by A. H. Shinn
Kellie clicked through profile photos, but she didn’t feel a connection with any of the women. None of them resembled her.
A people-finder website showed one hundred and forty-seven people with the name Victoria Bean. Unfortunately, there was a fee to view each record. Kellie was going to have to be patient, and hoped Jory didn’t take long in his search.
Kellie went back to the house and slipped past Master Chen and Mrs. Nguyen. In her bedroom, Kellie could hear Mrs. Nguyen’s loud, annoying laugh through her door, so she turned on the alarm clock radio. She could still hear her cackling, so she turned up the volume. Better, she thought as she grabbed a book.
About an hour later, she heard a knock. Kellie turned off the radio and opened her door. She was hoping to hear that Mrs. Nguyen had left.
“I have something to give you,” said Master Chen.
He handed Kellie her mother’s letter.
CHAPTER FOUR
Suspicions
Kellie took the envelope from Master Chen.
“This letter come a month ago,” he said.
A month ago?
“I should give it to you before. It is from your…mother.”
“I know…” Kellie replied.
Master Chen’s eyebrows shot up. “How you know?”
“I accidently found it in your desk,” she confessed.
“Why you didn’t say anything?”
“I didn’t know what to say.” Kellie’s hand was still on the doorknob, and Master Chen was standing in the hallway. They stood motionless, avoiding each other’s gaze.
“You have now,” Master Chen said. “Good night.” He turned and went to his room.
Kellie couldn’t believe he’d kept the letter from her for a month, but at least she had it now. She scrambled to her desk, sat down, and turned on the lamp. She gingerly pulled out the delicate parchment paper and smelled it. There was a light musky scent. Her fingers glided across the words as she smiled. Her mother had held this letter in her hands. Kellie’s heart fluttered as she read it again.
Dear Bao Yu,
I do not know how to begin. This is your mother. I have been searching for you for many years and I want you to understand I did not voluntarily give you up. You have stayed in my heart and every day I have thought of you. I wonder what you are doing, I wonder what you look like, and most important, I pray you are happy.
Though the days have been difficult for me, the hope that you are satisfied with the life you have been given has kept me going. After all, a mother only wants the best for her daughter.
I never lost faith that you are alive and well. The day I learned of your name was my happiest.
You have never left my thoughts,
Victoria Bean
Kellie read the letter almost a hundred times. She analyzed the cursive writing, taking note how the t’s crossed and the i’s dotted. The letters slanted to the right slightly and perfectly.
And her name was beautiful: Victoria Bean. Kellie couldn’t tear her eyes away from the paper. “Kellie Bean,” she whispered. Holding the paper close to her heart, she closed her eyes.
Kellie’s head popped up. There was a loud engine noise outside her window, and the sunrays illuminated her room.
She must have fallen asleep on her desk. While rubbing the kink in her neck, she remembered the letter. It was gone! Kellie’s fingers fumbled around and under her books and magazines, but she couldn’t find it.
Then she spotted it on the floor. Picking it up gently, she folded the paper and put it back in its original envelope. She slid the letter between the middle pages of a heavy book and stuck it in her bookshelf.
“That should keep it safe,” she said out loud.
The noisy engine sound came close to Kellie’s window and then moved away. Master Chen was mowing the lawn.
She wasn’t sure if she should still be mad at him. He did give her the letter, although it was a month late.
What had changed his mind? Why did Master Chen decide to give her the letter last night?
A horrible thought crossed her mind: Mrs. Nguyen.
A month ago, perhaps Master Chen didn’t want Kellie to learn that her birth mother had found her. Last night, something…or someone must have altered his sentiment.
Ugh. The only thing left to do now was to find her mother. Jory, I need Jory.
She flew into the family room and called her friend.
“Hello?”
“Jory?”
“Yeah?”
“Did I wake you?”
“No…Kellie?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Oh, hi!”
“So…how’re things?” Kellie asked.
“Great.”
“Good, that’s good.” Kellie scratched her head during the awkward pause. “Well…I was wondering if—”
“I found your mom?”
Kellie held her breath.
“There’s a problem,” Jory said.
Her mouth went dry. “What do you mean?”
“Do you want to meet me at Aroma Café?”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Kellie dropped the phone receiver, scurried to get ready, and dashed out of the house. When she ran up to Master Chen, he turned off the lawn mower.
“Do you mind if I go to Aroma Café to meet Jory?”
“Now?” he asked.
Master Chen looked at Kellie questioningly. “You want me to drive you?”
“No, I’ll walk. It’s not far.” Kellie jogged away. She turned to wave at Master Chen and shouted over the lawn mower, which was back on, “I won’t be long!”
She whizzed past the studio and hopped onto the sidewalk.
The sky was a flawless, clear blue. The blinding sun was already warming up the early morning.
