All the Gates of Hell

by Richard Parks

  -- Mom

  P.S. You still think you're Guan Yin? Jonathan's a psychologist. He can help. Gives great back rubs too.

  Jin sighed. At least she didn't say he was "great in the sack"; her mother's sex life was extremely high on the list of things that Jin most emphatically did not want to know about. She brushed her teeth and went straight to bed and, as before, lay there for some time while the noise of the day gradually subsided in her mind. She didn't go looking for the Guan Yin That Was this time, but she wasn't terribly surprised when the Guan Yin That Was came looking for her.

  They were on the field of statues once more. Multiple images of Guan Yin through all the times and ages. Jin had to admit some were pretty impressive, especially the one known as "Kannon of the Thousand Arms." She didn't wonder how she knew what the particular image was called. It was more a case of not being able to not know. Just as she knew the Guan Yin perched on the shoulder of a statue labeled "White Robed Guan Shi Yin" was her own past self.

  "I thought you said this communication was dangerous," Jin said.

  "Not nearly as dangerous as you are, luv. Mind telling me what the blazes you're thinking?" The Guan Yin That Was still looked and sounded exactly like Jin, even though she obviously wasn't pleased with her mortal incarnation just then.

  "If you're talking about Shiro, avoiding him doesn't work, and I've got to find something that does. This is your mess I'm trying to clean up, you know."

  "Oh, I know, luv. Doesn't change anything, though. You're taking a big risk hunting him. A simple word to the wise, which we are alleged to be. In your case, I wonder."

  "Like I care. Look, Miss High and Mighty -- I take a big risk either way. I'd rather stalk than be stalked. That's just the way I am."

  Guan Yin smiled. "Even with Teacher and...Frank, is it?"

  Jin crossed her arms over her chest. "That was different. Teacher and Frank are harmless. Shiro isn't."

  The Guan Yin That Was laughed out loud. "The King of the First Hell, Lord of the Underworld, Judge of the Dead? Harmless? Oh, Jin, you crack me up, you really do. What next? Skinny dipping in the River of Souls?"

  Jin reddened slightly, but kept her temper in check. "Save it. Look, either drop me another of your patented 'hints' or just go away. I need some rest, being mortal and all."

  Guan Yin shrugged. "Say hello to your mother for me."

  Jin was stunned. "You...you know my mother?"

  "As well as I know my own," Guan Yin said. "She won't remember, of course."

  "This is what you came to tell me, isn't it? One more tiny, maddening bit of information that does me absolutely no good? Thanks for nothing, I guess."

  Guan Yin smiled a little sadly. "Oh, no, Jin. Thank you. You have absolutely no idea just how grateful I am."

  The Guan Yin That Was disappeared and, in Jin's dream, it began to rain. The statues slowly dissolved as if they were made of salt. The rain remained after the last trace of the statues were gone and Jin managed to forget about both the statues and Guan Yin for a little while. She strolled happily along a stark, black and white city scape carrying a bright red umbrella on her way to meet the coming dawn.

  (())

  Chapter 10

  There was no sign of either Frank or Ling the next morning. Jin dragged herself out of bed, but only because her alarm insisted. She washed her face and got dressed, slowly. It was Friday but it didn't feel very much like Friday was supposed to feel. Partly because Jin knew that there would be no real rest for her on this weekend or any other for the immediate future, but mostly because tonight meant dinner with her mother and, as much as Jin looked forward to seeing her mother again, she was not so sure about Jonathan.

  History's against you, Mom.

  Her mother, to say the very least, did not have a very good track record with men, and that emphatically included Jin's own long gone father. It took a lot of years and much unpleasant water under the bridge before Jin had finally realized that her mother really did love her and was doing the best she could as a parent. Yet her mother's admitted incompetence in that area left Jin feeling just a little cheated at not having a dad around. All Margaret Hannigan had needed to do, in Jin's opinion, was find a man slightly less screwed up than she herself was. How hard could that have been?

