Tangled Vines by Kay Bratt

She’d packed a small bag of snacks and a change of clothes quietly, her mind racing. Then she’d woken Jojo long enough to get him into the car, then urged him to go back to sleep.
    Now the only thing she knew was they were on their way to Beijing and Li Jin was terrified. She knew it must have something to do with a shipment and she didn’t want to be involved. And she sure didn’t want Jojo around it. But now obviously Erik didn’t trust her to leave her alone for the time it would take him to go and return.
    The car hit a bump and Li Jin protectively cradled Jojo’s body to keep him from falling off the seat. He lay sleeping with his head in her lap, his arm draped over her legs. They’d been driving all day and he was wiped out. Now he slept soundly and in his sleep he looked younger than he was. She pushed a strand of hair away from his eyes, in case he woke. She was still seething that Erik had called him a bastard. She’d never forgive him for that.
    He had warned her to snap out of her pensive mood but she couldn’t. He could force her to be there but he couldn’t make her talk. When she’d retreated from the conversation Erik and Obi continued to chat in the front seat and left her alone with her thoughts. The words from the day before would not stop playing in her mind. Her son might not have a father, but he was far from being a bastard. The truth was, Jojo’s birth was the catalyst that had turned her life around. He had given her a reason to keep living.
    They passed a field of wheat, and something about the orderly lines and waving stalks reminded her of the land around her last foster home—the place where her son was created. To be honest, it wasn’t so much a foster home as simply a shelter offered to her in exchange for her hard work. After leaving the orphanage at sixteen, she’d ended up on the streets and barely avoiding plenty of dangerous situations. She’d made some friends—albeit ones of the wrong crowd—and had couch hopped around when she could, and huddled in strange places when no one would open their home to her.
    Two years later, after one particularly cold week walking the streets, she’d ended up back at the orphanage to talk to Director Wu. It was a humbling moment. She knew if she didn’t find a secure place to live, she’d soon be forced to do things she didn’t want to just to survive. She could see now how so many of those she’d left behind had resorted to becoming pickpockets and thieves.
    She’d shown up dirty, broke, and starving. Though it was the last place she’d ever thought she’d run back to, Li Jin asked if she could stay there and earn her keep, but the director told her she had a better option. She could send her to a foster family near Suzhou. Because of the wife’s poor health, the family was no longer willing to foster children but needed some help keeping house and working its small farm. Later she found out the woman was the director’s sister and over the years had been given the benefit of many children in and out of the family’s home for free labor. This time the family wanted someone older—and Li Jin fit the bill. She didn’t know it then but agreeing to that offer would change her life forever.
    Erik turned and cleared his throat, jarring Li Jin back to the present. She looked around and saw that they were slowing down to go through a highway toll stop.
    “Li Jin, should we stop and let Jojo use the bathroom? We’ve still got a ways to go.”
    Li Jin looked down at Jojo and shook her head. Without meeting his eyes, she answered, “He’s sleeping soundly. I think he can wait.”
    Obi glared at her in the rearview mirror. “You tell me if the kid needs to go—this isn’t my car and I don’t want any accidents!”
    “Dude, he’s ten. He’s bathroom trained, all right?” Erik laughed and fiddled with the radio. Sounds of a popular pop song filled the car. Li Jin zoned it out and went back to her memories.
    After a