A BAR THAT WAS EXACTLY the kind of place that Cameron did like to go. Country music played on a jukebox in the corner—not the sad, twangy kind but the more old school kind with a real blues feel to it but not overly depressing. Cameron liked it, but then he liked a lot of music. Any kind of art form that was genuine was good for him. Not some pop song that was only created to make money and be sold to commercials. But real songs that had depth or at least a good beat.
Cameron had found modern music to be good in some cases, and he had found old music to be good in some cases. But his consensus was that the best kind of music was the uncommercialized kind. Country and rock and roll and rap were generally regarded as completely different types of music, but they had some things in common. In Cameron’s opinion, any of these types of music were best when original and untethered to capitalistic gains.
They sat at the bar. Low lighting. Numerous beer taps lining the wall behind the bar. The place wasn’t crowded, but it was far from empty. There was a group of college guys playing pool in the back and a couple at the other end of the bar. Some lone, older guys were scattered about, mostly watching a baseball game on TV. It looked like ESPN Classic because the game and quality of the video was certainly dated, but the patrons at the bar didn’t seem to care. They were glued to the game like they had money riding on the outcome.
Li asked, “Do you like the music?”
She sat on a barstool next to Cameron. She had a gin martini, dirty with olives in a glass with a stem that Cameron presumed must take a lot of talent not to spill. Whereas Cameron drank a Budweiser. He had poured the beer from the bottle into a mug, leaving the empty bottle on the bar in front of the glass.
Cameron thought about her question and decided not to go into a long lecture about his opinions on music, so he nodded.
Li said, “Good. I like country. It makes me feel American.”
Cameron said, “Where are you from originally?”
“North Korea.”
“Really? How did you get out of there?”
She stayed quiet and looked at him, sarcasm in her eyes.
Cameron asked, “You’re not from North Korea?”
Li said, “No, idiot. I’m from New Jersey. I just meant that this type of music really makes me feel at home. American like that. I’ve traveled a lot with my parents. We’re Chinese. I was born in New Jersey, but my mother still holds onto the homeland as her number one place of origin. But even she doesn’t want to live there.”
Cameron stayed quiet, took a swig from his beer.
Li watched him, and then her eyes went big.
She said, “Hey! Aren’t you under twenty-one? I think I read that in your file.”
Cameron said, “My file? There’s a file on me?”
“Don’t change the subject! Of course there’s a file on you. We gotta file on everyone.”
He said, “I’m nineteen. November second is my birthday. But shhhh. Don’t narc to the bartender.”
“No problem. I won’t,” she said.
Cameron said, “I figured that you were Chinese, though.”
“How’d you figure that? Because I have slanted eyes?”
“You’ve got a real stick up your ass.”
Li said, “I’m just playing with you. I know you don’t think like that.”
She reached out with her slender fingers and grabbed her glass by the stem, took a sip. She looked like she really wanted to drink more of it but didn’t want to drink it faster than Cameron drank his. And then he thought about her test—the one he had ruined by being there.
He said, “I knew you were Chinese because of the surname. Li originally comes from China. A guy a long time ago named Li Er was actually called Laozi. That a name you might know?”
She shook her head.
“It’s the guy who founded Taoism. A long, long time ago. Sixth century.”
She took a longer pull from her drink and looked at Cameron with curious eyes.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“What? You don’t think I could be smart enough to know stuff like that?”
“I guess I’m the one who should feel stupid. I misjudged you. From a report I read and the way you dressed. When I first saw you, the last thing I woulda thought was that you were some kind of smart guy. Smart ass, maybe. But not the intellectual type.”
“Why? Because I dress in cheap clothes?”
“First of all, cheap clothes? Please! Those were a homeless person’s clothes.”
She smiled at him.
He smiled back.
Li said, “Second of all, I guess I just didn’t expect that you’d have half a brain.”
Cameron said, “Well, you don’t pull any punches, do you? Is it because of how I look?”
“No. It’s not that.”
“Wait—it’s because you read I was from Mississippi!”
She nodded and said, “That was the biggest part, yeah. Sean told me to look over some info about you. You know, so I wouldn’t pick up the wrong guy. I guess I saw that and just figured you were a typical southerner.”
Cameron said, “Hey!”
Li said, “What? I said I was sorry?”
“Typical southerner? That stereotype is about as factual as the Asian ones. We aren’t a bunch of rednecks running around barefoot with no education.”
“I guess you’re right. I mean, you aren’t half dumb.”
