Dragon Land

by Maureen Reynolds

  I watched as the car set off, with Alex’s camera and tripod in the back, and I suddenly felt so alone. Jonas had warned me that he would be going away from time to time, as it was his job as a freelance journalist to write the stories while Alex captured the scenes on his camera.

  Ping Li had gone to the store with a box of her dresses, so I decided to go into town and look around the shops. It was late afternoon when I dropped into one of the cafés for a cup of tea and was surprised to see Lorna-May sitting at one of the tables. She waved me over.

  ‘I’ve had such a hard day with shopping,’ she said, pointing to the pile of packages at her feet, ‘so I just dropped into the nearest place for a cool drink.’

  I was also feeling the heat, as it was an unusually warm autumn day, but Lorna-May looked cool and unruffled and not in the least hot and bothered.

  ‘I should have brought the car with me, but I find the streets so crowded with people and carts and rickshaws that it’s too much of a bother. I’m waiting for Conrad to come and pick me up.’

  I ordered tea when the waitress came for my order, but was surprised when Lorna-May ordered a gin and tonic with lime juice.

  She saw my face and she said, ‘I’m just worn out, so I need a reviving drink.’ She lit up one of her cigarettes and sipped her drink while I finished my tea.

  ‘Will Conrad be coming soon for you?’

  She shrugged her slim shoulders and blew smoke out from her cigarette. Just then I spotted Elsie as she stood hesitantly at the door. I waved, and she walked past the tables to where we were sitting, but came to a stop when she noticed I wasn’t alone.

  Lorna-May looked annoyed and whispered, ‘Oh, don’t let that wishy-washy woman come over here. She never looks after herself and it looks like she has been wearing that dress in her bed, and as for her hair …’ She made a little moue.

  Determined to ignore her, I called Elsie over. ‘Come and have a cup of tea, Elsie.’

  Elsie sat down on the edge of her seat.

  I gave her a smile. ‘I was going to come to see you later today, as Jonas is away for a week or two.’

  Lorna-May had nodded to Elsie when she sat down, but she now ignored her as she took out her powder compact and touched up her lipstick, which, in my opinion, needed touched up judging by the bright-red lipstick ring on her glass.

  Thankfully a car drew up and Lorna-May stood, gathering her packages, and went out of the door.

  I let out a sigh of relief, and Elsie laughed. ‘She’s the kind of woman you’re always ready to see the back of.’

  I asked her if she was all right. ‘Were you looking for someone, Elsie?’

  Her face went bright red. ‘I was hoping to catch Ronnie after his work and before he goes into the bar of the American Café, but he didn’t show up, so I’ll just go home on my own.’

  ‘Why don’t you come back with me and have a meal, then maybe we can go to the cinema. What do you think?’

  ‘Normally I would love to do that, but I usually go to the Mission church school this evening. I help out with the refugee children once a week.’

  ‘Why don’t I come with you?’ I said, and she nodded eagerly.

  I had heard of the Mission church and school, but had never been there. Elsie explained as we walked along the busy street, dodging hand carts and the pyjama-clad Chinamen with their loads on the bamboo poles.

  ‘The two women who run it come from Edinburgh and the minister is their brother. I got to know them when I first arrived here, as my mother said she knew them. Their names are Betsy and Jeannie Miller, and the brother is David.’

  When we reached the Mission, it was crowded with children and families who were lined up waiting for some food. Elsie put on her apron and handed one to me, and we dished out portions of rice into the waiting bowls.

  Betsy introduced herself and said, ‘There are a lot of people coming from the north where the Japanese have set up their new territory.’

  I asked her where all these people would end up.

  ‘They’ll have relatives here in Shanghai or else they’ll move further south to some of the other cities, but it’s a tragedy that they’ve had to leave their homes behind.’

  Afterwards as we walked home, I said, ‘I knew there was a problem with refugees, Elsie, but I never imagined it was this bad until I saw it at the Mission. It’s a terrible world.’

  ‘A lot of them will disappear into the back streets here, and hopefully they’ll get work and food and somewhere to stay. If not, they have the Mission to help them.’

