Part 38 (1/2)
No one stopped them as they hurried arm in arm toward the Old City. After entering through its north gate, they walked up and down every twisting street and lane within its walls. They pa.s.sed certain shops and temples three or more times, but Jia-Li did not want to stop. Her eyes were clear and her expression rigid as she scanned the streets. She must have already realized that her husband of only one day would never appear to meet them, but Sunny did not have the heart to share his final words with Jia-Li yet. So instead, Sunny silently remained at her friend's side while she searched in vain for Charlie.
When they reached the main square for a second time, Jia-Li veered off toward the Woo Sing Ding tea house and slumped down onto a bench. As Sunny joined her, she realized this was the place she had last met with Wen-Cheng and the old man. The uncomfortable memory of their terse exchange darkened her thoughts further.
It's all my fault! Had Sunny found a way inside Colonel Kubota's office, Wen-Cheng would never have felt the need to betray the old man, Max and, ultimately, Charlie. Her face flushed with guilt and she avoided eye contact with her friend. I am the link to all their deaths.
Jia-Li stared at the tea house for a few minutes. Finally, in a low, angry tone, she said, ”He promised.”
”Oh, bao bei, Charlie would move heaven and earth to be here.” Sunny's voice cracked. ”Perhaps he is still trying.”
”He will never keep his promise.”
Sunny reached out and gripped Jia-Li's limp hand. ”He would have said anything, bao bei. Anything to make you leave. He loves you that much.”
”He is my husband,” she said, unmoved. ”I should never have left. And he should never have sent me away.”
Sunny squeezed Jia-Li's hand even tighter. ”For love, bao bei. Charlie only did it out of love.”
Jia-Li slipped her hand free. Her eyes were red and her cheeks flushed now. ”I would have wheeled that pram full of dynamite into the train station, xio he. Even if it meant I would never come back out.”
”I have no doubt, bao bei.”
”Not for Free China. Or the Underground. Or the stupid Communists.” Jia-Li's voice trembled. ”Only for Chun. Always for him.”
”I know.”
Jia-Li buried her face in her hands. Soon her shoulders shook. ”My home is gone,” she choked out between sobs. ”So is my husband.”
Sunny struggled to find rea.s.suring words but could think of none. She couldn't look her friend in the eye. She felt responsible for incinerating Jia-Li's happiness.
”Where do I go now, xio he?” Jia-Li murmured.
Sunny's eyes misted over. ”Come home with me, bao bei.”
”And get you all killed?” Jia-Li scoffed. ”Even the children?”
”You cannot go back to the Cathay Building.”
”What is there to return to?”
”The j.a.panese know who you are, bao bei,” Sunny said. ”They will be looking.”
”Perhaps it's best if they find me.”
”Stop it,” Sunny snapped. ”You can't think like that. Imagine what Charlie would say.”
Jia-Li only shrugged. ”What else would you have me do?”
Sunny sat up straighter. ”The Comfort Home.”
”Is the first place the j.a.panese will look.”
”They have searched there before-many times, right?-and never found the hideaway.”
”Why would Chih-Nii take me in as a fugitive? After how I walked out on her.”
”You are like family. She has always had a soft spot for you.”
Jia-Li gave a bitter laugh. ”She had a soft spot for the money I brought in.”
Sunny rose from the bench and reached for Jia-Li's arm again. ”Come. We will go talk to her.”
Jia-Li remained seated. She looked up at Sunny with pained eyes. ”Can we give him a few more minutes?”
The minutes turned into more than an hour as they sat together and quietly reminisced about Charlie and his brief presence in their lives. At last, Jia-Li wiped her eyes and rose to her feet. ”Let's go,” she declared.
As they left the Old City, Jia-Li kept her head still and her eyes straight ahead, her search abandoned.
Arriving at the Comfort Home, they circled the block to ensure no j.a.panese vehicles were in the area before they approached the walkway that led to the elegant old villa. There was something tranquil yet surreal about the snow-covered trees that lined the path.
As they neared the mansion, an enormous man stepped out to greet them. ”Us.h.i.+!” Sunny rushed up and hugged him, barely able to get her arms all the way around his waist. ”It is good to see you.”
”h.e.l.lo, Sunny.” He patted her on the back.
Us.h.i.+ and Jia-Li just stared at one another. Eventually, his eyes fell to her left hand and he motioned to the ring. ”Is it true? Are you . . . married now?”
Jia-Li nodded.
Us.h.i.+ gave her an awkward smile. ”I am happy for you.”
”Oh, Us.h.i.+.” Jia-Li hurled herself into his arms.
Us.h.i.+ held her tightly. Somehow he seemed to understand everything. ”I am so sorry, bao bei,” he whispered.
Jia-Li broke free of the hug. ”I have nowhere left to go now, Us.h.i.+.”
Us.h.i.+ turned for the door. ”Come. We will speak to her.”
They found Chih-Nii in her small office, sitting behind her Qing dynasty desk. She was counting the previous night's take, having neatly separated it into various currencies, from American greenbacks to j.a.panese yen. She looked up only after she had finished with a wad of bills.
Chih-Nii wore her usual glamorous cheongsam, but there was something drawn about her overly made-up face. She eyed Jia-Li blankly. ”As a rule, I do not send presents to couples who exclude me from the wedding.”
”No one else-not even Sunny-was there,” Jia-Li said softly.
”And so where is the proud groom?”
”He . . . he could not make it.”