Cameron said, “Ever met a southerner?”
“I saw John Boehner once. In a room with someone from the president’s cabinet members. Secretary of Labor or something. I don’t even remember his name. But I remember Boehner.”
Cameron stayed quiet.
Li said, “What? You never heard of John Boehner? He’s the Speaker of the House. He’s from A
labama. I think.”
“I don’t follow politics. Doesn’t do any good. Bunch of hype. And a guy from Alabama running things doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“Alabama is considered in higher regard than Mississippi.”
Cameron said, “I don’t know. Never heard of anyone from Alabama that ever contributed to the good of society.”
“Well, I never heard of anyone from Mississippi contributing to society. In fact, I hear the opposite,” Li said.
“Like what?”
“I hear people make fun of people from Alabama. Except that people in Alabama take offense. But I hear that people from everywhere make fun of people from Mississippi. Like Alabama is the kid that people pick on only because the kid from Mississippi is too pathetic to pick on. Like he’s the kid with a severe handicap.”
Cameron smiled and said, “Yeah? There’re lots of famous people from Mississippi. Ever heard of Oprah Winfrey? Elvis Presley? Tennessee Williams? William Faulkner? They aren’t dumb people. Forget the crap you see on TV.”
Li smiled and started laughing.
Cameron asked, “What?”
Li said, “I didn’t really think that people from there were dumb. I know about Tennessee Williams and Faulkner. I went to college, you know. Plus, who doesn’t know about Elvis? Not that I’d claim him to be a genius. Don’t forget the fat, later years Elvis. And you know your state also gave us Britney Spears?”
“Who?” Cameron asked.
“You don’t know who Britney Spears is?”
Cameron shook his head and said, “I never heard of her.”
Li said, “She’s a pop star. A singer. You really never heard of her?”
Cameron said, “Unless she made music before 1995, I probably never heard her. I grew up on old stuff.”
“You think that music before 1995 is old?”
Cameron said, “Older than me.”
Li nodded and said, “I guess that’s true.”
Cameron stayed quiet.
Li said, “I’ve been to Mississippi before. Anyway, it’s not that bad. Not like what people think.”
Cameron said, “Yeah? What part?”
“We went through Jackson last year. The Ashers had to meet with the governor’s family. Some sort of political nonsense, and President Asher couldn’t go. So he sent Kerry Fife in his place.”
Cameron asked, “Fife? Who the hell is she?”
Li said, “Not she. Kerry is a he. And he’s one of the most important men in America.”
“How so? I never heard of him.”
“Well, you never even heard of Britney Spears.”
Cameron shrugged.
Li said, “Ever heard of the President of the United States?”
Cameron stayed quiet, took a pull from his beer.
She said, “Mister Kerry Fife is Chief of Staff. He does the behind-the-scenes stuff when the president can’t. So last year, we had to go to your state. It was all right.”
“Are you supposed to tell me stuff like that?”
Li said, “Oh relax. It’s not top secret.”
“Do you have top secret clearance?”
“I have some clearance, sure. But not for missile codes or anything.”
Cameron said, “This Cord guy. What’s he like?”
Li shrugged and said, “He’s nothing special. I mean, he’s a good guy, I guess. The by-the-book type. He wouldn’t want me telling you the name of the family his unit is assigned to, but screw him. He pulled me out of my exam.”
Cameron said, “Again, I’m really sorry about that.”
Li said, “Forget it. I’m young. There’s always next year. No big deal. I probably wouldn’t have made the cut anyway. I’m not the best example of an agent. I just want to make it so bad.”
“I understand,” Cameron said.
Li finished her drink. “Hey, let’s get another one,” she said.
Cameron finished his Bud and nodded.
ABOUT TWO GIN MARTINIS LATER, Li was still a good distance from drunk, but Cameron wasn’t about to let her drive or operate heavy machinery or anything. He had only had three beers, and he was a big guy, so the effects were pretty much null on him. He could tell that she was a little more unwound than she had been.
Li said, “You wanna dance?”
Cameron noticed the grammar slip but decided to say nothing about it. Instead, he said, “I don’t really dance.”
“Are you scared?”
Cameron said, “I didn’t say that. I just don’t dance. Not really my thing.”
“You were raised by a single mom, right?”
“You know I was. You read my file, remember?”
“Then you should know how to dance. Didn’t your mom teach you that stuff?”
Cameron stayed quiet.
Li said, “My mom taught me. She used to make my older brother dance with me. He hated it.”