  When we reached my house, Elsie said she wouldn’t come in. ‘Maybe Ronnie is at home,’ she said, but I noticed there was no enthusiasm in her voice.

  I spent a sleepless night without Jonas lying beside me, and in the early morning I was sitting on the veranda with my tea when Elsie came to the gate.

  ‘I thought we could maybe spend some time going round the Yu Garden,’ she said. I got dressed, and by the time we were ready to leave Ping Li appeared and we asked her to come with us. Looking back years later I was to remember that happy time as we explored the garden and the temples, and then the little side streets where Ping Li knew the best places to shop.

  ‘I grew up around these streets,’ she said, ‘but sadly my parents are dead and as I was an only child I have no relatives living here.’

  Elsie and I looked at her with sympathy.

  ‘I know how it feels, Ping Li, to have no parents, as mine are also dead, but I do have a wonderful aunt,’ I said.

  Elsie screwed up her face. ‘I still have my mother, but she can be a right menace at times.’

  Ping Li sounded shocked. ‘No, Elsie, you must be grateful you still have her to cherish and look after you.’

  Elsie muttered that she was grateful, but as it was lunchtime we stopped being morbid and made our way to a tiny restaurant that I would have passed if Ping Li hadn’t mentioned going inside. The interior was dim and cave-like, but the tables all looked clean. The owner came to greet us and she welcomed Ping Li as an old friend. We had bowls of soup with tiny dumplings and it was delicious.

  Elsie said Ping Li was teaching her to cook like this and I said I would like lessons as well. Ping Li looked gratified, as if we had paid her a huge compliment, and she said she would show us some basic Chinese meals.

  One thing that surprised me that day was the fact Elsie was able to buy some jewellery in the bazaar. It was only a short time ago she had said her husband didn’t give her any spending money.

  As if she knew what I was thinking, she explained. ‘I got frustrated with no money to call my own, but Ronnie was adamant he held on to the purse strings, so I wrote to his father a few weeks ago and told him about my situation. I said I wanted money put into my own bank account every six months and I got my first instalment last week.’ She looked so happy when she told us this. ‘I’ve not to let Ronnie know about it and I don’t intend to tell him.’

  I wondered what kind of marriage she had, with secrets and subterfuge. I couldn’t imagine keeping anything from Jonas, but I had to admit that Ronnie Lomax was a bully and an absent, controlling husband.

  The day soon passed and we had loads of laughs, and these trips continued until Jonas was due to come home. In the evening Elsie and I would go to the cinema and watch American films. We especially liked Tarzan films and we both giggled at Tarzan’s athletic body. Elsie said if he appeared at her front door she wouldn’t turn him away, and we both laughed so loudly that some of the cinema patrons turned round to look at us, which set us off again, only this time we tried to muffle our laughs.

  Then, two days before our first wedding anniversary, Jonas arrived back with Alex. He looked tired and pale, but after a few hours in the house he was back to normal. I asked him if he was ill, but he said it had been a harrowing journey because of some of the sights they had witnessed. When I quizzed him, he just said that the Japanese army in the north was quite ruthless and he hoped they wouldn’t be coming out of their te
rritory, Manchukuo.

  I had made a special meal for our anniversary and had lit two candles to give the room a romantic look. I had a special reason to make everything perfect. Jonas grinned when he saw the candles, and after the meal he produced a bottle of brandy.

  ‘Let’s drink a toast to the wonderful first year of marriage,’ he said, going to look for the glasses in the cabinet.

  ‘I won’t have a drink Jonas, but you have one.’

  We settled on the sofa and I said, ‘I’ve been to see the doctor in the hospital and we’re going to have a baby. It’s due next April or early May.’ I felt a bit apprehensive as I didn’t know how Jonas would take this news, but he gathered me in his arms and said that it was the best news he had heard in weeks.

  He lifted his glass. ‘A toast to our baby, Lizzie, and to a wonderful family life for the three of us.’ He drank his brandy and I had a glass of water.

  The next night we had Zheng Yan and Ping Li in for a meal and Jonas announced he was to be a father. Zheng Yan shook his hand.

  ‘That’s good news, Jonas and Lizzie.’

  I looked at Ping Li, but she merely nodded. ‘I guessed as much ages ago,’ she said.