Kellie passed her school. The café was a half-mile away, and between her and Jory’s houses. It would be another ten-minute, brisk stroll.
Jory’s words were on Kellie’s mind: “There’s a problem.”
What did he mean by that? What problem could there be?
Before she knew it, Kellie was steps away from the coffee shop, and she saw Jory sitting on the patio with two glasses of iced tea.
He was typing on his laptop, and barely noticed Kellie take the seat across from him.
“Hi,” he said as he continued to type. He pointed to one of the drinks with his chin. “That one’s for you…So I did a preliminary search last night after I got home and found about a hundred and fifty people with the name Victoria Bean.”
“I found that last night, too,” said Kellie. “That’s not too many…right?”
“The problem is that almost every name pulls up multiple addresses and phone numbers,” said Jory. “So I narrowed down the women by age. I’m estimating that your mother is somewhere between thirty and fifty-five. That eliminates some prospects, but that still leaves us with…”—he finished typing and waited—“one hundred and ninety-four records.”
“That’s not too many at all!” Kellie said. “But that’ll be expensive to see all those records…”
“I can get around that…” said Jory, and then cleared his throat. “Anyway, that’s just in the US. It’s possible that your mother lives in another country. That could leave us with thousands of more women.”
“That’s a lot…” she said.
“And to be honest,” said Jory, “it usually takes years to track down the right person. And even longer if she doesn’t want to be found.”
Kellie took a sip of her beverage as her heart sank.
“Dumb question…” he said. “Your mother didn’t put a return address on the mail, did she?”
Kellie shook her head as she chewed on her straw.
“How about the postage?” he asked.
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br /> “Postage?” Kellie asked.
“What did it look like?” asked Jory. “I used to collect stamps…but that’s not why I’m asking…Was it a US stamp or did it look different?”
Kellie had to think about it for a moment. “It wasn’t a US stamp…and the postage looked sorta similar to the ones that have come from Taiping Monastery. The letter came from China! Jory, you’re brilliant!” Ugh, I sound like Mrs. Nguyen. It was true, though. Kellie was amazed how investigation came so naturally for him. “You really are great at this. The CIA is going to recruit you fast!” Kellie recalled the time when he’d revealed his dream to work for them.
Jory smiled, and then took a sip of his iced tea. “And that makes sense since you’re from China…but I wouldn’t have expected a Victoria Bean to be from there. This does narrow the search to a specific country, and could make it easier…although, China has over a billion people…” Jory’s smile faded.
“Kellie?” someone called.
Kellie looked up and saw her school’s principal standing there with a newspaper under his arm.
“Hi, Principal Lemore,” said Kellie.
“We’re not in school, so Mr. Lemore is fine,” he said. “And your name young man?”
“Er…Jory Stevens, sir.”
“Ah…Jory. The one Kellie got into a fight for last year, which almost got her expelled.”
Jory looked down on his computer, and was practically kissing the keyboard to hide his face that now resembled a ripe tomato.
“And how is the summer treating the both of you?” Mr. Lemore asked.
Before Kellie even opened her mouth, the principal said, “I remember the summers when I was a boy…My family had a farm in France, and I used to love running through the fields and tending to the animals. Most children would have thought it a chore to care for goats, chickens, and sheep, but to me…it was like having my own, personal zoo. I remember an amusing incident when—”
“Sir, here is your drink.” A server from the coffee shop handed Mr. Lemore a mug.
“The cappuccinos here are surprisingly superb,” said the principal. “What was I saying? I apologize. I’m not intruding on your date, am I?”
Kellie shot up from her chair so fast that she almost knocked over her drink. “I have to get home…I told Master Chen I’d be back soon.”
Jory slammed shut his laptop, and was already on the sidewalk when he said he had to help his mother with something.
“Enjoy your summer,” said Mr. Lemore as Kellie hurried in one direction and Jory bolted in the other.
Kellie poked her head through the door of their house and found Master Chen folding laundry in the family room. “Just wanted to let you know I’m back. I’ll be in the studio!” She shut the door before he could answer.
She went to the office to do her own internet search for her mother’s name in China. Instead, she pulled up websites for books on beans, restaurants, and cities with the name Victoria. Finding someone in another country wasn’t an easy task; she was lucky to have Jory’s help.
Hours went by before Master Chen peeked into the room, taking her by surprise.
“What are you doing here for so long?” he asked.
Kellie closed the web page. “Nothing. I’m done.” She pushed back the chair and squeezed past him. “You can use the office.” She didn’t hear him say anything as she flew out the back door.
It was difficult getting through the group lesson in the studio. Kellie had hoped Jory would come to class to deliver great news, but he usually didn’t attend on Mondays, and this night wasn’t any different.
Kellie spent the rest of the evening in her room staring at her mother’s letter, wondering what Jory was doing. She had to stop herself from picking up the phone several times; she knew he’d call her right away if he found anything on her mother.
