Tiger's Quest

by Colleen Houck

“It’s for my old high school girlfriend. She goes to another school, and I like to keep in touch. She dates lots of people on and off, the same as me,” Artie boasted. “I date lots of girls. You should see my day planner. I’ve got dates lined up for years.”

  It was the longest walk of my life. I tried to pretend I was walking in the Indian jungle, but it was too cold. The sky was dark and overcast, and a stiff wind was blowing. It wasn’t walking-outside weather. I shivered in my jacket and passed the time half-listening to Artie and half-admiring the houses that were decorated for Halloween.

  We finally reached the post office, where Artie mailed his package. I looked around at the different tiny restaurants on Main Street and wondered which one we would be dining at. I was starving. I’d forgotten to eat lunch because I was too wrapped up in studying. The smell of Chinese food wafting from next door was mouthwatering.

  By the time Artie finally stepped outside, I was really cold. I clapped my hands and rubbed them together for warmth. If I had known we’d be outside this long, I would have brought gloves. It turned out Artie had a pair of leather gloves in his pocket, but he put them on his own hands.

  My glutton-for-punishment brain insisted that he would have given me his gloves. Heck, he would have given me the shirt off his back if he thought I might have need of it.

  “So, where to next?” I asked. My eyes darted hopefully over to the Chinese restaurant.

  “Back to campus. I have a real treat in store for you.”

  I tried to plaster an enthusiastic smile on my face. “That’s . . . great.”

  On the long walk back to campus, Artie talked about himself. He spoke about his childhood and family. He described all the awards he had won and mentioned that he was president of five clubs, including the chess club. He never asked one question about me. I would have been shocked if he even knew my last name.

  My mind wandered to a conversation with a very different man.

  I heard his warm, hypnotic voice very clearly. Suddenly, I was standing under a tree. The tree where I’d said good-bye. The tree where I’d last gazed into his cobalt blue eyes. The cold, chafing wind of Oregon dropped far away, and I felt a balmy Indian summer breeze blow softly through my hair. The gray overcast evening faded, and I was looking up at twinkling stars in a night sky. He touched my face and spoke.

  “Kelsey, the fact is . . . I’m in love with you. And I have been for some time. I don’t want you to leave. Please . . . please . . . please . . . tell me you’ll stay with me.”

  He was so beautiful, like a warrior-angel sent from heaven. How could I have denied him anything, especially when all he wanted was me?

  “I want to give you something. It’s an anklet. They’re very popular here, and I got this one so we’d never have to search for a bell again.”

  My ankle tingled as I remembered his fingers brushing against it.

  “Kells, please. I need you.”

  How could I leave him?

  My mind snapped back to the present, and I struggled to contain the strong emotions that surfaced when I allowed myself to think about him. As Artie droned on about how he’d won the debate championship single-handedly, I berated myself for allowing my thoughts to take me to a dangerous place. The fact was, even if I was having second thoughts about my choice to leave, he hadn’t called. That proved that I made the right decision, didn’t it? If he really loved me as much as he said he did, he would have tried to contact me. He would have pursued me. He would have come for me. He needed space. I was right to leave him. Maybe now I could start healing and let him go.

  I wrenched my attention back to Artie and made a real effort to listen to his conversation. There was absolutely no way Artie was the right guy for me—or for any girl for that matter, but that didn’t mean I was out of options. I still had a date with Jason tomorrow and one with Li next week.

  When Artie and I arrived back on campus, my stomach was growling so loudly that it could be heard within a three-block radius. I seriously hoped that we would be eating at the campus café soon.

  He led me to the Hamersly Library media center, asked for two headsets, and gave the lady a paper. Then, he pushed two wooden chairs in front of a six-inch, black-and-white television in the corner of the media section.

  “Isn’t this a great idea? We can watch a movie, and I don’t have to spend a dime!” He grinned while my mouth dropped open. “It’s very clever, don’t you think?”

  I pursed my lips. “Oh, it’s clever alright.”