  Apparently, pretty darn hard. The last Jin heard, her biological father had moved to the Pacific northwest and married an ersatz-Indian "holistic medicine woman" named Bambi Spotted Fawn, or some such nonsense. Which, Jin knew, just went to prove that she probably got the better deal in the roll of the parental dice. Not that she had ever admitted this to her mother.

  Jin thought she had a clean blouse, but in the end had to settle for one that wasn't too grungy. She made a mental note to try and fit some overdue laundry into her divine schedule. Then she checked the time and settled for toast and coffee as something approaching breakfast before heading out to work.

  Joyce was relatively cheerful that morning, and Jin was suspicious at first. "You and Lucius make up?" she asked, dreading the answer just a little.

  Joyce grinned. "Hell no. Why do you think I'm in such a good mood? And don't change the subject, even if the subject was a holdover from yesterday: what happened between you and this Frank guy? He's damn cute."

  "He is, and nothing," Jin said, and added quickly when she saw the frown forming on Joyce's brow, "Honest! Look, we're...we're still working out what our relationship is going to be, ok? I don't want to rush into anything and end up with a repeat of Jeff."

  It was true enough so far as it went, but taking lovers didn't seem the sort of thing an Enlightened Being did anyway.

  "Smart girl," Joyce said. "That doesn't mean I don't want details if anything does happen, you understand, but yeah, probably best to take it slow. He coming to see you today?"

  Jin blinked. "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure. He's doing an errand for me and I'm not sure how long it will take. Hope he does get back, though. I'm due at my mom's tonight."

  "I thought she was off in India?"

  "They kicked her out."

  Joyce just sighed. "Your mom's a smoking pistol, you know that?"

  "Frankly, I'm surprised she didn't tell them to bite her fanny. Maybe she's mellowing."

  "Maybe she realized how sharp their teeth were."

  Jin laughed. It felt good. "That would imply both common sense and the concept of self-preservation. This is my mother we're talking about, after all."

  Both Frank and Ling appeared at the office that afternoon. Jin introduced Ling to Joyce as a visiting cousin then herded the pair of them off to her desk to confer.

  "Any luck?" Jin asked, keeping her voice low.

  "No," they both said, and Frank added, "There's no sign of him. Perhaps he's since left this place. That would explain why he wasn't present at that last old man's release."

  Jin absently bit a fingernail. "Maybe."

  It was reasonable, but Jin didn't believe it was true for a moment. Shiro hadn't gone to Medias on a whim, and then just slipped right back out again.

  "If he left the same way, the Guardians would know. Ask them."

  "Shall we keep searching if he hasn't?" Ling asked.

  "Yes, but only until six this evening," Jin said. "Celestial Youth, you've got to be my boyfriend Frank Celeste when we have dinner with my mother this evening."

  Ling raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Frank didn't look happy. "I am your servant in all things, but it will be difficult for me to succeed in this deception. The very idea is ludicrous."

  Jin nodded. "Yeah, but better that than showing up at my mom's tonight without a date."

  "I don't understand," Frank said.

  "You will when you meet my mother. I'll do as much of the talking as I can, but just change the subject if she backs you into a corner...which she probably will. Most likely on the subject of grandchildren."

  Frank's expression was sheer terror, but Ling's face contorted as if she was in pain. It took Jin only a moment to reali
ze it was because the dragon girl was fighting like mad to keep from laughing. Ling finally got herself under control.

  "Shall I keep searching while Shan Cai plays his part?"

  "I hope you don't mind," Jin said. "The evening's going to be complicated enough with just Frank present."

  "As you wish, though I will regret missing the Celestial Youth's performance."

  Jin noticed the beginnings of a glow about Ling's face and simply said, "Door."

  The glow died before it was more than a spark. "Oh, yes. Sorry," Ling said. Jin glanced at Joyce's desk but she was hard at work, though Jin was pretty sure she'd been trying to hear them. They'd kept their voices low enough that Jin didn't think Joyce had managed to make out more than a word or two. When Ling and Frank were gone Joyce was looking thoughtful.

  "What's the conspiracy about?" Joyce asked. "Anything I should know?"

