them.
As he dialed the overseas number, his mind traveled through time
to his final conversation with Juliana. He allowed the memory to surface,
believing he'd have many minutes to cherish it. But things had changed in the
decades since he'd last phoned Hong Kong. Calls to the other side of the world
were routine. Voices no longer lingered in space. Except for her British
accent, the directory-assistance operator in modern-day Hong Kong could have
been in Dallas.
"I have many residential listings for J . Kwan, but
none for Juliana. There's a business listing, though. Is the Juliana Kwan
you're trying to reach the fashion designer for Pearl Moon?"
"Yes," Garrett whispered. "Yes she is."
"Shall I give you that listing?"
"Please."
The operator's voice was replaced by a recording of the number,
and that was just as well, because the emotion accompanying his thoughts would
have rendered further speech impossible.
Juliana's alive.
And she's living her dream.
It was a very long time before Garrett trusted his voice enough to
think about making the second call to directory assistance in Hong Kong. Would
he find a home phone number for his daughter? Or a business listing, perhaps?
Was she a Pearl Moon designer, too?
Garrett never placed the second call.
He'd spent the past twenty-eight years loving the daughter he
would never see. She lived in his heart as the Daughter of Greatest Love—and
though he knew the other name Juliana had given her, he didn't know how she
spelled Maylene.
PART THREE
Eight
Kai Tak International Airport
Kowloon Peninsula
Sunday, June 13, 1993
"Twenty minutes until touchdown," the United Airlines
pilot announced. "For those of you who've never been to Hong Kong, the
reason it will seem as if we're flying between skyscrapers is because that's
exactly the case. But don't worry. I've done this many times. Just relax and
enjoy the view."
It was like landing in a treasure chest of jewels, Allison
decided. Brilliant against the black sky, and in every color of the rainbow,
Hong Kong greeted her. As the jet swooped lower, the lights came into focus.
She couldn't read the glowing neon, but the Chinese characters promised the
grand adventure that lay ahead.
She felt like Dorothy beholding the Emerald City. Hong Kong was beyond the Emerald City. Rubies sparkled, and diamonds, sapphires, amethyst, jade.
And unlike the Land of Oz, the Crown Colony was very real.
When the jet came to a stop at a remote spot on the tarmac, the
lights that had seemed so close were suddenly far away. As Allison and her
fellow passengers traveled by bus to the main terminal, they drove amid the
towering silhouettes and shadows of jumbo jets. She was astonished by the
number of planes. Parked at seemingly random angles, they loomed overhead like
a herd of slumbering dinosaurs. The effect was eerie, at once ancient and
modern. The prehistoric-looking monsters were, in fact, authentic symbols of
Kai Tak—one of the busiest airports on earth.
Once inside the terminal, Allison experienced the efficiency for
which Hong Kong was renowned. It took less than five minutes to clear
Immigration, and her luggage was waiting for her on a stainless steel carousel.
Exit Door Four, she reminded herself as she gathered her
suitcases. That was the door through which James had told her to exit Baggage
Claim. His instruction wasn't necessary. The door was well marked in both
English and Chinese.
Allison paused before guiding her baggage cart through the door.
She'd glimpsed the Emerald City. Now she would meet Oz himself, the wizard who
believed in her talent, needed it, needed her. Because of James's
confidence, Allison convinced herself she had wings... and could fly.
But Oz was an illusion. A phantom of smoke and mirrors.
***
Maylene stood beside the Rolls-Royce limousine watching the door
through which Allison would appear. Her heart had been racing all day, and
during the drive from the Trade Winds to Kai Tak, every cell in her body
As he dialed the overseas number, his mind traveled through time
to his final conversation with Juliana. He allowed the memory to surface,
believing he'd have many minutes to cherish it. But things had changed in the
decades since he'd last phoned Hong Kong. Calls to the other side of the world
were routine. Voices no longer lingered in space. Except for her British
accent, the directory-assistance operator in modern-day Hong Kong could have
been in Dallas.
"I have many residential listings for J . Kwan, but
none for Juliana. There's a business listing, though. Is the Juliana Kwan
you're trying to reach the fashion designer for Pearl Moon?"
"Yes," Garrett whispered. "Yes she is."
"Shall I give you that listing?"
"Please."
The operator's voice was replaced by a recording of the number,
and that was just as well, because the emotion accompanying his thoughts would
have rendered further speech impossible.
Juliana's alive.
And she's living her dream.
It was a very long time before Garrett trusted his voice enough to
think about making the second call to directory assistance in Hong Kong. Would
he find a home phone number for his daughter? Or a business listing, perhaps?
Was she a Pearl Moon designer, too?
Garrett never placed the second call.
He'd spent the past twenty-eight years loving the daughter he
would never see. She lived in his heart as the Daughter of Greatest Love—and
though he knew the other name Juliana had given her, he didn't know how she
spelled Maylene.
PART THREE
Eight
Kai Tak International Airport
Kowloon Peninsula
Sunday, June 13, 1993
"Twenty minutes until touchdown," the United Airlines
pilot announced. "For those of you who've never been to Hong Kong, the
reason it will seem as if we're flying between skyscrapers is because that's
exactly the case. But don't worry. I've done this many times. Just relax and
enjoy the view."
It was like landing in a treasure chest of jewels, Allison
decided. Brilliant against the black sky, and in every color of the rainbow,
Hong Kong greeted her. As the jet swooped lower, the lights came into focus.
She couldn't read the glowing neon, but the Chinese characters promised the
grand adventure that lay ahead.
She felt like Dorothy beholding the Emerald City. Hong Kong was beyond the Emerald City. Rubies sparkled, and diamonds, sapphires, amethyst, jade.
And unlike the Land of Oz, the Crown Colony was very real.
When the jet came to a stop at a remote spot on the tarmac, the
lights that had seemed so close were suddenly far away. As Allison and her
fellow passengers traveled by bus to the main terminal, they drove amid the
towering silhouettes and shadows of jumbo jets. She was astonished by the
number of planes. Parked at seemingly random angles, they loomed overhead like
a herd of slumbering dinosaurs. The effect was eerie, at once ancient and
modern. The prehistoric-looking monsters were, in fact, authentic symbols of
Kai Tak—one of the busiest airports on earth.
Once inside the terminal, Allison experienced the efficiency for
which Hong Kong was renowned. It took less than five minutes to clear
Immigration, and her luggage was waiting for her on a stainless steel carousel.
Exit Door Four, she reminded herself as she gathered her
suitcases. That was the door through which James had told her to exit Baggage
Claim. His instruction wasn't necessary. The door was well marked in both
English and Chinese.
Allison paused before guiding her baggage cart through the door.
She'd glimpsed the Emerald City. Now she would meet Oz himself, the wizard who
believed in her talent, needed it, needed her. Because of James's
confidence, Allison convinced herself she had wings... and could fly.
But Oz was an illusion. A phantom of smoke and mirrors.
***
Maylene stood beside the Rolls-Royce limousine watching the door
through which Allison would appear. Her heart had been racing all day, and
during the drive from the Trade Winds to Kai Tak, every cell in her body
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