  I quickly shut my mouth after that and bit back a sarcastic reply. Did he think girls actually liked to be treated this way? It wasn’t that a date had to be expensive or that any money had to be spent at all. What annoyed me was that Artie was smug about everything and he didn’t think his dates were important enough to listen to. I felt disgusted and hungry. As the movie started, he slipped giant gray earphones over his ears and pointed to mine.

  I dusted mine off with my shirt, plugged in the cord, and slammed the headphones over my ears, very irritated that I would be sitting there for two more hours. The opening credits of the movie Brigadoon flashed across the screen, and I mentally sent messages to Gene Kelly to dance faster.

  An hour into the movie, Artie made a move. He was still staring straight ahead at the tiny movie screen when he picked up his heavy arm and settled it on the back of my wooden chair.

  I peeked at him out of the corner of my eye. He had a slight smirk on his face. I imagined he was mentally checking off a task in his planner.

  Seduce date by talking about other girls

  Impress date with number of awards you have received

  Do not spend money on date

  Make date watch corny movie in media center

  Sneak in comments about your frugality

  Put arm around date at exactly the halfway mark of the movie

  I leaned forward and sat uncomfortably on the edge of my seat for the entire second half of the movie. Making the excuse that I needed to use the restroom, I stood up. He did too and walked over to the lady at the desk. As I walked by, I overheard him asking her to stop the movie and rewind it just a bit so we would remember where we left off.

  Great! That adds five more minutes to this fantastic experience! I hurried as fast as I could because I was worried that he might try to start the whole thing over again. I considered the idea of running madly out of the building, but he could see the bathroom door from where we were sitting, and it would be rude. I was determined to just suffer through the last part of the movie, and then run home.

  Finally, finally, the movie was over, and I jumped up like someone had just pulled the fire alarm.

  “Okay, Artie. Well, this was great. My car is parked just outside, so I’ll see you on Monday, okay? Thanks for the date.”

  Unfortunately, he didn’t take a hint and insisted on walking me to my car. I opened the door and quickly wedged my body behind it.

  He put his hand on the car door and leaned his corpulent body toward me. His bow tie was a few inches from my nose. He forced an awkward unnatural smile to his face.

  “Well, I had a great time and want to go out with you again next week,” Artie said. “How about next Friday?”

  Better nip this one in the bud.

  “Can’t. I have another date planned already.”

  He pressed forward undeterred. “Oh.” He didn’t even blink. “What about Saturday?”

  I searched my brain frantically for an escape. “Uh . . . I didn’t bring my planner with me, so I don’t know my schedule that far ahead.”

  He nodded as if that made perfect sense.

  “Look, I have a terrible headache, Artie. I’ll see you in lab next week, okay?”

  “Okay, sure. I’ll call you later.”

  I quickly slipped into my car and shut the door. Grinning, because I knew I’d never given him my phone number, I drove through the quiet streets of Monmouth and up the mountain to my peaceful home.

  DATE 2

  Fo
r my next date, I was better prepared for the weather. I wore my red WOU sweatshirt and also brought a thicker coat and a red cashmere scarf and gloves that I had found tucked in a drawer. Normally, I would have shunned anything he had bought for me, but I didn’t have time to buy new ones, and even if I did I’d be using his money anyway.

  I met Jason in the stadium parking lot and immediately began cataloging his good qualities. He was cute, a little on the skinny side and shorter than average, but he dressed decently and was smart. Leaning up against his old Corolla, he raised his eyebrows in shock when he saw me emerge from the Porsche.

  “Wow, Kelsey! Nice wheels!”

  “Thanks.”

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yep. Lead the way.”

  We shuffled into the crowd of people heading over to the football field. Most were wearing red or Western Wolf shirts, but there were also the navy-blue-and-white colors of the opponent, Western Washington University, scattered here and there. Even a couple of Viking hats were bobbing up and down in the crowd. Jason led me to a truck surrounded by couples having a tailgate party. A small grill was full of smoking sausages and hamburgers.

  “Hey, guys! I want to introduce you to Kelsey. We met in our anthro class.”