  ‘But you couldn’t have,’ I said. ‘I’ve only just found out myself.’

  ‘Do you remember the dress I made for you, the purple one?’ When I nodded she said, ‘I made the dress to the measurements exactly as I took them a few weeks ago, but then on the night I had to enlarge the waistband a bit. So I guessed that was the reason: a baby.’

  Zheng Yan smiled at her. ‘There’s not much gets past my wife, Lizzie.’

  I had to smile. I remembered her taking my measurements before Lorna-May’s invitation, but that had been for a dress I had planned to buy at the Star store.

  The next day I told Elsie, and although she looked pleased she also seemed a bit wistful, as if this was what she wanted with her husband. I also wrote letters to Margaret, Maisie, Laura, Pat, Marie and Sandy, so the news was out. Jonas and I were thrilled that we were to become a family.

  39

  LORNA-MAY’S

  NEW YEAR PARTY

  Lorna-May came to the house after Christmas to invite us to her New Year party at the Palace Hotel. ‘We like to keep our western culture alive here and celebrate our New Year on the 31st of December. Conrad and I hope you can both come.’

  By now I was five months pregnant, and although I didn’t have a big bump I wasn’t in the mood for going out socially. ‘I don’t think we can manage to come, Lorna-May, as we just planned a quiet time with Elsie and Zheng Yan and Ping Li.’

  Lorna-May looked at me as if I was daft. ‘You and Jonas must celebrate the end of 1935. It’s one of the biggest social events of the year and it’s usually myself who organises it.’

  I said I would ask Jonas and let her know, and she left in a huff. ‘Well, I have to know the numbers so the hotel can cater for it,’ she said as she got into her car.

  I watched as she drove away, then went to see Jonas, who was in the study. I mentioned the invitation. Jonas said it was up to me, but maybe it would do me the world of good to have a night out. I said I would think about it.

  Elsie arrived the next morning, clutching a thick piece of cardboard. ‘We’ve been asked to Lorna-May’s party and I’m not sure if I want to go. Ronnie said he is going, so no doubt I’ll have to make the effort, but I’ll not enjoy it. Are you going, Lizzie?’ She looked so uncertain that I knew she was hoping we would be there to keep her company.

  ‘Well, maybe we’ll go for a few hours, but we won’t be staying long.’ Lorna-May’s parties tended to last well into the early morning and there was usually a lot of drinking at them. ‘I’ll have to explain to Ping Li that we’ll not be able to see them, but I do know she’s planning a meal for the Chinese New Year and we’ll definitely go to that.’

  ‘I wonder why the Chinese have a different new year from us,’ said Elsie. ‘You would think it would be the same everywhere at the end of the year.’

  ‘When I was in Hong Kong, an old friend, Sandy, explained it all to me. According to Chinese culture it’s to do with the twelve animals. This is the Year of the Dog and next year it will be the turn of the Boar. My baby will be born under that sign and Ping Li is making a horoscope for him or her. I don’t really believe in it myself, but she does, and I don’t want to hurt her feelings.’

  Elsie sighed. ‘I sometimes wish I was having a baby, but when Ronnie comes home drunk then I’m glad I don’t.’

  I was wondering what to wear at the party, but when I tried on my silver-grey dress I was delighted to find that it still fitted me.

  I could hardly believe another year was almost over and that this time next year we would be a family. Before going to the hotel we spent a couple of hours with Zheng Yan and Ping Li.

  ‘I’m sorry we can’t spend the evening with you,’ I said, but Ping Li said it wasn’t important.

  ‘Our New Year is the main time and we will be together that night.’

  Alex and Sue Lin came to collect us with their car and we set off for the hotel. By the time we got there at nine o’clock, the hotel ballroom was full of revellers. Sue Lin looked beautiful in a shimmering turquoise, tightly fitted dress and I felt so plump standing beside her.

  Lorna-May and Conrad came over and welcomed us, and I looked around the room to see if Elsie had arrived. The band was playing a foxtrot and quite a few couples were on the dance floor, but the four of us found a comfortable seat and sat down to watch them.