“My mom taught me…other stuff.”
Li looked at him with glassy eyes, a little confusion behind them. Then she said, “What does that mean? What stuff?”
He said, “It’s complicated.”
“Come on, tell me.”
“You sure? It’s a story.”
“Tell me!”
“Okay. My mom did more than just raise me. You know, she provided for me and sent me to school and all that regular kid stuff. When I turned thirteen, she enrolled me into her own little slice of boot camp. It was like a military lifestyle. She hadn’t been a Marine in years when I was born, but once a Marine, always a Marine, they say. A Marine never stops being one. Not under any circumstances. And my mom was no different. When I was thirteen till seventeen, she woke me up every day at sunup.”
Li said, “So? That’s what moms do.”
Cameron said, “Let me finish. Believe me, it was harsher than that. She became more like my drill sergeant. It was seriously like living in boot camp every day for many years—not just three months. She did everything from dumping a bucket of freezing water on top of me to shouting through a bullhorn into my room.”
Cameron stopped and smiled, remembering the first time she’d done that. He had leaped out of his bed and saw his mother, fully dressed, wearing those big, thick headphones that were meant for ear protection at gun ranges.
“And that was just the first part of one day in my life back then. The second part began with boot-camp-style exercises that changed every week—running, running up steep hills, carrying extra weight, push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups. Over and over.
“Later, when I was fifteen, the more rigorous stuff started. She incorporated workout stuff that I can only describe as…Spartan. It was like I was gearing up for war.”
Li said, “That sounds really awful!”
Cameron smiled and said, “Nah. Not at all. Actually, I loved it. And I’m certainly grateful for it. If you knew some of the things I’ve been through. If it wasn’t for her, I’d be dead. No question! Of course, in the beginning, I questioned it. I remember saying ‘Mom! None of my friends have to do this shit!’ I just said it point-blank to her face once…but never again after that!”
Li asked, “Why? What’d she do?”
“What I said was ‘Mother! Why am I doing all of these crazy things every day?’ And she’d say, ‘Cameron! That’s fifty extra laps for you today!’” Cameron paused a beat, and then he said, “You get tired of the extra laps. So I stopped asking and went along with it.”
Li drank some more, and Cameron followed, but his beer was about gone.
He said, “My mom taught me everything I knew up to that point. And my father has taught me the rest.”
“He has? But I thought he was missing? Like, aren’t you hunting him or something?”
Cameron nodded.
Li stopped and said, “Hey! I think you just tricked me!”
“What?”
“You totally tricked me! You Alabama boys are smarter than I thought.”
“Mississippi. I’m not from Alabama. Mississippi.”
Li swayed a little in her chair. Maybe she was getting a little drunker than Cameron had thought.
She said, “You told me all of that stuff just so you could get out of dancing with me.”
Cameron smiled and shook his head and said, “No, I didn’t. It’s true. Every last word.”
“I don’t care. We’re dancing.”
“Are you drunk?”
“Please! Baby, if I were drunk, you’d know it! I’m a little buzzed, that’s all! Dance with me!”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on! Today, I lost my next career move for you. The least you can do is dance with me!”
Cameron said, “Okay. One song. Then we should probably leave.”
“But we haven’t even ordered food yet.”
Cameron said, “I guess I forgot about food. I had so much fun talking with you.”
Li smiled and said, “Okay, we’ll dance and then eat.”
“No more drinking.”
“You’re right. We’ll dance then order food—and I’ll have water.”
Cameron nodded and then stood up from his barstool.
“Where’re you going?”
“To dance, right?”
“Not to this song!”
Cameron stayed quiet.
“I’ll go play something on the jukebox. Be right back.”
Li got up off of her stool, and her skirt rode up a little bit, revealing a hint of her inner thigh. It was quick, but Cameron saw it, and it looked nice. Her legs were smooth, and he imagined they were soft. He looked around and noticed that the college guys who were shooting pool had all stopped to look as well.
Li noticed them and said, “See something you like, idiots?”
The guys stared at her, stared at Cameron, and went back to pool. They didn’t say a word.
Li said, “Okay. I’ll be right back. I think you’ll like the song I pick.”
Cameron watched as she went over to the jukebox. She walked slowly and seductively like she knew he was watching. And he was. Intensely.
Li stopped at the machine, laid her purse down on a stool next to it, and pulled out a five-dollar bill. She inserted it and started to search through the song catalog.
The bartender came over and said, “You guys need another round?”