  Several faces peered over and around their neighbors to get a good glimpse. I waved shyly back at them. “Hi.”

  I heard a couple of “Hey, there’s,” and “Nice to meet you’s,” and then they went back to their conversations, forgetting we were there.

  Jason filled up a plate for me and then popped open a cooler. “Hey, Kelsey, want a beer?”

  I shook my head. “Soda, please. Diet, if you have it.” He handed me an icy diet soda, grabbed a beer for himself, and pointed to two empty lawn chairs.

  Sitting down, he immediately rammed half his hot dog in his mouth and chewed loudly. It was almost as bad as watching a tiger eat. Lucky for me, it was a little less bloody.

  Ugh. What’s with me? Am I intentionally looking for things that annoy me? I really have to chill out or Jennifer’s right: I’m going to miss out on life. I looked away from him and started picking at my food.

  “So, you aren’t a drinker, eh, Kelsey?”

  “Umm, I guess not. I’m underage first of all. Secondly, alcohol lost all appeal for me when my parents were killed by a drunk driver a few years back.”

  “Oh. Sorry.” He grimaced and scooted his beer out of sight under the chair.

  I mentally groaned. What am I doing? Immediately, I apologized, “It’s okay, Jason. Sorry to be such a downer. I promise I’ll be much more perky at the game.”

  “No problem. Don’t give it a second thought.” He went back to scarfing down his food and laughing with his friends.

  The problem was that I did give it a second thought. I knew my parents’ death wasn’t something you should normally bring up on a first date, but . . . I knew that he would have reacted very differently from the way Jason did. Maybe it was because he was older, more than three hundred years older. Or maybe it was because he wasn’t American. Maybe it was because he’d lost his parents too. Or maybe it was because he was just . . . perfect.

  I tried to shut it down, but I couldn’t help myself. I flashed back to a time when I woke up from a nightmare featuring my parents’ death, and he was there to comfort me. I could still feel his hand wiping the tears from my cheeks as he pulled me onto his lap.

  “Shh, Kelsey. I’m here. I’m not leaving you, priya. Hush now. Mein aapka raksha karunga. I will watch over you, priyatama.” He’d stroked my hair and whispered soothing words to me until I felt the dream fade.

  Since then, I’d had time to look up the words I didn’t understand in India. I’m with you. I’ll take care of you. My beloved. My sweetheart. If he were here with me now, he would’ve pulled me into a hug or onto his lap, and we would have been sad together. He would have stroked my back and understood how I felt.

  I shook myself. No. No, he wouldn’t. He might have once, but now he’s moved on. He’s gone now, and it doesn’t matter anymore what he would have done or how he would have reacted. It’s over.

  Jason was filling another plate, and I tried to look interested and involve myself in the conversation. Half an hour later, we all got up to head to the football field.

  It was nice being outside in the crisp fall air, but the benches were cold, and my nose was frozen. The cold didn’t seem to bother Jason and his friends. They stood up and cheered a lot. I tried to join in, but I never knew what I was cheering about. The ball was too far away and too small for me to see much. I’d never had much interest in football. I much preferred movies and books.

  I glanced up at the scoreboard. The first half clock was running down. Two minutes. One minute. Twenty seconds. BZZZZ! The timer sounded, and both teams ran off the field. The homecoming parade started and several antique cars drove around the outside of the field. Beautiful girls dressed in chiffon and silk were perched up on the top of the backseats, waving at the crowd.

  Jason joined all the other guys in wolf whistles and screamed out his appreciation with the frenzied throng. The scent of sandalwood drifted over the bleachers, and a silky soft voice whispered in my ear, “You are more beautiful than any woman out there.”

  I whipped my head around, but he wasn’t behind me. Jason was still standing up and screaming with his friends. I slumped back in my seat. Great. Now I’m hallucinating. I pressed my knuckles to my head and pushed, hoping the pressure would shove him back to the recesses of my mind.