  "Just a strategy meeting for dinner with my Mom tonight. I could tell you the plan, but then I'd have to kill you. Or make you come along, which would be worse."

  Joyce laughed, though Jin had the distinct impression that her boss wouldn't have minded being a fly on the wall during dinner. The walk home from work that evening was uneventful. It occurred to Jin that she hadn't seen Teacher in a day or two. She wondered if, perhaps, she should have been concerned, but offhand couldn't think of a good reason. He tended to make her angry, and Jin was very tired of being angry.

  Frank presented himself at her apartment promptly at six. As long as he was pretending to be her boyfriend, it seemed appropriate to let him wait in the foyer while she dressed for dinner.

  Not too formal, not too casual...

  She finally settled on a plain black dress with matching shoes and bag, then collected Frank from the foyer and headed out. They headed north on Elysian Fields, away from downtown. Her mother's house was in the neighborhood, barely a twenty-minute walk. Jin made use of the time.

  "Now then, Frank, my mother is going to ask you questions. I cannot possibly prepare a contingency for all of them, so I'll just have to count on your discretion for some things. Otherwise, here's what I expect." Jin ran down the list of likely questions and acceptable answers. Framing each so that Frank wouldn't have to actually lie was the tricky bit, but she managed. "Now, do you have all that?" she asked.

  "I believe so," Frank said.

  "Fine, but let's review: My mother asks what you do. What do you say?"

  "I'm an eternal student, but well provided for. I'm not attending school at the moment."

  "What do you say if she asks how long we've been dating?"

  "I say I've known you for a long time, but I've been away and we've only gotten back together in the last few days. That's an implied lie, I think."

  "It's a side-step. We arranged to meet at a particular time, for a particular activity -- this dinner. By most definitions, that's a 'date.'"

  Frank blinked. "Oh. Then can I say, 'I've known your daughter for a long time, but today is our first actual date' instead? That's all true."

  Jin shrugged. "Close enough. We've just been 'hanging out' together before now...that just means being together. Which we have, technically speaking, so that's also true."

  Frank looked a little doubtful, but didn't dispute this. Jin went on. "All right, what if my mother asks who your parents are?"

  "I will give their proper names, but point out that both are long deceased. Now, may I ask you a question?"

  "Sure."

  "What if she asks for specifics, such as precisely how long I've known you? That's somewhat over a thousand years."

  "Say you have trouble believing in time as a linear construct. She'll like that."

  Frank brightened. "Actually, I don't believe in time as a linear construct. It's an illusion."

  A few blocks further north on Elysian the neighborhood turned from "downtown" to "old and settled." They turned onto Kindle Avenue.

  "You seem apprehensive," Frank said. "Is something wrong?"

  "Not yet," Jin said, "but wait a while."

  "You love your mother," Frank said, and it didn't sound like a question.

  Jin thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, I do, but the one doesn't change the other." Jin walked up and knocked on her mother's door, which was thrown open in welcome almost immediately.

  "Hi, Mom," Jin said.

  Kathleen Hannigan smiled as she stood aside to let them in. "Hi back, Lotus Blossom. Introduce your friend."

  "This is Frank Celeste. And no, we haven't been dating long. We've just sort of hung out together before now."

  Jin's mother smiled and held out her hand. "My daughter thinks she can head off the third degree by answering all my questions up front. Silly girl. I'm Margaret."

  "Call me Frank," Frank said. "Pleased to meet you." He took her offered hand briefly.

  Margaret turned to Jin. "He's much cuter than Jeff. Nice move."

  Jin sighed. "Mom!"

  Her mother patted her cheek. "Well, of course I'm going to embarrass you -- it's my duty as a mother. Come on in, both of you. Jonathan may be delayed, but dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

  Margaret left them in the living room by the couch and disappeared back into the kitchen. "Can I help?" Jin called after her.

  "Not unless you've been practicing, dear."

  Jin sighed and sat down heavily on the couch. Frank stood, looking around curiously. "Your mother has a nice home."