  At ten o’clock there was still no sign of Elsie, and I assumed she had changed her mind. Then a commotion arose at the far end of the room and I saw it was Ronnie. He had obviously been celebrating earlier in the evening and he was arguing with the waiter. Elsie was standing by his side, and even from that distance I could see her face was flushed with embarrassment.

  Conrad went up to Ronnie and led him to a seat in the far corner, while I waved to Elsie. She hurried up and came to sit with us.

  ‘I didn’t want to come, Lizzie,’ she said. ‘Ronnie has been drinking all day, but he made such a scene when I said I wasn’t going. He said we would never be accepted by Shanghai society if I didn’t mix with them.’

  Alex and Jonas looked at each other but said nothing, while I was annoyed at Ronnie for making out it was Elsie’s fault when it was obviously his. I looked over at him as he sat slumped on his chair. He was dressed in a smart suit, and he was certainly very handsome, with his dark hair flopping over his brow and his boyish face. I could well imagine Elsie falling in love with him during their university days.

  At twelve o’clock, balloons cascaded down from the ceiling and champagne corks popped loudly as we all wished each other a Happy New Year. Elsie looked as if this new year would be unhappy, like the previous ones, but Alex kissed Sue Lin and Jonas put his arm around me.

  ‘Happy New Year, Lizzie,’ he said softly. ‘This year we will have our son or daughter.’

  ‘Do you mind if it is a girl, Jonas?’

  He laughed ‘I don’t mind at all.’

  We left soon after, but we had to take Elsie with us, as Ronnie had disappeared. ‘He’s probably sleeping it off in bed at home,’ she said. However, when we dropped her at her house it was all in darkness, so Jonas went in with her. When he came back to the car, he said there was no sign of Ronnie, but Elsie had said she would go straight to bed.

  The next day we had a meal with Zheng Yan and his wife. Ping Li wanted to know how I was keeping. She asked me this at least once a week, much to Jonas’s amusement.

  ‘I think she’ll be a nervous wreck by the time the baby is born,’ he said.

  During the meal I was worried about Elsie, but it wasn’t until the early evening I managed to go and see her. She wasn’t in, and I was on my way back home when she came up the road. She looked pale and tired, so I went back home with her.

  ‘Is everyone talking about Ronnie’s behaviour last night?’ She sounded so weary that I felt sy
mpathy for her.

  ‘I don’t know, Elsie. I haven’t spoken to anyone who was at the party. We’ve spent most of the day with Zheng Yan and Ping Li. What did you do today?’

  ‘I’ve been at the Mission all day, helping Betsy and Jeannie. You know something, Lizzie, this is an awful place. We’re living in relative luxury while the Chinese refugees don’t have a roof over their heads or know where their next meal is coming from. It makes me want to cry, it really does.’

  I linked my arm in hers. ‘Come on, I’ll make you a cup of tea and you can relax after your busy day.’

  The house was still empty when we reached the door. She stood inside the living room. ‘If you don’t mind, I think I’ll go straight to bed.’

  I left her and returned home. Jonas was sitting reading a book. ‘How is Elsie?’

  I was so angry. ‘If I could get hold of that husband of hers, I think I would knock some sense into him.’

  ‘It wouldn’t work, Lizzie. I remember when her mother was here and she tried to do that, but she didn’t succeed, so what chance does anyone else have? Elsie will have to work her problems out for herself, I’m afraid.’

  I went into the kitchen for a glass of water and the baby gave a mighty kick. I put my hand over my stomach and counted my blessings.

  It was just before the Chinese New Year when Lorna-May called at the house. Jonas and Alex were away on a story, but they said they would be back before the festivities. Jonas loved this Chinese festival, with its dragons and fireworks and general merriment.

  Lorna-May said, ‘I’m driving over to the French Concession for a bit of shopping. Would you like to come?’

  If Jonas had been at home, I would have said no, but as I was on my own I went to get my jacket. Lorna-May was a good driver and she was able to dodge all the obstacles on the road.

  ‘I learned to drive in New York when I was eighteen,’ she said. Her voice became wistful. ‘I wish I was eighteen again, Lizzie, don’t you?’

  I said I was quite happy at the age I was now.