hung her head and one tiny tear made its way down her face. Jet reached up and rubbed it away with his thumb.
“Nai Nai tells me my mother probably loved me so much she was willing to leave me for someone to find me who could pay for me to see a doctor. Turned out I didn’t need a doctor but that doesn’t change what happened.”
“Now, no more sad stories. I brought a kite! Let’s get it up in the air and see who can keep it up longer. You in?” He nudged her chin up so he could look her in the eyes.
Linnea felt a heavy weight lift from her heart as Jet pulled her to her feet. Maybe this new thing she had found was real. And maybe—
a tiny chance of a maybe
—it could be something meaningful. She had always thought herself unworthy but could she be wrong? She didn’t want to jinx herself, so instead of pondering that thought too much, she grabbed the kite and took off running, letting Jet chase her down the rolling hill.
Linnea walked home from the park in a daze. She didn’t know what being in love was supposed to be like, but if the goofy, weightless feeling she was experiencing was it, she didn’t want it to end. Because of him she had done something she’d never done before—danced. She still couldn’t believe that he had talked her into waltzing along with the senior citizens at the square.They had only walked up to watch and Linnea was mesmerized and amazed that despite their bland, Mao-style clothes of dark blue pants and jackets, the old men guided their partners around the square as gracefully as anything she had ever seen. Some of them were at least as old as her Ye Ye and Nai Nai, making it even more romantic that they appeared lost in another world, oblivious to the sounds of traffic and people around them. When Jet had grabbed her hand and led her to the middle of the couples, Linnea had tried to refuse, but the smiles and laughs of approval all around her, along with Jet’s insistence, had kept her there, and surprisingly she had been able to follow his lead. She sighed as she thought it had to be the most magical moment of her life so far.
Afterward Jet had bought them ice cream, and they sat on a bench and talked for another hour or so. Because he asked and seemed to genuinely want to know, she had told him all about her family. She described each of her sisters and was surprised at the interest in his eyes with each story of abandonment. He seemed hungry for every detail she tentatively gave until she’d described their personalities and told all she could about each of them. She finally worked up the courage to ask him why he was so interested in her. She’d never forget his answer and it kept reverberating in her head as she unseeingly passed all the familiar sights on her path home. She could repeat it over and over, and she wished that she had the nerve to tell it to her Nai Nai and ask her to record it in the book on her page. But since she didn’t, she’d just have to hold it in her heart. She silently mouthed the words one more time.
“Lin, I knew you were special from the first moment I saw that look of determination cross your face. You didn’t care that you were a girl and were racing against your own boss. Even with the weight of the world on your shoulders, you’re obviously driven to find a way to succeed. I’ve never met anyone like you. The more you tell me about yourself, the more smitten I am.”
Smitten?
She was confused and more than a little embarrassed to have to ask what it meant.
“Smitten means I’m going to spend as much time as I can getting to know you, and if you’ll let me—I’ll try to make your life just a little easier. Let me earn favor from the gods by showing you that I’m something more than just an official’s spoiled son. Give me the gift of letting me share in your world.”
B enfu rose with the sun. He picked his way through the rainbow of colored quilts that covered the girls as they lay sleeping around the room on their pallets.
“Nai Nai tells me my mother probably loved me so much she was willing to leave me for someone to find me who could pay for me to see a doctor. Turned out I didn’t need a doctor but that doesn’t change what happened.”
“Now, no more sad stories. I brought a kite! Let’s get it up in the air and see who can keep it up longer. You in?” He nudged her chin up so he could look her in the eyes.
Linnea felt a heavy weight lift from her heart as Jet pulled her to her feet. Maybe this new thing she had found was real. And maybe—
a tiny chance of a maybe
—it could be something meaningful. She had always thought herself unworthy but could she be wrong? She didn’t want to jinx herself, so instead of pondering that thought too much, she grabbed the kite and took off running, letting Jet chase her down the rolling hill.
Linnea walked home from the park in a daze. She didn’t know what being in love was supposed to be like, but if the goofy, weightless feeling she was experiencing was it, she didn’t want it to end. Because of him she had done something she’d never done before—danced. She still couldn’t believe that he had talked her into waltzing along with the senior citizens at the square.They had only walked up to watch and Linnea was mesmerized and amazed that despite their bland, Mao-style clothes of dark blue pants and jackets, the old men guided their partners around the square as gracefully as anything she had ever seen. Some of them were at least as old as her Ye Ye and Nai Nai, making it even more romantic that they appeared lost in another world, oblivious to the sounds of traffic and people around them. When Jet had grabbed her hand and led her to the middle of the couples, Linnea had tried to refuse, but the smiles and laughs of approval all around her, along with Jet’s insistence, had kept her there, and surprisingly she had been able to follow his lead. She sighed as she thought it had to be the most magical moment of her life so far.
Afterward Jet had bought them ice cream, and they sat on a bench and talked for another hour or so. Because he asked and seemed to genuinely want to know, she had told him all about her family. She described each of her sisters and was surprised at the interest in his eyes with each story of abandonment. He seemed hungry for every detail she tentatively gave until she’d described their personalities and told all she could about each of them. She finally worked up the courage to ask him why he was so interested in her. She’d never forget his answer and it kept reverberating in her head as she unseeingly passed all the familiar sights on her path home. She could repeat it over and over, and she wished that she had the nerve to tell it to her Nai Nai and ask her to record it in the book on her page. But since she didn’t, she’d just have to hold it in her heart. She silently mouthed the words one more time.
“Lin, I knew you were special from the first moment I saw that look of determination cross your face. You didn’t care that you were a girl and were racing against your own boss. Even with the weight of the world on your shoulders, you’re obviously driven to find a way to succeed. I’ve never met anyone like you. The more you tell me about yourself, the more smitten I am.”
Smitten?
She was confused and more than a little embarrassed to have to ask what it meant.
“Smitten means I’m going to spend as much time as I can getting to know you, and if you’ll let me—I’ll try to make your life just a little easier. Let me earn favor from the gods by showing you that I’m something more than just an official’s spoiled son. Give me the gift of letting me share in your world.”
B enfu rose with the sun. He picked his way through the rainbow of colored quilts that covered the girls as they lay sleeping around the room on their pallets.
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