  That was true enough, though Jin had hardly taken the time to notice. The house wasn't exactly a mansion, but was furnished impeccably. There was an overall Asian theme, with a wide-screen television hidden behind sliding shoji screens, bamboo print on the couch, and authentic Japanese wood block prints on the walls. Some of them quite valuable, as Jin recalled.

  "My mother has money," Jin said simply. "She was a corporate lawyer for fifteen years, working on 'the system' from the inside. She quit."

  "Why?"

  "Because I realized I was making more money than difference," Margaret said. She had appeared in the doorway bearing a tray of cookies.

  "I didn't mean to pry," Frank said, but Margaret dismissed that.

  "I'm not ashamed of having money; it's useful," she said, setting the tray down on the glass-top coffee table. "Nor of what I was. A mistake is only a mistake if you don't correct it."

  "Was that why you went to India?" Frank asked.

  "She told you about that? Well, it's true. I'm a hippie activist forty years too late." She smiled then. "Better late than never. Can I get you something? I think the cookies are a bit dry."

  "I'll take a Chablis, if you have any," Jin said. "Frank doesn't drink..." She turned to Frank. "Water? Would that be ok?"

  Taking his cue from Jin, Frank nodded. "Water. Yes. That would be fine."

  "A teetotaler? Well, well... Be right back then. Talk about me some more if you'd like."

  Jin put her head in her hands. "It's starting," she said.

  Frank frowned. "What is?"

  "Mother is a bit...passionate. We usually end up arguing."

  "I like your mother," Frank said. "She's interesting."

  "That's a good word for it."

  Margaret appeared with the drinks, then hurried away. Jin sucked down her wine in one long gulp and followed her mother to the kitchen.

  "Frank's a sweet guy, but a little naive," Jin said when they were out of earshot. "I'd consider it a personal favor if you went easy on him."

  Jin's mother seemed to consider this as she adjusted the burner under a covered pot. "Is he gay? I mean, I don't mind and all, but it's not doing much for my plan to be a grandmother in this lifetime."

  Jin blinked. "What makes you think he's gay?"

  Margaret Hannigan turned away from the stove and faced her daughter. "I could be wrong. I'll admit he has a sort of puppy-dog devoted look on his face whenever he looks at you, but there's not much else so far as I can tell in the personal chemistry department. Surely you noticed?"

  Jin hadn't noticed, but
then she wasn't looking. "Frank is...special."

  "What do you mean, special? Is it serious with you two? Have you slept with him?"

  "Mother!"

  Margaret shrugged. "I'll take that as a 'no.' Figures."

  Jin put her hands on her hips. "Mom, with all due respect, you're a fine one to lecture me on men."

  Her mother just sighed. "Touche, Lotus Blossom. I just worry about you, that's all."

  "I know, but you don't need to. I'm fine."

  Jin's mother looked her up and down again. "You're not getting much sleep; that's obvious. Is work going ok?"

  "It's just a bout of insomnia. It'll pass. Work is fine."

  "You don't have to, you know. Work, I mean. You could stay here. I'm not underfoot most of the time anyway."

  "That's not the point. If I weren't working, what would I do?"

  "Anything you want. Travel. Meditate. Go to law school, if that's what you want."

  Jin almost smiled. "I like working at the Legal Aid Office, Mom. Perhaps that's not very ambitious, but what I'm doing it important."

  In Margaret Hannigan's world view that was the one irrefutable argument, and Jin used it with that full knowledge.

  "And the judges award the stubborn daughter another full point," Margaret said, and then she sighed. "What you could have done in a courtroom... Look, Jin, I can't be too upset that you've rejected a path that I abandoned myself, but for a while now I've had the feeling you've just been waiting for something to happen. Life doesn't work that way."

  "I know, Mom. Lately I've been thinking about what I want to do long term and, you'll just have to trust me on this, it's not going to be a problem. Grandchildren, on the other hand -- "

  "Just floating a trial balloon," Jin's mother said, smiling. "You're still young, so no rush. You better get back to your guest. The table's already set."