  When the second half of the game started, I stopped trying to feign enthusiasm. This was the second date that had turned me into a popsicle. My body slowly froze to the bench, and my teeth chattered. After the game, Jason walked me back to my car and awkwardly put an arm around my shoulder, massaging it to try to warm me up, but he rubbed too hard and left my shoulder sore. I didn’t even bother to ask who had won.

  “Hey, Kelsey, I had a great time getting to know you better tonight.”

  Did he get to know me at all? “Yeah, me too.”

  “So, can I call you later?”

  I considered that for a minute. Jason wasn’t a bad guy; he was just a guy. First dates were usually awkward anyway, so I decided to give him another shot.

  “Yeah, sure. You know where you can find me.” I gave him a halfhearted smile.

  “Right. Catch ya in anthro on Monday. See ya.”

  “Yep, see ya.”

  He headed back to his wild group of friends, and I wondered if we had anything in common at all.

  DATE 3

  Before I knew it, it was Halloween—and my date with Li.

  There was something about Li that made me feel very comfortable. He was more fun to be around than Jason, and I grudgingly admitted that it was very possible I felt more relaxed around Li because he reminded me a little of the man I was trying to forget.

  Reluctantly, I pulled back the door to the closet that I vowed never to open and found a long-sleeved, burnt-orange top designed to look like a short trench coat. It was accented with wooden buttons and a tie belt. To go with it was a pair of dark blue stretch denim jeans. They fit perfectly, like they’d been tailored just for me. A dark pair of boots sat in the bottom of the bag and, slipping those on, I twirled in front of the mirror. The outfit made me look tall and chic and well . . . stylish, which was not my norm.

  I left my hair cascading down my back in curly waves for a change. Dabbing on some apricot lip gloss, I drove to the studio, being careful to go slower than usual to avoid any wandering trick-or-treaters.

  Li was sitting in his car listening to music and bobbing his head up and down. As soon as he spotted me, he immediately turned off the radio and got out of his car.

  He grinned. “Wow, Kelsey! You look great!”

  I laughed easily with him. “Thanks, Li. It’s very nice of you to say that. If you’re ready to go, I can follow you to your grandmother’s.”

  I walked back to my car, but Li raced past me and opened
the door.

  “Whew, I almost didn’t make it!” He grinned at me again. “My grandfather always taught me to open doors for ladies.”

  “Oh. Well, you are the perfect gentleman.”

  He bowed his head slightly, laughed, and then walked back to his car. He drove slowly too, and checked his rearview mirror often to make sure I made it through the intersections. We stopped in a nice, older neighborhood.

  “This is my grandparents’ house,” Li explained as we stepped into the foyer. “We always meet here for game night because they have the biggest table. Plus, my grandma is a great cook.”

  Li took my hand and pulled me into a cute kitchen that smelled better than any Chinese restaurant I’d ever been to. A tiny white-haired woman was peering into a rice cooker. When she looked up, her glasses were steamy.

  “Kelsey, this is Grandma Zhi. Grandma Zhi, huó Kelsey.”

  She smiled, nodded, and grasped my fingers in hers. “Hello. Nice to meet you.”

  I smiled back. “Nice to meet you too.”

  Li dipped his finger into a simmering pot, and she picked up a wooden spoon and smacked him lightly across the knuckles. Then she chastised him in Mandarin.

  He laughed while she clucked her tongue fondly. “See you later, Grandma.” I caught her smiling proudly at him as we turned the corner.

  I followed him to the dining room. All the furniture had been moved to the side to make space for the large dining table, which had been extended with four leaves. Huddled around the table was a group of Asian boys who were having a heated discussion about the placement of tiles on the game board. Li walked me over to the group.

  “Hey, guys. This is Kelsey. She’s going to be playing with us tonight.”

  One guy waggled his eyebrows, “Alright, Li!”

  “No wonder he took so long.”

  “You’re lucky that Wen bought the expansion kit.”

  There were other various mutterings and some chair shifting. I thought I caught one quiet comment about bringing a girl to the party, but I couldn’t tell who was talking. After a few moments, everybody settled down to begin the game.