Kellie’s mouth was as dry as the parchment paper in her hands. Needing to stretch her legs, she went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. Master Chen came out of his room and poured a cup of tea.
“You are in room a very long time,” he said.
“Yeah.”
“Haven’t talked much. Always in room.”
“I just have a lot on my mind.”
“Do you want snack?”
“No thanks.”
Kellie gulped down the glass of water. After filling it up again, she said, “Good night,” and turned to go back to her letter and pondering.
“Wait, Kellie. We must talk.” Master Chen’s voice was both stern and concerned.
She knew what was coming and obligingly sat down at the dining table. “What do you want to talk about?”
Master Chen brought over his steaming mug and took a seat in front of her. “How you feel about your mother’s letter?”
“I was pretty shocked to find it.”
Master Chen stared down at his tea. “It is best to not let it take too much of your time.”
Did she hear him correctly? How could she not let the letter consume her? It was from her birth mother.
“I—I don’t understand what you’re saying,” she said, trying to stay calm.
“It may be better to forget.”
She couldn’t maintain her composure anymore. “What? My mother found me! How could you ask me to just forget about it?”
“I’m not sure—”
“About what?” Kellie bit her lower lip.
He didn’t answer.
“Don’t you want me to find her so you could—never mind,” she said.
“Could what?” he asked. His forehead wrinkled, and two deep grooves formed between his eyebrows.
“I don’t know…I guess so you can have your own life…maybe with your new friend or someone.”
“New friend?” he repeated. He thought for a second. “Mrs. Nguyen?” His face flushed. “She is just friend! I am devoted monk.”
“Well, I wasn’t sure about that…I just thought maybe you changed your mind and you decided to give me the letter so I would reunite with my mother and move out. Then you could have a life of your own with a wife.”
Master Chen’s face turned a deep red. Kellie wasn’t certain if it was out of embarrassment or if he was upset.
“How you could think of me like that?”
“You kept my letter from me for a month! Then you have this new friend you’ve been hanging out with…getting recipes from. And she starts coming over and gives us cat gifts. What am I supposed to think?”
Master Chen leaned back on the dining chair. His arms were across his chest, and he looked up at the ceiling.
“She is just friend,” he repeated, but Kellie didn’t believe him.
“You must understand,” he said, “you and my life as monk will always be first. Mrs. Nguyen is just friend. Her husband died many years ago, and her son is grown and has own life. And she is lonely sometimes. I don’t have much friends here, and it is good to have friends. She is friend who is woman. Just like your friends who are boys. Just friends.”
“Why did you decide to give me the letter last night, then?” Kellie asked.
“I did not intend to keep. Each day I was going to give it to you. But, I wasn’t so sure…”
Kellie didn’t understand why he sounded skeptical. “What do you mean?”
“It is best to forget,” he said again.
“I can’t, and I don’t understand why you would ever ask me to. Why don’t you want me to find my mother?”
“It is for best.”
“I’m sorry,” Kellie said, holding back her tears as she stood up. “Jory is helping me find her.”
Master Chen stared at her. “Do you not think if she want to see you, she would come? She know where you live.”
Kellie’s mouth opened, but it was as if she lost her voice; no words would come out.
Her heart dropped to her stomach. Master Chen was right.
DING DONG!
“Mrs. Nguyen is stopping by to drop off sweet rice cake,” said Master Chen. “I get the door.”
“No!” yelled Kellie. “I’ll get it.” And I’ll remind her that Master Chen is a devoted monk.
“Kellie, I get—” said Master Chen as he rose from his seat.
But it was too late. Kellie got to the front door first and swung it open. Mrs. Nguyen’s back was rudely facing her, and Kellie saw her straight, black hair under a hat, draped over her brown coat. Her toes were at the edge of the porch, as if she was about to leave.
She couldn’t even wait ten seconds for us to answer the door? Well, good-bye then! Kellie was about to slam the door shut when the woman turned around.
“Bao Yu? I’m Victoria, your mother.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Unexpected
Victoria Bean was beautiful.
Kellie’s mother approached the brightly lit interior of the house, and her face, with green eyes and a pointed nose, glowed from underneath her hat.
“Uh…I’m Bao Yu. That’s me…” Kellie stood under the doorframe and stared at her mother.
“May I come in?” she asked.
“Of course!” said Kellie effusively. “How rude of me.” She giggled out of nervousness.
When Kellie moved out of the way to let in the unexpected guest, she glanced at Master Chen. His face was pale.
The three of them stood in the middle of the family room. There was an awkward silence.
“Would you like to have a seat?” Kellie asked. She had a million questions for her mother, but this was a decent start.
“Thank you,” said Victoria and proceeded to the couch.
“May I take coat and hat?” asked Master Chen.
Victoria adjusted her hat. “I’ll keep them. I can’t stay very long.”
